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Freestyle in hard boots?


quest4powder

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Originally posted by NateW

<B>Spins: I have frontside 180s very consistent over just about anything, landing switch. I can take off switch almost as well as landing switch, just not quite as big.

</B>

Geezum, Switch jumps (and landings) on an alpine board is waaaay beyond me (I ride high stance angles as I have squatch feet). I am comfortable with switch carving, and throw near-ground 180s and half cabs, but haven't yet even considered taking it off a table in the park. That's awesome.

Is anyone throwing switch straight airs in the park--even off the beginner features? I'd be stoked to see that!

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You mean go off switch, stay straight, and land switch? I never thought of that before, but I'm picturing it in my head and I'm pretty sure I could do it.

Doing that with an alpine stance should look hilarious... I will try a bunch this coming season, thanks for the idea. :)

My main issue with the parks at my 'home hill' is that they put so many big jumps on flat areas. People who overshoot, land on flat (FLAT) ground, and they're just plain fxxked. I've seen too many people hauled off in toboggans, and I just don't think it needs to be that way. The real responsibility lies with the riders taking the risks, but still. You'd think they'd at least worry about the bad press or something.

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A little ot but I have seen people in the field go down in a matter of minutes due to blunt chest trauma. the dreaded pneumothorax. Ruptures and paralysis are also a decent risk from that type of ipact. Most people I have seen are involved in MVA's or high falls. I'm not 100% but I think the guy at the pass died immediately on impact due to a broken neck since it sounds like they were doing cpr on him in a matter of a minutes. I admire you guys for the air and talent you have. Nate and northcoast, we need to get together for some turns this winter. It sound like I might learn a thing or 2. Be safe and remember that life without risk is merely existing.

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Originally posted by Mike T

Right the small ones under HRM were OK. The ones under Easy Rider, though, had too long of a table for their kick and were too close together. I was able to hit the last of the three right if I skipped the first two....

I hit the first one and occaisonally the 3rd...I liked being able to go around and gap the evil "C" rails then use the bottom of the pipe as a hip. I can do the first table switch and occaisonally one footed but I have way too speed to try that silly stuff on the other two.

Art...sounds good to me if the doc says its ok. Appearantly I have another 7 months or so of rehab before I can go back to "work" on snow.:(

________

Avandia Classaction

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Sweet rail. Did he come off straight or 90'd the rest of the way and rode away switch (that would have been awesome)? The rail setup is nice as well... it's like super wide and smooth. Only the kinked rails at Kirkwood are like that... and they leave a 2-3 foot gap from the ramp (makes them "thrilling").

Gotta avoid the tindy grab though... it screams freestyle newbie ;) (i'm just kidding)

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Originally posted by NateW

I've been tindy and tailfishing all over the place.

And I like it like that. For every tindy those guys don't do, I'm going to do two!

I'm sure you bring tons of style to it to... I knew someone would get all defensive and be like "I do tindys and I like it." It's why I added the smiley face and the "just kidding" to imply I was joking. I apologized if I offended anyone and or made them feel uncomfortable with their own style of freestyle (it is FREEstyle... freedom baby).

===================================

For those are wondering what we are talking about... a tindy grab is a grab behind the bindings (where as indy is between the bindings) and not on the tail. Its basically the first grab more people learn and also the result of what happens when you miss a tailgrab (hence why it has a bad rap).

A tailfish is a usually a missed stalefish grab (again needs to be between the bindings) as the rider wasn't twisted enough to reach the desired location. Of course, from the viewers perspective... its hard to tell when someone intends to grab tindy or tailfish.

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I don't know - I think that a tindy is a lame trick. A tailfish, on the other hand can be pretty stylish - especially if you tweak it waaaay out. The problem with a tindy is that there is very little body movement and very little skill required. A tailfish (though not as good as a stalefish) is still a decent trick IMO.

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Originally posted by Phil

I don't know - I think that a tindy is a lame trick. A tailfish, on the other hand can be pretty stylish - especially if you tweak it waaaay out. The problem with a tindy is that there is very little body movement and very little skill required. A tailfish (though not as good as a stalefish) is still a decent trick IMO.

My friend tried to make a tindy look better (and invent his own trick) by grabbing tindy, but with his arm between his legs and then grab the board a foot behind his bindings while boning his front leg... or even drop-kneeing it - so his body is all contorted.

The difficult level was definitely increased. However, it was rather hard to be flexible enough to do this yoga-like grab (reminds me of sage pose) "deep" enough so that it doesn't look like you are just grabbing your foot and so it didn't look that great.

My favorite grab that's very difficult to perform and yet very stylish is the seatbelt grab which is just a tailgrab using your *front* hand (looks like a seatbelt coming across your body).

seatbelt_1666c.jpg

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Originally posted by Jack Michaud

nothing will ever top a properly boned method or mute!

(note extra style points for wearing pre-1990 boots)

;)

Haha... now that's "stylish." Were you using "mid-backs" or even "lo-backs" for extra tweakability? My friend in the other picture has an old Craig Kelly Air board with "grab sticks" which are little foam grips that you stick onto the topsheet near the edges at the spots you normally grab so you get extra leverage (and a target for your hand to aim at).

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Originally posted by Phil

Is that a mute or a rocket?

I was wondering about that myself and actually looked it up. I always thought mute grabs were between the bindings, but I think people used to call grabbing in front of the foot on the toeside edge a mute as well. Transworld seems to say that a rocket IS a mute grab... but with the leg boned out so the board is pointing straight up.

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Mute Air - The front hand grabs the toe edge either between the toes or in front of the front foot.

Rocket Air - The front hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot (mute) and the back leg is boned while the board points perpendicular to the ground.

Japan Air - The front hand grabs the toe edge in front of the front foot(mute), both knees are bent, the rear leg boned, and the board is pulled to the level of the head.

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Unless you have way flexy or lowrider boot cuffs, it seems that you'd be limited to indy, mellon, method, mute, or tail grabs in hard boots (all w/o much tweak). Also Tindy and Tailfish, but the style police would be fast on your case.

When he was doing 'iguana' airs, Damian Sanders was riding in fairly soft Koflachs. I don't know if you could get that grab if you were riding in a pair of high end hard boots.

Like the pic of the rails slide; it definitely give me something to shoot for in addition to 50-50s.

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I've got a pair of those Koflachs, they're not as soft as you think. They only flex to a point and then they stop, no more movement. Side to side they have a little more flex, and Damian used to leave the buckles loose on his back foot. He also had much flexier bindings than we're used to these days. Plus he was just nucking futs.

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Originally posted by Neil Gendzwill

Kids these days... a rocket is a double-handed nose grab.

That's what I thought it was until I read it here... because I remember there being a "cross-rocket" which was a rocket with your hands "crossed". I guess the common defining characteristic between these two versions is that the board is pulled vertical (like a rocket ready to blast off).

Anyways... yea, I mean by design hardboots are too stiff and rigid to grab and tweak that much. So it kind of limits a rider's ability to add their own style and expression to a trick (like breakdancing in a suit of armor) - good enough to screw around with though. And it's not like most people in softboots and straps are good enough to tweak their grabs either.

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Follow this link to the def. of a Rocket Air:

http://www.transworldsnowboarding.com/snow/instruction/lexicon/1,14020,,00.html?search=Search&by_letter=R&by_term=&last_result=9&this_page=2

you may be thinking of a cross-rocket. Rockets, cross-rockets and most other types of grabs I have found are doable in hardboots. I have yet to find a type of grab that cannot be done on both setups, but I would like to hear a challenge to that. They are not always as stylish or tweaked out, and they sometimes take more airtime, but they are doable.

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