# How to deal with scatchy jumps



## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

take em slow at first...keep weight on the front foot at all costs, on the landing too, better to go forward over the handlebars than land on your back or neck/head...if you get too far back on the takeoff you will end up on your back

hit em a few times low speed and try to absorb some of the kick instead of getting a bunch of air, work your way up gradually, stay forward


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

Snowolf said:


> I wish park crews had more low level park riders who could give input. Instead, it seems that the best, most experienced park riders tend to be on park crew and it tends to leave us lower level freestyle riders with limited options.


Exactly what tends to happen on Seymour. Except this season I started emailing the administration to the attention of park manager, with suggestions for beginner stuff. And it actually worked. Got a beginner jump line off to the side of Young Guns this season. :yahoo:


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## walove (May 1, 2009)

CassMT said:


> hit em a few times low speed and try to absorb some of the kick instead of getting a bunch of air


instead of popping or even just riding over the jump, suck up your legs on the takeoff to absorb some of the pop from the lip. Keep you body calm in the air and focus on matching the angle of the landing. Hopefully this steeper takeoff is matched with steeper landing.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

im finding the spring conditions to be way more forgiving in the park too...no shame in wrist guards either


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

walove said:


> instead of popping or even just riding over the jump, suck up your legs on the takeoff to absorb some of the pop from the lip. Keep you body calm in the air and focus on matching the angle of the landing. Hopefully this steeper takeoff is matched with steeper landing.


Erm, no offense, but that's really bad advice, please do not do this OP. Sucking your legs in and not popping is basically how you end up getting thrown off balance on a kicky jump.

To avoid getting thrown off balanced by steep, kicky jumps, focus more on your pop. The more kicky a jump, the more you have to focus on popping with strong legs while you push against the jump that's trying to send you off balanced.
*
TLDR: *Focus on having strong pop and push against the compression of the jump with your legs to avoid getting kicked off balance.

If it makes you feel any better, even good snowboarders hate kicky jumps, so it's not just a beginner thing. For whatever reason a lot of skiers seem to like them though.


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## Nerozor (Dec 2, 2011)

Should I pop with both feet or ollie?


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

Nerozor said:


> Should I pop with both feet or ollie style?


Use both feet. Ollies are rarely ever used when hitting jumps because it isn't as stable as a good pop.


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## walove (May 1, 2009)

Jed said:


> Erm, no offense, but that's really bad advice, please do not do this OP. Sucking your legs in and not popping is basically how you end up getting thrown off balance on a kicky jump.


what ever works for you, i like to build bmx style rhythm sections with multiple steep jumps in a row, its all about controlling your pop and staying balanced in the air, and matching the tranny.

if you absorb a bit of the pop from the jump you keep your trajectory lower which lets you travel further. This allows you to make it to the landing with less speed. If you popped hard with the same speed you would go much higher but you wouldnt make the landing. If you mountain has a half/ quarter pipe its a good place to practice riding steeper transitions.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

walove said:


> what ever works for you, i like to build bmx style rhythm sections with multiple steep jumps in a row, its all about controlling your pop and staying balanced in the air, and matching the tranny.
> 
> if you absorb a bit of the pop from the jump you keep your trajectory lower which lets you travel further. This allows you to make it to the landing with less speed. If you popped hard with the same speed you would go much higher but you wouldnt make the landing. If you mountain has a half/ quarter pipe its a good place to practice riding steeper transitions.


I think the OP is talking about steep jumps bigger than small bmx style moguls that are set in a row. There might be some confusion here, but you seem to be talking about a totally different type of jump which uses a different technique.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

sticking with my original advice...at least til you have the feel of the jump...if you pop and you are not ready, or off, you are fukt


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

CassMT said:


> sticking with my original advice...at least til you have the feel of the jump...if you pop and you are not ready, or off, you are fukt


But the way to absorb kick is to push against it and pop. If you try to absorb kick by doing nothing you get pulled into the transition of the jump and thrown off balance.

Popping isn't rocket science. You can (and should) practice the technique on just flat ground. You don't even have to pop hard because pop isn't about how high you pop anyway, it's about setting you up for a balanced, stable air.


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

you absorb by absorbing, not by doing nothing...thats all i'll say

OP, let us know what happens


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## walove (May 1, 2009)

Jed said:


> Popping isn't rocket science.


but projectile motion is... with air resistance the optimal take off angle for the furthest distance is around 40 degrees. Id guess an average park take off is in the 30 degree range, beginner jumps being less. Steep jumps are in the 45+ degree range. When trying to get comfortable with a new jump i prefer to hit it with the least amount of speed needed to make it to the landing. Later on add more speed and more pop to take the jump bigger. 

When you pop you are effectively increasing you take off angle. On steep jumps this reduces the distance traveled, meaning you need more speed to make it to the landing. If you stand tall at the beginning of the take off and slowly compress as you reach the lip you can effectively decrease the your take off angle making it closer to the optimal 40 degrees, giving you more distance at less speed. You will see this in boardercross where riders want to limit the height they get off the jump.

The OP hasnt posted much about where his trouble is arising, or the true shape of the jump other than it seems steep to him. Some steep jumps have an very abrupt angle in the transition between the down hill slope and the the beginning of the take off. This puts many beginners off balance before they reach the lip. Absorbing this transition, and keeping your body in control up the take off is crucial.


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## Nerozor (Dec 2, 2011)

walove said:


> but projectile motion is... with air resistance the optimal take off angle for the furthest distance is around 40 degrees. Id guess an average park take off is in the 30 degree range, beginner jumps being less. Steep jumps are in the 45+ degree range. When trying to get comfortable with a new jump i prefer to hit it with the least amount of speed needed to make it to the landing. Later on add more speed and more pop to take the jump bigger.
> 
> When you pop you are effectively increasing you take off angle. On steep jumps this reduces the distance traveled, meaning you need more speed to make it to the landing. If you stand tall at the beginning of the take off and slowly compress as you reach the lip you can effectively decrease the your take off angle making it closer to the optimal 40 degrees, giving you more distance at less speed. You will see this in boardercross where riders want to limit the height they get off the jump.
> 
> The OP hasnt posted much about where his trouble is arising, or the true shape of the jump other than it seems steep to him. Some steep jumps have an very abrupt angle in the transition between the down hill slope and the the beginning of the take off. This puts many beginners off balance before they reach the lip. Absorbing this transition, and keeping your body in control up the take off is crucial.


My problem is that I land too much on the rear. The jumps are steep right away, like not much progression in the angle. It goes from flat - steep in a very short distance, I guess u could say. The landing is also pretty steep so its kinda hard to land on the rear lol


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

^ Thats why you pop, to level out and control yourself in the air so you land matching the landing, not the takeoff (backseat).


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)

whichever approach you choose:...



CassMT said:


> keep weight on the front foot at all costs, on the landing too, better to go forward over the handlebars than land on your back or neck/head...stay forward


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## walove (May 1, 2009)

Nerozor said:


> My problem is that I land too much on the rear. The jumps are steep right away, like not much progression in the angle. It goes from flat - steep in a very short distance, I guess u could say. The landing is also pretty steep so its kinda hard to land on the rear lol


your landing on the tail because you are not balanced on the take off

sounds like you letting the abrupt transition from the down hill slope to the take off put you off balance, trying to ollie while your off balance isnt going to help. Work on absorbing the transition by bending your front leg, and putting your weight towards the nose of the board. Stay low with the weight slightly forward as you take off from the lip. Once in the air you need to be looking at the landing and thinking about putting the board down flat, not tail first. Having your weight slightly forward on take off will help you get the nose to come down in the air, pulling the back leg up more than the front will help the board match the angle of the landing. Landing with a little more weight on the front leg will allow you to make a controlled turn after landing, it will also help keep you balance if the transition from the landing to the slope is also abrupt. 

Hang out at the jump for a while and see how other beginners are hitting the feature. Figure out there approach technique and their speed. If its seems that no one can else hit the jump with out gettin bucked then maybe the jump just really sucks.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

Jed said:


> Erm, no offense, but that's really bad advice, please do not do this OP. Sucking your legs in and not popping is basically how you end up getting thrown off balance on a kicky jump.
> 
> To avoid getting thrown off balanced by steep, kicky jumps, focus more on your pop. The more kicky a jump, the more you have to focus on popping with strong legs while you push against the jump that's trying to send you off balanced.
> *
> ...


Ya, have to agree with Jed here.

That's a sure fire way to end up upside down when you hit the landing.


TT


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

This is just stupid and dangerous. Please stop giving bad advice.

The OP needs to pop properly to avoid getting thrown off balance by a steep kicky jump. Every problem he describes is basically a symptom of not using pop to fight against the kick and get a balanced air.

He's already said the jump is steep and kicky and you guys keep giving him random advice that isn't going to solve his initial problem of being thrown off balance by the kick.

Good pop is what he needs to fight the kick of the jump. Period.


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