This is Nev Lapwood and Dan Gerstner SnowboardAddiction.com
This tutorial is all about Methods.
It's filmed at Boreal in California and Whistler Blackcomb in Canada
A method is without a doubt the most iconic trick possible on a snowboard.
It's stood the best of time throughout the history of snowboarding and is still a favorite
trick amongst pro snowboarders.
You can definitely tell how good a rider is by the style in their method.
It'll take years to perfect.
This video has broken down steps that you can try to start developing your methods.
What is a Method A Method is a Mellon grab, tweaked up behind
your back, combined with a backside shifty.
The movement is quite complex to learn because there are several different techniques happening.
Once you get the muscle memory, it eventually happens with ease.
The easiest place to learn the movements of a method is on a trampoline as you can practice
the position over and over in a very safe controlled environment.
A method is generally done on straight airs and not often combined with other tricks.
It's common to see it done when busting out of the pipe, big hips in the park and on natural
backcountry features.
A method is without a doubt the most iconic trick possible on a snowboard.
It's stood the best of time throughout the history of snowboarding and is still a favourite
trick amongst pro snowboarders.
The grab is done with your front hand on your heel edge like a mellon grab.
You can grab either behind your front binging or in front of it.
This is usually a "no grab" zone but this is one of the only grabs where it's acceptable
to grab here but only if you do it well and definitely don't grab your heel.
Step 1 Backside shifties
The key behind shifties is counter-rotation where your upper and lower body twist against
each other while in the air.
We have a tutorial dedicated to shifties so make sure you've watched that video first.
You need to have backside shifties dialed to perform a solid method.
Step 2 Mellon Grab
Make sure you have your mellon grabs on lock down as it's using the same hand to grab on
the same edge as a method.
Get out our grabs videos for more info on mellons.
Step 3 Melon Grab extended behind your back.
This is a really good stepping stone for a method but it's not an actual trick you do
for style.
Don't let anyone see you trying this step because it looks horrible and only newbs do
it.
Try it when no one else is watching you ride.
Step 4 Add backside shifty.
Step 4 is the most important step to turning these stepping-stones into a real method.
It's where you add your backside shifty into the trick so that he base of your board is
facing where you flying, not towards the snow.
You should be able to build up this step relatively quickly and from here it can take considerable
time to refine your methods.
You can either shiftie and grab your method at the same time or you can grab first then
shifty.
Both ways can be stylish.
Some riders find it easier to do their shifty after grabbing.
As you're learning it's very normal to only have a small shifty.
In general the more you shifty, the better it will look.
As you progress, a good method should have at least 90 degrees of shifty.
If you anticipate a little before taking off, it'll help you to shifty more.
Look closely and you'll see that my upper body is wound slightly towards the tail of
my board as I take off.
This makes it easier to get more shifty in the trick.
Step 5 Back leg position
Extending your rear leg while in the method adds even more style to the trick giving it
more of a boned out look.
Try kicking out your back out like your trying to tap something.
Your back leg should be up parallel with your front leg so your board is parallel with the
ground or try to get you back leg even higher than your front leg.
A method on this angle below parallel is not as stylish.
Step 6 Crank it
Once you've got all the basic fundamentals of a method it's time to start cranking it.
Putting effort into this trick.
This is not just some trick to do casually.
When cranking a method you can add your own style.
Pushing your hips forward and arching your back is one way to crank your own style into
a method.
I find that taking off slightly on my toe edge helps me to add that extra bit of counter-rotation
to crank a method harder.
This is also why methods are common on a backside hip as it's naturally leading you into that
slight backside direction.
Step 7 Refinement
Practice makes perfect.
A lot of practice.
The more methods you do, the better you'll become.
Get someone to video you doing a method so you can see how your style is.
Compare the finer points of your method to the steps in this tutorial to see where you
can improve.
Go back to the tramp and practice methods until the movement is engrained into your
mind.
Style is very important in a method.
You have to make sure this trick is smooth and stylish while being cranked with authority.
If it's a messy or forced movement, it won't look as good.
Summary You methods won't be awesome at first.
Try doing mellons tweaked up behind your back when no one is watching you ride.
Then quickly add a backside shifty.
From there you can follow the pointers of this tutorial to refine your method.
Some of the most famous past and present shredders are known by their methods including, Craig
Kelly, Jamie Lynn, Terje Haakenson & Nicholas Muller.
This trick is not going anywhere and helps to define style in your ridding.
Practice them often.
You're riding with Nev Lapwood and Dan Gerstner SnowboardAddiction.com