---
title: Frontside Shifty
seo_title: How to do a frontside shifty on a snowboard
authors:
- Snowboardgudinne
- renec112
image: frontside-shifty.webp
image_source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdhS9tu7TWg
image_credit: Snowboard Addiction
image_credit_url: https://www.youtube.com/@SnowboardAddiction
skill: do a frontside shifty
tags: [jumps]
switch: true
published: 2026-05-19
---

## 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.

![Snowboarder counter-rotating over a park roller, shoulders staying downhill while the board twists beneath them](/content-images/snowboarding/frontside-shifty-clip1.webp)

*Source: [Snowboard Addiction](https://www.youtube.com/@SnowboardAddiction)*


## Steps

### Step 1: Learn the Movement on Snow (Flat Ground Drill)

**Start on a gentle slope with a flat base.**

While riding straight:

1. 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.*

![Rear view of a snowboarder practising the flat-ground shifty drill, board pivoting sideways while riding straight](/content-images/snowboarding/frontside-shifty-clip2.webp)

*Source: [Snowboard Addiction](https://www.youtube.com/@SnowboardAddiction)*

### Step 2: Take It to a Small Jump

**Choose a small, familiar jump in the park.**

1. **Approach**
    - Ride in flat-based and relaxed
    - Keep your shoulders square to the landing
2. **Takeoff** 
    - Pop cleanly off the lip
    - Stay patient - do not start the movement before leaving the ground
3. **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
4. **Bring It Back for Landing**
    - untwist your hips and legs
    - return the board to a straight position
    - align with the landing slope
5. **Land Clean**
    - absorb the impact with bent knees
    - stay centered over the board
    - ride away smoothly on a flat base

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdhS9tu7TWg

*Video by [Snowboard Addiction](https://www.youtube.com/@SnowboardAddiction)*

## 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