Snowboarding is an amazingly adventurous winter sport that gives a feel of flying over the snow on a snowboard but only if you know the right technique to ride and balance it.
Due safety precautions are a must in this sport else one can face fatal injuries, so here we will cover some easy snowboarding tricks to give a jump start to the beginners.
As there are various styles of snowboarding – a free ride, freestyle, and free carve/race, we would focus mainly on the basics of balancing, riding and turning a snowboard especially for beginners along with some Do’s to follow.
Quick Jump
Do’s
- Buy yourself wrist guards, a helmet, lacrosse shorts, boots, good non-cotton thermal and a lightweight but waterproof jacket and a snowboard kit.
- Be aware of the snow conditions as it affects the injury patterns. A good rider enjoys every type of snow surface, however only after progression on higher skills.
Balancing
Balancing a snowboard sounds easier than being done.Leg building exercises need to be done to strengthen leg muscles. One can practice by standing on one leg and swinging the other leg out in various directions. This should be practiced regularly till you are confident.
You must balance your body weight over the center part of your foot’s arch and the head and hips to be centered too. Both your hands to be held out a little bit on both sides, but should still be focused at the center of your board. Apart from your arms which are moving on your sides, the next thing to move is your head in the same direction you’re riding.
Riding and Turning a snowboard
This part is most crucial to practice as it will set you in the right move if carefully followed as it constitutes the basic part and focuses on important body movements.
- Head should be held up and high.
- Focus on the direction you want to go.
- Your head, as well as your shoulders, need to be turned in the direction you are riding.
- Core muscles should be solely used to turn your snowboard.
- When you turn, the speed should be should be same as the speed in which you turn your shoulders
- Keep the hips balanced properly in the center of the board.
- Feet should be properly used in bindings of the board
- When you ride heel-side, you should move your feet towards the front of the snowboard
- When you ride toe-side, your feet should face the tail end of your board.
- Feet movement has a lot of impacts. For a toe-side turn, first pressure should be totally on the toes of your front foot and when the turn ends, at the back foot toes. Similarly, for a heel-side turn, begin with putting pressure on the heels of your front foot and later end it on the heels of your back foot. It’s quite easy once you practice and get the hang of it.
These steps help you understand your body and how it syncs with the snowboard. Practice the above steps, and once learned to combine them all and turn like a professional on your snowboard. Once you have mastered these you are set to experiment on different snow surfaces on mountains and make progression on this fun activity.
Remember there is no easy way to learn snowboarding though above tips are a great help, however, the key to success lies in practicing and balancing the movements.
If you are a beginner you will need the right pair of goggles, check out our guide here.
