(Jason Watkins) wrote in message . com...
You can practice this without jumping (actually I suggest you practice
it, because it will help train you to avoid catching your edges). Go
down a slope for like 5 feet and half twist you shoulders in the
direction of rotation while still riding straight. Then without
counter-rotating (i.e. twisting your hips and shoulders in opposite
direction) slowly spin 90 degree like a skidding toeside turn, then
untwist your shoulders and look up the hill (oppo and you should see
you hips will not "counter-rotate" and you board will swing the
remaining 90 degrees, ride for a full second (count to one one
thousand) this part is a little tough (riding blind) but it's key, and
then finally turn your head and shoulder to look down the hill without
turning your board.

Ok, can you go through this again, I'm having a really hard time
visualizing it and it sounds damn interesting.

PS, saw a picture you posted over on the catek forums... that looks
like timberline in the summer. Did you do the high cascade camp or
windells or something? Whoever that is in the picture, they look ready
for the cover of transworld. If that's you, damn you know what you're
talking about.

Heh, that is actually my friend Blake, the person who taught me this
180 technique (and pretty much everything else I know). I have some
photos of myself and they aren't quite as impressive as Blake is an
awesome rider (plus unlike Blake, I was lacking such a good
photographer =]) I believe this photo was taken at Killington, VT in
mid/late April. I have been to High Cascade at Timberline for a few
summers. Blake actually worked for High Cascade (again he was the one
who told me about it).

About the technique. The idea for a 180 (only 180 and 180 only!!! this
will not work for a 360... well 540, but let's not go there yet) is
that you will "counter-rotate" the last 90.

Counter-rotation is when you twist you shoulders one way and swing you
legs in the opposite rotation. You can see this affect sitting on a
rotating chair (office fun!). Squat on your chair seat and fully
extend your arms to the right (from the center of your body so you
don't start rotating yet), now rotate your arms and shoulders to the
left and your legs should rotate the in opposite direction (fun, eh?).
Notice you can rotate your legs about 90 degree from their original
position. Note that for pretty much everything else, counter-rotation
is a bad thing, since most of the time you want your body to move as a
single unit (like in the other part).

Ok, you see now how you can get the last 90 degree of board rotation
in. Now let's work backwards in time, to make that last 90 degree turn
work, you need to already be rotated 90 degrees, hence you need to
rotate 90 degree without moving your arm/shoulders since you are
already "corked" for you 90 degree counter rotation). So from your
legs and hip only you need to ollie and hop 90 degrees. Basically you
need to do a tiny bit of toeside turning as you leave the left to
impart that little but of net rotation on your in the air.

To practice this, you basically just want to do one quarter of a
flatland 360. I'm sure you've done them before, but in case you
haven't a flatland 360 is just then you slide your board around in a
circle, doing a 360 on the ground. It is very good to help you
visualize spins and get a sense of your edges (although in the
beginning, be prepared to catch an edge or two because you misjudged
when to switch edges).

So anyways, just drift on your toeside until your board has rotated
from point straight down the fall line, to perpendicular to the fall
line. That should be simple, now do that same thing with your arm
twisted/cork to your right and after you do the 90s, untwisted you
shoulders and your board should swing the final 90 degrees. Again, be
*careful* not to catch your edge as that is a high risk if you aren't
paying attention.

Does that help?
--Arvin