# Critique my Riding? Park Features



## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

Hey guys,took a shitty cam out with me and did the best I could to capture a few tricks, angle is not the best but I needed access to start/stop the camera since my film crew is busy with Travis Rice etc etc... lol. Anyways, I wanted to get another angle as well and also get some street style rails and some boxes but the battery died.

My critique after watching myself... Go faster and hold my grabs longer. Although from the angle its tough to tell but I did clear the knuckle with no issue every time but I definitely could send it deeper. I actually thought I was holding my grabs longer, but the video doesn't lie... I will work on that next time I'm out. This was my first day spinning more than 1's off this jump,the timing was very different than the 15'ers I'm user too, I was barely spinning at all, I am sure 5's would not be tough... next season. Still - not bad for an old man?







Fixed that for you. To embed youtube, just put the video ID tag: LxyCxZ-KbJ8 in between the


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

I guess I don't know how to embed video:

2011-2012 Park - YouTube


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## dkzach (Jun 30, 2011)

Rabbit hill what an awesome place. theres some real talent there.... 

try tucking your knees more you will find your spins will be more fluid and you will automatically begin to have bigger amplitude that and grabs will be much easier . for tips just watch the guys at rabbit some of those guys are insane!


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

Ya I noticed the bent over deal too, video is so telling... Thats really why I did this so I could see where to improve. I never actually considered that being the reason I was coming off the 50/50's, I assumed I was just jumping too far over or getting the wrong angle. Funny enough my FS spins suffer from inconsistency and unbalance, so perhaps you are bang on. I have been working on getting my knees up more, and it's getting better but the video shows I have room to improve there for sure, especially if I want to spin 5's next season. Some of that is just from being old and not very flexible lol, if I look stiff it's because I am... my IT bands are like steel rods.

Thanks for the critique.

...and for fixing my video


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

On the rail you kind of look a bit Tin Man. Fluidity will come with time because as you get comfortable from practice, you'll relax more etc. Maybe hit them a little slower? You seem to be fighting for balance.

No frontside spins? If you can chuck back 3's of a wedge that big (looks like 25+ foot?), you should be able to spin frontside, too. I (personally) make a mental checklist and make sure to hit a few frontside and backside stuff every time on the hill because I have the tendency to whore certain tricks which limits my improvement in other areas. I've just worked it into my warmup routine and I switch it up. I know, making a checklist for snowboarding sounds lame, and it kind of is, but it helps me make sure I'm not limiting my freestyle riding to only certain things. Might work for you.

I know mute it's an easy grab when going backside, but switching it up might be a good idea. Also, on your second backside 1, I notice you tried to grab really early and immediately had to bail, looked more unstable than your other 1's (which looked legit) and you ended up biffing on the knuckle. I think you are trying to grab before you are really set up and it screwed up your takeoff which is why you looked unstable and crashed. Don't rush the grab.

The last thing I noticed is you kind of flail when opening up and releasing the grab landing your back 3's. I don't think there's anything you can do for this, just keep hitting those and it'll naturally clean itself up as you get really used to it.

I hope this doesn't come off as harsh because overall your riding is very solid and you have a good base to expand on. I would imagine next year you'll be chucking 540 rodeos, 7's and doing some gnarly rail stuff so keep it up!


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## srdeo (Jan 29, 2012)

I agree you look alot more advanced on jumped than on rails. I also notice bent over at the waist thing (but only on heel side. toe side looks fine). It might be why you look little sketch on the approach to the jump (since you started approach on heelside turn). Work on your heelside carve. it will give you more control coming off the jump leading to better control in air. Just learn to carve on your heelside on regular trail or ride half pipe. (pull your shoulder back so as result you are little more upright) It will help you tons on jumps. Just nick picking since your jumps look ver solid. I would have never thought this was your first day doing 3's. they look really solid. As far as rails, I am in no position to give any advice since i am awful.


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## gprider_capita (Feb 17, 2011)

CheeseforSteeze's statement definitely is true. just keep on riding as much as possible because last year i was at your skill level and now im doing Rodeo 540's, 720's, Tamedogs, and 270 off or on rails.


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

CheeseForSteeze said:


> On the rail you kind of look a bit Tin Man. Fluidity will come with time because as you get comfortable from practice, you'll relax more etc. Maybe hit them a little slower? You seem to be fighting for balance.
> 
> No frontside spins? If you can chuck back 3's of a wedge that big (looks like 25+ foot?), you should be able to spin frontside, too. I (personally) make a mental checklist and make sure to hit a few frontside and backside stuff every time on the hill because I have the tendency to whore certain tricks which limits my improvement in other areas. I've just worked it into my warmup routine and I switch it up. I know, making a checklist for snowboarding sounds lame, and it kind of is, but it helps me make sure I'm not limiting my freestyle riding to only certain things. Might work for you.
> 
> ...


I feel as stiff on rails as I look, its just not my comfort zone. I hit boxes, tubes and street style rails but I just need to do more of it, this year was the first time hitting anything other than a flat box.

As for FS - I can do FS 3's, just not as well so I leave them on the 15 footers for now... last thing I need at my age is a big crash off a 25.... when I feel confident with them I'll move them to the bigger jump.

I do switch up the grabs quite a bit actually, just today I was trying to work on my timing off the bigger jump and didn't want the grab to be a part of the thought process, hence mute all day lol. Definitely can try and be more patient with the grabs, it doesn't feel rushed but I can see it on the tape.

The flail on landing - my biggest disgust with this footy... I really reach for the landing with my feet and throw my arms up. I think I need to hold my grab longer and just stay compressed... I'll have to watch some videos of guys like Mark Mcmorris and Seb Toots... these guys are so compressed the whole time.

I did't take any of this as harsh, If I was worried about that I wouldn't put it on here. I appreciate the honesty and the input... I want to get better not stay the same.

Thanks!


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

srdeo said:


> I agree you look alot more advanced on jumped than on rails. I also notice bent over at the waist thing (but only on heel side. toe side looks fine). It might be why you look little sketch on the approach to the jump (since you started approach on heelside turn). Work on your heelside carve. it will give you more control coming off the jump leading to better control in air. Just learn to carve on your heelside on regular trail or ride half pipe. (pull your shoulder back so as result you are little more upright) It will help you tons on jumps. Just nick picking since your jumps look ver solid. I would have never thought this was your first day doing 3's. they look really solid. As far as rails, I am in no position to give any advice since i am awful.


Sorry - not first day doing 3's - just off a jump this big. I think what your seeing on my heelside is simply me being uncomfortable hitting a big jump and being a bit freaked to get my setup carve right lol.. I assure you when I am just freeriding my carving is quite strong


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## CheeseForSteeze (May 11, 2011)

Oh, gotcha on he grab thingy. I have natural safety grab, too, usually indy on frontside or stalefish on straight airs and backside.



Casual said:


> I want to get better not stay the same.


That's pretty much all ya need right there. There are technical details here and there but I think once a rider has learned front/back 3's, everything else is just a matter of time, commitment and work. And fun! Most important ingredient.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Casual,
Just wondering, when you were doing your straight airs and grabs you always came in like you were setting up for a spin then scrubbing speed in the transition area on your heel edge before taking off straight. 
How come???

Looked like fun though, hoping to advance to that level next year.


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## srdeo (Jan 29, 2012)

Casual said:


> Sorry - not first day doing 3's - just off a jump this big. I think what your seeing on my heelside is simply me being uncomfortable hitting a big jump and being a bit freaked to get my setup carve right lol.. I assure you when I am just freeriding my carving is quite strong


Makes sense. I thought it look little more like a mini speed check than a turn.
What snowwolf said about the grab makes alot of sense to me also (lifting your board up vs bending down to grab).
I was thinking you weren't getting much pop off the jump but maybe that's why.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

Seems really god to me. You have a great base and seem to know what you're doing and make it looks good. Just ry to hold you're grabs a little onger and be more comfrotable when you come out of spins.


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

slyder said:


> Casual,
> Just wondering, when you were doing your straight airs and grabs you always came in like you were setting up for a spin then scrubbing speed in the transition area on your heel edge before taking off straight.
> How come???
> 
> Looked like fun though, hoping to advance to that level next year.


Mostly just to get used to a line because I was preparing myself for the spins. I often just hit this thing straight. Taking it slow lol.

Snowolf - I'm 34. To be honest I don't feel this is too big to learn on, I feel very comfortable with smaller features especially backside, its this size of jump that I am trying to progress to and its the timing that is changing my style a bit. I will continue to hit this but with some new feedback and seeing video of myself too learn from. As for FS I'll work on that a bit and then take it here. I understand what your saying, but I wasn't freaked out hitting this, it was a lot of fun. I was just not super comfortable with the line and setup turns at first, but it got feeling like home by the end of the day.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Good shit man! :thumbsup: I like the vid, having the camera on the whole time in the same position allows you to critique each jump the same way. It was hard to tell from the shot but it looked like you were landing just at the very start of the landing ramp. Might be worth doing a few more straight airs with less speed checking to get used to going bigger?!? :dunno:

Other than that it looked pretty good to me. I know what you're talking about with the hand flailing, and sometimes I have to mentally force myself to hold the grab a little longer to stop that. 

Looks good though I'm going to take my tripod with me next time at the hill and put the Contour on it beside a jump. Just gotta find one where nobody will steal it! 

The other thing that sucks for me is my laps are about 15 minutes, so there would be a lot of useless footage! I guess I could see what other people were doing on that jump and compare!?!


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

poutanen said:


> Good shit man! :thumbsup: I like the vid, having the camera on the whole time in the same position allows you to critique each jump the same way. It was hard to tell from the shot but it looked like you were landing just at the very start of the landing ramp. Might be worth doing a few more straight airs with less speed checking to get used to going bigger?!? :dunno:


Ya I need to get down the ramp further for sure, I have straight aired a lot further and later that day I was sending them deeper... its a confidence thing I guess, but landing anywhere near the knuckle is getting into danger territory. All my landings were soft though so it was fun, just need to get that heelside speedcheck out of there and send it! As for the camera angle, it was really nice for technical review, just no style points for videography lol. Maybe you can convince your chase cam to sit still for a while


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Casual said:


> As for the camera angle, it was really nice for technical review, just no style points for videography lol. Maybe you can convince your chase cam to sit still for a while


I think I'd have better luck perfecting cold fusion! :laugh: She's pretty good at stopping near jumps for me though. After my last post I was thinking about an off-piste jump I was hitting a few times on saturday. It had a great ramp and the landing was all powder. I was going much bigger off it than I normally do. I guess if I setup the cam on a tripod, I could just hike back up and run the jump 5-6 times that way, then move on to another feature and do the same?

I was finally trying some backside 180s saturday and it was a lot of fun even if I failed on half of them!  Would love to have this kind of footage to really see what I'm doing right and wrong.

Not that I'm a video pro, but I think a few angles of the same jump would make for a cool vid. Like have a few of the angle you had looking down the ramp, then a helmet cam view or two, then put the camera under you as you sail over it, then finally one looking back up from the bottom of the landing. Only trouble is you'd have to screw around with the camera 4 times which would be aborted runs, or get someone to give you a hand.


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## Intheshit (Jan 8, 2012)

guess snowwolf already said it.

When I saw the first clips I was surprised you were able to pull some of those. (nice by the way, got some stank on those grabs 

def something I learned skateboarding, keep your back straight at all times. its rougher on the muscles but pays off in the long run and really changes the way you feel your trick. 

I think that will loosen up your riding , giving you a really natural look. Also you could think about what you are doing with your legs on rails, seem a little stiff. HEY, I just realized you should maybe try hitting bigger rails, and ones that are higher up off the ground. Those low to the ground ones are really ugly and in my opinion lend an easy slide off, where as a big rail forces you to commit or jump off- meaning you have to be more balanced to even attempt getting on. I am better on kink downs and ride-off's because generally i hit them faster so that if i fuck it up i clear the rail and land in some snow.

good consistency man im kinda jealous... used to love that stalefish or melon or whatever the hell it is- more of a method man now.


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

LOL! Yes unfortuntely GF's have minds of their own... so lame.


I was goint to try a few angles but my cam died... I guess leaving it on for 45 min straight kills the battery? Who knew lol. I would definitaley get some tape even if it means hiking, doesn't matter what feature. I learn so much from tape - I used to setup a tripod at vball practice and watch it later.


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

Intheshit said:


> guess snowwolf already said it.
> 
> When I saw the first clips I was surprised you were able to pull some of those. (nice by the way, got some stank on those grabs
> 
> ...


Thanks for the feedback! The one grab I did was stalefish, just have a hardtime with those due to very stiff legs lol... I'm going to work on my flexibilty this summer... damn aging! As for the rails, I do hit other rails but the cam died lol... that tube was just a warmup, those were my very first tricks of the day... stupid thing is half burried in the snow lol.


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## ThunderChunky (Oct 1, 2011)

ThunderChunky said:


> Seems really god to me. You have a great base and seem to know what you're doing and make it looks good. Just ry to hold you're grabs a little onger and be more comfrotable when you come out of spins.


I don't know if I was drunk when I was writing this or what? :dunno:


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

ThunderChunky said:


> I don't know if I was drunk when I was writing this or what? :dunno:


:laugh: I assumed you were esl! Maybe German or Chinese haha!


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Okay so here's my attempt at sort of the same filming style as yours... I chickened out and didn't do any spin moves on this jump. Tried a few little 180s elsewhere but nothing fancy. 

Anyway, tips, pointers, critque!?! Thanks! :thumbsup:


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

poutanen said:


> Okay so here's my attempt at sort of the same filming style as yours... I chickened out and didn't do any spin moves on this jump. Tried a few little 180s elsewhere but nothing fancy.
> 
> Anyway, tips, pointers, critque!?! Thanks! :thumbsup:


Looks like fun, lots of snow there hey? It's pretty tough to critique of a jump like this but here is what I saw:

1. Good technique on the butt slide! You must have many years of tobogganing behind you.
2. Be more careful taking your board off, that could have been a long run to retreive it hahah!!

Seriously though:

- Looks like you are in the back seat, which isn't so bad landing in flat powder but off a big park jump that could end badly. Try popping a bit more with both feet and jumping forward a bit. This should get you flat in the air and stomping on both feet instead of your tail. You don't want to let the jump dictate the angle you will be at in the air.

- When you do your method, straighten out your back leg and do a slight backside shifty for style points 

- I wouldn't expect you to spin off this jump, there is no set up turn or real lip to do anything off. Find some hard packed side hits and do them there... 180's are pretty easy but a lot of fun. Usually when I ride the mountain I ride 50% switch doing FS/BS 180's off anything and everything I see like rollers and side hits, nollie 180's and 1/2 cabs are fun to add into that mix as well. This will really help your confidence with basic spins and makes riding with your GF a bit more fun lol.

Sorry I can't offer anymore advice then this, a small park jump like 5-10'er might be better for this experiment.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Casual said:


> Looks like fun, lots of snow there hey? It's pretty tough to critique of a jump like this but here is what I saw:
> 
> 1. Good technique on the butt slide! You must have many years of tobogganing behind you.
> 2. Be more careful taking your board off, that could have been a long run to retreive it hahah!!
> ...


Lol thanks! Yeah the buttslide had to stay in the video. Was the best part of the day! And I figured the comic relief of the unstrapping would help too.

The wipeout actually happened because I was landing off a different jump in deeper powder and I didn't get the tail down first. I was too busy looking at the ground to see if I'd pass another guy's landing point!

Thanks for the spin tips, I wig out in the park cause I'll be landing on hardpack, so I always figured it'd be easier to learn in the powder. I've started trying little BS 180's off little bumps in the snow everywhere on the hill and I can see how it could get addictive. Methinks I'll take your advice and spend a few runs doing that while boarding with the GF! 

For whatever reason I've always jumped riding forward, done a BS 180 and landed switch. I suppose jumping switch would help me get over the mental block as I'd be landing comfortably forward? I guess this is why people say 360's are easier than 180's? Probably heading to COP soon as we have some rain cheques we have to use up before they expire. I'm going to try this again off a little park feature and start trying some spins. Thanks for the tips! :thumbsup:


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

poutanen said:


> Lol thanks! Yeah the buttslide had to stay in the video. Was the best part of the day! And I figured the comic relief of the unstrapping would help too.
> 
> The wipeout actually happened because I was landing off a different jump in deeper powder and I didn't get the tail down first. I was too busy looking at the ground to see if I'd pass another guy's landing point!
> 
> ...


You should not be "getting the tail down" though, you should be landing on both feet  This is critical, your shoulders and board need to move in the same kind of arch that the jump does, so you start at say 30 deg back, in the apex of the jump you should be flat in the air and then your weight, shoulders and board should move forward/angle down to match the landing. In powder I guess a little more on the tail but not heavy like you were on your jumps. Your shoulders match the takeoff still when your landing.

Jumping switch and landing reg is an easy way to land but start small, I'm talking little rollers and side hits. this is just a good way to connect your switch and reg riding, not saying learn switch 180's instead of regular. Anyways its a really fun way to ride. Ex. Ride reg, do FS 180 - ride sw then do a switch BS 180, then BS 180, then FS half cab, then nollie 180... you just keep doing all these combos of 8 tricks both reg/switch. As for learing park in the powder - not sure, you can't slide out of anything under-rotated and the jumps are never groomed or level. If you start small and take the right steps you should be fine in the park. Just do it all flat land and off rollers first. Watch videos on youtube some of them are really good. in fact, just watch all of them because having 10 different people explain the same thing is a good way to not miss anything.

Once you feel comfortable riding switch you will feel better landing 180's, thats really the key. I ride switch to about 80% of my ability that I ride reg, which means I can charge pretty hard switch and I'm not afraid to hit a black with moguls switch, but maybe not through the tress at the same pace as reg, and not off any big jumps.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Casual said:


> You should not be "getting the tail down" though, you should be landing on both feet  This is critical, your shoulders and board need to move in the same kind of arch that the jump does, so you start at say 30 deg back, in the apex of the jump you should be flat in the air and then your weight, shoulders and board should move forward/angle down to match the landing. In powder I guess a little more on the tail but not heavy like you were on your jumps. Your shoulders match the takeoff still when your landing.
> 
> *SNIP*
> 
> Once you feel comfortable riding switch you will feel better landing 180's, thats really the key. I ride switch to about 80% of my ability that I ride reg, which means I can charge pretty hard switch and I'm not afraid to hit a black with moguls switch, but maybe not through the tress at the same pace as reg, and not off any big jumps.


Actually I was landing tail down on purpose, gotta land that way in powder! I'll watch the clip again when I get home to see.

At the moment I'd say I'm about 50% comfortable with switch. I'll ride choppy blues and clean blacks switch but probably cruising about 70% of my regular speed. Another thing I like to do while riding with the GF is tail her riding switch, I think it's time to start doing that more often.

Thanks again!


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

poutanen said:


> Actually I was landing tail down on purpose, gotta land that way in powder! I'll watch the clip again when I get home to see.


Fair enough, but you look like your in the backseat right off the lip, you should be able to land in the powder with your shoulders level and your weight like 60/40 toward the back foot, but not way leaned back. Anyways check the vid and see what you think.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Casual said:


> Fair enough, but you look like your in the backseat right off the lip, you should be able to land in the powder with your shoulders level and your weight like 60/40 toward the back foot, but not way leaned back. Anyways check the vid and see what you think.


Went back and looked on slow mo and I see what you mean on jump #2... My board's probably on a 30 degree angle when I touch down! The rest seemed okay though, tip was about 8" off the snow when the tail touched down which is what I'd need in that powder. It's really dramatic on that one jump though!!!  Actually now that I look at it both the first jumps were that way.

1st...










2nd...










3rd...










4th...











Interesting that both of the first jumps were just my traditional grab and I was landing way back, while the next two method/suitcase grabs are something I only bust out for special occasions, and I was landing more flat and actually flying farther!?! See now this is why I think this video business is good, I wouldn't have ever known that if it wasn't on video!


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## Casual (Feb 9, 2011)

Video don't lie! I guess the key there is to shift your weight forward a bit more off the takeoff, like I mentioned earlier - don't let the jump dictate your body position... you gotta own that shit 

*notice in the last one your shoulders are level but your board is a bit angled - thats better... #2 eek!!!


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Casual said:


> *notice in the last one your shoulders are level but your board is a bit angled - thats better... #2 eek!!!


The funny thing is a usually don't have a problem landing jumps. In fact I've never fallen backwards while landing! The wipeout in this video I was too far forward and the nose dug in the powder, so I don't know what to do! I do a fair bit of jumping, usually one or two every run, but maybe it's something I need to focus on and do 5-10 on every run for a few days. Can't hurt!

Thanks again for the tips! I didn't catch the friggin tail down falcon coming in for a landing, uhhh, landing.


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