am I cutting into the wake wrong?
 

Been riding with this one dude for a couple weeks he is trying to tell me that I am doing my wake to wakes all wrong..But Ive never had a problem. I go out of the wake (not far outside the wake) keep the handle low and close to my hip, bend my knees and stand tall at the wake..Now he is telling me that I shouldnt be bending my knees at all when Im cutting in the wake and should go in straight legged?I tried going in straight legged and there is no way to get enough speed and it just feels foreign.. I stand tall at the top of the wake, and from pictures i get plenty of air. Just curious..all i videos ive seen pros def bend their knees..sorry for no pics thanks for the help

If it works for you then you're doing it right.

he doesnt know what he is talking about alot of people dont....i had a guy at work tell me he loves to wakeboard and how good he is and could get like 7 ft air and then asked me how fast we went and what length rope i use....i told him about 22.7mph and 80 ft rope....he thought i was dumb....told me that suppose to wakeboard at 17 mph and a 40 ft rope....lol...i almost crapped my pants

Micah that is awesome I can't tell you how many times I have had that conversation to.

Greg your going to bend you knees, some more than others. Something that has worked better for me though is not bending my knees to much so I don't have so much to straighten at the wake. It helps my timing and does not require as much strength to push my knees to straight.

Tell him that and add "case closed", and save the advice until he becomes a pro.

post a video and maybe we'll be able to give you a few pointers or confirm that he is wrong

Take a picture of you in mid air... then one of him in mid air...

The more u bend Ur knees the lower Ur center of gravity and provides more stability, control and consistency. Also it just looks better style wise instead of tall lanky ski board style.

Also if u get in a habit of edging straight legged u have a higher chance of landing straight legged = broken bones and blown knees

Did this guy also say, "Hyperlite?... That's a knockoff of Hydroslide.... Check out my sweet gloves"..?

It also depends on what type of trick you're doing, don't crouch much for rolls. What tricks can he do vs you? Post a vid

I don't think you want your legs locked, but having straighter legs when you edge helps you get more leverage, line tension and dig a deeper edge when you're edging into the wake. Also, going off the wake with straighter legs allows you to get higher and the ability to lift your legs up than a bad timed jump or having your knees bent (but an edge combined with good timing with a push off the wake- legs go from 90 degrees to 180/straight - will get you the highest).

Having straight legs isn't what gives u pop. Pop is created by resisting the force the wake creates. As u edge up the wake the waters force tries to push the board up through your body. As you actively resist this force and don't allow your knees to absorb the shock, pop is created. Edging in super tall with your knees locked out is absolutely wrong. You would have to be doing a Raley cut at a 90 degree angle every time. I see people doing this way too often. Watch some pros do 9's. They cut at a much less aggressive angle at the wake with there knees bent. They use their feet to put the board on edge. They do this so that hey are able to create Soft rope that's easy to pass. If u cut in knees locked tall as can be, u will not be able to spin at all. The handle will get ripped out of your hand every time u try and pass it. There are some load and release tricks here straighter legs are required, but still not completely straight.

I am by no means qualified to respond, but I will anyway...

I have only been riding for a few years, but I decided to take a couple of real lessons last summer. The teacher thought my knees were way too bent as I cut toward the wake. His goal was to teach me "progressive edge." And the way he described it was this:

1. Cut out wide
2. When you get out there, flatten out the board and just go straight for a sec
3. You will start to feel the boat pulling you back towards the center. Let that happen. It is what starts your slow approach to the wake.
4. After the boat starts to pull you back in, the way to set the edge progressively harder is NOT to bend your knees. Instead he taught me to lean my sholders back while bringing the handle close to my leading hip.
5. As you approach the wake, just lean back with your shoulders harder and harder as you approach.

I don't think he was saying to keep my legs locked. But I try to keep my knees in what some might call an "athletic" position... flexed, but much more upright than 90 degrees (sort of like ready position in baseball).

Anyway, this thread reminds me of that. Seems there are lots of opinions on the subject. What do you guys think of what I was told in that lesson??

^ Sounds good, like I said different tricks require a slightly different edge style and while also not being an authority on wake, only a few spins and few inverts, I've seen what works and what doesn't watching friends ride over my 13 riding years(many of them misguided). I'm sure I bend my knees too much going into the wake too.

When you say back do you mean straight back (away from the boat) or back in the opposite direction you are cutting? If you lean back away from the cut and then hit the wake, you will end up doing an ollie off the wake.

Just look at some vids. I look at a lot of Shaun Murray vids as I think he is one of the smoothest riders off the wake and through the air. He stands fairly tall but I guess it depends what people call "standing tall". You have to have a slight break at the knee but not so much you are sitting in a chair. Even when you see really good boarders who have a big knee bend approaching the wake, if you pause the vid when they are at the wake you will see how straight their legs are.

Everything I posted applies to heal side approach. So when I say lean your shoulders back, I mean towards the wake as you approach heal side. Leaning back your shoulders has the effect of setting that heal side edge without any dramatic knee bend.

@DBC- I agree, this is what I was told also. It doesn't mean don't bend your knees at all just don't sit all the way in a chair. It seems to help me be more consistent on my jumps. I like to say act like your going to sit on a bar stool instead of a chair (athletic stance). There are a thousand ways to get it done just like in Golf, you just have to figure out yours.

Yea definitely should be bending your knees. Have you ever tried jumping while standing on the ground with your legs locked out?
And the handle shouldn't be right on your hip, not all the way in and not all the way out, your elbows should be close to even with your sides. Now you have room to pull on the handle on tricks you pull like spins and have room to let it out as needed

It's easy for a lot of guys that have wake boats to think that just cuz they have a boat they can teach wakeboarding, I know a lot of guys that can't even explain how to do a trick that they do they "just do it" haha

Thanks for all the input guys, i seem to be doing it right. I also found a video that shows a few different wake jump techniques. Ill have to show it the the guy i ride with once in a while and see what he has to say.. ha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckkf840HZE4