Learning of Edging by Side Slipping and Down Slipping
This exercise is the first one to be done when learning snowboarding. It is not necessary to exercise a good stance, keeping balance, sliding and so on in advance. There will be better occasions for that later on. Of course, everyone have to know how to take a snowboard on and off and how to safely overturn lying on the slope.
A moderate to steep slope is the best for this exercise. A trainee initial fear (if any) of the steep slope disappears soon and this is a valuable asset for next exercises. As soon as the trainee has understood and on-the-spot practiced correct edge loading it is possible to exercise the right edging using a side slipping and down slipping. It is important to remember that the slipping is a tool not the goal in this initial phase of learning. The goal is a correct edging and all the trainer and trainee attention is to be aimed to this goal. The correct position of lower legs to boots and the role feet play to get and keep this position is that what both are interested in above all.
A buddy system is the best choice for the first ride. Other person holds the novice’s hand and walks or runs together with him. This help is important just until the novice get some experience with the sliding and until he get confident with the slope declination. Usually few tens meters of run and few stops by falling into the snow is enough for a novice to be ready for stand-alone practicing. A parallel ride of an experienced rider is another way to secure an unsure novice at the beginning of his first stand-alone ride.
As soon as the novice can tear his sight away from his feet and board, it is time to show him how to slow down and stop by pointing his front arm uphill and then waiting a little until his board turn a little uphill too. Few hundred meters of such riding is enough for novice to fixate correct edging in a degree required for learning of side and down sliding details.
The typical mistake of a novice at this stage is a fitful down sliding. It comes from novice’s fear of uncontrolled increasing of down sliding speed. The acceleration after releasing edge leads to a sub sequential reflexive increasing edge and this occurs repeatedly. To deal with this problem, it is necessary to explain that for every edging there is some constant speed of down sliding and when the edging changes the down sliding speed just gradually changes from one value to another one and then stays constant. The trainee must hold on new edging after the edging changes until the down sliding speed is constant again. The goal is to perform smooth changes of down sliding speed.
It is possible partially to change the direction of the ride during side slipping by turning the upper part of the body to the directions of mentioned change and holding the new body position until the board turns. It is so called pre-rotation. The snowboard still stays on the same edge. This is a very useful means for regulation of the ride speed. Speed increases changing direction downhill and vice versa.