Freestyle Snowboarding: How to Do an Indy Grab?

The Indy Grab is one of the most important grabs for Freestyle snowboarders to learn. It is a very classic trick that is quite easy to learn. The Indy Grab feels very natural because of the open position you have to adopt. In addition, Advanced Freestyle riders like to jump their Straight Airs, with an Indy Grab, to stabilize a jump. This way you can avoid flapping your arms like a bird 😉

An Indy Grab is done centrally between the snowboard bindings, with the back hand. You grab the front of the snowboard, on the Toe Side Edge. You do this while bringing your knees to your chest.

In this article

Warming up

What most snowboarders forget, whether they are casual or amateur, is the warm-up. Freestyle snowboarding is fun, but it is also a sport. One that uses a lot of muscles. Before we learn our Indy Grab, we start by warming up our muscles, after which the stunts will be a lot easier.

Basic

Start by jogging on the spot for 2 minutes. This activates all the functions in your body: your muscles, heart, blood circulation and nervous system. Your body temperature increases and once your muscles are warm, you can start with some stretching exercises. Target specific muscle groups (neck, calves, hamstrings, back muscles…). Try to hold each stretch for 6 to 8 seconds.

Grab specific

When snowboarding you already use quite a few muscles, but when Freestyle snowboarding you use even more. For example, with an Indy Grab you bring your lower body up, and twist and stretch your upper body to touch the snowboard. That is why some specific stretches are useful;

• The Quadriceps Stretch because we increasingly work/learn while sitting down.
• Knees to chest because we warm up almost all the muscles used.
• The lower back can quickly become overloaded, so this is a must do stretch.

Trampoline training

The best way to train your Freestyle snowboard skills is by using the Wax&Board Trampoline Board. With us Freestyle Training Gear-material, you don't have to wait for the first snowflakes to fall.

The Trampoline Board is useful to improve muscle reflexes. Muscles can be trained for various reasons. For example, a bodybuilder wants to become firmer, a runner wants to improve his endurance, etc.

As a Freestyle snowboarder, we need to improve our agility and reaction time on the one hand, and on the other hand, we want to train our muscle memory so that we can perform movements blindly. The Trampoline Board helps with this, as you can perform the exercises very frequently one after the other. Without having to wait for a ski lift. Ain´t that cool?

Next to the trampoline

You don't necessarily need a Trampoline Board for this exercise: Strap yourself into your Trampoline board, you Jib Board – or put on snowboard boots and then a snowboard. Stand somewhere where you have space and where the surface is not too slippery, if you are not using a Trampoline Board – use a yoga mat for example.

1. Assume a normal snowboarding position.
2. Bend your knees as deeply as you can.
3. Grab the Toe Side Edge with your back hand, centrally between your feet. Face in the direction of your jump.
4. Hold this Indy Grab for a few seconds, then stand back up.

Just to be clear, in step 3 you grab the edge of the snowboard, on the side of your toes, with the hand you're using not is going to steer. Point your front, or steering hand, horizontally in the direction you would be driving. Try to maintain a stable position the entire time. Do this exercise 10 to 20 times.

Tip! Do you have knee pain or are you having trouble reaching the bottom?
Then you are Training Bindings error. Adjust the binding angles to suit your body type and try again. Find a position that works for you and start with the duck stance +15/-15, adjust each binding separately. Until you find your comfortable position.

On the trampoline

Ok, you have now taken the first steps to jump an Indy Grab. Before we do this with a snowboard we are going to practice on the trampoline. This has 4 advantages;

• You'll land softly if you land badly.
• You practice the landing, after the grab, in different ways.
• You will gain more confidence by getting used to airtime: the period when you are floating.
• You can practice dozens of times in a short period of time, which makes muscle memory work faster.

Standing still

As a first step we repeat the exercises, while standing still, that we did next to the trampoline;

1. Position yourself centrally on the trampoline, do it Freestyle snowboard On.
2. Face in the direction you would jump and keep your front, steering hand and arm horizontal.
3. Bend your knees and grab the Toe Side Edge with your back hand.
4. Hold the Indy Grab for a few seconds, trying to maintain your balance.
5. Come back up into a relaxed snowboarding position.

While jumping

Now it's almost time for the real thing. Place yourself in the middle of the trampoline, with the Trampoline Board on, jump straight up in the air and land on your knees. Repeat this a few times so you can get used to jumping with a practice board.

When you get the rhythm, pull your knees up to your chest. Be careful NOT to point your upper body down. The idea is to bring your knees up. You do this on your way to the highest point of the jump. When you fall back down, stretch your legs out to a normal snowboard position. So don't land with straight legs, but in a slightly bent knee position.

Simple, right?

When you are ready, try the Indy Grab at the highest point of your jump. By bringing your knees up, you actually only have to grab between your feet with your back arm. If this does not work right away – repeat a few times. You will notice that the more you do this, the easier it will become because your muscles stretch and store this movement in their memory.

Don't forget to keep your front hand and arm horizontal during the jump. Because once on the track you have to steer it in the direction you want to go! Of course, look in this direction too.

Tip! When you have done this exercise 10 to 20 times, try to look around enough, and mainly in the direction you would perform the jump. You will notice that you see more and more of your surroundings during the jump. This is called airtime habituation, and it is super useful for other Freestyle snowboard stunts!

On the track

The supreme moment has arrived! The first snow of the season is still crunching fresh under your boots, or you just took the lift in that indoor cool box 😉 Time to throw that Indy Grab with a real snowboard. Let´s do some Freestyle!

We assume that Straight Air Jumps are nothing new. It doesn't have to be a big jump to show off an Indy Grab, as long as you have a few seconds of airtime to place the grab.

Driving to the kicker

A little refresher on the basic principles;
Start directly behind the Kicker, at a point where you know you can land safely on the Deck, or just past the Knuckle. Drive towards the Jump and do speedchecks where necessary. Make some turns with focus to drive onto the Kicker (Take Off) in the middle. Your turns will form an imaginary funnel-shaped tunnel.

Push off on the kicker

Try to ride the kicker flat with your snowboard. Keep your upper body aligned above the snowboard. There is nothing wrong with keeping your arms horizontal, front and back. Some people prefer to keep the board flat, others tilt slightly on the Toe Side Edge, while starting a Pop or Ollie.

You can approach the jump a little more through your knees, this way you reduce the distance between your upper body and the snowboard. This makes an Indy Grab easier to grab.

The Indy Grab

After training at home, with the Trampoline Board, there is not much more to tell about an Indy Grab. Grab with your back hand, centrally between the bindings, on the Toe Side Edge. Keep your front arm horizontal, and point in the direction you are jumping. This will give you an ideal position and your Straight Jump will also feel more stable.

Landing your jump

During the Indy Grab, focus on the landing you are going to make with the snowboard. Through the training on the trampoline, you will notice that this airtime habituation is a useful skill set. Instead of a jump being gone in a blink of an eye, you now have the feeling of having all the time in the world, and you can spot the landing better.

Absorb the landing, for this you spring through your knees. Again just like during the trampoline training. Try to land lightly on your Toe Side Edge. This gives you more control to drive off the landing safely, and with more style.

Tip! Back pain after jumping with a snowboard? Then you don't spring enough through your knees when landing. Do some Straight Airs where you pay specific attention to this. Once you have mastered this (..) that annoying back pain will disappear and you will enjoy Freestyle more!

Points of attention

• Ride lower than normal onto the kicker. Lower through the knees makes an Indy Grab easier to grab!
• Pop or Ollie, which helps the snowboard go up in height, after which the Indy Grab is easier.
• Don't try to grab your Indy Grab during Take Off: Pop or Ollie into the air first.
• Snowboarding is fun, training and stretching your muscles helps to become a better Freestyler!
• Use a Trampoline Board to train muscle memory and improve your skills!
• With an Indy Grab you grab the front of the snowboard with your back hand, centrally between the snowboard boots.