Consistancy

Question
Hey Ben, I've got a few questions if you don't mind:
So I'm trying to get consistant with my 270-ons, and having kind of a hard time.  When I first learned the trick (switch to frontside) I'd get it pretty much everytime. Now I slip off the other side of the rail/box all thie time and its mad frustrating. how do I stay on and keep it steady the whole way?

Also, can you share some visualization techniques with me, as well as anything else nifty to keep in mind when spinning or sliding?

Thanks a lot!

Answer
yo mike,

thanks for a question about actual snowboarding.  most people just ask me what board to buy.

ok, so switch front 270 to front board.  there's a couple things to keep in mind to be consistent

1.  when you're standing at the top of the drop in before you go, close you eyes or keep them open whatever you prefer(i close mine) and see yourself doing the trick flawlessly with as little effort as possible.  See yourself getting to the end of the rail fully composed and coming off with smooth style.  Go through the motions with your arms and legs and head and feel what it will be like when you actually do it.  take deep breaths to focus your mind.  Sometimes my mind will mess with me and I'll visualize myself falling.  don't worry if this happens, just stop the visualization and start again.  Do  this in your mind until you have it perfect.  This way, you've already done the trick perfectly in your mind and now you just have to do it again with your body, which is just an extension of your mind right?

2.  when you've got it perfect in your mind, you'll be confident and then just drop in as soon as you can while you've got the feeling of landing the trick still in you.

3.  Sometimes when you do a move over and over a little something gets thrown off because your paying attention to so many things at once.  You're probably not making it to the end of the rail because of some small change in the way your doing it.  This can be changed easily if you discover what it is your doing wrong.  

I'm goofy footed so if I'm approaching the rail switch I'd be on the right side of it with my back to the rail.  If I understand you correctly you're falling off the far side of the rail which for me would be the left side of the rail.  This is probably because you are approaching the rail at the wrong angle or you are too close or too far away from it when you jump on.

If you come at a sharp angle to the rail your forward movement may be over the rail so you keep moving over it once you're on and eventually fall off because you can't counteract your moving in that direction.  If this is true, try to go at the rail/box from a more parallel angle so you're moving with the direction of the rail.

If you are to close to the rail when you go off the lip, you might be jumping over it too much and that's why your falling off the other side.  try hitting it from a little further to the side.   maybe further than you think you need to even.

If you are too far away from the rail you might be using extra ollie to get over to it and that energy either throws you off balance or projects you off the rail.  If so move closer to the rail, but make sure you don't hit your nose on the front or side of the rail because you were too close, thats a world of pain right there!

4.  Try to land on the rail with it right between your feet or maybe even a little closer to your front foot so you don't go over the other side.  Once your on the rail, keep your legs turned to front board but keep your front shoulder turned out towards the downhill. This will keep you centered and ready to come out regular.  Sometimes if you turn your front shoulder in to go down blind and come out switch, it makes you rotate off the rail on the other side too early.  If you want to come out switch, make sure you are centered on the rail with your feet.

5.  Once you're on the rail, staying on is all about being quick on your toes and light on your feet.  If you feel yourself going off in one direction lean your upper body in the opposite direction while pressing with your feet in the direction you want to go.

Now, a note about visualization.  I think it is the most important part of doing anything.  If you can see yourself doing it in your mind's eye, then you're way more likely to be able to actually do it.  You can do it in bed before you go to sleep although that usually keeps me up because I get so excited.  Just try to do it when you don't have other distractions, but do it as much as possible!  I didn't snowboard for 9 months because I hurt my knee, so during the last couple months before the season I spent a lot of time visualizing myself in the first person(meaning i saw what my eyes would see) doing 720's off big jumps in all directions.  I imagined what the wind would feel like, how warm or cold it would be, what the sunlight would look like on the trees as I spun 60 feet through the air.  I imagined every tiny aspect of the feeling of doing those 720's.  I'd do them in a line of four jumps one after another.   I'd do the visualization over and over until I did every trick flawlessly.  I'd actually start with a line of 180's, then a line of 3's, then 5's and then 7's and then 9's.  I'd never landed a frontside 720 or a switch backside 720, but by the time the snow came I had already done them perfectly hundreds of times in my mind.  No joke, I stomped both my frontside and switch backside 720's first try that season after doing a couple warm up 540's.  It was the best feeling in the world!


A word about frustration.  Use it to your advantage.  If you try a trick a hundred times and fall every time, you've still learned something.  It is not a waste of time.  Sometimes it's best to give the trick a break and do something else for a while and come back to it.  You might get it first try when you come back to it.  When you stomp the trick, I think you'll agree that all the frustration was worth it.

Lets see, other things to keep in mind...  remember that snowboarding is fun!  Do it for yourself and enjoy every minute of it, even the frustration and pain.  Don't let anyone take you away from what you love.

your board will follow your head in most cases but especially when you're in the air.  If you want to do a 720 you can't spot your landing like you would a 540 (at about 380)  and then try to huck the last 180 around,  it doesn't work.  You need to keep your head turned and spot your landing at about 530 or later and keep your shoulders turned.

be confident before you drop lest you get hurt.  Don't do anything you know is way above your skill level.  Pros don't get to be pro by hurting themselves and being out for a season.  Its better to take little steps and progress steadily so that you are fully confident and can school whatever you're doing.

If you are hauling ass at a big kicker and the wind picks up against you and you get the feeling you might not clear the jump. STOP, ABORT, PULL OUT!!!  I've see way to many people get hurt by not clearing jumps myself included.  

ALSO, before you hit a jump you have not hit before, go and look at it from the side first and also ask someone that is about your same height and weight what the speed is like and if they've waxed recently.  Get as much information about the right speed before you drop.  watch some people hit it first.

Over shooting jumps is worse than under shooting them.  

Hesitation equals devastation.

Don't do anything you feel unsure of because you were pressured into it or you saw someone else do it.  Chances are they've got more experience than you do and they're not the ones that are going to be hurting if you fall.

Don't ever think of falling or getting hurt right before doing a trick, because that is exactly what'll happen if you do.

Watch out for idiots in the terrain park.


I hope this advice helps.  keep progressing.

Ben