switch

SWBS 540

How to Switch Backside 540 on a Snowboard

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How to Switch Backside 540 on a Snowboard

Introduction

50% Off Online Snowboard School: https://www.edshreds.com/school 

It’s Christian from Shred School.

So you want to learn how to switch backside 540 on a snowboard?

DO you want to be an average shredder or the kind of ripper who goes where few men and women have gone before? That’s the question you have to ask yourself for today’s video, because sure, you could learn the tricks that everyone cares about…

The backflip…

The tamedog…

Maybe even a 360 or two.

But search almost any beginner to intermediate park trick on youtube, and there is an endless amount of tutorials promising to teach you how to do the trick… That is, except for this trick.

Today, we’re covering a trick that is a key trick to being a well-rounded rider who doesn’t ignore their weaknesses. It’s a trick that you’ll love once you learn it, and one that almost none of your friends will learn.

There are ZERO tutorials from the usual players on YouTube for this trick. The trick, is the switch backside 540.

If you want to learn ALL the pre-requisites, this week we’ve got 50% Off Shred School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

The Snowboard Switch BS 540

Ok, the switch backside 540, the last 540 I learned. I just woke up one day and realized my life was incomplete because I could only spin 3 out of 4 ways on a snowboard, so I finally decided to do something about it. 

Like every trick, I’m going to be straight with you. This trick is very simple IF and only if you have mastered the fundamentals.

For this trick, you’ll want to know how to 

  • Switch backside 180, as the approach and takeoff is exactly the same 
  • Frontside 360 as the spin and the landing is exactly the same 
  • Backside 540 so you understand the axis to spin on 

This trick should feel exactly like a switch backside 180 into a frontside 360. If you can do those two tricks, you can do the swbs540. 

how to backside 360

The Switch Backside 540 Tutorial

We’re going to take a heel to toe approach in to the jump, coming in switch on our heels on the left side if we’re regular, and riding up the jump on our toes. 

Open your shoulder up on the heelside carve for a counter rotation, and then swing your front shoulder closed as you go up the lip. 

For most of us, this is going to feel extremely blind. You have to trust yourself on this one.

Look down at your toes, keep a straight line off the jump, maintain upright posture, and pop hard. As soon as I leave the lip, I like to pick my feet up into my chest a bit for the grab.

Remember not to grab too early or you’ll slow down the spin.  I like to grab switch indy on this, but I initially learned it with a switch mute or a switch melon. Switch nose works well too, and so does switch stalefish. Pretty much all the grabs are great for backside 540s. 

We’re going to keep our axis such that at 270 degrees, our weight is over our front foot to set ourselves up at the right angle for the landing. By front foot, I mean your switch front foot, this would be your back foot riding regular, so for me, halfway through the spin, my body weight is over my right foot since I’m regular. 

At 270 you should be able to see the landing for the remainder of the trick, and coming down to stomp it will feel exactly like a frontside 360

Put your tail down to land, look up the landing until you’re on the ground, then open up your shoulders to see where you’re riding out. 

The most common thing that goes wrong on this trick is since you’re riding up the lip blind, some riders panic on the takeoff and prespin, or bend at the waist and put their hands in the snow. Just remember to hold a straight line, stand up tall and pop

You have to trust the blind takeoff, and you’ll be good. 

Switch BS 540 Trick Tips

This trick is a favorite of backcountry riders all over the world, but it works great on park jumps, and even side hits. 

If you’ve made it this far, seriously, I commend you. Most people will never learn the swbs540 in their lives.

But, it’s not that hard… 

If Bob Burnquist can do this on a skateboard, you can do it on a snowboard with your feet attached.  Just practice the basic building blocks, work your way up and you got this. 

One more tip. We tend to avoid the tricks that we don’t practice, to think they’re harder than the other tricks. If you’ve struggled with the swbs 540, I would ask you, how many times have you tried?

Go find a small safe jump and try it 50 times in a row, and I can almost guarantee you’ll like the trick by the end. If you’ve tried it less than 10 times in the last year, this trick is going to feel super awkward and you’ll avoid it like the pandemic. 

That’s it, the switch backside 540, it’s one and a half spins riding off the jump switch and landing regularly. It feels just like a switch backside 180 into a frontside 360.

Practice your fundamentals, take a heel to toe approach, wind up, stand up tall, pop, pick your legs up into your chest and spot the landing exactly like a frontside 360.

Ride away and go rub it in your friends faces that you can do a trick that they can’t.

That’s all for today. 

Peace out shredder

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SWBS180

How to Switch BS 180 on a Snowboard

How to Switch BS 180 on a Snowboard

Introduction

50% Off Online Snowboard School: https://www.edshreds.com/school 

It’s Christian from Shred School.

You know those things you know you’re supposed to be doing, because they’re good for you… but you just can’t get yourself to do them…  like eating vegetables at every meal, putting away your phone a couple hours before bed… or practicing your switch backside 180’s.

Yes, that’s right, the switch backside 180 is the “Eating vegetables” of snowboard training. It’s a foundational move that is the key to amazing frontside 360’s, 720’s and switch backside 5’s, yet almost no shredder consistently practices the trick.

The good news is, just like vegetables, it’s an acquired taste, and once you start to dial in your switch backside 180, you’ll love doing it, and the rest of your riding will get so much better. It’s even been described as “the gateway trick” 

If you want to learn ALL the pre-requisites, this week we’ve got 50% Off Shred School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

The Snowboard Switch Backside 180

christian ollie

Switch backside 180. I bet some of you are going to tune out right now. I don’t know why more people don’t love the sw backside 180.

It’s one of the most fun tricks ever. Since the day I saw Devon Walsh float one of a whistler cliff in Forum’s first movie, The Resistance, one of the greatest videos ever made, it’s been talked about in my group of friends as a trick that commands respect. 

Before you get started on this one, you should be able to ride a switch, and have your backside 180’s dialed in. 

How to do a BS 180 While Riding Switch

To do the swbs 180, take a heel to toe approach up to the jump. As you’re riding up the jump, stare straight down at your toes, and keep your edge straight. Focus on getting a good pop, and standing up tall as you takeoff. Don’t bend over at the waist. 

You want to favor your back foot here. The #1 mistake I see people make it to put their body weight over their front foot, which is usually their back foot riding regular.

Practice your switch ollies, and make sure you use your tail to pop.

Pop off your toes as you take off and turn your shoulders backside, staring straight down at the ground.

It helps to reach down and grab indy. Remember, your body weight stays over the back foot, not the front.

If you lean too far in to your front foot, you’ll wash out in the backseat when you land.

Focus on landing just like you would a fs 360, staring straight down at your tail, looking up the mountain.

Once you stomp the trick open your shoulders to the landing so you can see.

You’ll notice that pretty much this entire trick is blind.

I stare at my feet the entire time and just focus on maintaining upright posture. 

It’s really a pretty simple trick. It doesn’t even feel like you’re spinning. It almost feels like a blind straight air once you take off. 

Switch BS 180 Trick Tips

This is a great trick to try on a side hit before taking it to a jump. 

You can also do this with pretty much any grab you want. I like indy nosebone, but you can do switch melon, switch method, really whatever you want. 

Use a heel to toe approach, stare straight down at your feet the entire time, focus on a straight line off the takeoff, keep upright posture, and stare straight down at your back foot to land. Once you’re on the ground, look up, ride away and go eat your vegetables.

That’s the swbs 180, a super fun trick that you should do every time you go to the mountain if you want amazing frontside 360s, swbs 540s and the admiration of your friends. 

That’s all for today.

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How to Ride Switch on a Snowboard

How to Ride Switch on a Snowboard

Introduction

50% Off Online Snowboard School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

What up shredder? 

Ah riding switch… 

The easiest way to catch an edge and eat shit… 

So why would we even bother?

Well, it’s also an essential skill for all types of riding. If you’re new here, riding switch is essentially riding backwards on your snowboard, with the opposite foot forward than you would normally ride with. 

So if you usually ride left foot forward, riding switch would be riding “goofy” or with the right foot forward and vice versa if you usually ride with the right foot forward.

I don’t care what your ability level is,  if you’re spinning in and out of jibs, launching over 80 foot jumps or just cruising down your favorite blue square.

If you don’t know how to ride switch, you’re not utilizing your snowboard to its full potential, and you’re at a massive disadvantage, and at greater risk for wrecking.

Today, we’re going to talk about a couple of rules that are going to massively improve your ability to ride both directions on a snowboard. 

If you want to learn ALL the pre-requisites, this week we’ve got 50% Off Shred School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

Why Should You Ride Switch?

how to ride switch on a snowboard

Do you really need to know how to ride switch? If you want access to 90% of what’s possible on a snowboard, then the answer is yes.

Half the fun of snowboarding is that you can go both ways.

You can butter, spin and grind either way.

You can take off switch, land switch, and revert mid rail.

You can save yourself from a fall, by being quick on your feet, and avoid disaster in the trees by being versatile and being able to switch back and forth.

The ability to ride switch is essential to becoming a well-rounded rider. It’s a stepping stone to 180’s, 540’s, 900’s, half cabs and more…

So why don’t most people do it?

Simply put, people like to do things they’re good at, and most of us are horrible at riding switch. It’s like learning to snowboard all over again, complete with the wrecking, the humiliation and the bruised knee caps.

You have to be willing to be uncomfortable in order to get good at riding switch

Not only that, but you have to make it a RULE for yourself.

Tips for Riding Switch on a Snowboard

When I first started to learn to ride switch, I couldn’t figure it out. I’d try it out halfway down the run, struggle to turn, and just go back to my regular way of riding.

Until I found the ultimate hack.

Someone told me I needed to “never miss a switch day.”

What that means is, one day a week, you just go up and ride switch the ENTIRE day. No exceptions. 

Eero Ettala, one of the greatest snowboarders of all time is notorious for religiously adhering to switch days. He also won the X-Games doing a switch double wildcat over the biggest jump on the course.

So I went up to the mountain for my first switch day, and the first run… I was still horrible.

But a couple hours later, I wasn’t so bad, and a couple weeks of doing a switch day every week, and I could actually ride.

It turns out, if you already know how to snowboard, so it doesn’t take nearly as long to learn how to ride switch. 

Start out learning to stop toeside and heelside switch, and then progress to small s-turns, and then bigger carves across the slope. Stick to a mellow slope until you get a little more comfortable.

When I stuck with it for a while, I improved much faster than I thought.

These days, I force myself to ride switch in all situations. I hit jumps switch, ride on to rails switch, and even challenge myself to ride moguls and trees switch. I’m still working on that one.

The key here is to attack what makes you uncomfortable.

If you can’t turn toe side switch, make it a rule that you’re ONLY allowed to turn toeside. 

Practice it over and over and over again until it’s not as uncomfortable. You will surprise yourself with how fast you progress.

As Arnold says, everything is reps. 

In addition to one switch day a week, you should ride at least one run switch every day you ride. I try to ride switch every single run.

Back in the day, there was a pro snowboarder named Travis Parker who has since retired from the game. Once season he announced he was switching to regular, after being goofy his entire snowboard career. At the time i thought this was ridiculous, but now I’m actually considering switching to being goofy for an entire season.

I think You could get to the point where you don’t have a natural stance, even on jumps and rails. 

Now, some people think they need to get better at riding in their natural stance before learning to ride switch. I’m beginning to think everyone should be learning to ride both directions from the beginning.

The caveat here is, I’m not supporting you only doing falling leaf, never turning toeside, and just riding heelside regular, then goofy.

I’m talking about full turns both directions. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Riding Switch on a Directional Snowboard

Some of you might worry that you need to ride a “twin tip” or a snowboard that is symmetrical on the nose and the tail, but you can ride switch with a directional board no problem. 

For years I only rode a twin tip board with a perfectly symmetrical stance, because I thought I needed it to ride switch, but once I switched to a directional board and set my stance back a bit, I didn’t mind it at all. 

One thing I do adjust to make it easier, is I make sure I ride a “duck stance” with a negative angle on my back foot. My personal preference is 18 degrees on the front foot and negative 15 on the back, but only because I ride a ton of switch.

Riding Switch Snowboard Stance

One common mistake to watch out for when riding switch is riding your snowboard like it’s backwards, keeping your shoulders squared up towards the back of your board. We don’t want to actually ride “backwards” we want to ride switch. 

Practice ollies, and other tricks we do regular. This will help us treat it like it’s own way of riding rather than just riding backwards.

Take note of your body and leg positioning, and how you weight your front and back foot regular and try to mimic it switch.

Muscles aren’t used to riding switch

Keep in mind that your muscles haven’t been trained switch, so it’s going to feel weird, and you might be weak at first. Like anything, you’ll build muscle and get stronger the more you do it. 

Dealing with the pressure

When starting out, Your friends will be much better than you right now if you’re riding a switch and they’re riding regular. You have to learn to be ok with this, and eventually you will be much better than them in both directions.

So that’s it. 

Schedule a switch day for 1 out of 5 days you ride, and ride switch the entire day. You already know how to snowboard, I don’t need to tell you how to ride a switch, it’s the same as regular snowboarding.

The big thing is you actually make yourself do it, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Go out there, ride switch, and show skiers what they’re missing out on. 

So yes, Just to summarize, here’s the entire video in a nutshell:

How does one get a good riding switch?

Ride switch. 

The end.

Peace out shredder

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