5 Tips to Unlock Your Jumping Potential
Taevis Kapalka
33,373 views
Filmer: @Cragbonnar.media
https://www.instagram.com/craig.bonna...
@CraigBonnarMedia
Get Online Coaching From Me Here: Patreon: SnowboardingExplained
The 5 Rules Behind Jumping
Jumping is one of the most fun things you can do on a snowboard, but jumping is actually super counterintuitive. Most riders rely on instincts that work against the mechanics of good pop.
But there are a few keys to success that, if you hit them, no matter who you are, you’ll be able to boost side hits, hit grabs, and feel like an absolute beast in the air.
So here are 5 life changing jumping tips — the foundational rules behind clean, powerful snowboard jumping.
Tip 1 — Your Upper and Lower Body Must Move Away From Each Other
When you’re trying to pop a jump, as long as your extension is making contact with the snow, your upper and lower body need to be moving away from each other.
A common mistake is trying to lift your upper and lower body at the same time, like you’re lifting yourself into the air. But power doesn’t come from lifting — it comes from pushing off the snow.
When you lift everything together, you’re just lifting your board off the ground. The goal isn’t to lift your feet; the goal is to generate height, not increase the bend in your legs.
This destroys airtime and breaks every mechanic that makes jumping work, for no benefit.
As long as your board is on the snow:
Your legs should be pushing
Your upper body should be lifting
This simple separation is the foundation of real pop.
Tip 2 — Don’t Rush the Grab
Rushing a grab forces your legs up and your upper body down — which is the exact same movement as absorbing a bump.
So if your board is still making contact with the snow, you’re now pumping the feature instead of popping it.
You want to push until your board is off the lip.
You can position your upper body closer to the grab ahead of time, and you can extend your legs a bit less, but your legs still need to be extending until the moment you leave the ground.
When you wait for the board to leave the lip, the jump will push your legs up to you, making the grab easier while giving you far more power and control.
Tip 3 — The Less Aggressive the Feature, the More Aggressive Your Pop Can Be
Flat ground has no slope to help generate height, so you can use a full ollie to get maximum pop — using your whole board and a full back-and-forth motion.
The downside is that a full ollie is big, slow, hard to control, and hard to time.
This makes it tough to use on large or aggressive features. The bigger the lip, the less return you get from this big motion.
On kicker jumps or terrain that doesn’t give you setup time, you don’t want a full ollie, but you still want to leave off your tail.
The solution is simple:
Preemptively shift your hips back.
This keeps you set over your tail when you pop, but skips the first half of the ollie motion. You get a clean, fast pop that works on most features.
Tip 4 — Maintain a Hinge in Your Upper Body
Every jump is based around maintaining a hinge in your upper body, and there are two reasons why:
1. You want your weight over the balls of your feet.
Not full toe edge — just on the edge of it. This gives grip on takeoffs and landings for far more control.
2. You want this same point of balance through your full extension and bend.
The key to clean jumps is keeping your balance point consistent through every stage of the movement.
This only works when your upper body holds a hinge that moves forward as your hips go back.
Jumping is a cycle of extending and subtracting your body:
Extending off the lip
Subtracting in the air
Extending for landing
Subtracting to absorb the landing
If your center of balance shifts in any of these phases, you get thrown off.
The 3 Causes of Breaking Hinge
Overextension — pushing to 100% shifts your weight off the balls of your feet.
Rounding the spine — makes you top-heavy. You need a straight back that moves forward as the hips move back.
Upper and lower body moving out of correlation — more extension requires more lift in the upper body, and more subtraction requires the upper body to come down.
This hinge is the key to all jumps.
Tip 5 — Don’t Be Stiff When You Jump
Every jump benefits from a range of flexibility. My jump works anywhere from 70% extended to 95% extended. As long as I don’t hit 100%, my form stays solid.
That’s the key:
You want a position that works across a wide range of motion.
No matter how good you are, you won’t hit the perfect pop every time. Aim for perfection, but use form that still supports you on imperfect pops.
This dramatically increases consistency and lets you spend more time flying and less time fighting your body.
#learntosnowboard #taeviskapalka #snowboardingexplained
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Tip 1: Push/Lift
1:50 - Tip 2: Wait To Grab
4:04 - Tip 3: Control Your Pop
6:10 - Tip 4: Upper Body Hinge
7:30 - Tip 5: Don't Be Stiff!
20 Comments
As a snowboard instructor, this channel has redefined how I teach. Thank you as always!
Spent the whole day doing this, Love it.
My legs are burning like hell tonight.
Added the original script in the description if you want clearer information.
Was planning on a more structured video, but the riding was so good we just went for it hahaha
Thanks mate!
5 Tips to Unlock Your Jumping Potential
Taevis Kapalka
33,373 views
Filmer: @Cragbonnar.media
https://www.instagram.com/craig.bonna...
@CraigBonnarMedia
Get Online Coaching From Me Here: Patreon: SnowboardingExplained
The 5 Rules Behind Jumping
Jumping is one of the most fun things you can do on a snowboard, but jumping is actually super counterintuitive. Most riders rely on instincts that work against the mechanics of good pop.
But there are a few keys to success that, if you hit them, no matter who you are, you’ll be able to boost side hits, hit grabs, and feel like an absolute beast in the air.
So here are 5 life changing jumping tips — the foundational rules behind clean, powerful snowboard jumping.
Tip 1 — Your Upper and Lower Body Must Move Away From Each Other
When you’re trying to pop a jump, as long as your extension is making contact with the snow, your upper and lower body need to be moving away from each other.
A common mistake is trying to lift your upper and lower body at the same time, like you’re lifting yourself into the air. But power doesn’t come from lifting — it comes from pushing off the snow.
When you lift everything together, you’re just lifting your board off the ground. The goal isn’t to lift your feet; the goal is to generate height, not increase the bend in your legs.
This destroys airtime and breaks every mechanic that makes jumping work, for no benefit.
As long as your board is on the snow:
Your legs should be pushing
Your upper body should be lifting
This simple separation is the foundation of real pop.
Tip 2 — Don’t Rush the Grab
Rushing a grab forces your legs up and your upper body down — which is the exact same movement as absorbing a bump.
So if your board is still making contact with the snow, you’re now pumping the feature instead of popping it.
You want to push until your board is off the lip.
You can position your upper body closer to the grab ahead of time, and you can extend your legs a bit less, but your legs still need to be extending until the moment you leave the ground.
When you wait for the board to leave the lip, the jump will push your legs up to you, making the grab easier while giving you far more power and control.
Tip 3 — The Less Aggressive the Feature, the More Aggressive Your Pop Can Be
Flat ground has no slope to help generate height, so you can use a full ollie to get maximum pop — using your whole board and a full back-and-forth motion.
The downside is that a full ollie is big, slow, hard to control, and hard to time.
This makes it tough to use on large or aggressive features. The bigger the lip, the less return you get from this big motion.
On kicker jumps or terrain that doesn’t give you setup time, you don’t want a full ollie, but you still want to leave off your tail.
The solution is simple:
Preemptively shift your hips back.
This keeps you set over your tail when you pop, but skips the first half of the ollie motion. You get a clean, fast pop that works on most features.
Tip 4 — Maintain a Hinge in Your Upper Body
Every jump is based around maintaining a hinge in your upper body, and there are two reasons why:
1. You want your weight over the balls of your feet.
Not full toe edge — just on the edge of it. This gives grip on takeoffs and landings for far more control.
2. You want this same point of balance through your full extension and bend.
The key to clean jumps is keeping your balance point consistent through every stage of the movement.
This only works when your upper body holds a hinge that moves forward as your hips go back.
Jumping is a cycle of extending and subtracting your body:
Extending off the lip
Subtracting in the air
Extending for landing
Subtracting to absorb the landing
If your center of balance shifts in any of these phases, you get thrown off.
The 3 Causes of Breaking Hinge
Overextension — pushing to 100% shifts your weight off the balls of your feet.
Rounding the spine — makes you top-heavy. You need a straight back that moves forward as the hips move back.
Upper and lower body moving out of correlation — more extension requires more lift in the upper body, and more subtraction requires the upper body to come down.
This hinge is the key to all jumps.
Tip 5 — Don’t Be Stiff When You Jump
Every jump benefits from a range of flexibility. My jump works anywhere from 70% extended to 95% extended. As long as I don’t hit 100%, my form stays solid.
That’s the key:
You want a position that works across a wide range of motion.
No matter how good you are, you won’t hit the perfect pop every time. Aim for perfection, but use form that still supports you on imperfect pops.
This dramatically increases consistency and lets you spend more time flying and less time fighting your body.
#learntosnowboard #taeviskapalka #snowboardingexplained
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Tip 1: Push/Lift
1:50 - Tip 2: Wait To Grab
4:04 - Tip 3: Control Your Pop
6:10 - Tip 4: Upper Body Hinge
7:30 - Tip 5: Don't Be Stiff!