# tucking after takeoff



## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

recca7 said:


> Hey, just wondering if the more experienced big air riders had this problem when they first tried going big off a jump. I find that as soon as i leave the apex of a jump, and i'm oliing to try to get even more pop, my body would straighten out itself in mid-air. i'm trying to stay tucked so i can do a couple grabs, but i just find it so hard to bring my knees up. I think it could do with the bindings being too heavy. i do feel as though it's pulling me down, but there has to be something I can do to compensate for that. I want to go even higher but i know if my body is just going to straighten out during mid-flight that's a recipe for disaster, help please!!!


What you are experiencing is extremely common for people starting out on jumps. It is not because the board or binding are too heavy - that is a myth. Basically you are trying to "jump" off the lip like you would if you weren't snowboarding and that is wrong (you said you were ollie-ing... but you don't really know how to ollie properly yet... because if you were doing it correctly, this wouldn't be happening to you).

Basically you need to pop with both feet or ollie... since ollieing takes a lot of timing to do correctly. Let's start just trying to pop with both feet evenly. What want to do is to squat down so that you are really compressed just before you go up the ramp (I assume the takeoff ramp is only like 10 ft long), then as you go up the ramp you gently stand up so that by the time you take off, you are back to normal "snowboard stance." Through the magic of high school physics, which I won't bother you with, this will actually "pops" you up into the air higher and you will suddenly discover you can bring you knees up much easier as if you board and bindings are magically lighter. Again, it's not magic... it's physics... which I guess i basically magic to most people.

You can see Nev Lapwood doing this in this teaser video (check at 0:15, 0:25, 0:38... all three of those are pops... with the last one he is doing what I tried to explain in the previous paragraph.






BTW, if you are wondering whether snowboardaddiction DVD/videos are worth buying - I do recommend them, they are very well made and Nev gives elite level instruction. He even does online coaching where you post videos of yourself and he talks to you on skype to give you tips (next best thing to getting a private lesson yourself at the mountain). It does cost money (versus advice online here) but while there are some very helpful and amazing people on this website, I still think Nev's instruction is superior (i.e. you get what you pay for...)

Disclaimer: I am not in anyway affiliated with Snowboard Addiction.


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## recca7 (Dec 23, 2011)

ok, that's interesting..i'm not actually at the park, i'm just looking for kickers to pop off of along trails. I can do 180s and 360s but i have to really crank myself and it doesn't seem as fluid and smooth as it should probably because of what you were saying, i'm trying to force teh pop with my own might. I'm going to try what you suggested but it will hard be since i'm not doing it off a table top or soemthing, which is why I need to ollie. I guess it could also be that i'm not timing my ollies properly. But come to think of it, i have had that feeling of sailing through the air as if the bindings and board didn't weigh anything. I just haven't been able to recreate it that many times..

thanks!


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

recca7 said:


> ok, that's interesting..i'm not actually at the park, i'm just looking for kickers to pop off of along trails. I can do 180s and 360s but i have to really crank myself and it doesn't seem as fluid and smooth as it should probably because of what you were saying, i'm trying to force teh pop with my own might. I'm going to try what you suggested but it will hard be since i'm not doing it off a table top or soemthing, which is why I need to ollie. I guess it could also be that i'm not timing my ollies properly. But come to think of it, i have had that feeling of sailing through the air as if the bindings and board didn't weigh anything. I just haven't been able to recreate it that many times..
> 
> thanks!


Yea, it's not pure brute force - we've all been there starting out so don't worry. If you look at the video at 0:18, you will see the guy in the video pops off a natural feature. Definitely give the video I embedded a few watch to see what he is doing.


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## recca7 (Dec 23, 2011)

hahah yea, some of the stuff i'm going off of is even flatter than that but yea i'm definitely replaying it. The thought of it seems a little odd but i guess i just gotta keep trying to do it until it feels natural..


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

I'm probably a little behind you on learning jumps. I'm currently working with 20-25' jumps, mostly because the Seymour park crew won't make anything smaller despite numerous complaints. 

Anyway, I'm not even _trying_ to ollie on a jump -- my ollies are barely functional at best. I'm just trying to pop, and finding that even pops require just the right timing. When I get the timing wrong, the feeling is like releasing a bow with no arrow on the string -- all the energy goes into rattling the bow. When I do get the timing right on the pop, not only is the air better but the jump is more controlled.

As lonerider has mentioned, your bindings don't weigh anything in midair -- everything is in freefall. What I _think_ you're experiencing is reflex. If your inner ear feels like you're rotating or otherwise not stable in the air, your body is _not_ going to want to tuck and thereby increase the rotation (more physics magic  ). That's like not being able to keep your eyes open during a sneeze -- your brain can make suggestions but the final decisions all happen in the brain stem, and yours is saying "fuck that, I want to live".


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## Nefarious (Dec 26, 2010)

lonerider said:


> Again, it's not magic... it's physics... which I guess i basically magic to most people.


I've spent a lot of time reading about snowboarding online, and this is honestly the first time I've heard of this concept. Sir, the voodoo that you do...well, I dig it. 

Now I've got something to work on. I had been close to giving up on jumping due to all my ragdoll to scorpion fails. I have no problem with turns or control, it's just the unweighting process that gets me. I feel the exact same way, I tense up and my legs straighten.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

I also had the problem of "Over Muscling" the pop. It doesn't need to be a big huge pop. As that can actually throw off your trajectory.
Again start with a small pop and pull your knees to your chest with your core muscles. This pulling will also help you to stay compact, then progress to the grabs.

*recca7:* you should be able to put all that info to use on small side hits with no issues. Nev starts you out on small side hits then progresses to bigger jumps. I did my 1st 180 the other day of a 1 foot side hit ahahhaa but I did it


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

This is another item of the sport that come directly from skateboarding. Here is a good example: take a normal size 6" sidewalk, and as your rolling along, do your best ollie, say u can do 2 cinderblocks. Now take that sidewalk and give it a smooth driveway cut in the middle of it so that it looks like a very shallow (only 6"!!) halfpipe. Using the same physics described by the first responder and also what the guy in the SA vid is doing, you can now set up a 3 1/2 foot warning sign at the top of one or both transitions and boost ollies like you never knew you could.

Maybe moot point, maybe ur not a skater, but the sensation and results when you do it right are the exact same.

Timing is everything.


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## recca7 (Dec 23, 2011)

thanks for all the replies guys, definitely can't wait for it snow! so i can give some of these tips a try....yea we still don't have much snow or any snow here in the GTA...my 5x7 pass is aching to be used!


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