Frontside Shifty
What you'll learn
A Frontside Shifty is a freestyle snowboard trick where the board shifts sideways in the air and then returns to a straight position before landing.
The idea
The key mechanic is counter-rotation: your upper body stays relatively stable and facing downhill, while your lower body and board twist independently beneath you. This separation creates the “shifty” motion.
Source: Snowboard Addiction
Steps
Step 1: Learn the Movement on Snow (Flat Ground Drill)
Start on a gentle slope with a flat base.
While riding straight:
- keep your shoulders facing downhill
- quickly rotate your board and hips about 90 degrees sideways
- then immediately bring the board back to straight
Think of it as a quick directional shift and return, not a carve or a stop.
Source: Snowboard Addiction
Step 2: Take It to a Small Jump
Choose a small, familiar jump in the park.
- Approach
- Ride in flat-based and relaxed
- Keep your shoulders square to the landing
- Takeoff
- Pop cleanly off the lip
- Stay patient — do not start the movement before leaving the ground
- The Shifty
- Once airborne, rotate your lower body to shift the board sideways beneath you
- Keep your upper body controlled and slightly facing downhill
- The movement should feel like your board is sliding under your center of mass
- Bring It Back for Landing
- untwist your hips and legs
- return the board to a straight position
- align with the landing slope
- Land Clean
- absorb the impact with bent knees
- stay centered over the board
- ride away smoothly on a flat base
Video by Snowboard Addiction
Key Tips
- Start with small movements — style comes from control, not size
- Do not initiate the shifty before takeoff
- Keep your upper body calm and stable
- Focus on timing: twist → hold briefly → release
- Film yourself to check body separation and timing
Common mistakes
- Starting the rotation on the snow instead of in the air
- Turning the whole body instead of isolating lower body movement
- Over-rotating past 90 degrees
- Forgetting to return the board to straight before landing