All posts by Teako

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Snowboard Responsibility Code #3 Don’t Obstruct and Be Seen

Snowboarding Tips,

Know the code and #3 of the Snowboard Responsibility Code is to not obstruct the trail and be seen from above. This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Safety Code #3. It is very important to know the responsibility code when riding on the mountain. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

If you need to stop pull off the side of the trail. If your group stops line up single file down the hill and not across. Peeps from above need to see you from 100 feet so they have time to stop or avoid you. Terrain may vary going up and then down. If you go over a roller, where the run goes uphill you don’t want to stop a few feet down from there because people won’t see you until they get to the apex. This happens a lot in parks with jumps when riders or skiers stop on the landing. Snowboarders are carrying a lot of speed in the air and just can’t stop. Never stop on the landings of kickers because you’re not being seen from above until it’s too late!

I’ve spent a lot of time in the and seen some accidents that could have been avoided if they only knew the code. There’s nothing worse than being 15 feet in the air and seeing some gaper right where you’re going to land. I’ve been able to jib them luckily and not landed right on them. That’s why safety is so huge. Know the safety rules of the park and mountain especially as you start getting on more intermediate terrain. Other riders know the rules and assume you do too. Avoid injuries to yourself and others by knowing the full responsibility code.

Snowboarding is such a great fun sport and to ensure you’re able to keep doing it be safe! Look uphill whenever you start or when trails merge. Stay in control and people in front of you have the right away. Obey the posted signs and closed areas. Know how to load, ride and unload the lift and use devices to prevent runaway equipment.

  1. Stay in control
  2. People downhill have right of way
  3. Don’t Obstruct and be visible from above
  4. Look uphill when starting and merging
  5. Use devices to prevent runaway equipment
  6. Observe and obey all signs.
  7. Know how to load, ride & unload lifts safely

Start snowboarding right and being safe at the beginning and you’ll enjoy snowboarding for a long time. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com & snowboardclass.com snowboard video tutorials.

 

 

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Learn How To Snowboard & Get Up!

Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons

Learn how to snowboard with this beginner drill to get up after a fall. This online snowboard lesson will go over proper technique for Getting Up after a fall. It really helps beginner snowboarders develop skills before going up the lift. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

Let’s face it when you snowboard you will fall and need to get up. If you fall on flatter terrain it’s hard to get up on your heelside edge. You’ll want to get your snowboard perpendicular to the fall line. Roll over to your stomach by lifting one leg up and rotate your hips. Put your hands in the snow and slowly walk them closer to your board. Push up in one motion and stand up. Be careful to not over correct and put weight on your heels. People get scared in this position called your toeside edge. A lot of times they keep their hands in the snow and don’t stand up. This keeps your center of mass over your heels. You’ll need to stand up and extend your hips over your toes. We have other tutorials to practice this movement: Toeside & Heelside or Beginner Stance if you have problems getting up.

Heelside is more difficult to get up but isn’t to bad in steeper terrain. If you’re flexible you can get up off your heels by pushing behind you with one of your hands. If this isn’t working try grabbing your board in between your feet or the center of your board. Push with one hand behind you and the other grabbing your board. You’ll need to let go of your snowboard before smashing your fingers as your edge angle decreases. It takes a lot of energy to get up so be sure to practice proper technique in previous snowboard tutorials. If you don’t like getting up on your heels roll over to your toeside.

You can practice getting up before even getting on the snow so you maximize your time on snow.  Strap on your snowboard and try getting up on surfaces like carpet or grass. Hard floors don’t have much friction and can cause injury. A lot of the times you’ll have to unlearn inefficient body movements and that can take a lot of time. Start snowboarding right at the beginning and you’ll excel quickly. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com & snowboardclass.com snowboard video tutorials.

 

 

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Beginner Snowboard Lesson Heelside & Toeside

Free Snowboarding Lessons

Learn to snowboarding right with this beginner drill Toesdie & Heelside position. This online snowboard lesson will go over the Toeside & Heelside to get muscle memory developed for standing sideways on your snowboard. It really helps beginner snowboarders develop skills before getting on the snow and going up the lift. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

Heelside stance is usually going to be the easier edge because everyone already knows how to sit down or squat. The Heelside is just that; bend your hips knees and ankles. When you’re on your heelside edge you’re facing down the mountain and it feels safer. As a beginner snowboarder you’ll might not want to even try the Toeside edge and people that just do the Heelside edge become Heelside Heros. You can get down the mountain but it doesn’t look good, wears out your body and scrapes all the good snow off the mountain. Practice just turning your neck and not your whole upper body or you’ll develop bad habits.

It’s best to start practicing the Toeside edge position first. Unless you’ve done other board sports like wakeboarding, surfing or skateboarding the Toeside position is difficult because there’s no muscle memory. Stand normal on your board and then look over your front shoulder by just turning your neck. This video shows exactly what I’m talking about. Bend your knees and ankles but extend your hips. This is the big difference between the two edges. Toeside you extend your hips and Heelside you’re bending your hips.

You can practice these positions before even getting on the snow so you maximize your time on snow.  A lot of the times you’ll have to unlearn inefficient body movements and that can take a lot of time. Start snowboarding right at the beginning and you’ll excel quickly. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com & snowboardclass.com snowboard video tutorials.

 

 

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Beginner Snowboard Lesson: Balance Twist Drill

Snowboarding Tips

 

Learn to snowboarding right with this beginner drill twisting the board. This online snowboard lesson will go over the Balance Twist Drill for proper steering technique. It really helps beginner snowboarders develop skills before getting on the snow and going up the lift. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

Flexing your board from edge to edge and not nose to tail is twisting the board. You’ll get the best performance from your board when using this movement to initiate the turn. Most turns you make during the transitions phase will be on both toeside and heelside edges. You need to start getting into the proper rhythm for turning as a beginner so you don’t develop bad technique. A lot of the times you’ll have to unlearn inefficient body movements and that can take a lot of time. Start snowboarding right at the beginning and you’ll excel quickly. Avoid injuries by using flowingfreerdie.com snowboard video tutorials.

I’m going to go over your body movements for toeside and heelside. Throughout the courses you progress and focus on multiple movements but at first you’ll want to really focus on your front foot and keeping all your weight on your front leg.  Before moving into all levels at once focus on L1 RAW. Movements will progress as you move up in skill level.  Focus on Lower Body Steering for now. Always think lower body first Ankle First. Let’s try something to help understand steering from the bottom up. Slightly bend your ankles, knees and hips so that you’re slightly squatting or sitting. First move is focus on your ankle, lift up your toes so your weight is on the balls of your heels. You don’t have to bend you knees or hips, just practice lifting your toes off the ground and then back down. After you’ve got that down progress to bending your ankles, knees then hips. This should feel fine because you use these muscles/movements to sit down in a chair.

The toeside stance is next. Slightly bend your ankles and knees but extend your hips. Lift your heel up so you’re on the balls near your toes. We still are focusing on front foot steering and bottom up- meaning first movement is in your ankle. The way our bodies are built on the toeside to lift your heel up your ankle and knee bend at the same time but you can bend your ankle more. Your first movement should be to bend your ankle on both toeside and heelside but toeside you have to bend you knee a little bit. To explore this more lets keep our legs straight. Try lifting up your toes which puts weight on our heels or the heelside edge. I can do this without bending my knee or hips. Now try lifting up your heel putting weight on toes or toeside edge. To do this you have to bend your knee a bit, it’s just how our bodies/skeletons are built. The higher you lift your heels up the more your knee has to bend. So always try to bend your ankle first to initiate your turn but on your toeside edge you have to bend your knee and ankle all at once but you want to bend your ankle more and focus on bottom up steering.

You can watch our snowboard videos and learn to snowboard online. It really helps beginner snowboarders to learn to snowboard. Do this drill off or on snow with your snowboard strapped on. It can even be done without your snowboard on. It will help to develop muscles memory for snowboarding movements. It’s your front foot lifting up and then your back foot. This takes sometime so be patient and keep snowboarding!

 

 

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Self Arrest Emergency Snowboard Stops in Steeps

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When you’re snowboarding in steep terrain you need to be able to stop in case you fall because if we don’t stop ourselves something else will like a tree or rock. This online snowboard lesson will go over the Self Arrest Drill for emergency stopping in steeps. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right.

We need to get the board in front of you perpendicular to the fall line and facing down the mountain. If I’m turned around backwards and I try to stop on my toeside that can lead into compressing and doing a backflip which can be even worse. You’ll be on your heels sitting down and have your head up the slope. If you fall any other way you’ll want to get back to this position as quickly as possible.

If you fall and you’re on your back but you’re going down head first use one arm/elbow as a pivot to get the board in front and your head back up the mountain. If you want visual demonstration take a look at our snowboard video. If you fall on your stomach head first you’ll need to roll over and then pivot yourself back around so you’re on your heels with your head up the mountain. Similar to if you were to fall out of a boat in a river, you want your feet and legs in front so they can absorb/push rocks. You don’t want your head to hit obstacles first you want your legs to.

Practice this on steep terrain that flattens at the end. While you practice this emergency snowboard stop in steeps if you’re unable to get around and stop the terrain will safely stop you. Choosing a safe area for this is key. You don’t want to be out of control. The terrain should be very steep but flatten so you’d naturally stop if you couldn’t by using the Self Arrest Drill. Knowing how to do this skill could save your life and keep others safe. Snowboard safety is huge so learn to snowboard online with our full online snowboard lessons at flowingfreeride.com. We take you step by step to progress your snowboard skill and knowledge at your pace and level. We build your snowboard skills up. Snowboarding for beginners, for an intermediate snowboarder or for advanced rippers. This is one of our Drills sections for L3 Ripper. 

 

 

Dynamic Snowboarding Flex & Extension

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We need to be able to flex & extend when we snowboard. This online snowboard lesson will go over Dynamic Flex & Extension. We want to develop some rhythm while we ride. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right. If we’re just flexing the whole time we ride we’ll wear ourselves out. Just flex your fist and the longer you stay flexed the more all of your muscles start flexing. Your whole body will start flexing and shaking so you need to relax or extend and then flex. This gives your body some rest. It we stay extended or relaxed the whole time we wouldn’t stop so we need to use these movements together.

Now a basic movement is to switch edges when your board is parallel to the fall line. We start our turn up/extended and compress/flex at the end of the turn. Try doing some of these basic turns so that you’re comfortable and get into rhythm. Look at our online snowboard lesson video. After you’ve got the basic movement down let’s get try to mix it up with more dynamic movements. This is a more advanced movement so unless you’re an advanced snowboarder stick to the basic movements/turns. Dynamic turns are where you change edge perpendicular to the fall line and we start our turns flexed and then extend through them. Again take a look at our online snowboard lesson video on Dynamic Flex & Extension.

This snowboard lesson can be practiced on groomed blue terrain at first and then progress to harder terrain. It will take some time to get into the proper timing and rhythm. If you can get the basic snowboard turns down then you’re halfway there. This rhythm will transfer into other areas of the mountain like in bumps or moguls because those are created by folks turning in the same place. They have rhythm so the snow gets pushed into the same spot. I recommend staying on groomers until you have developed dynamic turns and basic turns. I use a lot of dynamic flex & extension in the moguls but I like to blend my movements because I like use which movements are the most efficient for the terrain I’m in.

Once you’ve got these turns and movements down you’ll look better. Snowboarding is big on style. A lot of the competitions that I competed in had a component of the points or judging that included style points. My mates & I that are Level 3 Rippers can tell very quickly what level someone is just by seeing them make a few turns and these movements will add more tools to your tool belt of snowboard skills. We have a full online snowboard school that goes through every step to progress along without skipping important skills at flowingfreeride.com This is one of our Drills sections for L3 Ripper.