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Take the Jump or the Jump Takes You
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There is something in the air these days. The air is no longer stagnant,
bland, and quiet. The late fall air is laced with excitement and potential as
if it has something to say. You can feel the difference in the dull sting of
your toes when you wake in the morning and in the cold slap in the face when
you open the door in the morning. There is a message in the air; a message from
the winter, and that message is “Despair no longer my children for I am
coming.”
Such a large part of snowboarding is air. Something about the addictive
taste of fresh mountain air and the way it magically turns what would otherwise
be normal ice into the powder that we all crave. There is an intrinsic desire
in every beginning snowboarder to develop a closer relationship with the air.
Every time a snowboarder runs his or her finger down the length of a sleek new
board in the shop they get a taste of destiny, their imagination leaps to a
vision of victoriously flying through the air on that board in some complex
spin and grab combination the likes of which the world has not yet seen. Just
as amazing however is the speed with which this fleeting image can escape and
deflate the snowboarder when he/she stands face to face with the jump ramp.
Air. Friend to the
snowboarder.
Here is a column for those boarders who are hungry to develop a new
relationship with the air but are having a little trouble with that first leap
of faith.
The Ollie
Named for its inventor, 1970’s Florida skater Alan “Ollie” Gelfand in
order to raise his board over curbs, the ollie is skate boarding’s and now
snowboarding’s primordial trick. It is simply a small jump which causes the
board to completely raise off the ground solely by the snowboarder’s own
force, not by any external ramp or bump. Keep your stance solid throughout,
your head and middle in line with your feet in a straight perpendicular line
from your board. Get way down on your board and than spring up, lifting your
upper body and arms followed by the front and then back of your board. Try it
on the flats a few times before you try it on the slide. You may notice you
have to violently fling your body around to get the board into the air, these
wild movements will surely cause a face plant on the slopes so try and keep it
casual and you will notice that it gets much more natural with practice.
When you begin to feel more comfortable with the landings, try it over the
small bumps and ridges on the slope, you‘ll find yourself catching air and
ass all over the place! Falling is all part of the jumping process, nothing
wrong with taking a few dives but try not to fall on locked arms, just relax
and roll/crumple when you lose your balance.
You’ll soon notice that you are actively seeking rough terrain, ridges,
tree trunks, mountain deer cubs or anything else that will give your board that
extra bit of lift, this is when you know you are ready for the kicker, also
known in Japan as the “one-make” jump. Surely you have seen these jumps
before, a large ramp with a built up landing ramp on the opposite side, kind of
like a small hill with the middle cut out.
The Kicker
One big kicker
There really is no easy way to build up to a kicker. You can’t really go over
one slowly as a practice because they are built up on the other side. When you
go for a one make you need to go big. For practice, try to find a jump that is
less built or even sloped on the backside, or even a small rise that is not a
jump at all. Before you jump, try to make sure:
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The landing is not flat.
Landing on flat terrain is dangerous, you always want to land on downward
sloping terrain. |
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The intro is smooth and
somewhat steep. You need stability and speed to go over a jump so check
for ice and bumps on the track that lead to the jump. |
Before you make your jump, visualize it start to finish, imagine it is just
like going over a rise and you’ll be amazed just how easy a jump can be.
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Keep low! While going down the
ramp you want to keep your center of balance low. Don’t bend over at the
hips though, keep your head over your middle over your feet, nice and
straight but low! |
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Lean forward. Remember this one
from your snowboarding 101 lessons? You really need to have your weight
forward.. |
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Adjust speed. Make short turns
while you approach the ramp to adjust your speed to comfort. Don’t stop
or crawl, you need to have speed to launch, just make it a comfortable
speed so you can maintain your balance. Make no adjustments on the ramp
and make sure that you are stable when you come up to the ramp. Last
second adjustments can be fatal. |
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Look forward. It sometimes even
helps to have your shoulders more open than usual (your shoulders would
normally be in a slightly open position with your front shoulder basically
in line with the front of the board. This time you may want to open your
front shoulder more so that your chest is actually facing the front of the
board.) |
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Rise up. With an ollie you may
have used your springing force to lift the board, but the jump ramp will
provide you with all the lift you need this time. Once you begin going up
the ramp, slowly rise from your low stance timing it so that when you
reach the lip of the ramp you are almost fully extended. Springing up all
at once will probably throw you off balance. |
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Lower down again. Now you are
airborne! Don’t fly in a straight standing position, crouch back down,
and maybe even try a quick grab. This will help you to keep your balance
in air. |
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Lower landing gear. As you come
back to earth, extend your legs partially, like landing gear with plenty
of shock absorbers. Take the weight of the landing in your knees. |
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Stick it! Don’t freak when
you land, board it out. You will be traveling very fast and your first
reaction will be to lock up the brakes but you have a better chance of
sticking it if you just try and ride it out for a couple of seconds before
slowing down. Just keep looking forward and ride it out. |
Your transformation is
complete
Now you are free, living in three dimensions! You have transformed from
caterpillar to butterfly. Gravity, weight, and inflated airline prices pose no
obstacles to you any longer. Go and use your newfound relationship with the air
and we’ll see you back here on earth next month!
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