Snowboard Club UK (SCUK) :: View topic - 'Flailing arms' syndrome...

Snowboard Club UK (SCUK)

Technique - 'Flailing arms' syndrome...

dman88 - Jul 23, 2010 - 01:43 PM
Post subject: 'Flailing arms' syndrome...

Hey,

Every time I jump off a kicker, and if I reach a certain height, I always find myself flailing my arms about wildly until I land. I know its really stupid but I can't seem to help it. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do?

Thanks for your time,
Dman

Alaric - Jul 23, 2010 - 01:48 PM
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Yeah, man up and stop being such a big girl! Wink

eldi - Jul 23, 2010 - 02:02 PM
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how about a grab ?

ColdComfort - Jul 23, 2010 - 02:12 PM
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Pffft- Nothing wrong with 'Doing the Eagle' dude - wear it with pride !

in all seriousness - that grab idea is a good one !

craignixon - Jul 23, 2010 - 02:24 PM
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Grabs are your friend.

Unless you're like me and you do the squid.

Vaguely waving your arms below your body trying to find an edge Very Happy

jibatron - Jul 23, 2010 - 02:53 PM
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As the other guys have said grabs are a good way to help stability in the air.

If I can recommend 2 things that helped me with the window winding though.

1) Get someone to film you and have a look at your run and the way you take off. I used to really throw my body up off of jumps and made it really unstable in the air, but had no idea what I was doing until I saw it on camera

2) Where are you looking when you reach the height each time? If looking down at the floor and not your landing it can make your posture mid air change, and might be putting you off balance.

Might/might not help, but other things to try Smile

ColdComfort - Jul 23, 2010 - 03:57 PM
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Do make sure you know how to grab properly tho otherwise u can end up corking or something and landing on something soft and squidgy or hard and snappy Sad

dman88 - Jul 23, 2010 - 04:32 PM
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Great advice guys, thanks! The plan was to practice straight airs before moving onto grabs... but I'm happy to start on the grabs tonight at Hemel. =)

D

cantridepete - Jul 24, 2010 - 03:39 PM
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how did it go?

my suggestion would be to make sure your riding the kicker properly to begin with...... pick a point to drop in from and ride straight into the kicker without any speed checks and try to put it on a flat base. keep your shoulders parrallel with the board so your've not got any twists in there anywhere and gently pop of the lip of the kicker bringing your board upto you. dont grab, but do keep both of your hands in the right position like a monkey stance so if you boned either leg your nose or tail would naturally go into your hand Smile

Once your confortable doing that on bigger kickers all the grabs will become much easier Smile

dman88 - Jul 24, 2010 - 10:55 PM
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Didn't get much kicker practice in the end as my calfs randomly cramped up so spent more time practising on long boxes. >.<.

Still, I did attempt the 4 basic grabs (between the feet) coasting off kickers and it wasn't so bad. Next time I'll attempt them while popping. Grabs really make sense tho, as it's like giving yourself something to do while in the air so you don't need to wipe any windows. =P

Nose and tail grabs are also on my to-get list, but I think I'll work on them after I get comfortable with the first 4. Can't try to pick up too much at one time...

Thanks again for all the suggestions!
D

BillyBenbo - Jul 25, 2010 - 10:37 AM
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dman88 wrote:

Indy's are your best friend for keeping stability in my opinion, Once perfected they are great to tweak as well.

FunkyMunky - Jul 25, 2010 - 09:13 PM
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An indy will keep your body in the perfect position for your jump. When you leave the lip draw your knees up high towards your chest and reach down for the grab. Start off by just trying to tap your hand on your edge rather than going for a full on grab, then when uou get the feel for it go for a full on grab.

It'll keep your body nice and tucked with knees bent ready to stomp that landing

cheesy_wiggles - Jul 25, 2010 - 09:42 PM
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Try riding down the slope and practice a couple of small pops whilst arms behind your back. Then move up to the kicker, gain a decent amount of speed and ride off the entrance to the kicker without any pop at first and land on the exit before riding off. I found that worked for me first.

I guess its all down to preference, what works the best for each individual.
Maybe have the "this could be my last ever jump that i do approach" and think about having to nail it perfect.

dman88 - Jul 25, 2010 - 10:33 PM
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I'm still at the stage where I'm really just tapping my board as opposed to an actual 'grab'. I don't think I get enough time to hold my hand on the board off small practice kickers. Should I move onto the bigger ramps?
Also, good point about bringing the knees up for the grab. I think I'm bending down to the board rather than bringing the board 'up' using the knees. It makes more sense, and its something else to practice/think about.
Cheers guys, and keep the tips coming! =D
D

NickE - Jul 25, 2010 - 10:59 PM
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If you're riding at Hemel on a Friday night, you should ask one of the coaches to watch you and give you some feedback. They're the guys in the red jackets and they're there to help. They should be able to give you a much better answer to your questions, having watched you do a couple of jumps.

cantridepete - Jul 26, 2010 - 08:48 AM
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you do need to pop of the kicker, its the pop that assists in bringing the board upto you, without it everything becomes more difficult Smile

charlie - Jul 26, 2010 - 09:51 AM
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Get someone to duct tape your arms to your body, that'll sort it! There's the added bonus of amusing your friends when you fall over and try to stand up again Smile

kristopho - Sep 02, 2010 - 07:55 AM
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i would suggest first make sure your riding over the jump with a good solid centred stance i.e. knees bent pointed outwards back straight with your body over the board arms pointing to the tip and tail( this also helps keep the weight over the board and stops you twisting at the waist which can make you feel off balanced.)

when you go off the jump bring you knees up to you body, and as you come to land straighten up you legs to take the landing.

if you want to add a grab i would practice this before hitting the jump either stap one foot in and practice grabs stood up like this, or lie on you back and pracitce the grabs, these get you use to bring you knees up to you raver than bending down to you board which will put your balance off.

i also imagine handle bars outa my hips, helps to keep arms form flailing

callum.snape - Sep 06, 2010 - 11:30 PM
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Your not the only one, its such a common issue for people.

When it comes to park riding start small and progress up. Your arms are a stance and balance problem, when your doing straight air's keep your body fixed in a triangle position "the freestyle triangle". From you head down to your arms and then to the nose/tail of you board. Obviously making sure you really flex and extend your lower joints.

As for the grabs, everyone brakes at the waist and leans over at first, just get comfortable then keep your back straight and bring your knees up to you, practice it on mellow terrain. But your trying it which is the best thing!

stew-t - Sep 08, 2010 - 10:17 AM
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The way I learn these things, be aware of what you're doing, but have someone on hand to tell you after what you did. That way you know how it felt to be doing what it was. It makes adjusting easier as you know the feeling.

Insano_Deyno - Sep 08, 2010 - 11:18 AM
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stew-t wrote:

Having someone watch you is a great way to improve. I used to have quite a few issues with bending at the back (arse out) and getting right over my toe edge instead of bending at the hips and keeping a straight back. Didnt notice I was doing it until one of my mates pointed it out.