Snowboarding Tips: Spinning 1`s and 3`s

Spinning 180

First off, how strong is your switch riding? It really helps a lot if you are somewhat comfortable riding switch. If you are not, I highly recommend spending some time getting comfortable with it. Additionally, you should be able to do 180 flat spins (some people refer to this as helicopter) easily. This is where you spin around without your board actually leaving the snow, just turning the board up through the fall line to switch ride. Ideally, you should be comfortable doing this move in both directions. You can begin dialing this in if you like by doing at home on the carpet to get your spin down while you have some good solid footing to work with before you add the slippery snow and movement to the mix.
Terrain:
Pick gentle green terrain that is smooth and well groomed.

Movement and performance concepts to think about:

You will be rotating your body to pivot the board around it`s center.
You will flex, then extend your legs to push yourself off the ground, then flex your legs to draw the board up towards your body for the rotation, then extending your legs to prepare for landing, keeping your knees bent a little to absorb the shock as you land.
you will want to maintain a low edge angle for this maneuver and keep equal weight on both feet.

Performing FS 180 while riding gentle, green terrain:

Find a flat spot to begin practice without directional movement. To jump up off the ground, start low with your legs flexed, briskly extend your legs to "pop" off the ground. As you come back down, keep your legs extended slightly (not locked) bending the knees to soften the landing. Do this a few times until you are comfortable and stable.
Now you are ready to throw some rotation into this jumping. Again, start low with your legs flexed, looking at the tail of your board. To do a frontside 180 powerfully extend your legs and as the body starts to move up, begin looking toward and past the nose of your board. The important thing to remember is the "head leads, and the body follows" your body will tend to go where your head is looking. Time the rotation with the extension and jump so that your shoulders have rotated past the nose of your board when the board leaves the ground. Much of the rotational power will come from the hips as your lower body follows the upper body around. Your front foot will travel "heelward' and your rear foot will travel "toeward". As you rotate around to the 180 point, stop your rotation by focusing on one spot at the 180 point (looking up the hill). Avoid the temptation to turn your head back toward the nose of the board (downhill) before you land, as this can cause you to prematurely halt your rotation and cause you to land with your board a bit sideways.

Remember to keep a low edge angle and slightly bend your legs to soften the landing. Doing this backside is the same except your rotation is opposite. You will start out by looking at the nose of your board, then as your body starts to move up, look at and past the tail of your board, rotating your hips so that your front foot moves "toeward" and the rear foot moves "heelward"
When you have mastered this rotation thing, you are ready to try this on the slope while moving...keep your speed low at first and try to find some soft areas. Some people find that it helps them if they start out switch, then do the 180 to land normal as they tend to be more stable on landing. Also, I find it is easier to do this as a gentle traverse across the fall line to avoid gaining too much speed while doing the maneuver. As you land, flex to absorb the landing and also get your center of gravity lower for stability. Keep your edge angle low so you don`t dig in and take an unexpected and sudden turn. Keep just a bit of pressure on your uphill edge.


Spinning 360
When doing 360`s it is common to try to wind up too aggressively and there is a risk of pulling muscles, especially in the lower back. A well executed 360 should not be a huge strain in your trunk muscles.
It is much easier, physically, to do a 360 with more speed and height but it is psychologically more difficult due to fear. Increase speed gradually as you gain confidence. Again, pick gentle green, well groomed terrain and pick a soft pow day if possible to minimize chance of injury.

Movement and performance concepts to think about:
As before, you will be rotating your body to pivot your board around it`s center. Additionally, you will work on "scissoring" your legs to further rotate the board.
You will be flexing and extending your legs as in the 180, but will try to do it more rapidly to gain more power and a higher jump. Remember to flex joints fat landing to soften impact. Attempt to maintain an erect posture and utilize a low edge angle with equal weight on both feet. You will try to take off and land flat when in the fall line.

Spinning FS 360:
Again, I suggest doing a little prep work on a flat spot before adding movement to the mix. When you do decide to do this in motion, watch your speed and select well groomed, even terrain. Leading with the head, practice 180`s using full body rotation. Generate rotational power from the upper body and relax the legs during the spin. Now try jumping straight up and scissoring your legs to produce a 180. Try to do this with just your legs, keeping the upper body quiet. At first you may only get 90 degrees of rotation, but keep at it until you make a full 180 by scissoring your legs. Practice completing your 180 by the apex of your jump. Practice jumping your board as high off the ground as possible when spinning. The 360 is basically two 180`s. Make the first 180 by rotating the entire body. Make the second 180 by scissoring your legs.
You will likely find that in the first few attempts you will make it about 270. You can complete the final 90 degrees as a flat board spin upon landing (remember to use a low edge angle). Keep practicing and eventually you will start landing them correctly. In learning these, you can "cheat" a little and spin a 270. To do this, you carve the first 90 degrees before takeoff. This is`nt a true 3, but it is a helpful way to get used to the feeling of the 3 and spotting your landing before committing to the full 3.
One nice thing about 3`s is that you can start and complete them riding the same direction, unlike a 180 where you will be switch either taking off or landing. As you gain some confidence, you will find that 3`s are easier with more speed and more air time. Gradually increase speed and height as you feel comfortable.

The main thing about doing these is practice. Expect to fall a lot as you work on this. Pick soft days when pushing yourself and remember that you learn more going slow than you do when bombing along at high speed. Also, practicing on a stable surface like a carpeted floor is also a great way to get used to the maneuver prior to doing it on the fly out on the slope.

To do these spins backside, the concept is almost identical, but the feeling is different. Personally, I feel I can generate a lot more rotational force doing them BS. It is my opinion that the main reason for this is because a BS spin naturally causes you to "close" your upper body up tight whereas in a FS spin, you tend to open up your upper body. Some people feel more comfortable landing a BS 3 because you can spot your landing sooner than in a FS 3. Either way, the movement concepts are the same. Just be aware of the natural tendency to "open up" in A FS spin.