Search Snowboard Manual
Table of Contents
Mastering Advanced Turns explores progressions and methods for teaching a variety of advanced turn types used within advanced freeriding, carving and freestyle. We will also look at where and when to use these types of turns on the varying terrain that advanced riders will encounter as they begin or continue to challenge themselves.
Terrain Unweighted Turns
What, Why, How
Using the terrain to unweight the snowboard with a flexed-edge-change sequence.
Terrain unweighting allows us to perform flexed-edge-change turns in more undulating and uneven terrain.
VIDEO: Terrain Unweighted Turns with Richie Johnston
9
Start by recapping the flexed-edge-change sequence. Explain how we can make similar turns but by using the terrain to unweight the snowboard.
9
As a stationary exercise, have the student lie on their back with the base of their snowboard pointing up. Push down on the base so the rider can feel pressure on their feet as if they were riding. Whilst pushing on the base of the snowboard ask the student to relax their legs; have them notice how the pressure from your hands makes the legs flex as they relax. This is similar to how we can use rises in terrain or bumps to unweight the snowboard and change edges in a flexed position.
9
Take the student into some bumps and have them feel the sensation of unweighting the snowboard while traversing and absorbing the bumps. At the end of each traverse use this movement to unweight the snowboard and make a turn. Slowly shorten the traverse until the student is linking the turns through the bumps, unweighting by flexing over the bump.
9
Adapt the terrain with bigger and smaller bumps, natural spines or ridges, rollers, banks, gullies etc etc.
Example
To help your student understand the timing: “You’re a monster truck with quick firing adjustable suspension that can be controlled from the driver’s seat in a split second. As the front wheels begin to ride over a large bump you, the driver, hit the adjustable suspension button and the wheels pull up. At the same time you rotate the steering wheel into a turn.”
Movements & Board Performance
Vertical & Longitudinal with Pressuring
It is important to maintain responsive legs, allowing the snowboard to be physically pushed up under the body and blended with fore and aft movements to aid absorption. By allowing the legs to move vertically with the terrain we can unweight the snowboard and change edges.
Lateral with Edging
These are matched to the snow condition but should be minimised in tricky conditions to keep the body balanced over the base of support. This keeps the rider balanced at all times while riding uneven terrain.
Rotational with Steering
Movement here is focused in the ankles, knees and hips. The upper body remains relatively stable; however, anticipation movements may also be utilised.
Terrain & Group Management
Perform the stationary steps on flat terrain. Easy off-piste with lots of undulations, like a blue bump run, should be used for terrain unweighting with a flexed-edge-change.
Hot Tip
For a challenge in terrain unweighting with a flexed-edge-change, try pivot slips in the bumps to feel out the timing of the terrain unweighting.
Corrective Teaching
Student has excessive upper body movement including use of the arms to combat instability (a common issue with terrain unweighting):
9
Keep the hands low to aid balance.
9
Reinforce a stable upper body and the continual active use of flexion and extension in the lower body to maintain board-to-snow contact. This will result in an increase of stability with a quieter upper body.
9
Ensure the terrain selection and slope variables are not too challenging for the student. Remember to build up to larger terrain changes as evidence of comfort and stability appear consistently in the student’s riding.
Student over-flexes at the hips (breaking at the waist) when initiating the toe turn:
9
Review how to create efficient flexion using more range in the ankles and knees to move vertically closer to the board for edge change.
9
Ensure that when developing terrain unweighted turns, the terrain changes are not sufficiently large enough to encourage too large a range of hip flexion to be used for absorption. Terrain selection will be key here.
9
Focus on starting the movement from the ankles so the knees move laterally across the snowboard first.
9
Have the student focus on how low their hips are, rather than their shoulders or head.
Self Reflection
9
“Do my students have the timing of a flexed-edge-change pattern already?”
9
“Are they comfortable enough in the terrain of choice to be able to focus on the changing movement patterns?”