How many snowboard lessons have you had?

A snowHead

My first two hours on snow were lessons but I have not had any more snowboard lessons since then, although I am quite techie and look/watch/learn from others, books, DVDs etc

I would have lessons to learn some tricks/jumps/ etc

Any snowboard 'lesson heads' out there ?

A snowHead

I had a week of group leassons in Livigno back in 1997, which were pretty poor, then I had a one hour private lesson in Les Arcs the following year, then I just continued by myself until I didn't fall over so much.

I think most of what I learned was by watching other boarders and noting their positioning, stance, etc.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I week in avoriaz in '95 1/2 week in La Plagne in '00 as ESF guy was a tozzer.

Nothing at all, until this season when went on a McNab cliinic in Jan. Great insruction but I just could unlearn my 'kick the board' round technique to learn the mcNab method, so a bit disappointing for me really...

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You've got me thinking now, had 2x1hr lessons in the Tamworth would be around 95/96 followed by a week in Italy (all school organised). That really was a big learning experience because between our two instrutors we had a day building a kicker and had a hike up to a ridge which only two of us accepted to do it. Can't see an instructor taking one week school kids off piste now!

I too did a McNab Kommunity camp around 99 which really spurred me on as the instructors were Steve Bailey (who needs no introduction) and Marcus Chapman (now a regular in White Lines) and also shared a room with Jamie Phillips (at the time British Champion).

I'm now booked on to a BASI instructor course (as some of you may know) and wish I had done it 5-10 years ago when I was first into the sport. This will be my only 'tuition' since my Kommunity camp but I have learnt loads from 'pals for a day' to life long buds!

I am a firm beliver in the school of experience and that you need to ride with people at a higher level than yourself. I was very lucky back then and have boarded with some top riders which could only have improved my riding.

Once past the side slipping, leaf falling and initial carve turn lessons an instructor can teach you nothing. Its just about watching how other riders around you get out of situations and even put themselves in certain situations.

Sorry...I don't know where all that's just come from!!! I was only gonna list my learning curve and appear to have gone a bit 'deep'! Embarassed

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

manicpb, natural thread progression wink

but you are probably correct in what you say Very Happy

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rob@rar, Jonny luv plums, of course there are always things to learn, for example at the start of last season I was in St Anton and only a few pistes were open because of the mass of snow, and those pistes had knee deep or more powder and I asked on here how to ride in such conditions because I had not encountered it before, the reply was aggressive turns and ride fast (speed is your friend wink

), which I tried and it worked Very Happy

In similar 'ski' circumstances I would have thought that a few lessons would have been required to get the hang of skiing in powder, rather than a few words of advice, but I do not ski so I may be wrong.

It seems that a quick 'do this' hint is what is needed in most cases on a board, rather than a series of lessons, but we are all learning all the time Very Happy

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rayscoops, so is the implication that snowboarding is easier to make progress in developing technique or tactical skills?

rob@rar, I do not know and I did not really want to get in to a ski/board comparison in particular, simply wanted to know if boarders on here tended to have lessons every year because it is something I have not done as yet.

You know it makes sense.

rayscoops, OK, no worries. I'll be interested in the answers you get.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

When learning to ski it appears quite easy to snow plough down a piste at a controlled speed however when entering parallel turns some of my family have had four weeks or more on the snow and still struggle.

When learning to board you are essentially entering at parallel turns as you never have that option of returning to the snow plough to slow you down, you have to complete your turn (or as a lot of learners do fall over).

Generally people have got there linked turns after a few days otherwise they pack it in because they are fed up of bruised knees, backs, a*ses, etc and are then progressing pretty rapidly. However skiers often (as I say I'm generalising here and may be totally wrong) appear to bottle the speed gained in a parallel turn and revert to the snow plough.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Most people never have lessons beyond 1-3 days on board and give enough hill time will progress at their own rate with no further lessons fine.

Its quote normal for a snowboarder to be doing blacks, powder , tree runs , jumps in the second week of boarding. All the tecqunique to do this is lernt in the first few days.

I had one "advanced lesson" which in hindsight was a waste of time, as the instructor just tried to mould me in to a clone of his "style". My technique was basically sound and need no change. ( i was bullied by a skier that lessons was the thing to do).

The most important thing is to ride with better boarders. I would advise a guide rather than instructor once you are confident in most conditions.

Tux

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I don't board myself, but two of my kids swapped from skiing to boarding a couple of years ago. The lad had no lessons at all, (although he had skateboarded a lot), and picked it up in about an hour. Today he can carve a pretty good turn, do jumps, and look graceful getting down anything but the iciest black.

My youngest daughter had a couple of days of 2 hour lessons and has also never looked back.

Based on this (observed) experience, and comparing it to my other teenagers progression on skis (and my own) I would say that day one on a board involves a LOT more falling down, but after that your're pretty much sorted. WEEK one on skis involves a gradual transition from terror to slightly less terror, with little falling down, but a lot of snow ploughing, and thereafter to progress further lessons are definitely required.

Of course to get REALLY good on either will need both dedication and tuition, but for the average punter, boarding does seem a much 'simpler' way to slide down the hill. I'd give it a go myself but my knees and butt don't fancy the pain of day one. snowHead

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No lessons for me on the snowboarding front, but I had been a skier of 25yrs prior to it so that helped a lot I think..

I did however printed/read out some stuff off the web about turn techniques etc... and It certainly did help loads in learning to turn and link my turns..

Up to last year I was also kind of at the "top" of a group beginners/low intermediates..Back in January though, new group and I was at the botton of that one..All the other boarders were much better/faster than me. That also did loads of good for my riding as per what manicpb getting at really..

It also did wonders for my fitness as I always played catch-up and hardly had a chance to rest all day! Laughing

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2 sets of private lessons totalling 6 hours & a MK 2 hr lesson brush up in between them, & lots of practice snowHead

But I also skied before boarding.

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DebbiDoesSnow, girly swot wink

After all it is free

rayscoops, oh & I watched the McNab (i think) snowboarding DVD & I have a book Blush

and I'm still crap Embarassed

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I had a 2 hour lesson at Calshot on the boarding dry slope and then headed straight for the mountain when I was on my gap year. It was only when I was nearly at the top of the mountain on my first attempt at recalling how to do falling leaf that fear gripped me! Fortunately in Bariloche there were random people around that would give you a quick 1 hr lesson and taught me turn.

I have never looked back. By day three I was carving and on blacks.

I have bought the same McNab book/DVD that DebbiDoesSnow, watched to try improve my technique and avoid the skiddy turns.

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But going back to rayscoops, point about lessons, I can jump off things and get some air a ft or so off ground. No grace or technique - just ridges to jump off. I would love to be able to do it properly.

THere is a lot to be said to be riding with people that are better than you as you do learn alot. My friends all seem to be about the same level so we spur each other on, but struggle to learn new techniques.

I think it's a bit of a shame that the "learned it all in the first 3 days" myth persists with snowboarding. About 99% of the snowboarders on the mountain are rubbish at it. They have poor, back-foot reliant technique, which allows them to kick their way down just about anything, but at the end of the day it's snowboarding's equivalent of a snow-plough turn. I reckon I see maybe one person per week who can carve. Most 3-day snowboarders talk the talk about their rad carving but almost no-one can actually do it.

Sorry for the rant, but I really wish more people would take more lessons, it really, really, really would make a difference (assuming you get the right instructor).

Riding with people better than yourself is cool, and helps with many things, but most riders either have poor technique themselves or have no idea how to explain what they do.

You know it makes sense.

stevomcd, are you an instructor?

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I've got my BASI lvl 1, but I don't work as an instructor. Level 1 made such an enormous difference to me, when I'd been riding 8 years and thought I knew it all...

A snowHead

Fair point stevomcd, - I have certainly been there with confidence getting up very quickly at beginning, but still had a long way to go to develop my technique.

A snowHead

stevomcd, I do not think carving is the 'be all and end all of boarding' and most boarders are simply lazy carvers (and if i had relied solely on carving I would now be dead Shocked

), and just because a boarder does not spend all day doing prissy carved turns down the mountain it does not make them rubbish at boarding.

Imv there are many ways of getting down the mountain and carving is just one of them, I agree there are lots of boarders who have a skiddy back foot and I would suggest they are not the most experienced, there are also lots of boarders with a strong front foot stance who are not really carving either but are nevertheless good boarders riding correctly, safely and in control imv, but riding in much more of a straight line than would be achieved in comparison with carving, sometimes I do carve but I find it quite tiresome and I personally have adopted a technique that rocks from edge to edge and is quite a 'soft foot' technique/ method, the board runs on its edge but I do not really let it follow its natural sidecut carve trajectory, a bit like riding straight on a narrow/flat track and running on an edge by twisting the board a bit.

99% of boarders may not be pure carvers but they are certainly not rubbish wink

edit - ps - if you get your BASI II will you give me a lesson Little Angel

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rob@rar, a boarder who could carve good turns would also be able to do skiddy back foot turns too wink

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rob@rar, anyway we digress, how many ski lessons have you had? and are you going to do BASI I snowboarding as your second discipline ? Very Happy

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rob@rar, depends where you're sticking the weight Smile

edge control, pedalling and weight transfer (fore and aft) get a good carve going. I still dont get the swiss way of teaching with the arms outstretched upper body separation thing and no weight transfer. Maybe its quick results for 1 week boarders I dunno.
I'm teaching someone privately at the moment and the first thing I did was get them to hold their trousers while turning, killed off that swiss upper body thing straight away.

On my course we had to demonstrate basic turns. I was under the impression that a skidded turn was poor technique and carved everything. That was wrong apparantley and more for L2. I also did most of my course switch because I was the only goofy and my stoners brain couldnt cope Laughing

We had to do blindfolded freestyle as well, the instructor would call out the tricks we had to do (cab 3 etc) made a big difference to riding in a white out.

Help!!

How many snowboard lessons have you had?

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