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 Moves
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FrontSide 180 Move Difficutly: 4/10 Move prerequisite: Regular Jump 1. Pick out a good spot to try it out, and probably fall. After a good powdery snow is a good time to try it out, because you will have a soft landing if you fall. Avoid crowds and look for the ability to unstrap and walk up again. In general, avoid ski hills, because you will be in everyone s way, no offense. A backyard with a not-too-steep hill is good, just build a small kicker jump on it with a shovel. A "kicker" jump is good for learning. This is the kind of jump that is a basic, small ramp.
2. Put on a helmet, just in case. You could quite easily fall and injure your brain. If you have friends that snowboard, bring them over for support, tips, and so someone can call 911.
3. Strap yourself in. Line yourself up to go over the jump, and hit it. Hit it a few times before you actually try the trick. Practice getting a "pop" out of your tail as you go off. Do this stuff until you are relatively comfortable going off of the kicker. Make sure you have some good fresh snow next to the direct path, because if you fall, you don t want it to hurt. Also, try going off of it switchfooted (backwards in contrast to how you normally stand), because a 180 will spin you halfway around.
4. Decide how you will stand going off the jump. It may be wise to go off of it switchfooted and land the way you would normally. Recovering from the jump is when you are most likely to lose your balance, and you have more control when you stand in the way you are comfortable in.
5. Go for it. Strap in, and tell your mother you love her. Move your hands towards the back of your board as you approach the kicker. Now visualize yourself in midair, and imagine how much force you will need to exert to spin exactly 180 degrees. (Don t overdo it! Overspinning will lead to nasty wipeouts onto your back.) Prepare for takeoff!
6. Thrust your hands forward (this may be clockwise or counterclockwise, it depends on which way you are standing) as you jump. Spin your front foot heelward, with your back foot moving toeward. During the first 90 degrees of rotation, it will be feel kind of like doing a heel-edged stop at first. Make sure that you do not get in front of your board. Instead, stay directly above it, and/or behind it a little, but not too far!
7. Prepare for landing! Finish off spinning, and remember that your board is the thing that needs to be facing downhill when you land, your torso position isn t as crucial. Put your feet down firmly, but don t slam them. Keep your knees bent as you land, locking them will hurt. Put a little bit of weight on your heels to make your board turn a little to counter your momentum from spinning when you touch down. Now is when you could actually fall.
8. Start to stop after you completely regain control. Be careful, you are probably switchfoot right now.
9. Once you master the frontside 180, try a backside spin . Backside 180s are harder, because they require you to be temporarily facing uphill. Practice some grabs and try throwing them in too. The sky s the limit now!
10. Show off! Why did you do this in the first place? Exactly. Now go to an actual ski hill and show em what you re made of!
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