Just curious...

I've wanted to get into mt. biking (just a little, I'm not a very aggro person on a bike (well not yet, anyway)

I'd like to learn some of the techniques for hopping, and just how one would position one's body while descending (like down a very short set of steps, etc) so one can do that kind of thing without killing oneself!

I used to play around like that at home with my old bike, but a bent frame and a couple of shifters that didn't shift *quite right* later, I was strongly discouraged from it (Mom didn't want to buy any new bikes )

So... I figure: Now I'm a big girl, I should learn how to do it properly instead of looking like a stunt-biker gone wrong, in a spray of gravel and a flurry of limbs everywhere!

Any suggestions (beyond Irulan's tips) are really welcome (I've already pored over those, and am just looking for a little more )