Teaching students to land jumps

[Snowolf]

Got a question about the AASI prefered method of landing a jump. I have been discussing with a fellow instructor my feeling about the proper way to land after getting decent air off a large table. Here is the setup:

The rider launches and gets desired air and clears the knuckle and is getting ready to land in the landing zone. Which technique is considered "proper":

My position is that the rider should maintain a level board and the tail of the board should make contact with the slope first and then roll out the landing.

My friend`s position and one that I guess is prefered in Europe is to adjust the bodi in flight so as to land with the base flat and parallel with the landing zone, not level in flight.

Right or wrong, I have been doing it my way because I think it is better to use the spring of the board`s tail to absorb the landing impact to cushion the landing. My knees bug me and I do this for this reason.

I am curious to hear your thoughts and I am curious if AASI has a stated opinion on this; so far I can not find anything.

Thanks guys!

[djstealth]

Well when I was up at smuggs last season we got into a clinic at their snow sports university. They taught us that you never ollie out of a well done jump, as a matter of fact you keep a little bit more weight on the front of the board, now I know this is about landings but taking off is the other half and is just as important because out of experience depending on you take off you have to adjust your landing so you don't break anything important. With that being said based on what they taught us, and so far it has worked, I think that depends on the way you are positioned mid air, but I like to land leveled with my tail touching the snow first.... I HAVE SEEN the mythical scorpion faceplant and I wish to stay out of it's path
.

[DragonUSMC]

I think AASI's preferred method is landing with a flat base.

Which is mine in some cases but not in others... let me explain.

Landing with a flat base means your body is directly positioned over the center of the board and forward lean is parallel with the hill. Therefore when the body compacts to absorb the landing its all in the legs as if they were coming down from jumping without a board. This gives you immediate access to board response and turn initiation. It also spreads out the impact of landing throughout the area of the board and the body.

landing on the tail and letting the board absorb the impact can one, snap your board... I'll show my old Evo, because it saved my life after a REALLY screwed up Misty off of something i havent really been hitting all day. wheelie baring into the landing i dont see a problem with from small to medium air. But when you start thinking about the impact on the body from a greater height you will see the body is completely aligned above the back leg. For the younger guys i'm sure its not a big deal... they have joints and things that can handle a good shot here and there... but otherwise you are taking the exact same force that was previously distributed to the entire board and both feet and throwing a lighting bolt from the back foot all the way up the leg, hip and then to spine. I have seen an older guy land too far back, still landed the jump but was complaining of back pain the next week. Come to find out the side compression of him landing on one foot basically shifted a lower disc in his back.

That is the only reason i see landing with both feet together as the proper method. I mean if you think about all sports... whenever the body is airbone the best way is to land with feet apart and together.

Now your point of it being harder on your knees... yeah i see that too. I mean thats the problem us older ones face. My knees cant take the blow as well as they used to at all. So even i notice that i butter out my landings a bit sometimes. Right, Wrong... i dont think there really is one. I think if the ability is there the body is going to naturally try and do what will lessen the pain as much as possible. But for starters and intermediate riders i would say feet at the same time.

[djstealth]

as in aligning the board to the angle of the terrain mid-air?

[DragonUSMC]

^correct... er well making the board transition from the up angle it has on the take off, to flat in the air, to downward above the landing until contact with the ground.

[DC-RiDa-4-LiFe77]

ahaha i loved how dj just sumed up your entire post in 10 words

[djstealth]

what about the apocalyptic 360 scorpion faceplant

[RockyMountainGoodwood]

I have always found that landing with both feet at the same time not only feels good, but looks good. I think that more important than landing position is your posture before and during the time your in the air. If you are relaxed, everything seems to come together. It also helps to refrain from popping off the lip when you are learning. The whole extra motion and amplitude that comes from this makes it harder to focus on the fundamentals of taking to the air. Once they have that down, they can apply what they know about being relaxed and add in the pop. Wheelies are for bikes.

[fattrav]

^correct... er well making the board transition from the up angle it has on the take off, to flat in the air, to downward above the landing until contact with the ground.


Trajectory?

And yes, landing both feet at the same time makes the best sense to me and is good for evasive/corrective measures immediately after a jump. Though as stated in other posts...if your knees are hurting, a little bit of tail first makes for good cushioning. Infact, that's now my life motto..."land feet first and get a little bit of tail along the way".

[Leo B. Jibbins]

did someone say dont ollie on jumps??what are you teaching the future?

[DragonUSMC]

^yes... you dont ollie off of a jump. you ollie off of kickers to rails and such, but not tables and anything meant strictly for hang time.

[Leo B. Jibbins]

i get it poppin...preload and blast.

[fattrav]

all hail leo b jobbins

[Leo B. Jibbins]

no, i just prefer to jump jumps. not ride over them.

[fattrav]

I might pop a little if I think my speed might not be enough, but other than that I get my speed up and ride it like there was still snow under me. There is a chance of your ollie going wrong (not cool at jumping speed right on a lip) and you may end up with said apocalyptic 360 scorpion faceplant....or worse....switch apocalyptic 360 scorpion faceplant.

[DragonUSMC]

you "pop" is not an ollie... thats the part your not getting. you "pop" off the lip is just you unloading your weight. its not an ollie as you are not using the loading of your board to get you in the air, you are are lifting your weight off the end of the take off...

if you ollied off of jumps you would land on your back every time as you cannot change your weight distribuition once your in the air.

[Atillia]

I dunno what it was, but a few times last year when I was doing jumps, Id sorta bounce up when I landed. Like I would land, and then my board would bounce up off the snow a little and Id lose control. It might have been because I wasnt landing with a flat base, but rather on my tail. Not sure really.

[DragonUSMC]

if you land with strait legs that will happen to you also... from not so high of heights you just bounce like that. But the higher you go and land too strait legged the better the chance to snap your legs.

[Atillia]

Ok, so bend my knees a bit, and Ill be alright? Ill practice jumps some more once the seasons starts.

[DragonUSMC]

yeah just think "basketball shot" you jump from the balls of your feet, and when you land you do the same and absorb the impact with your legs. Dont try to stand too quickly after landing... let your body compact and then recover.

[Atillia]

Thanks man, Ill think about that next time I hit a jump.