Learn the method air: front hand on the heel edge, knees bent, board pulled back. With prerequisites, milestones, mistakes and safety notes.
In the method air the front hand grabs the heel edge, both knees are bent, and the board is pulled back to head height. It is the grab that looks most like snowboarding, and a matter of flexibility, timing and landing.
A method looks like style but demands control.
Honest about the time: whoever grabs the melon securely often needs a whole season for a first method. Until it looks round and high takes longer. That is a rule of thumb, not a study figure.
The DSLV assigns the grab to the style phase: approach, take-off, flight or style phase, landing [1]. The method builds on the melon. The difference is the execution: both knees are bent, and you actively pull the board behind you. The bigger the style, the smaller the time for the landing.
To put it in perspective: in a video analysis of 704 jumps riders fell on average once in five attempts, and landings on the flat or knuckle as well as a crooked board predicted falls [2].
The method is a melon with more movement. Milestone: ten melons in a row with a full-base landing.
Pull both knees to the chest, not only the front one. Milestone: stable in the method position while standing.
Pull the board back to head height. This happens at the highest point, not at take-off. Milestone: you pull the board on the small kicker without losing the landing.
Extend your legs and let go before you land. Milestone: five methods with a clean landing [6].
Increase kicker size only when the landing is stable. Milestone: a method on a medium kicker without a fall.
A method looks like style but is decided by the landing. For courses the DSLV names: adapt kicker size to the level and keep the landing visible or cleared by the starter [1]. For beginners it recommends low flight height because it takes away fear, and a small landing angle because it minimizes injury risk [1]. That applies to you as a pro, too, when you use a new kicker.
Variation helps: ride the method once with a short grab, once with a longer one, once with more knee pull. The association recommends perfecting by varying [1]. But never change two things at once: not kicker size and grab duration.
Rule for pros: if the kicker is new, ride a straight jump first, even if you have known the method for years. That matches the park rule "First Jump, Straight Jump", even after snow conditions have changed [1].
This guide does not replace a snowboard instructor.
Do not pull the board to you, but the knees to the board. Then your center of mass stays calm, and the board comes back by itself. That is practical knowledge.
The method is a folding, not a pulling.
In the method air the front hand grabs the heel edge, both knees are bent, and the board is pulled back to head height.
The melon is a grab of the front hand on the heel edge. The method is a melon with bent knees and a board pulled back.
First the melon securely, then bend both knees, then pull the board back at the highest point, then release early.
Not higher than necessary. The DSLV recommends adapting kicker size to your level [1].
It is a jump with a grab. Jumps had the highest injury rate in a study (2.56 per 1000 runs) [9].
Only as many as you stay fresh for. The DSLV warns against overestimating your own concentration and performance [1]. If the landings get worse, stop.
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