There are countless boards, boots and bindings available one of which will fit almost anyone's needs.Personally, I recommend either Burton, K2, Rossignol, SantaCruz, Oxygen, or any other well known brand. I own a K2 Juju with Van's Axiom boots and Switch 550 bindings. If your interested in K2 they have a great equipment selector at their web site www.k2snowboards.com, Give it a try!
Now get all your new fancy equipment and try it out. Pick a day when there won't too many people because you'll probably make a fool of yourself. It takes about a day to get the hang of carving but you can always improve your skills. Once you can carve nicely its time to work on JUMPING! 180's are fun, easy and a great starting point for more complicated moves. After a few attempts its easy to land most 180's and you can grab your board, or kick your feet out a little for extra style. 360's are just two 180's so that's not too hard. Anything like backflips are very hard to do and you really can't practice for them. Good Luck. IF YOU NEED HELP MY ICQ# IS 22676093
