How to Do a 360 on a Snowboard

Spin tricks can be difficult to learn on a snowboard but they're fun to do on both the trail and in the half pipe. You should start with the 180, as it's the simplest spin trick for a snowboarder to do. Once you feel confident landing 180 tricks, you can start to learn how to do a 360 on a snowboard. Read on to learn how.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Do a 360 on a Snowboard

1. Find a place where you can do a fairly high jump. You probably won't be able to do a 360 on flat terrain without hitting a jump at a high speed. You'll probably need to get at least 2 1/2 feet of air to have enough time for the rotation.

2. Approach the jump with your knees bent like you're going to do an ollie. Wind up your torso towards the tail of your board.

3. Lean backwards at the top of the jump and jump like you're doing an ollie. As soon as you've left the ground, rotate your torso towards the nose of the board. The movement of your body from the tail to the nose of the board should be enough to spin you 360 in the air.

4. Bend your knees once you touch down on the ground to ease the impact. You'll probably be going at a higher speed than when you left the jump, so make some wide turns to manage your speed and regain control.

5. Try to do a 360 by rotating backwards. It's the same process, except you're rotating your torso around towards the nose of the board before the jump. After you get up in the air, you'll want to rotate your body towards the tail of the board to do the 360.

Tips & Warnings

• You should learn to do a 180 before you try to do a 360. The rotation is shorter and easier to pull off on a 180.

• If you're confident in a half pipe, that might be the best place to learn to do a 360 because it's easier to get the height that you need.

• Have a friend spot you while you try to do a 360 and ask him for pointers on your technique.

• You really need to wear a helmet when you're learning to do a 360 on your snowboard. If you don't rotate all the way around, you could land parallel to the trail, which will probably catch the edge of your board and throw you down. Head injuries are common when snowboards catch the edge at high speeds.