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New Snowboarder

4K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  Fewdfreak 
#1 ·
I am a skier and today i tried out snowboarding. My friend broke his arm when he fell so that's kinda making me scared to fall so now i have a fear of going fast i am terrified to even get off the bunny hill so any tips would be helpful.
 
#5 ·
As mentioned, it's all about learning to fall properly and safely and staying within a 'safe-ish' margin of risk.

There are two main golden rules to remember when falling while snowboarding:

Rule 1) Don't stick your hands out in front or behind you to break your fall. Your natural reaction is to do this, but with snowboarding you have to train yourself to stop doing it.

Things like wrist fractures, dislocations etc tend to happen a lot more because people stick their hands out and the force of impact bends their arms in ways it's not meant to bend.

It's much safer to take the impact with everything tucked in and close to your body when you fall and just let your whole body take the fall instead of trying to break your fall with your hands.

So for example, if you fall forwards, you'd want to keep your hands and arms tucked up against your chest and fall with your forearms braced against your chest instead of falling onto your hands/wrists like you'd normally want to do. Instead of falling onto your wrist, then you'd be falling onto your braced forearms and chest, which is a lot less risky.

Rule 2) Go with the fall.

With most falls, the best idea is to go with the fall. What I mean by this is you don't want to fight against whatever direction you're falling and try to stop suddenly, instead you want to just tuck your arms in and let your body go with the fall and let the force get absorbed by the slope as you slide down the snow.

This is why you'll notice if you watch advanced riders in the park falling on jumps or even just on normal runs they'll just relax and slide down the landing before getting back up if they fall. They don't fight against the fall because most times it's better to just let the slope and snow absorb the impact instead of trying to fight it and breaking an arm in the process.
 
#7 ·
LOL! That would do it!

....at the risk of scaring the skier even further, ;) ...and possibly jacking the thread. It occurred to me to ask if when falling "properly." Has anyone else ever had any trouble with whiplash type issues afterward?

I've noticed on a few occasions after some fairly hard slams, that for the next few days I can sometimes experience a fair amount of pain in the muscles in and around my neck. Specifically the sides of my neck or even down into/around my collar bone and the upper part of my sternum. Both with, or without having hit my my head.

I attributed this to tensing up and trying to keep my helmeted melon from smacking the hardpack. Anyone else had this problem? (....or am I just likely carrying around a big assed pumkin' perched on a "bendy straw?") lol!

I was wondering about this because when falling properly, with extremities tucked in close. I would think the head and neck have a higher probability of being whipped/snapped one way or t'uther as the upper body hits the ground! I assume it's probably worse/more likely to occur like this while wearing a helmet due to the extra weight my neck is trying to support/steady in a fall?

Any thoughts?
 
#9 ·
Every sport has its own risks. Sure, snowboarding may be a little more extreme than other sports, but if you take the precautions mentioned above, you'll have much less of a risk of injury.

When it comes to going too fast, I suggest trying some slopes falling-leaf style, until you get comfortable, and you can judge the steepness of the slope. And if you should decide that it's too much and that freeriding isn't for you just yet, maybe try your hand in the park with some beginner moves. It can be just as fun.

Just take baby steps if you need to, and try not to let your fears keep you from having a great time snowboarding, because it can really be a lot of fun!!
 
#11 ·
save the titties...grab you mammies...no wacky da racky...meaning fist your hands up to your chest.
tuck, get compact try to hit with the biggest body part and stay loose
if going backwards...try to sit down...but on one cheek/hip or the other...save the tail bone...and roll back
if blasting, drop in the knees and get low...slide it out...burning off speed
go down at an angle to glance and slide
 
#16 ·
I had whiplash-type pain for weeks after slamming on my back and hitting my head hard after riding switch fast on a flattish icy hill. Sucked the next day when it set in but I am fairly certain I would have been knocked out cold or worse if I didn't have the helmet on. Helmets may be restrictive but worth it.

Otherwise like others have said fall smart. I try to bail on my butt if I can but even that can get painful. I also try to ride with my fists balled if possible bc I always seem to jam my fingers or thumbs back if I go down with an extended hand.



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#19 ·
I started snowboarding this weekend. Used to ski and have been windsurfing since 97. I have never ever experienced such pain from multiple intense falls. Day 2 was way better. I did not learn how to fall. I suppose that will be in lesson 3. Everyone said get butt pads. I wish I headed their advice. I cannot even sit properly, but am hooked.
 
#23 ·
I just started to snowboard and like others have mentioned, you want to just go with the fall. Do not try to fight it because it seems like you could get an arm/wrist/ knee/leg caught up and bamm that is where injury happens.
I fell a lot the first time around, and my main concern was learning how to fall. I do not want to break anything!
I fell a couple times where I just sorta glided down the mountain without feeling hurt.
 
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