Winter is coming to an end, but Snowboarding is not over just yet! Spring riding means shredding comfortably in the increasingly warm heat of the sun, but it also means that the snow is softer, ideal for practicing new tricks in the snowpark! To tackle the 2020-2021 snowboarding season with a bigger bag of tricks, here are 5 grabs that you can certainly learn in a day at the snowpark!
Before we get to the heart of the matter, let's talk about grabs in general. In addition to being maneuvers requiring a certain technique, grabs also help to stabilize snowboarders while they are in the air. Beyond the functional and technical side, a grab is much more than a simple maneuver, it is also a way of expressing your personal style. A movement aiming to be aesthetically refined in the first place. To add a dose of flavor and thrills to your snowboarding days, never hesitate to grab your board in the air!
The Indy Grab
The Indy is one of the most essential grabs in your bag of snowboarding tricks. It all starts with this classic and timeless grab. To perform an Indy, bend your knees once in the air, extend your back hand to the middle of your board and grab the board on the toe side between your two bindings.
For an extra dose of style, make sure your arm that doesn't grab the board is relaxed and pointing down. Once you master the Indy, you can even pimp it by extending your front leg and bending your rear leg. Here! Now you master the Indy Nosebone!
The Mute Grab
The Mute grab, once well mastered and executed, will allow you to earn additional style points in the park for sure. Unlike the Indy, your front hand will grab your board on the toe side of the board, in between the two bindings. Most of the time, the hand placement for the Mute Grab is slightly more forward than for the Indy, without however going past the binding. That’s it!
The cool thing about the Mute is that it can be transformed into several other maneuvers. Once you have mastered the Mute, straighten both legs when grabbing for a "Stiffie" or just straighten your front leg for a flawless "Mute Nosebone".
The Melon Grab
A good Melon grab is a bit like an Indy: timeless. Both maneuvers are also pretty similar. That being said, the two tricks are totally different in practice. The Melon is done using the front hand and instead of grabbing the board on the toe side, you will grab on the heel side of your board. The only thing that’s the same is that you need to grab between your bindings.
To succeed at the Melon grab, it is important to bend your knees well so that you can reach the back of your board with your front hand. Once you feel close enough, reach out and grab anywhere between your bindings. At the beginning, it will probably be easier to grab just behind the front foot. Once you've mastered all of this, straigthen your front leg during the grab for additional style points. You’ll see, a well done Melon makes you feel like a Kung Fu master!
The Method
The legendary Method is universally known as the king of all grabs. This trick is cool as it is super stylish and easy to learn. The Method is very similar to Melon. You need to grab with the front hand on the heel side of your board, but the difference is in the technique. Unlike the Melon where you have to bend your knees and reach out for the board, the Method needs legs extension so the board and your hands can meet halfway.
Once in the air, lift your legs behind you until your board is parallel to your back, then grab the heel side edge of your board between the bindings with your front hand. Try to hold the grab for as long as possible for more style. Once the Method controlled, do not hesitate to push your back foot outward to add a tasty tweak to your new trick.
The Nose/Tail Grab
One of the most difficult grabs to do is the nose grab, but once you master it well, it's one of the tricks that feels the best. As you can imagine, this maneuver consists of grabbing the front (or "nose") of your board with your front hand. The difficulty about this one is that a successful nose grab includes you have to grab it at the very end of the board for the trick to be legit. A good leg extension skills are necessary. That being said, give it a few hours of practice and you'll get it.
Tail Grab is the opposite of Nose Grab. Obviously! Fortunately, this one is much easier to learn! Just grab the tail of your board with your back hand and hold your grab for as long as possible. Bend your back leg, extend your back arm and grab the tip of the board! Like the Nose grab, make sure to grab your board on the very end of your tail and not on the side.
(BONUS TRICK) The Stalefish
Another classic one and a trick that's a little more complicated than the others. The Stalefish consists of grabbing the board between the bindings on the heel side of the board like a melon, but with your back hand.
The trick requires good flexibility in the knees and hips to allow you to take the right position for the grab. A good trick for this one is once you jumped, bend your knees and push your back foot in front of you at the same time. Extend your back arm and aim for the heel side edge, just above your back binding. Once you got that unlocked, tweak your Stalefish as much as you can for extra style points.
