handle droppers

this isnt going to go over well, but handle droppers annoy me. ride that bad boy out like a ships captian

Agreed.

My personal style is never let go, you always have a chance. People who drop the handle are super selfish, they deny the boat of seeing a premo face plant. We used to do tequila shots for every handle drop but we are grown ups now.

that drives me CRAZY, especially when teaching, I wanna freak out but they are the customer. I have a rule that if you toss the handle you get in the boat. You dont learn anything by dumping the rope. I love the "I just wanna get the feel for it.." that people use, Feel for what? Dropping the handle? Thats definetly gunna help you land the trick.

Hahaha, "ride that bad boy out like a ships captain." that is great alan I will have to remember that one.

oops ... that's me! i drop it b/c i can't really do surface 180's (or rarely), so when i wanna ride switch i have to stop and get back up. so i guess you're saying i should learn the darn trick?! although we do have a rule on the boat that if you drop the handle, you buy a round for the crew (i'd tell ya the modified rule but, well, there's kids on this site!)

yup...Bad habit! Letting go of the rope will just decrease your forward motion. You do that a couple of times on the same trick, you start to lose your faith or willingness, which = a trend of bad habits.

Yes. I've been eating SH..T for over 15 years. My family calls me "Thrasher"
I'm 40 and I can't seem to let go. I am El Capitan when it comes to my switch 180. Of course I don't try anything much more than that.

There are a few exceptions, like learning a raley on a wake state, deffinetly ok to drop the handle on that one, and when your about to eat s#%t on a slider

SAY NO TO DROPPING THE HANDBAG. You aint trying if you dont fall.

I don't think it is so Black and White... I feel sorry for you if you can't tell if it is worth letting go... I can tell if there is NO chance - then I let go! I do try my best, but if I can avoid a hard fall (which might ruin a session) I'll do it!

On the other hand, some riders do just drop the handle when I think they are finally pushing nice and hard!

greg i agree i think everyone, esp experienced riders, know when something just isnt gonna work out and its time to bail. but it annoys the piss out of me when people bail at the first sight of trouble. i cant tell you how much stuff you can ride out if you just hold the handle.

We have a little solution for that. If you drop the handle you get what we call a drive by. That is where we take the boat right by you really slowly and the spray bashes you about the head, just as you are recovering from that the big roller catches you. You can get out of the drive by, if at anytime you are still on top of the water coasting you do "The Robot". But, if you drop the handle 3 times in a row, it is a mandatory drive by.

You will be amazed how quickly you can change someone's handle dropping habit.

well there is a difference between having the handle ripped out on a bad jump/flip or dropping it on a handle pass but yea the infamous "*ag Toss" of the handle doesnt look pretty ..

way back in the day when this was an issue with our crew we would tewll people that if it was obvious you threw the handle for no reason and should have held on you put a dollar in the boat fund.

so at the end of the day we had 10-20 bucks for refreshments and food

people who got tired of paying for the beer stopped dropping the handle

Is there a therapy group or hot line for handle droppers?
Hi, my name is ..... and I'm a handle dropper.

hahahahah, Travis, we do "the Robot" too...

Randy, I like to hold onto the handle on sliders when I am crashing on the more often then not, it seems to pull you away from the slider instead of stoping and slammin on it.

Greg and alan, I totally agree, I do toss the handle on occasion usually its when your 15 feet plus up on a dub and in some crazy sideways position, that would usually equal extreme pain, you have split second to either fix it or swan dirve. There was a few times last summer where in a contest be where we were trying to get the big air award off the dub and I tossed the handle at the point where I could tell if I tried to ride it out my knees would explode.

I sometimes do the f&g toss toeside. I am as ashamed about doing it as everyone else is having to watch it.

My fiance is queen of the toeside toss though. It might be time to implement some shaming techniques to get past this.

you drop it and no robot, you get in the boat. i really like the drive by, think i'll try it this year.

Stanfield... I think you toss it more than me! But I do admit, I toss it if I feel I'm not in control.

(Message edited by aerohawkette on March 30, 2007)

A shame-able handle drop is only those where you drop and land on the board. Drops are considered ok as long as the board doesnt hit the water first. Andy's big drops off the dub will be judged on a case by case basis.

I can see it now....a vid of riders droppin with snoop dog's drop it like a top playing in the background. you could have funn with vid edits in that one.

For me....no drop. Hang on for dear life no matter what reason. I once landed on my back...turtled (I think you could call it)...held on and was able to recover back to my feet. My first year of boarding..now I just do it for fun!

"the robot" works. or any variation of a 80's or 90's dance move. i like the dollar idea too. you have to pitch in more for gas to go pick you a** up when you should still be riding.

This one should have been chucked. held on to long on a slider crash.

I love the ride away and sink doing the Robot idea!

I like the dollar idea as well. I also think there are times when a new rider is Guinea pigging a trick that its kind of expected. Those times where the rider doesnt really know where he is at in the air and is just barely starting to get the feel of the trick. As his comfort level increases and he gets closer to landing that new trick, he will usually drop the handle once. Then the next pull it almost always gets stuck, but that's just my experience.

Overall dropping the life line is pretty weak. Maybe you have to do some dance while gliding out and the peanut gallery (those in the boat) can vote on whether or not that dollar is due.

I don't drop the handle because it usually equates to a more painful fall. If I am off kilter I will yank on that thing to try and get the board back under me before I eat it.

the dollar idea is great

We have the robot rule, it's comedy for the people in the boat and it keeps it fun. It's hard to get frustrated when your dancing!

So 'Robot' seems like a mainstream idea, where did you all get this idea from?`

We too do the robot. I heard it from Tackleberry & now it is a common occurence. Because I like to make fun of friends I shall post picture proof.

i drop the handle i don't know why, i think cause im used to snowboarding or something. i can land HS front rolls but for the life of me i can not make myself hang on to the handle im gonna have to try duct tape!

Jason, the dub handle drop usually turns into a swan dive, head first.

LOL! We actually just got introduced to this rule, its hilarious, except I am not very good at the robot, so I avoid dropping the handle at any cost!

I think the guys we got it from picked it up at a camp?

(Message edited by parkgirl on March 30, 2007)

Yup, handle dropping is not cool. Likewise, I get frustrated when drivers pull back on the throttle when I'm trying to tumbleturn out of it.

In my boat if you *ag toss the handle then you get tossed the Vagisil from the glovebox.

It all started with us just asking if the rider needed some Vagasil but one day my fiance snuck a tube of it in the glove box and brought it out the first time someone let go of the handle. One of the funniest moments on the water, ever! It has been in the glovebox ever since.

Hi,

I'm Cliff... (sniff, sniff) and I'm a handle dropper. (tear drops from one eye for affect) I'm hear today, because I need help. (breaks down, sobbing uncontrollably)

I seem to drop the handle the first pass at the wake every time we ride. As you can imagine, this annoy's the snot out of everyone on the boat.

Pull out the pink flag for droppers:

I'm going to confess something, I drop the handle all of the time.

Honestly, (and this is my lack of riding with people who are better than me), I thought it was okay and kind of 'cool' to do it vs. biting it. It showed you know your limits and prevents a hard faceplant.


After reading this, you will have to use the jaws of life to remove that handle from my hand - I am being a p*SSY and just realized it.

Does anyone remember the ad for Murray's camp where the kid is crying with his hands ducktaped to a handle. It said something about "YOU WILL PROGRESS!" I always thought that was a funny ad.

We have had a phrase on my boat since the dawn of time, let got of the handle and your president of the "Letter-go'er-Club" But now I'm definately going to add the Robot, that is AWESOME.

In the summer if you drop it you get back in the boat until everyone else takes a set. If there is time you get to ride again. I think a paintball gun would be a good fix for this problem as well. Unfortunately I would definately be on the receiving end of a few of those myself.

Yeah I have that bad habit of dropping the handle. It drives my riding buddies absolutely nuts, haha, they always threaten with the duct tape. Its weird because I'm not even scared anymore, just a really bad habit that I have. Towards the end of last season it started getting better and its something I'm really going to work on this season.

I don't like dropping the handle... if I was smart enough to occasionally do it I wouldn't have blown out my acl. It happens, it's not always a bad thing. It does drive me nuts though when someone is just dropping it because they're scared, not out of anything but the "ahhhh" factor.

Just wait till your tear your rotator cuff. Dropping the handle will have a VERY different outlook when your out for a season instead of one pull. I didn't let go of a tantrum and was out of work for 5 months. once I recovered I still hadn't learned and strained it setting me back two more months. So hell yeah I'll drop the handle, sure beats sitting on the couch or in the boat for 5 months watching everybody else ride.

I think some people are missing the point. Its considered dropping the handle if you "glide out" meaning your still on your board riding on the water. Your not dropping the handle if you werent going to land the trick anyways; then your just falling.

pink skier down flag is great!

wait, can someone explain me the robot and drive-by? i got a friend who was learning 180s and dropping hte handle like crazy, i may be able to end this fast with him though.... so please


explain!!!

I can proudly say I NEVER let go of the handle, I screwed my shoulder up one time doing it but I still never let go. Ive also ripped off many calices, and thats one reason I learned the tumble turn, it works wonders! haha

Only time I let go is at the end of the day when I've already had 4 or 5 good long runs and I'm just to darn tired to finish the last one. Otherwise I'll end my run on a nice crash.

I would let go all the time at first, because I was scared, but i'm trying to get over that now and was doing pretty good at holding on last year (could tell driver was not getting angry at me anymore) until the season ended...stupid winter!

Hi, my name is wakegenie and I am a handle dropper

If I'm losing it on a landing I will let go every time. I've jacked my shoulder before and have seend my friend pull his arm out of the socket on a bad landing he tried to hold onto.

anyone who can do a tumble turn, how hard is it? and also any tips? im planning on learning them this summer

The pink flag idea is AWESOME!! I'm definately gonna have to look for one of those! The robot too....hahaha

I must confess that today I had an issue with the handle dropping/slipping, man was it frustrating. This thread and that I was bein a VJ were the first things that entered my mind. I was able to correct the problem before the set was over though.

someone explain the robot and drive-by please i feel like an idiot

Seriously? Don't you know what the "robot" is? Its only the coolest dance move since, well, since EVER!!!

Why it is important here, is purely for entertainment. Sorta like a ridiculous punishment for doing something dumb that we all do. Its all for fun!! As wakeboarding should be!!!!

We actually have a rule that if you go big and are going to crash hard, don't let go until you crash. You'll have a greater chance of getting hurt if you let go before you've hit the water.

I've learned this from experience, more than once. I still have rotator cuff problems years after letting go mid-air with an off-axis 5. Also put my hand through the handle because I let go early. I came out o.k., but it hurt like hell.

I'm using the "Robot" method this season!

Alright guys I've got proof that I am not a handle dropper. I was doing a toe side front roll and came around almost to revert, landed and fell on my butt, fought to pull back up but came up a lot quicker than I thought and caught my toe side edge. So in short I went from sitting on my butt to popping my face on the water in about a half a second. I got it on tape. I'll see if I can get my buddy to post it for me. Looks really bad, but luckily I was able to ride some more.

nice. i like all of these ideas. but the next time i go out the rule will be you got to do the wave from one arm to the other. got to be different

It starts early too! Especially with us girls. I can't tell you how many times I've seen "Wake to casing the wake" and fall. You can still land on top of the wake. Absorb the enery and ride it out. You don't have to drop the handle ladies

The Robot LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYtoJsig8oA
Here is Justin's front roll to faceplant per his request. If you were only there to hear the smack on the water!

link doesnt work

anyone know if pink flags are available/legal?

It's still uploading. It should work in a few minutes.

still doesnt work

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoYZG8NJMC4
Sorry, youtube didn't work right. This one should work.

nice slam

David it looked like you were doing a power turn

Spelling

(Message edited by Ryan27r on April 03, 2007)

damn, thats real

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87Um43FRFM

Paula scroll to 3:11 seconds. the wake to wake case scenario on tape.

what if you know you are going to eat it. like if you are just upside down the whole time. would it be non-pussy-ish to toss it out of the way??? I do that sometimes.

David
Well yeah, If I'm upside down and I'm not trying something that requires being upside down and I KNOW I'm going to eat crap then I'll let go. So you're good there BUT what about those spins in 4:07 AND 4:13??? Is that you? I have no room to talk but what the heck was that?? That's what this post is all about.
Cool video

yea i know i cant pass a handle behind my back. my backside 3s are terrible. If i hold on i just stop at 90 and get concussed. im 1 for 5 for that trick. i am ashamed. thanks for watching

does it count if you accidently drop it on a handle pass for a 3??

in it to win it

Hahaha! That picture of the robot is awesome. I've witnessed that way too many times.

Never dropped it...


Thinking he should have...

I'll let it go sometimes but not on the easy stuff. Sometimes some of the saves I've made late in a run have just worn me out. In that case I'll drop anything particularly hairy, get a breather while the boat comes back around, and save my energy for the next launch. If I'm going to wear myself out, I'm going to do it on fun stuff. Then again, I have a small crew that takes long runs. We usually don't stop until we have a hard time holding the handle on a given run. If I'm out with a lot of people and we're going short runs, I'll try to save everything I can.

hey dude the robot idea is awesome. but now my dad has been forcing me to do it ever since he read about it last night. i think i did it like 7 times. my arms hurt.