How To Method On A Tramp Board

The Method is the most iconic grab in Snowboarding. It's also the perfect trick to showcase your own personal style, as everyone does them a little differently. If you have ever wanted to learn how to crank one out, or clean yours up, this tutorial is for you.

This tutorial was filmed with the Snowboard Addiction Tramp Board. Grab yours today!

(Narrating/Riding: Duncan Mainland, Film/Edit: Vince Emond. Filmed At: Whistler Blackcomb & Whistler Bounce)

First Things First

A Method is when you grab Melon (or close to it), while kicking the Tail of the board out behind you and tweaking it so the base is facing down the hill. The Method isn't a simple grab, you'll need to combine several movements together to make it work properly.

SA Coach Chase Banes showing the kids how it's done. 

Start out by grabbing Melon. You can even give it a tweak Backside to get things moving in the right direction and get a feel for getting counter rotated.

Just touching the base of your board doesn't count. Make sure your thumb is pressed against the top sheet. 

Next, try grabbing Melon by kicking the board out behind you. This is not a Method, never do this on the hill. This is just a stepping stone to get you comfortable kicking the board up.

This is NOT a Method. I REPEAT, this is NOT a Method.

The Real Deal

The real Method only comes when you add a Backside Shifty. Tweaking the board behind you, so the base is facing forward.

Methods are often grabbed in the same place as a Melon, front hand on the heel edge between the bindings. But not always. Many people grab them outside of the Bindings, getting closer to the Nose, sometimes even kicking the Nose down and out at the same time. Most of the time grabbing outside of the bindings is frowned upon, but for a Method you get to bend the rules a little bit. Do what you think works best.

This IS a Method.

If you're having trouble getting these moves to all happen at once, try some on the floor. Going through the motions to develop muscle memory. You can also practice these moves individually and make sure you have them all dialed. 

 1. Melon Grab, 2. Kicking the Board Behind you, 3. Backside shifty, 4. Put them all together.

You can grab Melon first, then do the tweak. Or throw the kicky Shifty move and grab the board as it's coming up. Either way it will work as long as you get a solid grab so you can really stretch and tweak the board without it slipping out of your hand.

 
Tweak, then BAM!

Your Method might not look exactly how you'd like when you first learn them, but it will evolve as your snowboarding prowess progresses. Experiment with your own and check out other peoples styles to learn other ways to do this trick. 

 The Godfather of Snowboard Addiction Nev Lapwood, throwing a big ol' Method.

Stomping It On Snow

That is everything you need to know to get you working on your Methods before taking them to the snow. Get the feeling of using your upwards momentum to work with the trick, instead of fighting it and making it harder than it needs to be. Grab your Tramp Board after you pop, then by the peak of the jump you should already have your method cranked. Happy shredding!

Who has a better Method? Duncan, Chase or Nev? Leave your pick in the comments below.

Jesse-Ray Townsend
Snowboard Addiction
Our Goal Is To Improve Your Riding