Snowboarding Trick : Grabs and Tweaks

Grabs and Tweaks 
with Mini Karpf

Mini Karpf

As soon as your board leaves the snow, you are getting air. And as soon as you are getting air, you are ready to grab your board. To the stupid/uneducated, grabbing a board that you are already strapped to seems pointless and unnecessary. But when we take a look at the origins of grabs, it soon becomes clear that without them, we’d all be into lycra, dual slalom, and calling it ‘skiboarding’.

Like many good things, grabs originate from skateboarding, where riders would grab to hold their feet to their board while performing aerial moves. As time went by, skaters injected their own style by experimenting with different kinds of grab and body position. Later, when skaters started snowboarding, they soon began performing the same moves. So there you go: cross-pollination. Skateboarders brought their unique style to snowboarding, and saved us from the ski influence in the process.

Not only do grabs and tweaks look good, they also have a function. Grabbing your board helps to stabilise your body in the air, and tweaks can be used to control rotation. They are your friend. Use them well. Forget about exotic moves like Taipans, Chicken Salads and Rockets for now, here are the most common grabs and tweaks.

Snowboarding Trick : Grabs and Tweaks

Backside/Melon/Lien

Frontside/Indy

Stalefish

Mute

Nosegrab

Tailgrab

Ilegal Grabs

Tip: Grabbing your board is all about making your whole body work as a team. Don’t just use your arms to reach down, use your legs to bring your board up to your hand

Snowboarding Trick : Grabs and Tweaks Video