dropping the rope

hey . ive been wakeboarding for a while now. most of the time when i do heelside wakejumps just before i land i drop the drop the rope. i dont know why and i cant stop. i do good jumps. does anyone have any ideas as to why?

thanx

This is funny... only because I've had the same problem for a long time.
I got past this by concentrating on pulling the handle in close and low during the time you are in the air.

when you hit the wake push the handle down and keep it close to your hip...this should help with your control

when you jump --and in the air --are you using both hands or just your forward hand?

Duct tape..

hehe duct tape... The crew in the boat decided that that would be the only way to fix my 'problem'. Tie wraps were also mentioned.
Or calling it the end of my session and leave me bobbing in the water to make me think about it the next time...

Have you friends call you a pussy everytime you drop the rope and you will not drop it anymore. Worked for me!

Eddy...I can hear Craig now

yeah i jump with two hands. when im in the air i sometimes let go of one hand first .

Are you dropping the rope or is it getting pulled out of your hands? IF pulled out of yoru hands....you could be laying off yoru edge at the top of the wake. If so concentrate on holding your edge all the way thru the wake. Stay on edge like there is no wake in front of you.

just dont drop it. that will help you hold on to it.

I believe the proper term is dropping your purse.

mathew,

huck yourself into the biggest, off-axis flip you can do, hold onto the handle with both hands all the way through, and land (crash) as awkwardly as possible. and then, when you realize the pain really wasn't all that bad, you should have no problem holding on. works every time

I was thinking fuzzy handcuffs.....

I had the same prob. What worked for me was just concentrating on keeping the handle into my hip and saying outloud as I charged in "Commit and stick it" over and over. Mind over matter.

As I am the resident "taco dropper" on my buddies boat, I found that I was getting freaked out when I would get pulled forward on the landing. Having taken some hard nose diggers, I started dropping the handle. Make sure you take a nice progressive cut towards the wake, even if you don't stand up at the wake, you will still clear it. Keep the handle down low and centered. Even if it feels like you are going to get pulled over, hang on for dear life. If you took a nice cut and concentrated on handle placement, you should ride away no problem.

this was the day I fixed my problem.

http://www.wakepics.com/view_single.php/Big-Crash_wakeboarding-news.html?medid=4657

That was over 3 years ago.

You could also punish yourself by doing the robot, as you sink down into the water after a perfect landing without the handle. That's what we do in my crew.

As you can tell from the vid above, I never do the robot.

thane, we've adopted that rule here in TN from some guys from Bakersfield. Only addition is that if you ride away without the rope and don't do the robot, you get a drive by.

EDIT: to answer your question, i think your problem is between your legs

(Message edited by jhilltn on April 24, 2006)

mathew,

No matter how many times people call you a "pussy", its most likely not the problem. The best way to solve what you have described is to make sure your rope position is tight to your lead hip (try to make it touch) as you approach the wake. It will feel akward at first, but you will be 10X the rider for it.

thts good. im going out on the water so i'll try and hold the rope to my hip as much as possible. thanx!

You have no hope, without the rope!