noob advice

[mako_newbie]

hey all, went wakeboarding for the first time on Sunday. I picked it up alot faster than I thought, got up on my fifth try (my "technique" is waaaayyy different than all the videos but hey its working) and by the end of the day I was staying up pretty consistently. I have two questions though:

1: what is the best 'way' to get outside the wake. I did it sometimes and other times I blew it and whiped out. I dont know what I did differently. The times I fell the front of the board dug into the water after going over the crest of the wake. How do you counteract that? Was I just going to slow?

2: After getting outside the wake I turned to go back over the wake, in failed attempts to jump it, and whiped out every time. How do you 'jump' the wake?

thanks guys, i wished i started this along time ago, its a ton of fun.

[Enygma]

First off. don't bother with wake jumps just yet. stick to the basics and you'll advance faster then if you jump straight into the beginner/intermediate.

you have the same problem my mom does. She can not wrap her head around edging, instead she steers the board and hopes the fins will do the work. Next time you're out try leaning back on the line and basically move into a position like you're sitting in a chair. This may give you a better idea about edging.

Next thing, since that will likely make you crash, lean against the line again but this time try to look down at the water. you should start a toe carve.

For both those moves above when I say lean against the line I literally mean to lean away from the boat. Dont go too much too fast, be progressive with it. If you do a very sudden heel carve you'll likely find yourself face down ass up with one of the worst headaches of your life. In which case we want video

Now for getting in and out of the wake. Think of your knees as your suspension. Like on a car when you hit a bump the suspension will absorb the impact by compressing, leaving the rest of the body relatively un-moved. Same idea here, as you approach the wake be in a comfortable stance. then simply bend your knees as you start to ride up the wake and extend as you're coming down. now you want to pass over both wakes a few times, absorbing the wake both directions.


Next is 1 wake jumps. easiest thing you'll ever do. Approach the wake slowly but do NOT let off your edge, then simply push your feet down into the water. You're not trying to ollie off the wake. the flex in the board combined with the wake will be enough to throw you up. Ollieing will likely just throw you off balance.

[JeffreyCH]

Sounds like you are riding nose heavy. You should be about 60/40 weighted to the tail. Do you snowboard also? The reason I ask is because I ride both, and tend to ride nose heavy for the first couple sets of the year. I have the reverse problem first couple runs down the hill in the beginning of winter.