Snowboarding Gear - What Do I Need?
The right snowboarding gear is essential to having a great day
on the slopes. Below are a few pointers for picking what's right
for you:
Head Gear
* Choose a helmet that fits your head...read more
Snowboarding pants
Baggie pants can be more than just fashionable. Do you remember the days of having to put a snowsuit on in order to go out sledding or skiing? No matter what you did the snowsuit would always climb,...read more
Tips For Learning How To Snowboard
Learning to snowboard is difficult just like any new thing that
you may try. It will take time to learn, but by doing simple
things and learning simple techniques, you will be...read more
Optical illusions when snowboarding
By Jakob Jelling
While Shifties are a snowboarding trick they are also an optical illusion. When doing a Shifty you are creating the illusion of doing a 180-degree turn in the air and reversing it before you land. Of course since it is an optical illusion you do not really turn 180-degrees.
Twisting your body in opposite directions once you are in the air creates this optical illusion. While this can take a little bit to get used to it isn't as hard as it sounds. As with all aerial tricks the key to this is timing.
The first step is to become airborne. This can be done by via an Ollie, a ramp or whatever else you happen across that will get you off the ground. Ideally you should launch up in to the air more than you want to move forward. Going up more than forward will improve the look of your trick and provide you with more time to set it up and recover from it.
Once you have left the ground you can begin to twist the upper and lower portions of your body in opposite directions. The technique for twisting your lower body is much the same as doing a 180. Push your forward foot to the side that you wish it to spin while keeping your rear foot basically planted so as to act as a virtual pivot point. An important thing to bear in mind is to not twist your hips.
Twisting your upper body may be a little easier. The easiest way to twist is to simply point your head the way you want your body to turn and the rest of you will naturally follow. Once again be careful not to twist your hips, as they are the anchor points for your body. If you do twist your hips you may find that you turn too far and thus have trouble giving the impression of having turned 180-degrees or landing your trick smoothly.
If you time everything correctly you will complete the maneuver just as your reach the peak hieght of your air. At this point it is time to start returning to your normal position and preparing for the landing. The hardest thing to realign is your feet. Make sure you focus on twisting them back to normal even before you start to untwist your upper body. As you approach the ground make sure that you are looking where you want to go, that your snowboard is straight and your knees are slightly bent to absorb the impact.
As you can see a Shifty is an interesting optical illusion that you can easily learn to do. While challenging yourself is a great way to improve your skills quickly, begin learning this one by turning only 45-degrees the first few times. This will help you avoid an uncomfortable landing that can put an end do your day of snowboarding.
About the Author
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.snowboardinghelp.com. Please visit his website to discover the world of snowboarding!
adidas by Stella McCartney Spring/Summer '09 (Scoop.co.nz) Successfully grown since 2005, the distinctive fitness fashion collection for women introduced the new spring/summer 2009 collection at an energetic, sport performance presentation at ‘Stella’s Gym’ during London Fashion Week. The brand also introduced ...
warren miller film tour 2008 (Natives.co.uk) Winter starts here - the Warren Miller Film Tour “When it’s cold and snowing, others run inside, but Children of Winter do the opposite.” So says Max Bervy, director and producer of Children of Winter which will be touring more than 40 towns in the UK from 12 November until mid-January for this year’s Warren Miller Film Tour. We've got all the dates and locations here , and tickets will go on ...
