# Watch my video, cringe, give me feedback



## john doe (Nov 6, 2009)

I saw nothing really wrong there. You were very un-dynamic in your core but that is to be expected with cracked ribs. Your arms were moving too much but as you said it was to compensate for your ribs. Work on getting your legs looser and getting the speed up will help the flow of the turns. You're doing great.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Nicely done...doing great:thumbsup:

you are kind of stiff, loosen up your lower body...move your knees and hips around....use your front knee as your steering wheel/joy stick to steer

riding abit open at times

get on your nose abit more...move your hips/pelvis fore, aft and across the mid line of the board...you are too static

straighten up your back and posture...you want to stack or align your hips over your ankles....sink in the knees instead of bending at the waist...you want to rotate forward or tip-up your hips/pelvis...to do this squeeze your butt cheeks together and tighten up your abs. Visually you want to stack your body over the board and think of the board as the bottom of a cereal box and you want to keep your shoulders and hips inside of the box and also have them to be parallel with the board.

I wish that I would have been riding that well at day ten.


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## Jed (May 11, 2011)

I'm not going to comment too much on the upper body since you said you had cracked ribs and that makes it hard to guess how you'd move normally, but I'd say for now work on your lower body movement.

*1) Get those knees working*

I noticed your knees were basically locked into that bent knee position the entire time. I'd recommend doing an exercise I call 'small and tall' to make turns easier, more dynamic and get you using your knees.

Basically you want to make yourself tall when you start a turn and small again when you're riding normally.

So you're basically lifting your body up and pushing off both feet suddenly just as you're about to turn, this will take the pressure off your snowboard as you start to turn your snowboard and as you come back down the pressure of your weight coming back down will help you power your turn more.

(I made a blog about it here if you need a diagram - 'Tall & Small' - How To Offload Pressure For More Snowboard Control When Turning)

So you want to get into a rhythm of kind of bopping up, then back down every time you go to turn. You push up to lessen the pressure and lower weight on your snowboard, then come back down again after initiating the turn to power through the new change of direction.

*2) Start being more dynamic with your upper body and knees (once your ribs heal)*

Right now you're riding very passive, which could be due to the rib injury, but once that's better you want to try to power through those turns by really pushing your knees, hips and shoulders into the direction as you turn.

So instead of turning toeside then sitting and waiting for the board to turn around toeside, you want to turn toeside, then drive your knee, hips and shoulders toeside.

Really be active about getting your whole body pushing into the turn and that's the trick to go from letting your snowboard control your turns to being in control of your snowboard and being able to ride more tight lines like tree runs and black runs where tight, quick turns become important.

The rule of thumb when it comes to being dynamic with your body during those early stages is if you think you're doing a motion 90%, you're probably doing it 10-20%, so really get that body involved and push into those turns and you'll find your snowboard responds a lot better and faster.

Hope that helps, keep it up, you're doing great.


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## chomps1211 (Mar 30, 2011)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Nicely done...doing great:thumbsup:
> 
> ....riding a bit open at times
> 
> ...




Day 10? Yeah, I'd say you were doing quite well. Especially with cracked ribs! Like wrathful pointed out, I don't think I was that smooth transitioning from heel to toe after only 9-10 days. (...and I didn't have any cracked ribs!) 

I wanted to mention something I did notice, (...or thought I did anyway.) Now I'm no expert, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but on many of your transitions from heel to toe side turns. It looked to me as tho you were initiating the toe side turn with your shoulders alright, but immediately counter rotating them. (i.e. "opening them up,") while still on your toe edge.

I got the sense that as soon as you went toe side and you began traversing the slope with your back (heel side,) down slope, you were trying to keep your upper body (head, shoulders) oriented/looking down hill.

I think this might be a natural tendency, (...heel side is the blind side in snowboarding.) but it's something that can cause you to catch an edge and get slammed down on your back. When you r in a toe side turn, with your shoulders open towards your heel edge you body is in essence trying to turn the board "both" ways at once!

Something that helped me to keep my shoulders aligned and in "the cereal box" was placing my back hand on my upper hip or thigh. Sometimes even grabbing a handful of pant leg to keep it there. With my back shoulder tied to an aligned position relative to the board, I had less tendency to open my upper body and this forced me concentrate on using my knees and a forward weighted stance with my entire body to turn the board.

Keep up the good work, and i'm certain the lessons you have planned will be a big help!


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## ARSENALFAN (Apr 16, 2012)

What the hell is wrong with that? I would say wholly shit fantastic for day 3. Now time to get skitracks and up the speed to 60-70km/h….lol. Good job.:thumbsup:


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## neni (Dec 24, 2012)

You're doing very good :eusa_clap:
Can't remember my early days but I'm very sure I was still collecting scorpions n bruises on day 3 and for sure not happily cruising like you  I'm sure, you soon will ride pretty confident and dynamic. :thumbsup:


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## Mystery2many (Aug 14, 2013)

Awesome job man!

Looks like everyone has already pointed you in the right direction. You will be shredding hard really soon.

I'll keep it simple. Be really confident in your edges, believe they will hold you and trust they will stop you if need be. Your body will reflex your confidence and it will all come together. You got the skill, now just confidence confidence confidence.

Welcome to the best sport ever!


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

*doing GREAT!*

I would have to repeat what Jed said...

instead of a posture like "riding a horse"....you can turn your upper body (when your ribs heal up), slightly towards the nose of your board (but don't open your shoulders a bunch)....that'll get your hips a bit more turned out of that "horse" stance.

you're not opening your shoulders a ton which is GREAT!!.....keepin' em nice and stacked over your board for the most part.....awesome

As you build more muscle memory you'll start to see how you can use the parts of your body dynamically......YOU'RE DOIN' FINE!!....:eusa_clap:
keep us updated on your progress!
be careful wit dem ribzies


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## CassMT (Mar 14, 2013)




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## Kevin137 (May 5, 2013)

Just try to relax more, you seem tense but all good for the amount you have done... 

Where do you board...??? I am across the border in Norway, i use Kongsberg on a regular basis if you are ever over this way message me...


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

I noticed you heel side turns looked better than your toe turns (not much but still apparent) and my advice would be to shift your hips forward on the toe turn. You are riding in a semi-squat position the whole time, and you really need to get a pelvic thrust motion going on with the toe side turn. This will line your hips over the toe edge and make the toe turn much easier.

In short:
Semi-squat on the heel side
Pelvic thrust on the toe side.


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## shauna03 (Nov 12, 2013)

Looks pretty good actually. 

Work on utilizing the edges of your board more while you're carving, instead of skidding. The problem with skidding is that since your board is staying flat on the ground while you're moving it side to side, if one of your edges bites the snow or an ice clump, you'll be on the ground before you know it. 

Props to you for boarding with a cracked rib.. Just have fun and stay safe


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

Wow ppl, I’m a little overwhelmed by the response here! Thanks for all the encouragement. It’s all gold feedback but I’ll have to ask you to elaborate on some of it.

(As an initial remark the clip was recorded on day 8, not day 3 - so I don’t have quite the potential some might think.) 



wrathfuldeity said:


> get on your nose abit more…


This was perhaps the one comment I didn’t expect. If you look at e.g. 1:27 and 2:20 you can see that I’m actually almost over my front foot, weight distribution was as much as 80/20 at times, and it was because I was trying to get more speed. Or did you mean something else?



wrathfuldeity said:


> move your hips/pelvis fore, aft and across the mid line of the board...you are too static
> 
> straighten up your back and posture...you want to stack or align your hips over your ankles....sink in the knees instead of bending at the waist...you want to rotate forward or tip-up your hips/pelvis...to do this squeeze your butt cheeks together and tighten up your abs.


Yeah, my posture sucks in general - not only when I’m snowboarding. But I'm working on it! Super interesting pointer with moving the pelvis, will definitely have to try that the next time I ride.



Jed said:


> I noticed your knees were basically locked into that bent knee position the entire time. I'd recommend doing an exercise I call 'small and tall' to make turns easier, more dynamic and get you using your knees.


I’ve tried that to a certain extent and noticed it’s considerably easier on a steeper run. But I haven’t been able to figure out the timing of going tall and small by myself, and I shall therefore study your blog very, very carefully.



Jed said:


> The rule of thumb when it comes to being dynamic with your body during those early stages is if you think you're doing a motion 90%, you're probably doing it 10-20%...


Sound like the stuff I keep telling my dance students. Figures. 



chomps1211 said:


> It looked to me as tho you were initiating the toe side turn with your shoulders alright, but immediately counter rotating them. (i.e. "opening them up,") while still on your toe edge.
> 
> I got the sense that as soon as you went toe side and you began traversing the slope with your back (heel side,) down slope, you were trying to keep your upper body (head, shoulders) oriented/looking down hill.
> 
> I think this might be a natural tendency, (...heel side is the blind side in snowboarding.) but it's something that can cause you to catch an edge and get slammed down on your back. When you r in a toe side turn, with your shoulders open towards your heel edge you body is in essence trying to turn the board "both" ways at once!


I actually think you’re spot on here. I’ve also noticed that I tend to end up in the back seat after toeside turns on more steep slopes, and that’s something I’ll have to continue working on. Both are probably just fear of having my back turned downhill.



Mystery2many said:


> Be really confident in your edges, believe they will hold you and trust they will stop you if need be.


That’s one thing I haven’t been able to be. But it’s a Burton Blunt with “rail ready” edges, so I’m thinking of tuning them so they get a little more bite.



shelbybeck said:


> instead of a posture like "riding a horse"....you can turn your upper body (when your ribs heal up), slightly towards the nose of your board (but don't open your shoulders a bunch)....that'll get your hips a bit more turned out of that "horse" stance.


So...I should turn the hips a little forward and stay parallel to the board with my shoulders? That seems a little...weird. Please explain.



Kevin137 said:


> Where do you board...??? I am across the border in Norway, i use Kongsberg on a regular basis if you are ever over this way message me...


As you may already know Malmö is absolutely flat and rarely covered with snow, so usually I’ve been going to Vallåsen in the south of Halland, which is a ridiculous little place full of insane Danes who don’t understand fuck about slope ethics (but I know you have your share of those in Norway too). And then I was 5 days in Trysil in March, and I’m possibly going there again next March if me and my ex can somehow work things out again. If I’m passing by I’ll definitely let you know!



shauna03 said:


> The problem with skidding is that since your board is staying flat on the ground while you're moving it side to side, if one of your edges bites the snow or an ice clump, you'll be on the ground before you know it.


Yup, know all about that part. My favourite is catching an edge on the toeside of my back foot at the beginning of a heelside turn. Mother fuckeeeer!!! 



shauna03 said:


> Just have fun and stay safe


Safe? It’s snowboarding. 


Once again many thanks to all of you! Just because I didn't comment specifically on something you wrote doesn't mean I'm not taking it in. On the contrary, I'm all over it.

At the end of this season I’ll try to record a new video and who knows, at that point I might be so good that I can put a MID tempo swing tune in it.


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

wrathfuldiety and shelbybeck, I'd greatly appreciate a follow-up on the things I commented above. Thanks


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

ok...ima try to elaboarate on the turning the pelvis, but still staying mostly parallel thing...

if you can picture this......in your boots, your feet are not always completely "flat" and don't need to be.
for the most part,...you don't want to be tweaking your back foot TOO much..
(that's what I was doing in my thread "crushing my back foot arch into the board")....but, your rear foot should be able to move some laterally in your boot. When you slightly shift/turn your hips toward the front of your board....your rear foot will pronate just slightly in your boot. The way it feels sometimes for me is that that slight pronation of the rear foot,....causes a more pronounced pushing down into the board of the front foot outside edge.
sometimes,.....when I'm initiating turning toeside,....It actually feels like I'm pushing my big toe and ball of my rear foot into the toe edge., but going back to flat once I'm in the turn. I know this sounds weird, and it's all happening so fast, that breaking down the movement is hard to describe. 

edit: (I know we said to "initiate" a turn with the FRONT of the board, and that's true....but the follow-up dynamic of the BACK foot is so quick, that sometimes they "feel" simultaneous---hope this makes sense).


But when I turn my hips slightly towards the nose of my board, I think of "hugging" the board with my arms.......lol
like, the back of my front shoulder stays pretty even with the heelside edge, and my rear arm is alittle forward and slightly out over the toe edge.
this feeling kindof reminds me of a "hug"....like my arms could hug the area including the nose (front arm)of the board and the front 2/3rds of the toe edge of the board(rear arm). This is how it feels to me....but not when I started.
As I gained experience,......it began to feel this way because it feels "stronger", more "in control" and "ready" to react.

Let's just say......just because you're riding a board sideways down the hill doesn't mean your body is COMPLETELY sideways......there is a slight turning of the upper body....which in turn effects your hips as well.

when you get really good,.....you'll actually be able to open your shoulders ALOT, but still get the board to track relatively straight. And this can be done on your toes OR heels,.....by counter rotation. 
The only thing you need to do is continue to practice. you WILL get it......the main thing you need to do is look where you want to go,.....focus on not opening your shoulders too much. Right now,......if you continue to do this, you will keep building muscle memory and you will understand.

for fun.....when you're feeling confident......open your shoulders and experience what happens with your board. You will find that when you twist your upper body one way,......the energy will transfer into the board and you can push the opposite way and vice versa. The key is to not get too stuck with blinders on. Play around.....experience different dynamics of cause and effect......if you're getting "tunnel vision" and focusing in too intently,...your riding will be stiff......loosen up,.....change your body position,.....and most of all WATCH really good riders......really OBSERVE how their bodies are over their boards.....how fast they're going.....if you're focusing so much on what you're doing.......you could be missing huge clues all around you!
you'll also see crappy riders,.....riders opening their shoulders and "scraping" down the hill because they refuse to "commit" to turning their body into the "turn". Awareness is key.
good luck and just STAY WITH IT.......you WILL progress!
hope I helped some at least I gave you something to read......haha


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

you can try this too,.....

as you're riding,....try to just loosely go straight on a very mellow slope.....or just stand still.

stand up tall, feet flat, and turn your body slightly towards the nose of your board....

keep your front foot flat,.....but slightly bend the toes of your rear foot so you are kindof slightly "tippy toe'd"

you will see how "pushing up" with your back foot makes your body come more forward.
I'm not saying you should ride like this,.....what I'm saying is that there are a lot of little,
subtle movements that are going on when you ride "dynamically". If you're really stiff,
it's productive to just play around and experiment with a lot of different things while still staying in the "reality zone"....haha

play around with it!!


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

another thing you can do is put your board on at home on some carpet....

strap in and start playin' around. Press it,....turn your body,....lean from side to side......FEEL what kind of possible reactions your movements would have on the snow......experiment with the bendability of the board.....torsionally rotate the board......

all these things are input to your brain and will help your brain/body understand the physics/dynamics that are occurring.


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

btw.......what are your binding settings?.....
this could also be creating some issues.....


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

Thank you! I haven't decided on binding angles yet (see: 10 days) but mostly I've been going with +15/-15 since it's a true twin board and I've been trying to learn riding switch from the start (it actually took me three days to decide that I was in fact regular). But I've also gone with +12/-12 and +18/-9 (the last one felt weird), and I think the video was shot with +12/-12. Will also try positive angles.

It actually feels a bit like I should go with a larger angle on my back foot but that's due to an assymmetry in my hips (stiff left, over agile right) and I don't want to make things worse.


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

Anticrobotic said:


> Thank you! I haven't decided on binding angles yet (see: 10 days) but mostly I've been going with +15/-15 since it's a true twin board and I've been trying to learn riding switch from the start (it actually took me three days to decide that I was in fact regular). But I've also gone with +12/-12 and +18/-9 (the last one felt weird), and I think the video was shot with +12/-12. Will also try positive angles.
> 
> It actually feels a bit like I should go with a larger angle on my back foot but that's due to an assymmetry in my hips (stiff left, over agile right) and I don't want to make things worse.


well, if it's any consolation,.....It has taken me awhile to really "get comfortable" with my body positioning on the board. 
I find that a +15/-9 is suited to my riding. The front foot is ducked nicely, and the rear foot is just slightly angled. It never interferes with my switch riding and it allows me to flat base nicely when I need to. give it a try tell me what you think!....
the truth is that it may take you awhile to really decide what suits you....
It's all a journey to learn about ourselves and what we're capable of as human beings.....the trick is to never give up.....and don't get down on yourself....
I struggle with that ALOT.....but because I never gave up I'm a really strong rider now and thankful for my skills!.....but I'm always continuing to progress.....
I hope you have loads of fun and that your heart is filled with joy from this sport like mine is!......I sure wish I had those beautiful mountains that you do.....Norway is beautiful.....is that where you're from?


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

now don't you WORRY!!!....hahaha......

I was watching your video again, and based on what I see you are going to get really good!!......

your form is actually superb for a beginner, and the legs thing is just your body/brain's way of trying to be more stable so you don't fall.

as you continue to progress.....the "shifting" of your lower body will come,
just be patient and continue to practice.....

but I predict your riding will be loose, confident and strong by the end of the season, especially if you're working with a good instructor.....

cheers!!

ps..lol.......I was lookin' at your highbacks alittle closer......what is your forward lean set at?
it's ok to have a tiny bit.....but if it's more than say 3 or 5 degrees you may want to set it back.
too much forward lean can make it a lot harder and weirder to go heelside. just a heads up.

also, are you SURE your front binding is at +15 in the vid?.....lol....it looks like it's angled more.
hard to see though.....
try that +15/-9 and see if you like it.......and make SURE you understand how to mount your bindings. Not saying you don't, but if there's any question in your mind that you may not fully understand it.....read up some more about it or post a thread if you have any "grey areas".....


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## Bparmz (Sep 7, 2011)

For your 3rd day, that is a lot of progress! You're doing great. Few things I noticed:

Like someone else has pointed out, stick that pelvis out on the toeside, think of it as trying to get your bellybutton over your toe edge. Heelside looks correct in general, but try to straighten your back as of others have stated. 

Think of going from heelside to toeside and vice versa as hump and dump. Toeside, you want your pelvis sticking out over your toe edge, the hump. Heelside you want to be in a position like you're going to sit down, the dump. 

It seems like you're getting the concept of shifting your weight toward the nose to initiate the turn which is good, but you can exaggerate it even more; play around next time, try riding with your weight all the forward on your nose and see how that feels and then ride a little bit with your weight way back on the tail. When you have your weight on the nose, it will be much easier to get into the turn, but the turn will not feel locked in once initiated. When you weight is back on the tail, it should feel like it is a lot more difficult to initiate a turn but once youre into the turn, it will feel much more locked in. Combining these fore and aft movements is what makes up a basic finished turn along with staying stacked over your board with your knees bent to absorb any bumps and what not. It is kind of hard to explain this over a message so it may be a bit confusing, sorry if thats the case.

Another small thing I noticed, a few times you were looking down at the snow for a decent amount of time. You will here a lot of instructors say something along the lines of "look where you want to go," its something we say, at least where i work to get whoever we are teaching to stop looking down because if you're looking down at the ground, where do you think you're going to end up? On the ground. Haha.

Good job so far!:thumbsup:


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## shelbybeck (Feb 27, 2011)

Bparmz said:


> Think of going from heelside to toeside and vice versa as hump and dump
> 
> 
> > lolololol:laugh:


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## cozmo (Dec 12, 2012)

Very impressive for day 3! 
Takes cojones to put urself out here on video as a beginner.
Loved the music, its the kinda music i ride to.
One thing my teach told me and i think i saw u doing is dont "rudder steer" with ur back arm. Make the turn from your core instead of flinging your arm around to made the turn.
Usually when im in the lift i check other boarders and see them do exactly that and from what ive learned its poor form. (more common in Europe then in US said my teach)


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

Anticrobotic said:


> Yeah, my posture sucks in general - not only when I’m snowboarding. But I'm working on it! Super interesting pointer with moving the pelvis, will definitely have to try that the next time I ride.


The pelvis is your cog (center of gravity) and moving it around helps in turning. Pelvic thrust, hump is moving it toward the toe edge and dump is heel edge. Also moving you pelvis/hips shifted sideways toward the nose weights the nose....and at different phases of the turn your cog will travel forward and aft. Start of the turn...on the nose, middle of the turn = centered and end of the turn = aft. In reality it is like you are drawing a figure 8 or infinity sign with your hips in 3-d space...fore/aft, toe/heel side and up/down of you hips/pelvis over your board. And when the rest of your body parts are both stacked and aligned in this dynamic movement, your riding becomes efficient, powerful and flowing because its all working together. Think of the board as the bottom of a cereal box and you want all of your body parts to generally be with in (stacked and align) the cereal box.


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## CERBERUS.lucid (Oct 17, 2013)

Just got out of the office… got lit... watched your video. Hella' chill song & great progress :thumbsup: Enjoy the ride...

Respect…


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

Awesome guys! I have a lot to work with now.



shelbybeck said:


> I was lookin' at your highbacks alittle closer......what is your forward lean set at?
> it's ok to have a tiny bit.....but if it's more than say 3 or 5 degrees you may want to set it back.
> too much forward lean can make it a lot harder and weirder to go heelside. just a heads up.
> 
> also, are you SURE your front binding is at +15 in the vid?.....lol....it looks like it's angled more.


Don't have much forward lean at all, don't see the point of it yet. Might have been just a few degrees just for the sake of it. Depends a lot on the binding but those are freestyle bindings so they're pretty upright in their "0" position..

It might have been on my +18/-9 day. But definitely not more than that, I've never gone beyond +18.



cozmo said:


> Takes cojones to put urself out here on video as a beginner.
> Loved the music, its the kinda music i ride to.


I'm 39 years old, a whole lot of water has passed under my bridge. I have no need of feeling cool or prove things to others. I just need to prove things to myself. 

So glad you liked the music. I'm a Swing dancer so this is what I usually move around to. Although I prefer up tempo on the dance floor. ^^


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## Seppuccu (Dec 4, 2012)

shelbybeck said:


> Norway is beautiful.....is that where you're from?


Close, but not quite. I'm from Sweden. The far south unfortunately, which is almost as flat as Denmark. Almost.


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