~Pop~

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jul 09, 2008 7:34 am Post subject: ~Pop~

im really struggling with getting wake to wake. i just cant get the pop right at the wake. im absorbing. i make a pretty good progressive carve, and spot the wake as soon as i coast/flatten.

ive always heard the terms "stand up, and stiffen" at the wake. for some reason this help doesnt work for me, i need something specific to consitrate on. ie i need to be able to specifically think about telling x part of my body to do "blank".
any tips on this? things i can specifically consitrate on to make it to the other side? any and all help would be appreciated.

one rider once told me that my front leg seemed ok for stiffness, but my back leg was remaining pretty bent and absorbing.
ive tried the short cut (10' out and cut to wake) drills and that helps. i can seem to stiffen well there. it seems like when i get any speed built up with a half or full carve im affraid to hit the wake and blow out my knees or something. alot of my problems stem from old ski habits, sniff front leg, weight all on rear foot, absorb the wake, straight armed etc.

i wont be able to ride for a couple weeks, but when i do ill try to get some vid. any spefic tips to try for pop?

finkle · Wakeboarder.com Freak Joined: 22 Sep 2003 Posts: 4067

when I was younger and terrain parks were starting to get popular at ski resorts, we would hit the kickers on skis. As a small 12-13 year old, those jumps were massive. I would end up skiing to the kicker and speed check too much and would not be able to clear the table top. Do that a few times and your heels get so wrecked that you can barely walk. Lesson being, had simply gone after the jump with the right amount of speed, I would have landed smoothly on the down slope.

Sack up. Take a good hard progressive edge into the wake and stand tall. It's really that easy. Don't be a pu$$y.

IrideLITE · Soul Rider Joined: 12 Feb 2008 Posts: 318

^yea, you just gotta get past that fear and go balls to the walls on it.

Zcaithaca · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 251 City: Ithaca

Also, you shouldn't really "flatten" or "coast" before hitting the wake...The idea behind a progressive edge is that the line gets progressively tighter as you cut into the wake -- if you coast, you lose all that tension, and all that pop

Zcaithaca · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Mar 2007 Posts: 251 City: Ithaca

Also, you shouldn't really "flatten" or "coast" before hitting the wake...The idea behind a progressive edge is that the line gets progressively tighter as you cut into the wake -- if you coast, you lose all that tension, and all that pop

JustinCT · Newbie Joined: 08 Jul 2008 Posts: 19 City: Philadelphia

What is your boat speed and line length? We just started this year and were all struggling to go w2w. An instructor that lives on our lake who also has the same boat as us (Supra launch 22) came out and helped us with our setup. We cranked the boat up a few miles per hour and run the line at 60 feet. It's pretty damn scary at first riding at the faster speed (25 mph according to the perfect pass) but w2w is not a problem for any of us now. Just keep your legs stiff off the wake and pull that line to your hips...

BTW, I don't think we're actually at 25mph, more like 22ish. The instructors perfect pass reads 22 when our boats are going about the same speed. Who knows. I'm used to the speed now, but falling can be pretty unpleasant sometimes.

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jul 09, 2008 10:29 am Post subject:

Zcaithaca, i was refering the the flattening/coasting BEFORE the inward progressive cut to the wake, ie when your all the way in the flats about to cut in. i see how i worded it was a bit confusing.

ive heard of people say to push your chest out at the wake to help with that standinng up/pop. its supposed to force your body into an upright position (standing tall) to get you out of the "sitting in a chair" cut position. i didnt have much luck with this, seemed ackward, and seemed to almost try to start a forward or back lean in the air(i cant remember now)

its not that i have a fear, i have no problem hitting the wake, and charging it hard. its just when i get there im not doing the stiffing right, and needed something specific to concentrate on because the "stand tall/stiffen" thoughts wernt working for me.

justin i like to ride at about 19mph. this is slow by todays standards, but back in 99 when i started 18 mph was THE speed lol. i ride a 65' line to the tower, tryed it on all different wakes too. 05 supra, 08 malibu, 08 centurion, 82 sn2001. same results, its not the wake, its me.

vette74 · Posted: Jul 09, 2008 10:44 am Post subject:

STANG KILLA SS, Try to keep your hips forward, shoulders back and chest out like a titty dancer. Also, try bending your knees before you cut in and start to stand up at the trough of the wake.

GuitsBoy · Posted: Jul 09, 2008 11:13 am Post subject:

OuachitaWaker · Addict Joined: 16 Sep 2006 Posts: 577 City: Hot Springs

you might be over thinking it, just cut in and do it and dont be a Taco Bell Chalupa

bvanderwoerd · Newbie Joined: 07 Jul 2008 Posts: 15

i had the same problem, i went out tonight for the first time hitting a makeshift wakeboard pylon/tower thing, and i found it difficult for me to get used to i fell a lot more than i normally do because i was getting more time in the air and kept landing just on the crest of the opposite wake,
i found that when i would put more weight on my front foot before stiffening up i would get not only more distance, but also more height, i was able to go w2w 2 or 3 times.. its a great feeling when you make it.. very smooth landing.

wake eater · Soul Rider Joined: 04 Feb 2005 Posts: 272 City: knoxville

one thing i've realized is to not "overthink" anything wakeboarding. it's all feel & muscle memory. this helped me: u want ur weight distributed evenly (50/50) on both feet. try to hold ur edge all the way thru the wake. about 4 feet from the wake "stand at attention" (like in the military). actually lock ur knees. too many people think they are "standing tall" and actually arent doing squat. if u lock ur knees there's no question. just dont land with ur knees locked! i hope this helps. it def helped me.

ps.....how's the board?

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jul 10, 2008 6:56 pm Post subject:

thanks. well i dont have any muscle memory yet lol. but ill try that. its so hard for me to stiffen without a specific thing to consitrate on doing.

love it, i could actually feel the 3 stage poping over the old 3DS continous rocker. only thing i struggle with on it, is my toe side jumps (single wake) when i land on this board i catch and face plant alot. this is the only board ive done that on. probly those 11* fins, thats alot of side bite. of course this is me digging to try to find something wrong, its awesome. i actually get alot of compliments/questions about it. last weekend a bunch of really good rich kids in a X-1 putted over and asked me about it. Laughing