How to Execute the Perfect Barrel Roll
“It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice.”
Eric Lindros
How To Execute the Barrel Roll
By William Leopold
The BEST way to Practice the roll without killing yourself on the mountain first is to practice on a trampoline. Practice your rotation with just you and your body. Make sure when you back flip that when you are half way in the air (Upside Down) that you are looking at the ground to position your landing. This is crucial to spotting where you will land by looking half way into your rotation.
Now strap your board to your feet and get up there on the trampoline. Your objective is to get enough height to flip, rotate, and land generally in the same position. On the mountain you don't want to flip and move 5 feet to the left or right. You wanna stay centered and keep as much balance off the launch as possible. Once you have your rotation down the rest is smooth riding.
Now, on the mountain obviously this is a LOT different than bouncing on a trampoline. This move is geared more toward advanced snow boarders who have a very good handle on their riding. If you're just starting out I would NOT suggest this trick, if done incorrectly it can be very risky and maybe fatal. I have fallen MANY times perfecting the roll and I'm telling you, it doesn't tickle! Snow is soft but not crashing on it from 12 ft in the air!.
Once you have back flips down on ground or trampoline...you're set to kill the trick. Here is the breakdown.... Approach your kicker with a tad more speed than usual to completely CLEAR the flat of your gap. You do NOT wanna land in the middle of the jump you want to ride away smoothly landing on the landing. I suggest that you float over your desired kicker a couple times to get good judgment and a feel for the speed. SO.....
Approach the jump with enough speed to clear to the landing, when you approach the lip...have your knees bent and the moment your nose breaks the lip jump in the air and push as hard as you can of the kicker. The is KEY right here ....TUCK YOUR KNEES into your chest to get a GOOD rotation. You have a Board strapped to your feet now PLUS all of your clothing & boots and it does add weight and takes a little away of the rotation speed in your flip.
So make sure you kind of SNAP the rotation kind of quickly while at the same time..half way in rotation look at the ground and find your spotting. ONLY Un-tuck when you have made about 270 rotation. Any sooner and you could be belly flopping ...not good. So JUMP of lip....TUCK Knees into Chest...Rotate half way then LOOK at the ground for landing... Untuck around 270 rotation and land BOTH feet at once. Don't land in a manual it's tough to ride that off sometimes.
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I have a very awesome video of me Barrel rolling on my myspace pg if you want to see it done properly. Check it out: http://www.myspace.com/xsburtonrider
Hope this Helps all you advanced snowboards! And it Definitely Turns heads when landed smoothly. Barrel Roll is a SICK trick!
Good luck everyone!
Bill Leopold
Freestyle Board Tricks. Ten spectacular tricks for you to try to master.
The Right Snowboard Stance. Do it the proper way and have a great day.
Choosing a snowboard is one chore you don't want to hurray. Fancy graphics don't make it better.
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