Can I teach myself to snowboard?

Question

A 100m indoor snow slope has recently opened near me and I would like to go. Ive not been snowboarding before, but do you think I could teach myself to snowboard? any tips etc? Thanks.

Answer 1

Sure you can learn without an instructor, but it's faster and easier with one.  They know the mistakes that are made and how to prevent bad errors.  Ask someone who knows what they are doing for help.

Answer 2

Yes you can you just need to practice more and keep trying and eventually it will come naturally and it will be real easy

Answer 3

Yes you can teach yourself!  I bought a brand new burton snowboard package before I even tried snowboarding.  You just need determination and to not give up.  Snowboarding can be quite hard the first few days for most people.  Most people quit snowboarding after the first day of it and never try it again.  

Just remember that once you get through the first few days...it'll get much better and then you'll love it.  You'll be very sore, but dont let that ruin your motivation.  You usually dont use the muscles you use snowboarding so energy will run low.  It's gonna hurt to fall too because your body isn't used to it.  

Just keep a positive attitude and keep telling yourself you can do it!

Good luck and Have Fun!!!

Answer 4

you should be able to but i personally think you should go to lessons has the instructor will help and also if ur not sure you could ask them quesions so your not trying different things but instead you get the right technique straight away. i went to a 2hr lesson yesterday and it totally helped as i can heel and toe edge already. Good Luck!

Answer 5

Hey Dude,

I won't disagree with anyone suggesting a instructor.  However,  its not always in the cards, atleast maybe not right away.

I myself have taught myself over ten years ago how to snowboard and have done so with success to the point where others have asked me to give them pointers or take them out and teach them.  So here are a couple tips for you.

If you have ever surfed its similar but different.  You have rails/edges that 'cut' into the element (in this case snow) and essentially direct you in the direction you want.  The secret here is knowing how to get the rail to do that.  Snowboarding is actually easier in this case.  Why? Cuz the mountain never moves you do.  You don't have to time your take off with the wave you essentially point down the hill and off you go.  Thats the easy part.

When most people start out they usually feel more comfortable on their heelside.  And thats fine.  It lets you feel how the rail/edges cuts into the snow.  How much lean you need to come to a complete stop or just slow down.  What is too much lean or not enough. These are all things you need to take a mental note of because when you start going on you toe side these are all things that will help you adjust.

On your first run,  go with what feels natural.  Bent knees, eyes forward and arms out for balance. You will more than likely will be facing forward down the hill.  Most likely horizontally.  You may find yourself not quite carving at this point.  You will most likely find yourself going one direction and then angling your other foot down hill slightly to go the other direction.  But you will always be on your heelside.  And not quite as cool looking or fun as the other people you see there.  Don't worry.  Your learning your edges and the limits of your board.  

Once you learnt your limits your going to want to learn how to carve between toeside and heelside and back again.  Here are a couple things to remember.  When your going look in the direction you WANT to turn.  You will almost naturally point your arm in that direction.  When your switching between heelside and toeside, its not really sliding your backfoot as much as it's a slight kick back while leaning forward. When you lean forward you will this will automatically raise your heels and thus putting you on your toe edge.  Try this before you even go up the hill. With your bindings on lean forward and watch how your heels raise up.  Lean backwards and watch how your toes goes up.  Go back and forth a couple times.  Congrats! You were just switching between toeside and heelside.  Now try this between toe and heel for that brief second that the flat of the board is on the ground, slighly kick your foot in the opposite direction of the lean  ie you lean forward kick back, lean back kick your foot forwards.

As you go up the hill look at the paths that a snowboard makes.  Its typically a thinner narrower trail then the board itself (with the exception of the transition point, this is where the slight kick would be) .  Typically you should never for long periods of time be completly flat on the board, atleast not right away.  The rails/edges is what gives you control of the board not the flat side.

When switching back to your heelside, again look in the direction you WANT to go and in this case drop your butt and slightly kick your backfoot forward.  When you drop your butt your toes will naturally lift up and thus switch to your heelside.  One thing to keep in mind,  the bigger kick you do the more extreme the turn.

How do you know if your getting it?   If your front foot is always forward (atleast on purpose) while turning left or right.  As you get better you may learn to ride switch. (again on purpose)  

One more tip,  think about what your doing but DON'T over think.  The biggest mistake I see is people over think their turn freak out, catch edge and tumble, tumble, tumble.

Just keep practicing, be persistent. Its a h**l of ya ride.  Hope this helps you out.  The learning curve for snowboarding is very quick.  Once you figure your edges and turns you'll wonder why you never figured it out sooner.  Its later as you progress that the curve changes drastically, but you may not want to go that far.  Perhaps simple all mountain carving will tickle your fancy.  But either way.  I hope I've given you some good base instruction. Have fun and ride hard!!

Answer 6

I would have to agree with Jim W's answer.  It isn't necessary, but it helps immensely.

Answer 7

You can teach yourself to snowboard but that doesn't mean that it's a good idea or that it'll work.

It's really worth it to shell out a few bucks and get shown what to do.  The instructors are trained to get you up and riding in the shortest amount of time possible and they teach everything in steps that you can think back to and understand why they work and they keep working asyour skills progress.

Not only is there the chance of hurting yourself by teaching yourself but you have to think of the other people on the slopes too.

Answer 8

I agree with all the other answers, you can totally teach yourself. However, I don't know of ANY indoor slopes which will let you on unless you can already link turns, etc (unless you're on there learning with an instructor, obviously). It's really not the best environment to be teaching yourself anyway, they're usually full of people.

Best to either get lessons, or go teach yourself at a resort somewhere.

Answer 9

Hi, I seriously recommend getting someone to teach you. This is from personal experience.

First time I tried to board, I thought I could teach it to myself, as I've watched some instructional videos on Youtube (LOL... they looked easy enough) I got there, went to a very beginner small slope, to teach myself. I was there for the whole day falling on my butt, and didn't learn anything at all.

Second time I went boarding, got into a class. Within the first 30 minutes, I was progressing nicely and can stop without falling. Totally worth it.

Answer 10

you can teach yourself. Its better if someone is there helping you though. As for tips: Stay on your heels and toes all the time and wear a helmet your first time out because you will regret it if you don't

Answer 11

ummmm, i wouldn't recommend it unless you like sitting on ur  butt... alot... seriously

Answer 12

It's totally possible.  You just have to have the motivation and persistence to keep getting up when you fall.  And you'll be falling a lot.  My brother, my dad, and myself were self-taught.  However, it took us a few seasons (going several times) to finally get the hang of it (now we can all do diamonds).

Lessons can help because the tutors can obviously give pointers and help refine you're technique.  But in the end, it's all up to how much you want to practice/how long you want to practice.

Good Luck!

Answer 13

dude my friend snowboards and he taught himself to snowboard and hes pretty good !!!! i think to stop u fall on ur butt !!! well that's how my friend stops !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL !!!!!!!

           well good luck !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S i hope u try it and if u cant snowboard.........    skiing is really easy !!!!!