# FS Boardslides on down boxes/rails - how to commit?



## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

You just have to get your weight forward more, commit! (Not that I would anymore lol)


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## agaysnowmo (Jul 15, 2014)

When you're in Japan. Please, for my sake, do not learn how to ride park. Ride as much powder as humanly possible and rub it in my face.


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

Leigh, the slide i am talking about is the FS boardslide (facing backwards). If i get my weight forward any more i would be flat on my face. Unless the forward you are talking about is in reference to the direction of movement?

agaysnowmo, i have decided that if i want that surfy feeling i will go surfing. In fact i plan to try taking it up this summer. In all honesty though, i do like the idea of having a massive BC kicker to jump into pow landings, but realistically it will never happen. Horses for courses, and right now all my horses are park boards


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

tokyo_dom said:


> Leigh, the slide i am talking about is the FS boardslide (facing backwards). If i get my weight forward any more i would be flat on my face. Unless the forward you are talking about is in reference to the direction of movement?


forward is still down hill, jump toward the box twisting your body at the waist as you go, be a little bit back from perpendicular when you land on it, slide, start to twist back as you approach the end and pop off.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Tokyo 
first in that vid you only did one FS boardslide, all the others were BS (backside) boardslides. 

BS boardslide
FS boardslide
BS boardslide
BS boardslide
FS or BS refers to if your hitting the feature from the toe side or heel side and all but #2 you hit the feature heel side

In #2 you used counter rotation to twist your body which was good the others you just hopped up there and opened your shoulders. You could have ridden off switch in those cases making it even cooler even though that wasn't your intention. 

Quite your upper body a little more too, you arms are flailing around putting weight forward causing you to get on edge. Yep that one you could slide a book under your board, 2 more feet and it would have come out from under you. 

Your getting it


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

tokyo_dom said:


> (second of the 4 slides attempted)


Slyder thanks yes i only had one FS attempt on video, it was mixed with a few BS slides (#1, #3 & #4) that i had done earlier so i just put the whole video up. This was actually back in January, and since then i have been bringing the BS slides onto down rails (even with a gap). But my FS skills have not progressed anywhere since then 

Thanks for the tips. I actually thought i had the right idea with the arms extending the counter rotation movement!

I watched another tutorial video today that suggested practicing on a plastic cone thing in the snow/on your living room carpet to get used to the body positioning. Since i only get to go to the snow on the weekends (and then my time in the park is limited since my wife doesnt like jib stuff), this seems like a great idea. If my balance is off, i would slide off the cone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjV5vKYVXYU&t=119

Still not quite convinced on how to position my body for a down box/rail, but then if i cant even get the flat box right, i hope the down stuff will come naturally once i get my body position right


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I used the cone method too. I built mine from 2x4's though. Does the same thing. I'm still dialing mine in as well as no expert. For me I must have my body on the same angle as the feature, and when I don't I know it, as I always land on an edge and slip out toe side and that hurts. 

I also try staying more compact rather than straight up this forces me to keep my base flat. Feeling that flat base is huge. 

So dont have a ton of tips for you since I'm dialing mine in as well. Keep at it and hope it comes quicker for you than for me


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

How stiff are your boots? If they're too stiff, the twisting of your body (it looks like you don't twist enough) will cause your board to get on edge because your boots won't allow your ankles to flex with your knees enough to keep your board flat. This is what it looks like to me.


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

Thanks. The boots are Burton Ambush from 2013 with about 40-50 days of riding on them (the liners have developed vertical cracks on the sides, probably reducing some of the stiffness). Its rated as a 5 on burton's scale and says it has a decent amount of flex for park work. 

It is highly likely that a combination of my *own* lack of flexibility, and the lack of even trying to flex my ankles might have been at fault there.

The more i look at it the more i think about how uncool the whole move looks. Going to try again this weekend and see if i can get any progress or at least video to see what i am doing wrong. 
I really wish i had snow and a backyard that i could set something up to just practice over and over, instead of having to restrict it to 1-2 attempts every run through the park (and those park runs being restricted to however long my wife puts up with the park)


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

Ok, so instead of looking at tutorial videos, i decided to have a look at photos as well, as this is the best way to get to look closely the actual body positions used.

Google images gave me these pics and comparing them to my video i see the following:










Bend at hips, at least for the down features, and at the knees
Look *under* my lead arm, instead of over my shoulder
Curved or straight back, not arched like i am doing









I am going to see if i can practice the movement tonight. Kind of embarassing to go out into a park and do it without snow, but since my apartment is so small, doing it in the living room will no doubt end up with me putting my snowboard through a wall.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I wish I had better information to share with you. 

My only great insight is "it's so much different on the snow/feature" 

I have done all the studying of pics/vids, dry land flat practice, on cones, on my balance beam, on snow.....
When it came time to hitting the feature, my body knew what to do my mind was a little more reserved. Whats the right speed, the right feature, aiming to hit it bad take off ramps, icey snow, crowded don't want to look stupid, don't want to get hurt. So many more variables. 

I still think this was an valuable part of my learning but on the snow it is really very different. At least that was my experience.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

tokyo_dom said:


> Thanks. The boots are Burton Ambush from 2013 with about 40-50 days of riding on them (the liners have developed vertical cracks on the sides, probably reducing some of the stiffness). Its rated as a 5 on burton's scale and says it has a decent amount of flex for park work.
> 
> It is highly likely that a combination of my *own* lack of flexibility, and the lack of even trying to flex my ankles might have been at fault there.
> 
> ...


Just hike the box at your local park. We do it all the time out here. It looks like you're getting your board in a good position. Just squat more and really drop your ass down and try to focus on putting your board down flat. Once you have that down, then you can work on increasing the counter rotation with your upper and lower body. After a while, you'll be pointing the board up hill and bringing it back to regular, then you're ready to move on to front blunts.


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

In Tokyo, "local" is 2-3hrs away. Close enough to do every weekend though.

Will try the hiking thing this weekend. I am sure my wife can handle a bit of time boarding on her own. I want to end this season with the FS on lock. If not, i will keep going to the indoor place until i do.

Thanks for the tips!


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I need to learn to settle down when hiking. I get all worked up mentally. Really throws me off. I take the lift ride to settle down into the groove, think about what went right/wrong. 

I need to learn this as it would help me more to hike it. But I do get to hit many different features with the same move and I think that is beneficial too. 
I was going to hike a box "and" set up my gopro to record me while I'm hitting the feature. Ran out of time before season ran out. 
This may help you too then you can analyze yourself later


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

That box i did the FS attempt on is one i ended up hiking 5 times or so later that day.

Usually the time i spend trying to catch my breath (hiking? i was jogging back up!) was enough to get settled, and visualize

Actually the resort i am going to this weekend looks like it has 4-5 jib features in a row so maybe hiking wont be necessary. Will try and set up the camera if i do end up hiking though, that video above has been quite helpful, even though its just 4 tricks (i hadnt even noticed i was doing the BS slides wrong - open shoulders instead of counter rotated)


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

So here is my progress from last week.

The attempts are in random order. I actually tried to sort them in order of the box/rail that i did them on, but i am not good at video editing and i got confused. I think the first 2 slides are the best of the lot, and might be attributed to the speed i hit them at





Even though I was concentrating on not arching my back it happens at times. Watching videos and pictures of people doing FS boardslides made me realise a couple more points - back arm needs to stay down, front arm at my side or pointing straight in the direction i am going, and i really need to get over the nose of my board.

Also realised over the weekend just how bad my backside 180 game is. Its really embarrassing how much i can screw up what should be a simple trick (i am fine with FS 360s, so the BS1 should be a no brainer). So now i have two tricks i need to sort out before this season ends. Still have all of April, might try extend into May though...


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

tokyo_dom said:


> So here is my progress from last week.
> 
> The attempts are in random order. I actually tried to sort them in order of the box/rail that i did them on, but i am not good at video editing and i got confused. I think the first 2 slides are the best of the lot, and might be attributed to the speed i hit them at
> 
> ...


random and will edit as my thougths are all over.

The lst few on that rainbow looked very good. Slow but good. You got on solid, rotated, bent knees and rotated on the feature looked very stable. I think those 2 were your best ones !!

Even though you are moving your arms your core/hips are not rotating much if any on many of the attempts this is why you are not getting the full 90 degrees and you look and probably still feel off balance. Watch your core, it stays static your arms come around to the farthest point they can as does your board, since your hips aren't moving your body can't rotate anymore locking you solidly into place at that 45 degree point.

Keep working on bending your knees a little more, I saw a few close calls as you were getting on edge. That will help keep your board flat.
Also go look at all your ride/pop on's. Your front foot rides on and then you kinda pop/ollie/lift and swing your back foot onto the feature. Not putting your board flat, your torsional flex is getting you on a edge

Keep at it great to seem you getting better adn wish I was still riding dialing in my tricks !!


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## ollie (Mar 30, 2008)

One or two things that stood out for me in that pic of you.

1) Try standing up and look over your shoulder as if you were in the position of a frontboard. What happens to your balance when you try and reach something overhead across your body with your back hand? Are you rocking onto your toes from the balls of your feet a little (predominantly on your back foot)? 

Now try the same thing but keep your arm low like in that Pro Tips photo - your balance stays on the balls of your feet for your rear foot

This can account for you slipping out on your toe edge.

When you are doing this trick imagine you are grabbing your front knee with your back hand - it might help

2) You are standing quite tall for this trick. Simple physics will say that the higher your center of gravity the easier it will be for you to lose balance. Get low son!

Add that to my first point and you should be more stable and shouldn't be lifting your rear foot as much.

I wasn't able to view any of the videos but I am making a guesstimate that these are your problems

3) One other thing, I can't properly tell from the photo of you, but a common theme for the other photos is that they are all sliding with the box/pipe/rail under their leading foot (a Frontside Noseslide - where if you don't know, you pop on from the side of the box (the skiers right for you as you're goofy) - you said in the OP that you are working on BS boardslides but give this a try instead

It could be an easier trick for you imo as there is less of the torsional flex generated by you twisting for where the board is in contact with the box, it is easier for you spot the end of the feature (something you should ALWAYS do) and as a result there will be less counter rotation of your upper body

good luck!


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

Ollie, thanks for the tips, i actually went and strapped in tonight and tried to emulate some of the 'pro' positions (taking pics of myself to confirm i was getting the right angles). What i realised is that in a lot of the pics it is like you said, more of a front noseslide, where you feel a lot of the weight on the leading foot. But it also felt very stable like that, and now that i know how that feels i hope that will be able to replicate that on the snow. The back hand on the front knee is a good one to remember - thanks!

I also watched a FS boardslide skateboarding tutorial, where they talk about how you should rotate the shoulders as much as possible - so that if you lose balance you arent facing backwards, and then you can hopefully safely bail out. While we dont have that luxury while strapped in, it did answer one of my original questions about how to feel safe going backwards... If i am doing it right it shouldnt feel entirely backwards!


And thanks as always Slyder for your advice. I did notice it was hard to get the board around the full 90, but as i found out tonight i still have a lot to improve on with my posture on the slide. As always, i am looking forward to the weekend to see how i can improve this.


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

More FS practice. This time at a hike park so i mounted the camera and just let it run.

While it seems my back position is getting better, i am finding it harder to get the board to 90 degrees! I am thinking that I really just need to work on core flexibility? it is currently quite a stretch to get my shoulders perpendicular to the board. Maybe yoga classes are required


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## ETM (Aug 11, 2009)

tokyo_dom said:


> More FS practice. This time at a hike park so i mounted the camera and just let it run.
> 
> While it seems my back position is getting better, i am finding it harder to get the board to 90 degrees! I am thinking that I really just need to work on core flexibility? it is currently quite a stretch to get my shoulders perpendicular to the board. Maybe yoga classes are required


Just need to twist more, and get that back leg working too, push the board around with your leg


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## tokyo_dom (Jan 7, 2013)

I think it is fear/lack of balance that is stopping me from pushing that back leg out. To be honest it was a pretty sticky wide box - you can see in one of them that i lost balance backwards (ice landing, man that hurt my ass!). In retrospect (as always), i should have been going for nose slides on the side of the box instead.

I only have 1-2 more chances to get this down this season. At least the BS180s on kickers is pretty much good. I am going to try out the indoor slope in Shinyokohama this summer some time.


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## Rotcoddam411 (Jun 19, 2014)

TL;DR but my words of advice:

Ass out, counter rotate, throw ur hand towards ur board, like you are squatting on a rail, turn your heard,push your legs kinda up the rail


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