Here is where i was half a year ago, and i suspect a lot of people here are still struggling at this point:
I had been trying to learn proper backside airs for some time. Starting by doing kickturns, then grabbing in a kickturn, then grabbing and pushing away into a small 180 below the coping. Then i slowly worked myself upwards. Until i got to the point where my airs wouldn't get any higher (and that was about a decimetre above the coping).
My technique for spinning was completely dependent on having all four wheels on the wall when pushing away. I would ride up the tranny, crouch down really low, grab the board, the simultaneously push away with both feet and jerk my shoulders into a spin.
More speed would make my airs longer, but not higher. My friend told me to aim straight for the coping instead of istarting in a carve, but that wouldn't make me spin enough to do a full 180.
So, i started to experiment with techniques that i know from 15 years of snowboariding.
When snowboarding, even when doing a simple 180, you need to PRE-LOAD the spin. yeah, you could probably whip around your board and land fakie without pre-loading, but have you ever tried to crouch down and grab when doing so? The correct snowboard spin is to wind up your arms and shoulders as you prepare, release as you ride up the jump, and push away from the kicker when in a controlled, preferred riding stance. The momentum will make you spin and you can crouch down and grab, and you will land in the same, controlled stance (wich in the snowboard case is one where your legs are NOT twisted).
Pre-loading is what you want to do when doing BS airs too. I've studied videos of pros doing airs in verts, they are pre-loading spins too, but it's so subtle that i guess that forget about it when telling newbies.
Here is how i do BS airs with the board one feet over the coping:
1. Approach the tranny and aim straight for the coping.
2. As you hit the tranny and do the last pump for more speed, pre-load your spin by twisting your shoulders forward. As a beginner, pre-load with your arms aswell to make sure that your shoulders are correct.
3. Keep your weigth normal and keep going straight up. Dont chicken out and start a carve, and dont chicken out and lean forward. you are going up int the air, that's where you should aim!
4. Start releasing the pre-loaded spin by returning to normal shoulder position. Crouch down just enough to grab and shift your weigth towards the back foot. Grab and push away as you hit the coping. Front wheels should take off first. Your weigth on the front wheels should be so light that if they hit the coping before your push is complete, they shouldn't roll over rock-and-roll-style.
5. Now you're in the air. Have fun and pull your board upwards in a funky tweak. Abort if you don't have enough spin to land nose down.
6. Ass you pass the coping on the way down, release the grab and push the board to the wall. If you did indeed chicken out and initiate a carve before you took off, and you're jumping a roundwall, the coping will be too close and you might get a hang up. That will hurt. Try to land close to where you jump.
7. End your run with a funky flyout, then go grab the chicks.
As you get better, do smaller pre-loads but release them snappier. That will make them more subtle and your airs will look mor casual.
However, the whole point is, that if you want to concentrate on higher, controlled airs, you'll have to worry about getting angular momentum enough to spin 180 BEFORE you push off, so that you can fokus all speed on going straight up and all push on getting away from that nasty coping!
He doesn't mention it, probably becouse it's a fundamental part of his kickturn technique, but it's easy to miss for a roundwall carver as myself. Att about 1:20, you can se him snapping his shoulders back-and forth to pre-load then release it to get momentum.
I don't have a speaker on my computer, so I didn't hear if it was in the vid, but what I don't get is if you actually have to pop or not. I can see the board lifting, so does he pop it or just sort of "manual".
Higher BS airs - the importance of SPIN!
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