In article ,
Joe Ramirez wrote:
reasonably priced. He also recommended a SnowJam Zuma Wave board for each of
us, size 158, with basic strap bindings, for $250, but we decided to splurge
and get Flow bindings. They felt just as snug as the strap bindings and
seemed about as easy to use as the step-ins, or even easier in some ways

i use flows and i think they are ok. personally, i still like straps more but b/c of
convenience (the mountains at big bear (my local resort) have short runs).

i've taught a lot of people how to snowboard and i always start in the following order:

1) walk up a few yards and practice pushing the snowboard with one foot strapped. when
comfortable, glide a little at a time (similar to pushing a skateboard).

2) practice the scootch with both feet in. just buckle in and slide left and right.

3) practice gliding down a slight incline to practice getting off the lift. look
straight ahead (not down), relax, glide, and stop with your free foot. about 45
minutes passes at this point.

4) go up on the bunny lift. about 1/2 of my "students" (i'm not a pro) get off the
lift without falling their very first time.

5) practice falling leaf. i usually don't want them pointing down the hill early on
because they will just get out of control and get hurt. falling leaf on their heelside
and then sitting down and doing the same thing on their toeside is great for teaching
edge control.

6) do falling leaf all day. once they master both edges, try introducing the J turn.
linked turns usually don't come until 2-3 days of boarding. it's basically falling
leaf-J turns-garlands (just a bunch of j turns)-linked turns

i usually find that falling leaf takes the rest of the first day to master b/c the
student has trouble with one side. some can do their heel side but not toe side and
vice versa.

Dan.
--
RVD...The Whole F'n Show
i was bored one day and ended up making http://www.hanguk.com/~danpaik
"you pencil neck geek" - Classie Freddie Blassie RIP