Snowboarding & Wing Chun don't mix...

[sticky fingers]

I went snowboarding for the first time today and couldn't really get the hang of it. I was thinkning maybe it's my WC training cos I wanted to face front on instead of the side stance, and I was putting too much weight on the back leg. My friend who does Choy lay fut fared a bit better, but he's been snowboarding once before. But the day ended well, we went to an onsen (Japanese hot spring) and let the hot water ease all the aching muscles.
Maybe I should stick to skiing, at least snow-ploughing kinda resembles Yee gee kim yeung ma. Snowboarding tips anyone?

[S.Teebas]

Snowboarding tips anyone?

Try a 50/50 stance.

[Nichiren]

Hi Sticky.

I can give you some pointers on snowboarding:
1. In contrast to skiing, the main weight should be on the leg facing downhill. This means you should lean forward downhill.
2. When turning, use your upperbody and back leg to get the board to turn.
3. If you are good at SLT the stance is there
4. If you like to face "front on", experiment with the binding settings, e.g. 30 and 45 degrees.
5. Try to ride quality stuff! It is a material sport just like skiing. Especially important in the beginning are good boots with minimum heel-lift.
6. Depending if you like free-ride or free-style, the material and settings used are different.
7. Snowboarding school will save you time learning the fundamentals.

Cheers...

[red_fists]

Sorry, no Snowboarding Tips.

But plenty for "onsen":
1.) Wash well and in correct sequence before entering.
2.) Cover those sensitive areas with the "tenegui".
3.) After you have entered the Water, fold the" tenegui" and place on top of your Head.
4.) Pull wooden Bowl close and partake of the "nihonshu".
5.) If water gets too hot, swim/sauner over to the cold water inlet.
6.) No peeking over the barrier to the ladies section.

After the "onsen", get a good massage and head over to the Supper and Karaoke.

Jacuzzi's are a pure excuse for an "onsen".

Have fun.

P.S.: Where is the "onsen"??

[OdderMensch]

I guess you figured this out already but it took me my first 4-5 runs down the "kidde" slope.

in a proper YCKMY you pull IN to gain stability, wheen snowplowing you push OUT to slow yourself down!

im quick sometimes, eh.

[jun_erh]

The key to control is carving. You want to grind the side of the board to slow down and manuver. a little bit to turn/slow down a little and a lot to come to a stop or drasticly change direction. Learn to carve

[sticky fingers]

red fist

I went snowboarding in Kunizakai and the onsen was Kutsuki onsen, both in Shiga prefecture between Biwako and the Japan sea.
btw, do you happen to know any wing chun schools in Osaka?

jun-erh
I'll learn to carve as soon as I can stay upright for more than 5 seconds...

[Kristoffer]

I prefer skiing actually I love snow..

[Nexus]

Shifting the weight and using the toes and heel's to carve is important. For instance if you get on the back of the heels you can slow yourself down and actually go down the hill horizontally if that is what you wanted to do. If you go on your front toes, you can slow yourself down as well and go down the hill with your back facing the bottom and your eyes looking towards the top although this is a difficult steering position. I had a lot of difficulty my first time snow boarding, but by the end up a 6 hour day of falling on my rear I had picked up enough to travel down the hill without falling if I took my time. It's just about putting time on the mountain, getting comfortable with the board under you, all that good stuff.

[Mutant]

MA stances can really help your snowboarding. I think theres a huge similarity and it totally helps my boarding skills. And its great stance training too, after a weekend of riding, you get back to class and your legs are pumped.

Nichiren and some of the other folks had good advice to follow, pay attention to that.

What I might add to that is that it sounds like your bindings were adjusted in a freestyle stance, that is feet parrallel and perpendicular to the axis of the board. this puts you in 'sideways' to the direction your moving. This is the most common stance and the one that practically every rental shop will give you the binding set in by default. This stance is good for the freestyle riding, halfpipe, etc, but is limited for all-mountain riding.

Personally, I ride in a stance that is more or an all-mountain free-ride stance, in which your prefered downhill foot (this is another thing to figure out if youre 'goofy' stance = right foot forward or basic stance w/ left foot forward, as that makes a differece in comfort) is rotatated forward about 30 degrees or so and back foot at about 5-10 degrees forward. This enables you to face down the mountain in a stance youre more familiar with, much like wing chun. The most extreem varitation is a race stance which has both feet basically facing almost forward, but thats a whole different animal, technique and equiptment.

So I would recommend the freeride stance i mentioned. From there you keep most weight on front/downhill foot, sink into a stance that is like a wing chun side horse or actually similar to a mantis stance, and then learn to pivot on your front/downhill foot and use your rear foot to steer like a thresher shark, rolling back and forth between the ball of your foot (front edge) and heel of your foot (rear edge)...that is carving. it takes a while to get a feel for which edge to be on (as you now know, catching an edge = instant wipeout and pain) and how to transition and transfer your weight from one edge to the other smoothly.

To work up to that, work on sort of penduluming down, back and forth across the slope on your front edge for a while, then your rear edge, then work on transitions, and work it until you can bomb straight down and carve.

Good luck and have fun!!!