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How to stay on the goddam rail

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Kenyon
Posts: 232 - Karma: 716
Ok so this may seem like a stupid question but one of the most frustrating things I find is falling off a rail early. So on my backyard setup I had a 10 foot rail and it was to short for me to do anything like k feds, brittanys, ray charles etc... so now i added an extra 8 foot rail and connected them but now i keep falling off the stupid thing to early before I even start the trick. But for some reason if i turn it into an elbow rail i can do it fine every try. So can someone please give me some tips on how to not fall off cause its frustrating as hell :(((((((((((. +k for answers
Sep 29 2011 8:20PM
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Sherlock_Holmes
Posts: 280 - Karma: 48
buy full tilts? i dont know dude just hit it gorilla steeze. its what we had to do back in the day to make it to the end so i'm assuming it still works.
Sep 29 2011 8:22PM
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Pow.yuHdig*
Posts: 1903 - Karma: 146
go faster and ont let your brain subconsciously steer you off the side
Sep 29 2011 8:23PM
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max...
Posts: 1379 - Karma: 802
look at the very end of the rail while you are sliding. otherwise it's just practice
Sep 29 2011 8:25PM
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Stope.Neeze
Posts: 594 - Karma: 148

your not the only one. all day i can only finish half of my two 10 ft rails then when i turn it into an elbow first hit finish it two out.while with the two rails i just keep falling off and off with occasionally doing a switch up i guess its just the way setups are at least it will make skiing on snow 100 times easier

Sep 29 2011 8:28PM
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Black.Bird
Posts: 2566 - Karma: 684
Tip number 1:
Always look at the end of the rail, dont look down at your skis or whatnot.

Tip number 2:
Bend your knees and get low. Having a lower center of gravity helps tons.

Tip number 3:
This tip might not help you much, but at least for me it did. Try to slide the rail while setting for a frontside spin, even though you wont be throwing a trick. It make you grip the rail.
Sep 29 2011 8:29PM
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zahava
Posts: 7791 - Karma: 12,039
3 helps so much. I naturally just scissor on rails know but I'm locked in.
Sep 29 2011 8:37PM
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lands11
Posts: 1818 - Karma: 1,677
Number three is what I always do, it just comes naturally now
Sep 29 2011 8:43PM
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GayWolf420
Posts: 37386 - Karma: 120,073
Magnets.
Sep 29 2011 8:45PM
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Jahrassicpark
Posts: 2075 - Karma: 38
10 feet isn't too short to trick a rail, and it's most likely just a mental problem, since you see the rail is so much longer it just fucks with you, and yeah do what that one guy said and just gorilla steeze it
Sep 29 2011 8:53PM
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UFOsarereal
Posts: 2285 - Karma: 1,132
hahaha, solid advice.... and like the other people are saying, scissor & look at the end.
Sep 29 2011 8:56PM
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SSteezle
Posts: 9297 - Karma: 7,732
def agree with what everyone else has said about gripping for a frontside spin. I do it on every rail even if i'm setting up for a blindside spin
Sep 29 2011 8:58PM
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Kenyon
Posts: 232 - Karma: 716
For me it is or maybe thats a mental problem too since on long rails i set it super late and it comes around really fast. And yea im gonna do that and siscor frontside.
Sep 29 2011 9:03PM
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SwitchMisty540
Posts: 1862 - Karma: 629
put that shit under your boot and look at the end of the rail
Sep 29 2011 9:05PM
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ECfreeski3
Posts: 12019 - Karma: 126
+1. OP if you need someone to explain scissoring just ask

and most of all, just practice. dont get down on yourself, just keep getting rips on it and youll get better and better. also take breaks and chill and stuff, nothing makes you worse at something than doing it a bunch of times and getting down on yourself and thinking about it in a certain way, switch it up and keep your mind fresh about it
Sep 29 2011 9:06PM
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POW-WOW
Posts: 1464 - Karma: 46
Superglue that shit. Jk its important though to bed down, keep your skis together, and look at the rail.
Sep 29 2011 9:29PM
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egg.
Posts: 3231 - Karma: 3,477
try and stay completely balanced the entire way
Sep 29 2011 9:34PM
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easy.steezy
Posts: 2931 - Karma: 1,056
sweet, loved some of these responses, gonna definitely help me next year, too!
Sep 29 2011 9:37PM
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DirtYStylE
Posts: 3652 - Karma: 8,888
SCISSOR

or

Rock it --> watch the pros slide a straight rail an they will go from toe to heal. Start on your heal then by the middle you should be closer to your toes, shift back to your heals, then pop off. The more times you can do it the more PROOO you loook
Sep 29 2011 9:43PM
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Utard
Posts: 2132 - Karma: 305
Go faster. It's like a gyroscope, the more forward inertia you have the harder it is to build up side to side inertia
Sep 29 2011 10:07PM
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Isaac.D
Posts: 304 - Karma: 63
this, i put super strong magnets on my edges for when i learned.
Sep 29 2011 10:11PM
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k-fred
Posts: 5363 - Karma: 1,598

this

you can definitly k-fed on 10 feet because i can on 8ft, jst take less speed and you will have more time on rail to do your tricks.

Sep 29 2011 10:19PM
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sandybov.ill
Posts: 804 - Karma: 1,559
Just get low, make your your body is parallel with the rail and make sure you look at the end(where your going) before you know it you'll be sending 630's in no time.
Sep 30 2011 10:12AM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
 Yeah, a little bit of scissor is what I do naturally at this point.  It may be just me, but for any down-flat kink, I have to scissor just a tiny bit, and put more pressure on the inside edge of my front ski so I can power through it without hanging up.

Since it seems like you're just starting out, make sure you start sliding un-natty early too.  Say you get your natural, blindside 2 out:  Go for an unnatural blind 2 out right after.  One thing I regret is not getting good at unnatural until this year, and it makes you ready for any feature in a line.  Can't forget switch and lipslides too! 

Once you get all these fundamental rail entries down, you can flow through the park like a champ.  No reverts, and no skipping a rail because you have to hit it from your uncomfortable side.
Sep 30 2011 12:28PM
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SwaggerJester5
Posts: 277 - Karma: 62
You just need to look at the end of the rail, so that right there will help your center of gravity. Then you need to bend your knees more so that it does lower your center of gravity. You will see that these two things will help tremendously!
Sep 30 2011 12:38PM
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Andreas_
Posts: 210 - Karma: 21
Um yeahhh... what is scissoring? or frontside spin? lol my terminology for jibbing is not that great...
Sep 30 2011 6:48PM
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Download-My-Apps
Posts: 5069 - Karma: 1,017
look at the end of the rail. approach with shoulder width stance. Hands out, looks noobish but you will get it and then you can drop them arms.
Sep 30 2011 6:51PM
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Mcfottley
Posts: 343 - Karma: 39
put your skis in a daffy so that oppisite tips are leading toward the groung this should lock you in if you do it right otherwise look at the end of the rail and imagine yourself at the end. dont think about it to hard or you will work yoursself up! that wont be good. and you will fail! i had the same problem! just dont think.
Sep 30 2011 6:54PM
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Download-My-Apps
Posts: 5069 - Karma: 1,017
daffy? not sure he is quite ready for a hippy killer? Do you mean twister/ shifty?
Sep 30 2011 7:19PM
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dispatchQ_main
Posts: 2619 - Karma: 629
This, learn unaturaul early
Sep 30 2011 7:40PM
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Billek
Posts: 5665 - Karma: 98
I think he's talking about scissoring.
Sep 30 2011 9:33PM
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SKIU4EA
Posts: 2387 - Karma: 2,072
if your rail is tilted and not level that could play into sliding off the same side everytime. My first rail i built was cockeyed making it real hard to stay locked on to the end.
Sep 30 2011 10:07PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
threads
Sep 30 2011 10:08PM
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baaangthat
Posts: 2245 - Karma: 2,587
momentum wasn't all wrong?
Sep 30 2011 10:48PM
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304NordMan
Posts: 2983 - Karma: 525
Click for larger image
Sep 30 2011 11:00PM
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penguin_steeze
Posts: 2311 - Karma: 241
Your obviously trying too hard.
Sep 30 2011 11:05PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9215 - Karma: 5,398
what exactly is a ray charles?
Sep 30 2011 11:57PM
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Black.Bird
Posts: 2566 - Karma: 684
Every thing you throw on the rail is blindsided. So a ray charles would be a blind side switchup, then a blind side 270 out. There is a change in motion.
Oct 1 2011 12:01AM
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Mcfottley
Posts: 343 - Karma: 39
its like a scissor to keep you on the rail
Oct 1 2011 4:00PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51642 - Karma: 162,212
Approach the rail at different angles. Focus on the end of the rail and try to get a nice line that will bring you across the rail and off the end.


Just keep practicing, it gets way easier when you figure out the balance more and get a good sense of it. Keep trying some longer rails at the mountains, even if you have trouble on them it'll make shorter rails easy and you might even start getting the longer rails pretty quickly.

either way you're going to get better. It's all muscle memory.
Oct 1 2011 4:45PM
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Kevski
Posts: 7056 - Karma: 2,785
This is probably more related to riding in parks where you ski up to the feature, but could relate to backyard setups a bit. If it's set up so that you come on straight from the front, come in with a wide stance where you'd straddle the rail if you didn't pop and 90. Then you want to make sure you pop evenly (not one foot first).
This should set your momentum in the right direction, and as long as you stay low and look at the end of the rail, you should make it to the end.

Also, if you're in a park, make sure you don't turn/speed check right before the rail. If you do, you're more likely to not have a centered stance and be a bit off-balance.

And for street rails where you come on from the side (probably not the rail in question), don't come in at too much of an angle unless you're prepared to lean hard to compensate for it.

Hope this helps.
Oct 1 2011 9:06PM
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Kenyon
Posts: 232 - Karma: 716
because saying k-fed is easier then saying pretzle switchup blindside 270 out
Oct 1 2011 10:11PM
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ECfreeski3
Posts: 12019 - Karma: 126
sorry that was my first time on here in a while and i forgot about mythreads

scissoring is the thing you do on a rail to grip it.. for example say i jump onto a rail (with my left foot forward) and want to spin to the left at the end, i would slightly dip my right toe and my left heel. or if i wanted to spin the opposite way out id dip my left toe and my right heel. if you dont understand i can find a video that shows you

frontside spin means spinning so that you face forward first... it's like on a snowboard when theyre spinning jumps, since youre sideways, depending on which direction you start spinning youre either going to immediately be facing downhill or turning your back on it.. say im on a rail with my left foot forward.. frontside spin would be spinning to the left, since i would be spinning so that the first thing that happens is i face downhill.. backside or blindside spin would be spinning to the right, cause it immediately turns my back towards downhill


same thing on a snowboard, if im regular (left foot forward) and spin left, it's frontside spin, if i spin to the right it's a backside spin
Oct 5 2011 1:04AM
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KendamaCo
Posts: 125 - Karma: 16
bump for a chill ass thread that no cocky dude came on and ruined, hope you improve man!!! I wish I had a backyard set up right now. What is yours like? Might inspire me to build one
Oct 5 2011 1:20AM
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LiveSnowJKS
Posts: 199 - Karma: 10
and look down the rail bro it took me the longest time to break the habit of looking at my skis..but when i did it was a life changer..kinda :]
Oct 5 2011 1:46AM
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SKIU4EA
Posts: 2387 - Karma: 2,072
It's still early
Oct 5 2011 7:09AM
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KendamaCo
Posts: 125 - Karma: 16
Yeah but at this point you'd just look like a dick
Oct 5 2011 1:17PM
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LiveSnowJKS
Posts: 199 - Karma: 10
THIS
Oct 5 2011 8:03PM
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TheClap.
Posts: 21664 - Karma: 4,140
this
Oct 5 2011 8:52PM
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k-fred
Posts: 5363 - Karma: 1,598

Andy Parry...

nuff said

Oct 5 2011 8:53PM
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