Issues with standing up tall

[WhackedRampage]

I used to get a ton of pop off of the wake and stand up tall, but these past few weeks it's like I can't get my legs to listen lol. They absorb the energy and I get little air (enough to do grabs, 360s, etc., but not much). It feels like I'm standing up tall, but after looking at some photos + small videos, I notice I'm absorbing almost all of the energy .

Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, what did you do to fix it? I haven't been able to get more than 4ft of air the past few weekends. I usually have a progressive edge all the way through the wake, but I just cannot get myself to stand up tall.

I don't have much footage, but if you want to take a look and critique or whatever:

360 #1
http://www.facebook.com/v/10150248624435304

360 #2
http://www.facebook.com/v/10150248624830304

Mute (?)
http://www.facebook.com/v/10150235543355304

Thanks!

[Wakeboarder3780]

ROFL the last 5 seconds of the 3rd video was priceless.

I don't know man, personally i think it's all looking fine. There were a few jumps where you let up on your edge. But personally for the wake I think you're getting just fine air.

Only other thing you can do is fully concentrate on slamming your legs down harder (I personally think you're "standing tall" but you can always stand tall more forcefully

[pet575]

I'm no advanced expert, but I recall having nearly the same problem as you after getting my w2w consistent and then sort of "forgetting" how to pop. The camera showed me exactly the same thing I see in your vids-that I could easily add another 10-20% to my progressive edge by getting a little more weight on my front foot and edging a bit harder at the very end. What it amounted to was me thinking about showing more of the bottom of my board to the people in the boat. Once I was able to do that, I easily picked up more air.

Give it a shot. I don't think you need to change anything else. You don't look like you're edging ALL that hard when you start to go up the wake.

[WhackedRampage]

[ctgretzky99]

Air doesnt just come with a hard edge. You should get just as much pop on an ollie edge as you do on progressive, more or less.

Kick down that back foot more...stomp it down. Pop off the wake.

For wha tits worth, you are getting good air, dont know why youre worried

[WhackedRampage]

[duckseatfree]

Good article I just ran into: http://wakeboardingmag.com/how-to/2009/11/16/how-to-do-more-with-less/

Shaun Murray
If you really understand the physics of wakeboarding, you’ll realize how much more pop you can get off the wake simply by doing less. It’s the first thing I tell my students when they come to The Boarding School, because working too hard to get air is such a common mistake. All you really have to do is stand tall, which you’re already doing when you cut away from the wake to set up for a wake jump. It’s all about energy transfer. I like to use jumping on a trampoline as an example. When you come down on a trampoline, all you have to do to bounce right back into the air is keep your legs straight and your upper body in line with your legs. If you crouch down and try to push off the trampoline, your legs will absorb rather than transfer the energy and you won’t spring as high. The same rules apply to getting pop off the wake. Making these simple changes will help you work less and achieve more. — Shaun Murray

It all starts with the edge I have all my students start very close to the wake to show them getting air isn’t about speed, it’s about edging. When you’re on edge, your wakeboard actually creates energy because the water wants to push the board back up to the surface. As you cut harder, that energy increases, but you need to harness it correctly. For instance, you can take an easy cut and do nothing more than stand tall at the wake, and you’ll get more pop than if you took a hard cut, crouched down and tried to push off the wake but mistimed the pop. Once you understand what the right kind of pop feels like, start going wider and wider until you find the right combination. Just remember to always edge harder as you get closer to the wake and to hold that edge all the way through.

Line it up To effectively use the energy created by edging, you need to resist with your entire body, which means keeping your upper body in line with your lower body. Your hips should be close to the handle with your arms straight. Edge all the way up the wake, and make sure your chest is facing the sky. If your hips move away from the handle, your chest will automatically cave in and you’ll lose some of the pressure — and energy — from the board. Put simply: Stand tall and lean away with your arms straight.

Use both hands It’s common to let go of the handle too early when you’re going for a trick with a grab or a handle pass. But when you’re coming into the wake, all of the force from the board needs to be transferred through your hands into the rope. If you change the dynamic before you finish the pop, you’ll have lost some of your energy. So make sure you always keep both hands on the rope until your board leaves the wake.

All together now Less is definitely more when it comes to efficient energy transfer, so just hang on, make sure you have a progressive edge and stand tall at the wake. You’ll get all the pop you’ll ever need.

More with Murray For more riding advice from Murray, watch his video, Detention 2012 (detention2012.com), or attend his camp, The Boarding School, which is located in St. Cloud, Florida, just outside Orlando.

[stinky_1]

I agree with the others.... You are not cutting as hard as you could. At the last second it looks like you are letting up a bit.

I would say the reason is because you are so close to the boat. I would guess your running a fairly short rope. Your wake is clean for at least another 5 possibly 10 feet. If you let your rope out farther you would need to cut harder to clear the wake anyway. Which would give you more air time. Not sure about the height. But your high as you should expect on those jumps with that wake.

I am at about the same point as you. I find my wake pops me the highest when I am closer to the boat. It has a bit more ramp to it. But I dont need to cut as hard, and have less distance to travel before I am on the other side (narrow wake.)

Hopefully that helps. I dont think your extension is really the problem. Your timing everything right so that you are just going w to w. Which is the smoother approach. Cut harder and youll be in the flats.

[LiquidCraftMasterForce]

how long is the tow line you are using? It seems to me you might be able to move out a few more feet. I jump at around 75' it gives me more length to cut out from behind the boat and more speed when edging into the wake.

EDIT:: What he said ^^^

[WhackedRampage]

Well, I tried wakeboarding at 70', but the wake was a little washed out so I shortened it to 65'. I'm gonna try the suggestions everyone posted.

Thanks for the comments/suggestions

[stinky_1]

whats the speed? you can compensate for a short rope by lowering the speed a bit. which would also widen the wake.

Chances are though it will move the wash out to where you are at though.

Its tough on some boats to get that balance between speed, weight, and rope length while still keeping the wake clean

[WhackedRampage]

I usually go between 20-22mph. I could try riding at 75' again this weekend though as I haven't tried it for a while.

[stinky_1]

just looked at your videos again. In the first one you have an easy 10 feet you can go out farther before youll be in the wash.

In the second video the boat is not weight well. if you were out 10 feet farther you would be washing on your heal side edge, but no problems on your toe side. Just have one of the passengers move to the other side of the boat and it would clean that wake up nicely.

You should find no problems being back out at 75 again