Tag Archives: snowboard lesson

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Teaching Children To Snowboard Part 3

Awe-Inspiring Snowboarding Videos, Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , , ,

This snowboard video will give you tips on Teaching Kids To Snowboard. If you love to snowboard sharing that passion with your children will create endless positive memories. Get them to love snowboarding. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over equipment technologies to teach you how to get the best gear. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard weather and equipment to bring on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Beginner Snowboard Lesson on Steering, Toeside Heelside Stance, Learn How To Ride The Lifts Safely, How to Snowboard: Balance Twist, Beginner Snowboard Stance, Snowboard Pads, Snowboard Training Hill, Demo Boards, Snowboard Camber, Building Rhythm, Snowboard Freestyle Boards, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, & How To Size Your Snowboard. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I’ve been talking to my brother about taking his kids out snowboarding but they live in Phoenix, AZ. We finally got the chance with the great early conditions this Thanksgiving to get up on the slopes. My boys went out with their cousins. I knew this had a good chance of being successful because I brought several adults along. They were willing parents and grandparents that had a stake in outcome. They helped with the difficult times. A big part of teaching kids is the preparation. Some of the cousins had taken a snowboard lesson with a negative result. One was good at skateboarding. Their parents had prepped them to be excited and grateful. That made it easy for me to teach. The kids ranged in age from 3 to 12 so I was dealing with multiple cognitive developments. I studied child development in college and have my Advanced Children Educator  ACE 2 certification. I talk to the kids to see what hobbies/interests they like. If you have knowledge of the shows they watch, sports they play or books they read you can talk about those subjects to get them to relax and not over think snowboarding.

When you have really young kids just be prepared for them to break down. Every child has a unique personality. Get down to there level when teaching them. Some kids are happy and stoked to be out snowboarding while others will throw tantrums and outbreaks. These kids are too young or need extra attention. You might have an idea of difficult kids before you take them on the slopes but you won’t know until you take them up and try. You can use the leash systems or hold their hands but they need to be able to go by themselves. When a child starts crying take a break or call it for the day if it’s a real bad outbreak. Remember this is suppose to build positive fun memories, so that they want to do this with you in the future.

The older kids are more likely to be coachable because their brains and bodies have developed. I will teach things to the group and then let a stronger rider demo things for me. I like to use a reward system or let the children compete amongst themselves. If you can make things a game and fun it will keep them engaged. Some games are to see how long you can ride without a fall. Time them to see how long they can go straight. Who can do the best stop and so on. I know last Easter I brought an egg up with a toy in side. I let my son find it and told him it gave him magic powers to snowboard better. He was so excited and confident. It was his best day snowboarding ever. I might have to teach the skill differently to kids that don’t have much of an attention span or don’t listen. Teach something and then let them discover things on their own. You don’t have to always be teaching, give them time just to practice on their own.

I took them to our shop where I sized their boots, boards and I set up there snowboard angles to 9º, -9º. I’ve talked about how to setup a beginner binding angles in an earlier video. Binding Angles. To get the kids going we strapped in one foot and skated around doing circles, figure 8’s and straight glides. I taught them that it was important to lift the board up and not keep it flat. Using big strong power moves would make them crash. It took a bit but they started to edge their boards. Get the kids to lift the snowboards up. Practice with them by spotting them so the can get the right balance. I talk about this in some early videos but the twist drill is something you should know by watching this video, to help teach your kids edging and to twist the board. Once they’re doing that they are ready to practice gliding and stopping. If they aren’t stopping have them practice lifting their edge up. They can drag their toes or heels in the snow to act as an anchor but I’ve found it better to just go right into edging the board to stop. They want to step uphill or towards their uphill edge. Kids want get the board around quick using upper body strength but they keep the board flat and unless they lift the edge up they usually will fall. (crashes)

This first part is where they hike and skate in flat terrain. This are is where you can help kids get their balance because it’s flat and they’re not moving a lot. They will build muscle memory by repeating the drill of skating and stopping. Bring water and take breaks because the kids will get tired. If you have other adults during a break you might get to go take a quick run to get your shred on. After they can stop on toeside and heelside let them start going down the beginner slope. This slope should be fairly flat but steep enough to keep speed. Have them make laps on this area stopping one foot in. Surface lifts are the best for beginners so find an area that has a conveyor belt or a gondola to make laps. Refer to this video to help with lift knowledge. Getting on and of the chair lift comes later. You may need to help the kids but use caution because this is where they move and more likely to fall. I will have them practice the ankle, knee, hips and spine flex and extension movements for toe and heel stationary and then while they go down the mountain.

You might have to stay on this practice slope for a while doing one foot in stops. When they’re doing toeside and heelside stops strap in the back foot. I will sometimes help spot the kids to transition from toeside and heelside or making C-turns. Get the kids to do that and make sure they can stop with two feet in. If one kid is advancing faster then teach them S-Turns. The focus is steering the board with their front foot, getting the board to across the fall line then parallel to it. Let the board flow down with gravity and focus energy to their ankles/lower body to steer not their shoulders and arms. When they balance on the edges and stop they’re ready for the lift. Check out loading the lift video.

The next Teaching Children Snowboarding video I’ll give tips on how to load and unload the lift safely with kids. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard right online with flowingfreeride.com. My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn Snowboarding Upper/Lower Body Separation

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboarding Upper/Lower Body Separation. There are certain times and places that we want to separate our upper body from our lower. It helps in tight situations like in trees, freestyle, glades, chutes and steeps. Freestyle moves on features like boxes and rails look super stylie. You can use slash turns and power stops to spray snow or to stop quickly. In chutes you can make fast turns to avoid obstacles and escape danger. Have this movement in your ‘snowboard tool belt’ to help you avoid injuries. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignments, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freeride carving rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I ride most of the time with my body in alignment. I can absorb better and prevent myself from tweaking my legs or back. When I hit bumps my natural body movement is to absorb in alignment. If I’m riding with my upper and lower body separated all the time I’m going to wear my body out. After a long day of riding your muscles and joints get tired. If you’re riding out of alignment and using a lot of strong movements instead of finesse you’ll feel it the next day. There are techniques and movement patterns that will keep you snowboard fit. There are many times that I need to separate my upper/lower body when snowboarding. I have a set stance that I go back to or refer to. It’s my natural body stance except I angle my feet out. I keep my ankles, knees, hips and spine slightly flexed so I’m able to move smoothly and I my upper body is naturally aligned with my lower. We’re going to move in and out of alignment so we’re ready to handle whatever is thrown at us on the mountain.

Gravity pulls us down the mountain and the most direct path gravity takes is called the fall line. In steep terrain we follow that line much more. When we point our front hand down the slope we are setting ourselves up to be aligned with the fall line. This will make it easier to start your turn but it’s more difficult at the end of the turn. In tight situations you need to turn immediately to avoid trees, rocks or other obstacles. We want to be able to slow down and stay in control especially in steeps and trees. The upper/lower body separation drill will help you be able to ride through advance level terrain better.  

Start on mellow terrain that has some slope like a Blue or intermediate (in Europe Red). If it’s a Green or Easy (in Europe Blue) slope that is too flat this drill won’t work well. Point your front hand and upper body down the slope. Your lower body will be very dynamic rotating your snowboard around from toeside to heelside. Think about focusing more energy into your hips to help pivot. Bend your hips, knees and ankles to make the board flow around easily. Be sure to keep the front hand pointed down the slope. It is easier to achieve on the heelside. Really focus on the toeside to keep you arm pointed down the mountain. Your turn shape should be small and done quickly. If you’re still having trouble getting this movement review Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend to give you another example.

After you’ve got the drill on Blue terrain move into steeper Black Advance trails. As you get better flow down tree runs and steep chutes using this technique to Rip the whole mountain. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

 

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Learn Snowboard Carving

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Basic Carving. Carving is something you want to be able to do so you can turn without skidding and slowing you down. You want to be able to carry that speed to get you through flat terrain. Carving is when the back foot follows the exact same path as the front and there is no skid. You are balancing on your edge using the sidecut of the snowboard. The sidecut is a circle diameter of 8M or 10M that is cut into the board. Your edge has that diameter circle shape that makes your edge arched and not straight. This helps to make Circle Turns. That’s what we’ll be working on in this snowboard drill. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignments, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freeride carving rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Eruo Surfer Carves, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right! Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

When you start carving find mellow terrain. You don’t want it to be too steep because it’s hard to hold your edge on steeper terrain and it should be very wide to make big turns. It should have no obstacles on it and very low traffic because carving takes a lot of space and you turn back up the mountain. The snowboard terrain should be groomed and flat without bumps so that you’re able to keep your balance better. Fresh groomed snow creates a firm top layer that allows you to really hold an edge and conditions are usually best for carving in the morning. The terrain choice is huge groomed, mellow slope, very wide, no obstacles and low traffic. Go out and scout your carving terrain to find these kind of conditions. Once you find this type of terrain we can start trying to practice Circle Turns.

You need to have enough speed to balance on your edge. I have my students point their boards parallel to the fall line to gain speed. Keep your snowboard flat to increase momentum. I have them start lifting their edge up bending their ankles and knees, focusing energy to these joints and balancing on their edge. Start to turn up the mountain and see how far up the mountain you can get. Your turn shape will start as a J-Turn and progress into a full Circle Turn. Try to drive your pressure directly down on your edge. That’s what you want to do. Don’t try to complicate it with extra movements. Focus in your feet and Steering From The Bottom Up and once you’re getting that you can get Dynamic Flex & Extend. Get enough speed to be able to turn up the mountain and lift your edge up keeping your ankles nice and soft. S-turns are two half circles and when you just keep turning you make Circle Turns.

It’s very important to find the correct carving terrain. I love finding fresh groomed corduroy in the morning getting the best conditions. Carving eliminates the pivot movement and the board doesn’t rotate to eliminate skidding. Balance on the edge of your snowboard using minimal movements to use your sidecut to make arching turns. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn About Snowboard Camber Technology

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboard Gear Reviews, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Camber Technology. The shape of you snowboard is the camber and the shape of your edge is your side cut. There are different types of camber shapes. There are regular shaped, reverse, hybrid and flat camber shapes. Flat and reverse shape camber are better for beginners or park riders because that shape makes it harder for you to catch edges. Regular and hybrid shaped camber are more responsive and better for holding edges for riding the whole mountain. Snowboard technologies like camber will help you ride your snowboard better with efficient movements. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over proper snowboard alignements, movements & techniques to get you flowing with freestyle rhythm. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard safety on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I love what snowboarding has brought to our winter mountains. One technology is the shape of your snowboard. Snowboarders shaped the board like a bow. When you pull back the bow it flexes and then when you release it creates a pop generating a lot of energy that is forced shooting the arrow out. What is so cool about snowboarding is that we can move fore and aft on the board and create pop. Skiers can’t do that. They are fixed on one ski with one foot. We can move fore and aft along our board to create the magic of pop. Camber technology is really intensified in our sport. Skiers can’t butter and spin like us because we can change our pivot points much easier than skiers. They have to spin from the center of their skis and god bless them, but they can’t do what snowboarders do because they don’t have two feet on one board. Camber is a fun technology that makes snowboarding skiing tons of fun and if you know how to use it if can be like unlocking a cheat code to a video game.

There are different types of camber shapes that if used correctly the snowboard snaps and reacts to providing maximum energy. Regular camber or traditional camber has a convex rise in the center. Reverse camber, banana or rocker camber is just the opposite of the that. Flat camber is just that flat and no shape. Then there are different kinds of hybrid cambers usually having regular camber under your feet and reverse between and tip/tail to foot. That’s great to know so how will that help you? If you like to ride park or a beginner then a flat or reverse camber snowboard will help you out because they’re more forgiving. The shape makes them harder to catch edges but out on the steep mountain it’s hard to hold the edge and they spin out more often. Riding the pipe and steep runs you’ll want to have a regular camber or hybrid camber shaped board. The reverse combo helps you float on the snow but I really love riding regular camber boards to rip through my turns keeping my speed.

I suggest you go out and demo boards to give you different options. While you ride other boards with different camber shape really push your riding skills to the limits. That’s how you’ll know what is different about the boards. While at the Rider Rally 2018 at Abasin we had Never Summer and Burton come out and did demos. I tired the new step on system. I got stuck to it and we had to pull out the screw driver to get be out. The boards were great and it was supper stoke to ride so many different boards. Find what shape of camber you like and start ripping! You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark Contact Me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Learn What To Wear Snowboarding

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Clothing. Most people know that when it gets cold to put on a coat. There are many different kinds of coats made from different materials. When you go snowboarding you don’t want to just grab any coat. You might be able to go snowboard with any coat but it can limit your flexibility, make you uncomfortable and not keep you dry. We’ll go over a few things you’ll want to know about snowboard clothing. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over equipment technologies to teach you how to get the best gear. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard weather and equipment to bring on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Beginner Snowboard Lesson on Steering, Toeside Heelside Stance, Learn How To Ride The Lifts Safely, How to Snowboard: Balance Twist, Beginner Snowboard Stance, Snowboard Pads, Snowboard Training Hill, Demo Boards, Snowboard Camber, Building Rhythm, Snowboard Freestyle Boards, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, & How To Size Your Snowboard. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I’ll go over what I like to wear snowboarding. It’s a good idea to wear clothing that doesn’t restrict your movement. I start with comfortable athletic underwear and undershirt made from cotton. My socks I try avoid cotton because if they get wet they won’t insulate. I then like to wear a pair of jogger pants, sweatpants, or shorts if it’s hotter above 45ºF or 13ºC. When I’m hiking I will just wear my underwear and snowboard pants because of how hot I get. If it’s below 20º F or -10º C I will put on long underwear as an additional layer. My next layer will be Under Armour or a material similar that’s breathable, flexible it and allows your sweat to breath out but blocks out weather, UV rays and wind. If it does get wet it will still insulate and keep your warm. Having clothing that is breathable will allow to keep in your body heat but allow perspiration to escape that can make you much cooler. My snowboard pants and coat are the final outside layers. They need to be waterproof and to have vents again for letting heat out to breath. If you don’t have this waterproof outside layer wind will get in making you cold or even worse the snow sticks to it and then melts absorbing into your clothes. This makes you have to carry the extra water weight making you use more energy to make movements. It’s not efficient, makes you cold, uncomfortable and your style points go way down. Looking good while you snowboard is what everyone wants so get the right snowboard clothes.

If I’m not wearing the proper clothing I will work very hard when I’m snowboarding Deep Steep Powder or hiking backcountry, when I get on the chairlift I’ll freeze because I’m drenched in sweat. I recommend you have this breathable clothing it can really make or break your day. This layer stretches and as we bend over to strap in your bindings or when freestyle riding grabbing your board, this layer will stretch and stay covered over your lower back and butt. Make sure it’s longer too so that it will tuck into your snowboard pants. If you don’t have this layer that stretches the skin on your lower back will get exposed and snow can go up your shirt or down your pants when you sit down or crash in the snow. As you ride you will feel wind on your skin and you don’t want wind burn or frostbite so get this longer stretchy breathable layer. In powder conditions no matter how good you are you’ll be covered in POW from falling in it or riding in it making huge turns spraying snow walls and Face Shots (snow sprays your face from powder turns). If you’re not dressed properly you won’t last long in powder.

When I have everything working I ride well. If my goggles are fogged up, I’m overheating, using more energy and breathing harder. The resorts aren’t open yet but I’ve been up hiking at Alta, Utah. We got a ton of early snow up in the mountains and I’ve been able to get up there four times already. The first day I went up it was snowing pretty good. I brought my winter coat up, neck gaiter and had sweats under my snowboard pants. I was overheated and I couldn’t see. When I finally went snowboarding I lost my balance and crashed because I was dealing with exhaustion and couldn’t see. If I took my goggles off snow went into my eyes and when they were on they were too foggy to see. It was already foggy conditions so visibility was low. The next 3 times I dressed much cooler and ripped some awesome powder turns. I released Snowboarding Alta In Roctober 2018 that gives some early season riding and gear tips.

I was a beginner once and have experienced snow going up my back and freezing my ass on a crash in deep powder. I have learned a ton from my experiences and I want to share that with you so you don’t have to have these experiences. If I could of learned snowboarding online when I started I would have avoided many pains. One way to avoid miserable feelings is to have the right snowboard clothes. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to other snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard equipment. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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All Mountain/Freeride Snowboards And Asymmetrical Snowboards

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboard Gear Reviews, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Freeride Snowboards. There are different technologies in a Freeride Snowboard that make this ride the whole mountain more efficiently. The three main types of snowboards are Alpine, Freestyle and Freeride. Freestyle Boards are shorter and softer in flex to get spins around faster and to absorb with forgiveness while Alpine Boards are longer for more response, not as wide for quick edge change and stiffer to hold an edge in harder snow conditions. Freestyle Snowboard stances usually are wider with a ‘duck stance’ or your feet angles are pointing towards nose and tail like 12º, -12 so they can use a full range of motion to absorb landings and jump of kickers. Alpine Snowboard stances are sharp towards the nose like 70º, 67º to be able to carve and switch edges quickly. Freeride Snowboard stances are a combo of these two styles picking out the best attributes. A lot of snowboarders like freeriding because you can ride the whole mountain hitting trees, moguls, cliffs, park, pipe, off piste, groomers, etc., Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over equipment technologies to teach you how to get the best gear. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard weather and equipment to bring on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; What To Wear Snowboarding, Demo Boards, Snowboard Camber, Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Freestyle Boards, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, & How To Size Your Snowboard. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

Asymmetrical Snowboards can be wider with softer flex in the front or nose and then more narrow with stiffer flexin the tail. It’s shaped like an ‘A’ and it tapers down being wider at the beginning and narrow at the end. This will help you plow through the crud conditions and in powder to ride up on top and float to make it easier to ride. These boards are directional and meant to go one way more efficiently. You can ride them switch or fakie but they won’t perform the same way. You can have an asymmetrical sidecut, your heelside edge has a deeper sidecut to lock you into your carves better by giving you more leverage or similar to your toeside carves. On my toeside I eliminate one more angle by extending my hips instead of flexing like on my heelside thus creating more leverage on my toeside edge. These type of snowboards are ‘A Sym Twins’ or twin tip in every way except you have a designated heelside edge weather you’re riding goofy or regular. This snowboard is great for freestyle but I want to include it with freeride boards too. You don’t need to have an asymmetrical snowboard for it to be a freeride snowboard and the Asymmetrical Twin Tip is great for freestyle. I do like to ride twin tip snowboards but when I’m out riding the whole mountain or freeriding I set my bindings back a bit so that I have a longer nose and shorter tail. When you set your bindings back or the holes are already set back then it’s a directional twin. I’ll talk about sidecuts in a second. This let’s me ride powder and crud a bit better by staying on top of the snow and not sinking in.

Freeride Snowboards or All Mountain Snowboards usually ride better through bumps, trees, off piste conditions and at high speeds because they’re longer and stiffer flex. The sidecut is usually set back a bit, off-centered or it doesn’t start arching back out in the center of the snowboard. A few centimeters back from the center is when the sidecut starts heading back out. This gives you a better solid ride when you’re riding the board directionally with your bindings set back along on your snowboard and that’s why you sidecut is set back, off-centered. You lose that when riding switch because now you have a short nose and long tail. The technologies of an All Mountain let you ride the whole mountain efficiently in one direction and you’re still able to ride backwards or fackie fairly well also.

Freestyle Snowboards that are shorter for quicker rotation and softer flex to absorb landings and tricks. They are True Twin Tips with same flex patterns at the nose and tail. The sidecut is not set back it arch back out right in the center of the snowboard and the binding holes are also centered. This makes the snowboard ride and perform exactly the same no matter if you’re going goofy or regular.

All Mountain Snowboards are going to have regular camber or hybrid camber in them. If you’re on a reverse cambered board you won’t hold an edge as well and you butter very easily. Banana boards are reversed cambered great for freestyle, tricks, butters and less likely to catch an edge which is a huge plus to beginners. I have to really lift my edge higher on my back leg to hold a carve, my movement patterns differ on reverse camber boards. I like to ride regular camber boards for the edge control, flex patterns, speed and pop from edge to edge. Hybrid camber gives a combo of both and helps you float more in powder conditions. There are different technologies in different types of snowboards. Know what type of camber your board has, how big is the sidecut and if it’s off-centered or directional, the shape and flex patterns are all technologies that can make your riding look better. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about other snowboard types and gear. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Snowboarding & Weather Patterns

Awe-Inspiring Snowboarding Videos, Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Snowboard Weather Patterns. Snowboarding is a sport that relies heavily on Mother Nature. Without snow we don’t have snowboarding. Resorts have opening dates and will blow snow or make ‘man made snow’ when there isn’t enough snow. Man made snow uses the cold temperatures outside to freeze high pressured water. You can think of the snow guns as huge spray bottles spraying a ton of water out and it freezes making ‘man made snow’ which isn’t the same as natural snow. Snow from Mother Nature can be light and fluffy. Man made snow is more dense and turns to ice quickier. With less snow at the beginning of our seasons and warm temperatures it’s making it hard to open on schedule or to have enough snow in early season. Winter Tourism Will Take A Hit If Winter Months Continue To Lose There Chill. I watch the weather and will chase the good snow especially during early and late season when snowboard coaching is slower. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over weather tips and to teach you how to be prepared. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for snowboard weather and equipment to bring on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing, Snowboarding Moguls.Snowboarding Moguls, Slope Faces, 5 Red Flags of Avalanches, Learning Snowboard Avalanche Conditions, & Heli Boarding. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

When I know I’m going to be traveling to an area during the snowboard season I stay aware of the conditions in that area. I look to see how much snow they’re getting and what the temperatures are. They are many times that a mountain gets a ton of snow but then gets a lot of warm temperatures. There was a lot of snow but it melts making conditions sketchy. During bad winters I may just look to go where the temperatures are the coldest and they have the best snowmaking. I watch weather patterns to know where the snow is piling up or staying fresh. I know the wind patterns around my area but they may differ greatly at another mountain. It is rare but some places actually get too much snow making it very difficult to travel there and no lodging. The big thing is when you have some time warning that you’ll be traveling to a different mountain look at their forecasts and pay attention to there weather so you know what types of snow layers are underneath your board and how to prepare for those conditions.

It’s important to watch the weather when I surf, water ski, wakeboard, snowboard, paddle board, fish, kayak etc,. When I surf I want to know when the waves are going to be bigger. There are tides, winds, currants and temps to consider. If you get into to surfing or you already do, then you know that weather patterns play a big role into when the surf is best. You may chase storms for the best waves. I watch the weather and look to see where the winter storms are building up and will travel to the powder! The best water to ride on is glass when surfing, wakeboarding or water skiing. It’s usually going to be good water early  in the morning or later in the evening. The wind usually picks up in the afternoon. Just having some basic knowledge on weather can help you schedule activities in the future. I know that when I go snowboarding it’s probably going to be cold but temperatures can vary. When you snowboard in a blizzard you’ll want to wear different clothes and goggles than on a clear sunny day after a storm. You might be going somewhere that is very windy or somewhere that is very high up with a very different climate that you’re not use to. I’ve been in Colorado when the snow has been so cold making the the snow crystals very sharp that no matter what wax you put on your board you still went slow. In cold conditions I wear more layers to keep me warmer or I break out my puffy jacket made with down feathers keeping me super warm. I look at the weather forecast to help decide on google lens to wear depending on how much light we’ll get. Weather is a huge factor when you’re going out snowboarding.

When I start to go out of bounds and into the backcountry there are weather resources that I rely on like Utah Avalanche Center UAC, Forest Service/National Avalanche Center or NOAA to get reliable reports and forecasts. Look for these types of resources in your area. I want to know if it’s going to be worth heading out of bounds or if conditions are going to be similar by staying inbounds. If we’ve had a recent snowstorm the snow might be fresh and untracked inbounds but it will get chewed up and that’s when I like to start going into the backcountry. I recommend you take some basic backcountry training like Classes Through UAC and FFR has several Backcountry, Avalanche Awareness & Avalanche Safety Snowboard Tutorials that will get you some skills to survey the terrain and teach you about snow layers. Faceted snow is snow that has melted or doesn’t compact together it doesn’t bond to other crystals that causes a weak layer of snow and higher risk for avalanches. I like to tell people that it’s the snow that doesn’t make snowballs. Faceted snow doesn’t bond or make snowballs and that layer is the one that’s weak causing slides. The National Forest Avalanche Center gives this definition: “Snow metamorphism determines if individual snow crystals are rounding (becoming stronger) or faceting (becoming weaker). The relationship between snow crystals ultimately dictates what kind of layer, strong or weak, is formed. The interaction between individual layers determines snowpack stability.” This is why I say to watch the weather. If you know that there has been some melting and variation in temperatures then there could be a higher avalanche danger.

Wind lets you know where the snow will be piling up or if the storm will be a warm, wet, cold etc,. They actually know by wind speeds and directions how much snow to predict and that helps you as a snowboard to prepare. Snow weighs a lot and when there is 3 or 4 meters of snow out there a slide could be deadly. Depending on the snowpack and where you go there could over 10 meters or 30 feet of snow and an avalanche like that could easily bury anything in its path. Before you go out in the backcountry take some training or a class. You can practice efficiently and get Hooked On Snowboarding with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about weather and hitting the backcountry. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Snowboarding Steeps & Alignments

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Closing Your Turns Body Alignments. In steep terrain every little movement can cause a huge reaction. When I’m taking students out on steeper terrain I take a few runs on intermediate slopes to see what type of movement patterns they have and if they’re even ready to be on steeper difficult runs. Most the time I need to work with my students a bit before I take them to steeper areas. They need to be able to make turns using lower body movements and keeping their upper body aligned with their lower. After they are making turns with better alignment I like to take them to a run that has some mellow slope then steep and back less slope. This way the student can practice their movements on the way to the steep difficult terrain, then actually ride the steep advance terrain and then back to intermediate terrain. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over movements to teach you how to ride steep terrain. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for Advance Snowboard Skills & Drills on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Advance Snowboard Lesson: Dropping Cliffs, Snowboarding Off Piste, Snowboarding Chutes, Snowboard Lesson Navigating Trees & Obstacles, Active Passive Absorption, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

Human nature is to lean backwards when we are going forwards fast. Think about that. When you are moving down the mountain you gain speed and instead of leaning backwards you need to fight that urge to lean forward putting weight on your front leg. Let’s review what are alignments are. We want to be perpendicular to the slope. Our board, knees, hips shoulders are parallel to the slope. When you start to lean back on steep terrain snowboarding is harder because you’re using movements that are out of alignment. An easy fix to leaning back is to reach down towards the nose of your snowboard and grab it. Start doing this in a flat area so that you’re stationary or static. Then start snowboarding and at the beginning of your turns each for the nose of your board and at the end of your turn release and stand taller in your stance. As you feel more comfortable doing this drill start going on steeper slopes doing these movements. You will gain more confidence in your riding doing this movement pattern.

Speed and going down the mountain is what snowboarding is. We want to be able to control our momentum and that’s what I’m teaching in this snowboard tutorial. I just went over being aligned when you’re going down the fall line or parallel to it, now let’s focus on going across the fall line being perpendicular to it. I want my turn shapes to be the same size on both toeside and heelside edges. It happens all the time where people don’t finish their turns in steeps and then they carry too much speed for their next turn and skid. The fix to this is to turn up the hill on your turns for a second or two longer than you normally do. It’s usually the toeside edge that people do a quick short turn because they keep their upper body facing down the mountain creating upper body separation. Their bodies are out of alignment on their toeside edge and aligned on their heelside edge. To balance this out I’d have them spend more time on their toeside edge and have them look uphill to actually see what is behind them. When you finish a turn on your toes and look uphill you’re aligned. It’s a good idea to look uphill once in awhile when you make toeside turns. Clean up your heelside edge too by looking uphill to finish your turns. Finishing you turns is at the end get your board perpendicular to the slope or even turn up the hill the slow down your turns. This will keep you a symmetrical and balanced snowboarder.

To make faster more efficient turns in steep terrain bend your front knee excessively so that you can reach down and grab your nose on your snowboard at the beginning of your turns. As you finish your turns stop grabbing your nose, stand taller in your stance and look uphill to bleed off extra speed you gain from being in steep difficult terrain. Learn how to Rip Steep Terrain by keeping your body alignments good and finish your turns to stay in rhythm. You can practice efficiently with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about stance alignments. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Snowboard Beginner Lesson: Side Slipping

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over Beginner Snowboard Class: Slide Slipping. This drill is to be used only in necessary situations. Slide slipping is when your board is across the fall line or perpendicular to the fall line and you ride that same edge so you’re skidding or slipping down the mountain. When you start having one foot going down the slope more than the other you will start steering in that direction. Most people like to sideslip on their heelside edge so that they can see what is in front of them. Heelside stance is a familiar athletic stance so most people feel much more comfortable in the position. Flatten on foot more than the other and the snowboard will go that way. Think of your feet working independently from one another. Use small movements and steer with your feet, then knees, hips and shoulders. I like to think of my feet pushing the gas pedal or brakes. I lift my edge up more to stop and push down on my edge to get the board flatter and increase speed. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over movements to teach you how to perform efficient movements. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for Beginner Snowboard Skills & Drills on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; ;Beginner Snowboard Lesson on Steering, Toeside Heelside Stance, Learn How To Ride The Lifts Safely, How to Snowboard: Balance Twist, Beginner Snowboard Stance, Snowboard Pads, Snowboard Training Hill, What To Wear Snowboarding, & How To Size Your Snowboard. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

Most people that have issues with slide slipping are pulling their edge in a jerky motion. The need to slowly move the edge up and down. As soon as you start moving gradually let the board move. Moving means that you’re getting speed and that’s scary to beginners. Find the angle where your snowboard just barely starts to move and then very slowly lower the edge angle and let the board get a little more speed. If you feel a bit out of control don’t slam on your brakes! Gradually lift the edge up to slow down smoothly. Stay loose in your body and don’t tense up. It is much harder to absorb and keep your balance when you’re super stiff. If you slam on your brakes you’ll lose your balance and probably fall. It’s like riding a bike with a little speed you keep your balance but with no speed you have to put your foot down to balance your bike. Same applies with snowboarding, a little more speed will help keep your balance.

Try to balance on your heelside edge using dorsiflexion pulling your toes up off the snow and then start to relax and to bring toes closer to snow. Try doing it on your toeside now using plantarflexion to start lifting your heels off the snow and then bring them back down. Plantarflexion and dorsiflexion are movements used a lot in snowboarding. Dorsi or dorsum means the top/upper of or back of like on your hand or foot. So dorsiflexion think of the movement going towards the top of your foot. Plantar is planting down like the movement when your push the gas pedal, stepping on a bug or to stand on your tiptoes. Heelside will feel more natural because on your toeside you’re facing up the mountain and you have to turn your neck and body around to see what’s in front of you.

I don’t slide slip much because it scrapes the good snow off the surface and makes it ice up faster. The worst is when someone slide slips your chute and brings up rocks. As a beginner you will probably slide slip but as you get better you’ll make S-turns and flow in rhythm without much side slipping. You can practice efficiently with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about stance alignments. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.

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Snowboarder Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill

Blake Tholen Clark Certified Snowboard Instructor, Flowing Freeride Online Snowboard School, Free Snowboarding Lessons, From Your Snowboard Coach, Snowboarding Tips, , , , , , , ,

This online snowboard lesson will go over the Snowboarder Responsibility Code #4 Look Uphill. I had to teach other high level riders techniques to improve their snowboarding to pass my AASI Level 3 Certification. I took my test a few times. You have to be an athlete to pass your L3 and it’s difficult. There are three parts; Riding, Teaching & Movement Analysis. I passed my ride one year and failed my teach and then passed my teach and failed my ride. I always passed my MA but you have to pass everything in your L3 exam. When I passed my L3 the snowboarder I was assigned to improve their riding didn’t have any flaws but one, he never looked uphill.  His snowboard alignments and body movements were spot on and he Ripped! I could see the flaw and that’s movement analysis. Now I had to teach a progression or step by step instructions to fix this or improve his riding. We are snowboarders and have a blindside and looking uphill while you ride will make you a safer more efficient snowboarder. Other Snowboard Videos on YouTube & Flowing Freeride go over movements to teach you how to perform safe efficient movements. You’ll have access to all our snowboard tutorials when you signup that cover every step and feedback from your coach. We also have some free snowboard videos to prepare for Intermediate Snowboard Skills & Drills on our YouTube Page. I recommend watching these snowboard videos; ; Building Rhythm, Advanced Snowboarding Getting Air, Snowboard Dynamic Flex & Extend, Active Passive Absorption, Terrain Park Features, Freestyle Snowboards, Upper/Lower Body Separation, Basic Carving: Circle Drills, Basics For Freestyle Features, Advance Snowboard Carving: Surfer Turns & Grab Carves, Funnel Turns For Navigating Obstacles, Snowboard Jibbing & Snowboarding Moguls. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com, Take Our Placement Quiz, take a look at Our Blog for more free content, and Learn To Snowboard Right!

I taught my student a progression to look uphill by finishing his turns. I started the lesson by praising his riding and telling him all the pros to his riding and how hard it was to find something to improve. Then I just laid it down on the table that I never saw him look uphill. Both the examiners looked at each other and then me and smiled. I had nailed the MA now for my teach. I told him to start making turns by turning the snowboard up the mountain a bit more and to rotate his neck more and to start looking over his shoulder to start looking across the fall line and uphill more. After that he confirmed he could feel a little change in his riding. I then had him ride in front of me and on every toeside turn he’d look at me in the eyes and I was uphill. After that I had him look uphill at me on both heelside and toeside. I had him finish his turns and turn uphill more. That was something small that improved his riding by using #4 Responsibility Code Look Uphill.  I then had him blend that movement into his regular riding so that he’d be looking uphill once in a while. That was an easy progression to teach a high level rider but when we’re coaching other riders you fix one thing at a time. When you try to fix multiple things it gets confusing and students get lost. Perfect practice is working on one thing that you’re successful at most of the time but not perfect. When you go out and practice on your own, practice a skill that you can do sometimes but not %100 of the time.

When you stop and start you want to look uphill. When trails merge together look up the trail and yield to oncoming traffic or when merging. I shared that story because I wanted to stress the importance of safety and how safety can make you a better rider. Even high level riders have skills that they can work on to improve their riding. Know the code and remember to look uphill and yield. Watch the video to see the movements and techniques I’m talking about. You can practice efficiently with Snowboardclass/FlowingFreeride’s techniques so go back to earlier snowboard videos that teach you about stance alignments. You can signup to get access to all of our snowboard lessons, study guides, textbooks, glossary, tests and direct feedback from your coach. Learn to snowboard online with flowingfreeride.com and take a look at our YouTube Page for more free content and learn to snowboard right! My name is Blake Tholen Clark contact me if you want to book a lesson or have any questions about Snowboarding.