Progressive Edge

[J Wak]

I've read some threads about edging into the wake progressively and I'm still a little confused. When you begin to edge you should NEVER flatten out your board even when you hit the wake? Just stand tall? Also how is it supposed to feel? (I usually edge heel side)

I've only been wakeboarding for a couple years now and up until last year I decided to take the sport seriously. And this past weekend I started thinking maybe I need to ride with other people. And perhaps that might help my progress. I finally did get a video of myself wakeboarding, but it's to big for youtube so I can't post it unless there is some place else that I can go to.

Your help is appreciated,
Thank you.

[howabouttheiris]

You do not want to flatten your board out.

Standing tall does not mean coming off edge and getting straight vertical. It means to extend your legs to not absorb the wake.

You do not need to have your board flat to get the ramp from the wake.

See my poorly drawn pic.... showing edging in and then standing tall. You want to come off the top of the wake between the two and as close to the 2nd position as possible.



If you get the progressive edge correct, you will feel like you sink down into the water and are able to build up pressure on your hands, without loosing your edge and sliding.

[J Wak]

And not flattening out won't send me ass over tin cups into the water? does holding the rope closer to my center of gravity prevent that?

[howabouttheiris]

No it won't.

Yes it does.
When you pop off the wake, you can press the handle toward your groin to keep you on-axis. Remember you want to land in a cut to the outside, in order to soften the landing. If you land flat, you will have trouble with the board bouncing you off edge.... like a kneeboard does, if you have ever done that.

[J Wak]

Have never tried the Kneeboard but I believe I understand now. I'll attempt It again whenever I go next. I think I might also need to adjust the speed of my boat and the length of my rope now that I think about it given the fact that my boat isn't one designed for wakeboarding.

Thanks

[Snoop]

I've been struggling for such a long time on getting good pop and having control in the air of my body and it's all because of THE PROGRESSIVE EDGE. Probably the most important thing to know/learn/master in wakeboarding. I used to think that the progressive edge is for HUGE tricks, but just jump w2w makes it a hell of a lot easier. Thanks so much for the advice.

[KristianB]

Ahhhh! Then feel of your first REAL pop. You're just flying and wondering what the ... will happen when you land.

It's . . . what the sport is all about.

/K

[HHI Dave]

Here's something that really seems to be helping me lately. At TWC, they always told us to edge out, wait for the boat to start pulling you back to center, and then begin your progressive edge toward the wake, building speed gradually with maximum speed reached just as you reach the wake.

For a long time, I thought that I was doing that. Recently I realized that I was making my cut back toward the wake as soon as I felt the boat begin to pull me. What I started doing now was waiting an additional second or two after I felt the boat begin to pull me back towards the wake. I found that this really helped me to maintain tension against the rope throughout the entire cut and jump and resulted in a good bit more "pop".

I hope I explained this right because it really was like a little lightbulb going off for me.

[Fossilfuelburner]

I must be doing something wrong. I have a strong progressive edge into the wake with a lot of line tension but don't generate much pop (3-4 ft). It seems I'm just cutting through the wake. I ride behind an I/O with 1000lbs of ballast.

[howabouttheiris]

4' is not unrespectable height...

...assuming you mean that your 'body went up 4 feet' and not 'went up 2 feet and lifted your board 2 feet and called that 4 feet'

[michigan boarder]

Fossilfuelburner, when you say you are cutting through the wake, are you pushing off at the top of the wake or simply maintaining the same position? Standing tall at the top of the wake is the last part of the progressive edge which will generate that "pop" that HHI Dave was talking about.

[endlessracingz]

for some reason my w2w jumps is only good 1 out of 5 times roughly. I swear I jump the same, I concentrate on the progressive edge and I get a good deal of pop but its my control and landing that is the issue. I try and pull the line to my waist to get control but there are time when something goes wrong and I am initiated in some type of spin or I am off axis or something. I have no idea... I will try and get some video so you guys can help me out.

What I have started to think it was is that I am bending my knees too much on edging. I am almost crouching with my knees bent at a 90 degree angle when at full edge. Is this normal?

[Fossilfuelburner]

Michigan Boarder: Thanks for your reply. I try to stand tall, meaning I'll stand from a seating cutting position and try to keep my legs stiff and not absorbing the energy of the wake with my knees. However, I do not "push off" as you have described. Could you please go into more detail about "pushing off" at the top of the wake? This may be the key to getting a few more feet of height I'm looking for.

[endlessracingz]

Fossilfuelburner, as for the "pushing off" what I was told by a buddy for that was that it wasn't a jump but more of like a squat.

I hope that helps...

[pet575]