Getting past the Mental Block of doing 180s...

BChaps1209

BChaps1209

Active member
I have the perfect little jump in my backyard to practice spins, and I can stomp 180s really, really well. Whenever I go for the 360 I just end up landing after the 180. I pick a marker to look for and I feel like I'm doing everything that I find in videos and on threads.

I also took a video of myself doing 180s...

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I come in with a wide enough stance as possible, pop and then start my spin... It looks like I have more than enough time in the air to rotate all the way around, but it just doesn't work in my mind. Please help!
 
one thing that i was told that helped me is don't think of a 180 as a spin. it's just more of a turn. you're not really 'spinning' until you start doing 3s.

a spin, especially your first spins, will require much more windup than i saw in the video. in the vid you were just kinda leaning uphill and turning your body around. a 3 requires much more commitment in the head; you really have to look over your shoulder and spot your spin.
 
My girlfriend is leaning how to hit jumps on a snowboard, sometimes she goes all the way, sometimes not. She found that counting down in your head helps a lot
 
you gotta pop more, you are just swinging your arms after you are at the end of the jump. You gotta turn your upper body a little to the left before you get to the left then huck yourself to the left at the end of the jump and keep looking to your left shoulder (but not over) as your body follows your head, then spin your legs very quickly after. Hope that works...
 
Create the spinning motion by looking with your head, and following with your shoulders and upper body. It looks like right now you are almost keeping your head in one place, and therefore opposing your spin with this movement, and all the spin you do have is coming from the legs instead.
Good luck, it's sweet that you have a setup to shred when the snow gets thin!
 
You're doing what a lot of people do when they first start spinning, and that is trying to spin with your skis leading. Do NOT do this. Spin with your shoulders leading and let your skis come around with them. Wind your body, look over your left shoulder, and let your skis come around with the rotation. Good luck!
 
get in a more athletic stance.... legs spread further apart and knees bent. practice jumping and doing 360s in your living room to get a feel for it. that little wooden jump isn't helping you because of how skinny it is (back to my wider stance point). throw your right arm across your body and look over your left shoulder and keep looking until you see what was in front of you again.
 
Honestly I really am not comfortable with spins over 360, I can do sw ups, 27 on and off most features pretty easily, yet spinning a lot is just scary to me, someday we will get past it!
 
Yea I still suffer from that block after i wrecked pretty good skiing a few winters back. Whenever I see a 9 now, or even a 7 for that matter I'm like shit I wish I could do that..
 
the 1 tip you need is, don't even worry about winding up that much, just look over your shoulder when you spin. Spinning is not about moving your body its really about moving your head. If you commit to popping and looking over your shoulder until you reach about 270 then you will have 360s down. Your body follows your head.
 
Somewhat related, but I had a mental block on doing 180s for a few weeks after I skied switch into a tree riding away from one.

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anyway dude, keep your head turned and throw hard! I didn't even realize you were going for a 3 until I read the thread
 
I had the exact same block. I got over it about a month ago when I landed my first clean 360. For the longest time, I thought I had a disability that prohibited me fro doing 360's. Then I realized I just had to commit to it ad not over-think it. Something that helped was practicing 4's and 5's in my living room. This helped make me Spin alot faster!
 
Hey you should try and get a real jump. One with a landing and ideally 10 feet or so. Just wind up more and lead with your head, if you head with your head I can almost assure you will rotate a 360. Given you will prob land super back seat but its a start... Good luck.
 
bigger jump, knees closer together in the air, and spot over your shoulder until you see your landing, and lastly repetition repetition repetitioin! Good luck bro
 
Start out mogul skiing. No joke. They teach you how to do crazy good 3s. When I quit moguls at age 13, I was pretty good in the park because I had so much control of my spin.

Anyway, don't listen to people who say wind up.

Get a stacked stance, arms ready, feet about shoulder width apart, athletic bend in the knees. A real strong position so you can pop off the jump. Be patient on the jump, then pop. Once you pop, start looking with your head. Try to keep your head and eyes up because that will keep you in the front seat. Try to get a spot uphill at 180, then just keep going with your head and the spin and get ready for the landing.

Also, try a real jump about 10ft to 15ft.

Good Luck!
 
saying windup was a little misleading here. more what i meant is that youre going to have to do a lot more with your upper body as you go off the jump. you need to lead the spin with your upper body and your lower half will follow
 
I used to have that coat!!!Ok lets get serious...

Find a bigger jump. It will help you much more but if this is all you have, it will be acceptable. Anyway, go up to the jump feet shoulder width apart looking ahead of you. When you approach the jump, put your shins against the tongues of your boots and lean forward. As you get to the lip of the jump, pop hard keep a level head, and look over your shoulder until you get to 180.

As your body continues to make the rotation, take a nice view at 180 degrees. You will hopefully see a point just above the lip of the jump. This will tell you how high you are and if you are still on axis. Assuming you are, keep looking for that landing over your shoulder and much to your surprise you will see it. Stomp that shit and after bang.
 
it looks like you don't actually pop, you just kinda pick one foot up and start spinning before you get off of the jump. pop off both feet.
 
work on your 180 first man. Yea you can do them and land them. But perfect that, it will make spinning easier.

1. pop harder. widen your feet and bend down. then literally jump up at the end of the jump

2. spin your whole body as a single motion. look around with your head, your body will follow.

3. look up when you land, but keep your legs bent and spread shoulder width.

this will help you perfect your spins, and allow you to spin off any size jump. Then to do a 3 do the same thing except keep looking over your shoulder.

Hope that helps
 
I agree with the last part, but not with the work on your 180.180s are barely even spinning. IMO they are not related to 3s at all. On a 180, you can keep your head in the same spot the entire time. Literally. You just twist your feet, you don't need to even think about moving your head.
 
i know its barely a spin. and you can keep your head in one spot. but if you work on 180's, so that it is more a spin and less just turning your feet it can help. atleast it does with bigger jumps
 
Seriously +k to everyone in this thread, knowing ns I was half expecting all the posts to be of people being dicks. This is one of the nicest threads I have seen here recently.

+k all

And going with what others are saying keep your head turned pop more. Also for me when coming into the jump I invison what the spin will be like i.e. a 360 I'm going to go all the way around
 
Great thread. And as someone who is getting interested in park at the young age of 38, I found it entertaining.
 
as much as you wind with your shoulders you dont want to set with your shoulders you want to set from your hips up, with this your whole body is going to come round together more and you dont rotate your upper body leaving your lower behind as this is going to be an issue as you increase your spin further (think how far you can rotate your upper body sitting down, its a fair amount and you dont want to be that separated with you lower). i spent a long time setting from my shoulders and found myself having to let go of grabs to get the extra momentum to bring myself round but through some coaching i got taught to set initially from my hips and the rest of you floats round so easily once it clicks. obviously spotting where you are going is going to help you keep spinning and give you the confidence to make it round.
 
Your not looking where you want to go, look in the direction you want to spin and your body will follow more naturally.
 
the way i was taught to do spins was not to wind up your arms and then throw your body. i was taught that it all comes from your core muscles. pop off the lip, turn your head in the direction you want to spin, and use your core to bring your legs/skis around. thats how i was taught. but for bigger spins (i.e. anything past a 450) i usually pre-wind my arms a little bit to help get the rotation started. look/turn your head where you want to go and the rest of your body will follow.

Or just huck yourself. your jump isnt big enough to the point where you will get hurt if you fall. just go for it.

commit

commit

commit

commit

commit
 
DON'T SPOT YOUR LANDING TILL AFTER YOU PASS 180.

That was my problem. After reaching 180, I would look down to spot my landing which consequently stopped my rotation at 180. Keep looking over your shoulder, follow through, and bring your skis with ya. Bam - 360.
 
im sure its already been said but it looks like youre only trying to spin with your legs and not your upper body. keep looking around over your shoulder to keep the spin alive.

good luck man and have fun!

 
do not wind up with your arms

your arms shouldn't really do much at all

your shoulders on the other hand should set the rotation then look straight over your shoulder

first few 3s will be terrifying but then they get super easy
 
You can carve it, or prewind a little, I can do them either way it sorta depends on what grab I wanna do, the jump, the landing, the speed, the hangtime especially, etc, etc. Seriously though the stronger and more stable your core is, the easier it is to just naturally make it happen. I feel like I initiate from my core.
 
Just as everyone has said, turn your upper body, rest will follow. And perfect your 180 to its max! It will help you shitloads with later tricks which land switch!

But just kinda set your upper body stable, pop, and push it around with your upper body, you can basicly do that on flat surface with little amount of speed
 
180's are looking good man! props!

Just keep looking over your shoulder until you see your landing. Your body will follow your eyes, so if you keep looking around for the landing your body will come through. Also, when learning, tuck your arms in and hold the spin rather than opening up
 
Wow I am amazed at this response!Thanks a bunch everyone... Unfortunately it could be 65 degrees tomorrow so I'll give it a go up in the mountains this weekend.
 
Try it on a jump that is a tad bigger so you can just have a nice smooth rotation. Be sure to stay on your toes but remember you don't have to HUCK it. Pull you knees up a bit more and maybe even shoot for a safety grab. You won't be able to NOT pull it around.

Just avoid 270
 
This entire sport is like 70% commitment. All you really need is a bit wider of a jump as some others have said and to pre-rotate your body in the opposite direction of how you spin, and then just unwind your body and really send it. I remember the first time I landed a 5 and a 7 it was mostly just commitment and throwing myself a bit harder than I had been previously. You're not going to hurt yourself on that setup so just throw it.
 
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