Critique my wakeboarding skills (or lack thereof)

[NSS98]

Hey all... I had posted a thread about where to put ballast bags to get the best wake and it led to some people telling me I may not be getting enough "boot" or vertical air because of my technique more than because of the wake. SO, take it easy on me... I don't claim to be good yet, but check out the video at the link below and let me know if you have any advice for getting higher! I think I need to slow down the boat speed so I'll try that next time out.

http://youtu.be/CcBGwOjeo1M

[OKWAKEBDR]

Couple comments:

1) Your boat does not appear to be level. The wake is much cleaner on your starboard side approach than your port side approach.
2) Don't hold the rope like a baseball bat. Both hands should be "knuckles up"
3) Is the perfect pass on your boat calibrated properly? 25-26 mph is REALLY fast! I ride at 22.5 on a 75 ft rope. I'd suggest something slower, and for beginners, a 65-70 ft rope.


Your approach is pretty good. Progressive edge is what you're looking for (slowly building speed and momentum as you approach the wake - so that the strongest part of your approach is at the wake). Remember, the wake is NOT a ramp. Line tension is what causes the pop. You are leaving the wake a little early. Wait all the way until you get to the top of the wake before you pop.

Finally, don't be a "heel-side hero". Learn to approach the wake on your toeside also and do toeside wakejumps - 1 wake at first.

[cedarcreek216]

I could not imagine riding at 25-26 MPH, much less hitting a nice wake at that speed.

[NSS98]

I don't have perfect pass... there are 2 speedometers but only 1 works and I don't know if it is accurate or not. Anything less than 23mph feels REALLY slow, making it hard to cut out away from the wake, but maybe I just need to get used to it. I come from a slalom skiing background so obviously very different speed.

Thanks for the feedback OKWAKEBDR. I'll work on all of that. I have just started to try toeside jumps and need to get more comfortable for sure... didn't have any video of them. How do I avoid leaving the wake early?

[seth]

Like stated above hold the handle with knuckles facing up, this will give you even tension and a much more control when edging in. I think your perfect pass is off because that does not look like 25-26 but you dont want to go that fast anyway. Your first rope length looked pretty good. I would suggest a 60-65 foot rope length for beginners and no ballast. Like stated above you want the wake to look the same when cutting from either side (no white wash) so you may need to adjust some people a few inches.

Yes your approach is pretty good and I think holding the handle the right way will help you more. Watch as you first start to cut in, you are standing tall and lean back to start your approach. Your edge is fully set at this point and you bend your knees and get under yourself within the last 10ft of your approach. You want your knees bent, stable stance from your initial cut and then depending on the trick, is how much edge you take before take off.

Think of it like this, if you let go of the rope on your initial cut in, what would happen? You would fall backwards. During your entire progressive cut you want to be in a position where if you let go of the rope, you would continue to coast into the wake. So really think of this on your approach. You have the right approach about 10ft from the wake so watch that and work on that positioning. Knees bent, rope at your waist, stable body position.

Also work on that toeside edge and wake jump. Hope this helps!

[Chexi]

What everyone else said. Also, it is clear from the video that you are absorbing the wake when you launch. If your legs are stiff (not necessarily straight, but stiff so they don't act like shock absorbers) you will be booted very high.

BTW, was that a tantrum attempt at the end? I've done the same thing.

[NSS98]

Haha, sadly it was... thanks for the input.

[wakeslasher69]

Agree with all the above and special emphasis on slowing the boat down quite a bit. I'd think 21-22 would be plenty of speed, push to 23 if you have to but no more. This will also allow the boat to sink a little more and give you a bigger wake to get more vertical on. You don't talk about ballast in your boat (or that I saw) but since your boat hull is built more for skiing than wakeboarding the hull is trying to minimize the wake at higher speeds. Definitely need some extra ballast on your boat, and I really think that will help you get more vert. Your form overall IMO seems fine you just need to ride more and with a bigger wake. Have you ridden behind a wakeboard specific boat? If not, do it, if you have how is your form on a larger wake?

FWIW, crashes at slower speeds are MUCH better on the body! And since you are trying lots of tricks slow it down!

[jonsquatch]

The wake could be cleaned up a bit, but you should be able to get good pop from it. Your technique looks better at the longer length. There are a bunch of things to work on but don't try them all at once, get one dialed in at a time.

First is handle position. Think about pinning your handle to the front hip. Try to not let it creep up to the center of your chest and don't extend your arms as you take off, as it steals your line tension, if anything you could give the rope a slight tug. For hand position unless your hands are as big as mine try using both hands overhand and keep them off the end caps of the handle as it helps with control and balance when you take a hand off.

Second is timing at the wake as chexi1 said you are absorbing the wake so you are robbing your power at the wake. If you stand tall chest up - shoulders back - hips forward (Tits to the sky), knees 80% locked at 10-15 degrees off full extensions, holding a constant edge through the wake you will get pop. For some reason some people have difficulty when they try to quickly squat and pop of the wake and then pulling their knees up in the air of running it all together and end up absorbing. If you are trying to do that break it down and concentrate on just being in that takeoff position at the wake. Then slowly add the other parts with intentional dramatic pauses between them.

Third is edge, you are backing off the edge before you get to the wake which takes your line tension away. You are very aggressive in your cut through the mid way point at which point you coast into the wake. When you pull all the way out look back at the wake and try make a mental image of the half way point before you reach the wake. You want to try and only finish 25% of the turn in first half of your approach and the last 75% just before the wake. If you aren't holding that edge the board will slip on the water and it takes your line tension.

As has been said you are not trying to ramp off the wake you are trying to cause a violent collision between your board and the wake. The firmer the wake and the more tension you bring to it the higher you go.

[NSS98]

You don't talk about ballast in your boat (or that I saw) but since your boat hull is built more for skiing than wakeboarding the hull is trying to minimize the wake at higher speeds. Definitely need some extra ballast on your boat, and I really think that will help you get more vert.

I don't have any factory ballast but just purchased 2 550lb bags and pump. I think with that additional weight and a little slower speed I will have a nice wake. I have not ridden behind a wakeboard specific boat.

[NSS98]

Great pointers jonsquatch- THANKS! Can't wait to give it a shot.

[NSS98]

Great Advice Seth, THANKS!

[rbalan]

Normally not a big deal to me but what size board and what is your weight? It does look like you may be a little forward of the sweet spot of the wake at times. Otherwise, good advice by others here.

[Brichter14]

Fyi a 98 super sport IS THE wakeboard specific boat. Just slow down and get some more weight in there.

[Shammy1984]

NSS98,

Your approach/edge into the wake looks good. Like everyone else has said, it looks like you're coming off your cut when you hit the wake to stand tall. You are gaining enough speed to clear the wake, but are losing pop because you are releasing the tension in the line. One of the biggest problems beginners have when learning how to generate pop is with loading the line.

When you load the line correctly you can get massive pop even if you take a short cut into the wake. Basically you are making more from less. You can't really be taught how to load the line it's more of something that clicks from repetition. The basic principal to load the line is that you want the greatest amount of tension in the rope to be when you are leaving the wake. The best way I can explain how this feels is as you are going up the wake your board should feel like it is cutting up the face of the wake and when you stand tall the board will feel like it flexes as it releases from the wake. How I try to teach people to load the line, I tell them to take a more shallow cut and try to clear the wake using a progressive edge. The point of the exercise is to hopefully get them to realize that they need to edge up to the wake and not just to the wake. Also, a big component is to keep the rope in close to your front hip. If you let the rope out when hitting the wake, you'll lose the line tension and any pop you would have generated.

Another thing I noticed is with your 180s. Different tricks require different cuts and different take offs. For the 180s and other spins, you should take an even medium-aggressive edge to the wake and use an ollie take off. What this means is that you set your line early and stay on that edge the entire time, you don't want to increase the amount of edge like a progressive edge. When you hit the wake you basically ollie off of it by kicking down your back foot. This edge and take off will reduce the line tension on the spin and will make it easier to stay on axis and will give you more of a straight up and down type pop.

The ollie edge is the same type of edge you will use for a tantrum. However, you will start with way more aggressive cut for the tantrum. You will keep the edge up the wake and then at the top of the wake you should let go with your back hand and square up your shoulders and board to the wake. You should use the wake to trip you into the flip.