well i can get the handle pass on it half the time but it feels like i'm trying to get it forever but i do concentrate on it. but the times i don't get it what do i do wrong and whats the difference between getting it and not. another thing is that i nosedive doing them when i get around. i'll give you a little walk thru.I come into the wake and ollie up and pull the handle, not super hard but it starts my rotation. Then i reach around, and it seems to take forever to either get the handle or not. But then i come around and see the water but then i nosedive so any help would be well helpful.

i think ur nosediving because u might be looking down. as soon as u begin ur rotation try and find the boat by looking over ur shoulder. this will help u stay square and straight.

thanks does anyone have any thoughts on the handle pass should i pull it really hard to get slack or what but thanks

you might be taking to short of a cut at the wake. look at it this way. lets say you cut out 15 and take a hard cut in to clear the wake. if you do this you will be loading the line with a lot of tension making the handle pass harder than it needs to be. if you take a bigger cut than you normaly would you can come in with a more relaxed cut wich will put less tension on the rope but you will still have the same speed when you get to the wake

ok i went out on saturday and the conditions sucked but i tried a few anyway and i dig my nose under again but i dont think i looked down because i dont remember seeing hte water before i landed but i think i can feel when i go off axis right when im passing the handle adn i think its got a lot to do with focusing on the handlepass not so much the trick but i really think its because when i passed it and i got the handle most of the time but i would let my hips out so am i right and could you guys give me some more pointers

John, <BR> You might be going off axis and nose diving because you're trying to rotate too early (the tail of the board will get hung up on the wake). <BR> Make sure you are at the highest point of your pop before looking over your shoulder to start the rotation and passing the handle. It could help to think about initiating the rotation with your hips too, not just your shoulders. <BR> <BR> Also, if you try to pass the handle to early, it will make it difficult to execute because the handle won't be in the correct position to be grabbed. Most likely it will be getting pulled away from your hip so make sure to wait (pop - pull - pass) <BR> <BR> One last thing, as stated above in the other posts, if there's a lot of tension (load) on the lone when you leave the wake, that can make it very difficult to handle pass. Right before you leave the wake, try letting the handle out just a little bit and then when you're at the top of the pop, tug on the handle. This should allow you to advance your body to the boat making it easier to pass the handle. <BR> <BR>Good luck

hey iv got another quick question to add on to john's, is it either to pull off the 360 w/o fins, iv been trying it with and have been coming close and landing a few, just wanted to know if it would make a difference if i took them off. -thanks, tom

Tom, <BR> It can, but it depends on your style of riding or feeling, IMO. The riders who ride finless like the loose feeling so if they sketch on a landing they can still put the trick out. <BR> <BR> Personally, I don't like that feeling but go ahead and give it a try.

I started trying to do a 360 this weekend and the first time I tried I landed it without the handle...seems I just forgot about the whole passing of the handle thing. Anyway the second time I tried it I was concentrating on the handle pass and I did a nose dive also. But it wasn't because of the focusing on the handle pass...I watched the video's we took and I initiated the rotation right as a I came off the wake instead of waiting and thats the reason, the tail of the wasn't completely off the wake and so my board was tilted instead of level all the way through the rotation. So thats probably what you are doing, I would guess...starting rotation too soon. <BR> <BR>