Rules Of Snowboarding

THE WORLD WE LIVE IN:

* Newton was right.

* Inertia is the physical law that states: A body in motion, unaffected by anything else, stays in constant motion. A body at rest, unaffected by anything else, stays at rest.

* For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

* Gravity works, as applied to your riding: Whichever end of the snowboard has the most weight over it goes down the hill first.

* As you get better you will learn to use the forces you create to make turns that don't rely solely upon gravity. As you get better you will learn to use the forces you create to carry yourself across the hill and into the next turn. The better your technique, the more you will be able to harness these forces and channel them through your board. This way your board can do the work for you.

RULES OF SNOWBOARDING:

* Ride a well-tuned snowboard. If you take care of your snowboard, it will take care of you on the hill. The board will also last much longer with proper care.

* I like to refer to this principle as the "Golden Rule of Snowboarding". The golden rule states: If you are traveling straight down the hill and you engage the downhill edge, you will trip over the downhill edge and slam, hard. Ouch! Stay on that uphill edge and stay on top of your board.

* The only time you do not have an uphill and downhill edge is when your board points straight up or down the hill.

* Speed and direction control is very simple. The faster you want to go, the more you flatten the board to the snow and point it down the hill. The more you want to control your speed and direction, the more you turn your board across the hill and dig your edges into the snow. You can also use the shape of the turn for speed control. The slower you want to go, the shorter the radius and the more frequent the turn. The faster you want to go, the wider the radius and the less frequent the turn.

THE MIND:

* All limitations are self-imposed.

* Your mind is the most powerful force you have at your command. If you really want to do something, keep at it. It may take awhile, but you will succeed if you really want to. In other words, don't quit, ever.

* The mind leads, the body follows.

* Think of your eyes as the headlights of the mind. Shine them in the direction you want to go. Look in the direction you want to go, and you will probably go there.

* Use the mind to anticipate your physical actions. The faster you travel down the hill, the further you want to look down the hill. Mental anticipation relies on your ability to see what is coming up. When you anticipate the environment around you, your actions will be early. When you fail to anticipate the environment, your actions will be late, and you will be forced to rely solely on reflexes to stay over your board.

* If you are having trouble with the task at hand, relax and commit. Relax first. Stop and sit down if you have to. Riding with the ordinary forces placed against you is difficult enough, being tense and rigid will only make matters more difficult. It is tough to focus on what you are doing when you feel like this. Relax and let your bodywork. By committing mentally to what you want to do, you can focus the greatest amount of mental energy and physical power possible. Everything else will seem secondary. This relaxed and focused state of being is an extremely effective means by which to accomplish your desired goals.

* The ten-second principle states: If you look at something for ten seconds and it still gives you the willies...look for another way down the hill.

* Mental visualization is the act of using your mind to prepare for the task at hand before actually performing the task. It is a way to better prepare yourself and increase the likelihood of your success. I like to think of this thought process as a "mental movie". This movie can be played over and over with attention focused upon specific details. Your mental practice can be perfect every time for the race, pipe run, or first carved turn you have been wanting for so long to execute.

PRINCIPLES OF THE BODY:

* Use your body to stay over the board and ride it. Otherwise the board will take you for a ride.

* Try to originate movements from your Center of Gravity (COG). This is the most stable part of your body.

* The cone of balance represents a "zone of stability" around you. If you stay within the cone, you will be able to balance yourself over the board. If you travel outside of the cone, you will become unstable.

* Generally speaking the lower and closer you are over the board, the wider your cone of balance and the more stable you will be when you ride. The higher and further you are over the board, the smaller your cone and the less stable you will be. As your cone of balance shrinks, you will have less and less room for error.

* The natural ready stance (the athletic stance) is a position where the body is situated in the way it was meant to work. Everything is easier from this stance. It is your most powerful and flexible body position. The trick is to understand that your body is designed to move in forward direction -snowboarding moves sideways.

* A forward facing stance may be appropriate for riders with high (45+ degree) binding angles on their board. It is twisted but with practice can be worked with in any situation. If you ride with low binding angles and find your body twisting a great deal toward the tip of the board, try to face your head down the hill by turning with your neck rather than with the entire body in order to see where you are going.

* The bodyspring uses the elastic properties of your muscles to work to your advantage. Twisting around will build up energy inside the body. By committing to the new direction and relaxing, your body will naturally unwind and release the energy built up throughout your body. Efficient snowboarding technique uses the body's ability to wind and unwind itself to turn the snowboard.

* Guiding your board around by using

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