What to do with all that air!

Ok ladies...I’m a scaredy cat yet also a go getter bold type. Last night I got a lot more air off a jump than I am used to. I loved the feeling and I can’t wait to get used to the feeling...but what do you do with all that “air” how do you keep your form and not get all loosely goosey? And how do you make sure you land correctly!
 
Keep a tight core and limbs, the ramp will try to pry you open when you launch so if you come off all loose and relaxed you'll be wacky wavy inflatable tube man in the air. Shin pressure, tight core, actively pull your arms in, and a slight pop will set you sailing smooth and clean, but a lot of it is just repetition. I haven't hit many large jumps lately, but I used to hit the pro line pretty often at stevens pass. Basically just tuck yourself into a ball in the air and it's less likely that an errant limb will start waving or pull you off balance, it will also set you up nicely for learning grabs.

When you get to really large jumps you have to recalibrate what is a comfortable landing zone. On jumps 15-30ft you generally don't want to land more than 5-10ft past the knuckle or else you get close to running out of landing. On 50ft jumps if you are only landing 5ft past the knuckle you effed up, cause that's not a good margin for error. You have to start getting comfy landing well past the knuckle and learn that it can actually feel good to go 20ft deep into the landing. It takes awhile to get comfortable with, because it's so different from hitting smaller jumps where sailing past the knuckle like that is a bad time.

There is no hard and fast rule to get you to judge the speed right and nail the landing perfect every time. I wish there was. Ultimately it's guesswork from watching other riders, a sense you cultivate over time, and the best way always is to get someone who knows the speed to tow you in. All that being said I still end up rolling down the windows often enough, it's just gonna happen sometimes.
 
How wide of a stance do you put your feet?

I notice a variety of types. When people set for a huge spin theyre wide but generally most seem to range from feet close together to hip width apart. I have been experimenting with this and am looking for that "sweet spot.

I also have seen recommendations to do a grab during that longer airtime so you have your compact body and at least 2 limbs not flailing. ;)

**This post was edited on Feb 5th 2020 at 1:15:12pm
 
Hey! I tend to carve with a wider stance or sometimes more of a pizza for doing spins. But for regular cliffs/jumps hip width apart is the best for balance. A lil safety grab is an easy way to keep your body tucked and balanced and not let your arms get behind you. Shiftys can feel funkier at first but definitely help to calm down the air time! [tag=260368]@nmwninjart[/tag]

**This post was edited on Feb 5th 2020 at 1:22:13pm
 
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