edging and the right 'pop'

In a WakeWorld article, it states that you should "Drift in while building your edge and hold it all the way through the wake." and Waterski Online reaffirms that you should "gradually increase the pressure on the rail and rope until you get THROUGH the wake."

We all know that standing tall and vertical at the wake is important, but it's not possible to be standing tall and edging at the same time unless you're leaning way back which is just awkward and would throw you off balance. Just look at videos, pros and instructors (the tantrum under 'instructionals' is a perfect example) and you can almost completely see the bottom of their board as they are approaching the wake, yet at the wake, you see it from edge to edge and sometimes even the top of the board.

So, how can these guys be keeping their edge through the wake if their board is flat? Any accurate advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks, thomas.

standing tall doesn't mean leaning forward. if you keep tension in the line while you stand tall, the board will still be on edge. try not to lean forward as you're standing tall. think of standing tall against the rope, but keeping the rope close to your hip as you come off the wake.

*sigh* trust me, it's a lot easier to demonstrate than it is to explain. if you can, check w/ your local shop or local pro. they should be able to help you out.

The tantrum is a whole other animal, its a tripping effect. That is why you can see the board flatten out. Try that cut without throwing a backflip and see what happens, lol. In reality the person to mimic regarding progrssive edge would be lyman, that guy is the modern day shapiro mixed with a little watson and a dash of greenwood.

I believe most articles you are probably reading refer to the goal of simply jumping higher. Once you start learning tricks there are several different styles of cutting into the wake depending on what you plan on doing. The important part are the basics, which includes a progressive edge.

Aghhhh!!! I give up, I've tried for 10 minutes to write it down, but I can't seem to make any sense. I say go with Joe's advice... But, I think the 2 instructions are the same, just worded differently.

By saying "drift in while building your edge," I think they mean to make a nice contolled transition from cutting out, to edging in toward the wake. Which would make sense... I've seen many people clean their W2W's up by doing that. So, along with asking your local shop, or pro, I'd say try to stay in total control... Make a nice and easy transition, and then gradually increase your speed THROUGH the wake. Hope that helps... I think I just confused myself!

-Blake

This is like trying to explain to someone who has never been on a wakeboard, how to "get up". Makes sense to the rest of us cause we have done it, but explaining it is a whole different story.

being a former slalom skier...I have the bad habit of a real hard pull....from way out in the flats
I have been instructed to let go with my back hand, drift towards the wake...and regrab with the back hand when I am only about 5 or 6 feet from the wake
THE POPS ARE THE BIGGEST I'VE EVER DONE!
less effort
no more flying at speeds that will mangle this 41 year old body
and I'm building the foundation to finally do that invert!

The 'drifting' thing really does work for me. If I let the boat initiate the turn and bring me back into the wake (i.e. drift), I get a nice high floaty jump with effortless pop. If I actively 'try to go huge' by cutting harder, I just get a low fast jump for all my troubles.

I agree that if you look at the pros they are cutting hard and they go huge, but I don't think you can go straight to that level until you really have the progressive edging down. I actually learn a lot more watching someone just a little better than me than watch pros since everything is slower and it's much easier to see what you should be doing next. Watching another wakeboarder at a day clinic slowly drift into the wake and get 6-7 feet of air on a wake jump is what made me realize my technique was wrong. Speaking of day clinics, that's a great way to get some tips on your technique for not a lot of cash plus you get some quality time in a sweet boat with other wakeboarders and usually a pro rider. You should check with your local board shops and see if there is a clinic coming through.

try to build line tension instead of speed.

Fundamentals is the key, and you only get it from repitition, so a verbal explanation is tough.

Remember, wakeboarding is a combination of 3 things: edge, load, and handle position.

body position is associated with edging
pop is associated with load
tricks are associated with handle position

You question specifically is about pop, so lets talk about load. load is line tension on the rope. the proper release of this tension is what gives you pop. Jumping a wake isnt jumping a water ramp. Jumping a wake is more like using an variation in the water surface to release energy. The energy is in the tensioned rope.

Now, the tension on the rope is understood to be created by edging. Edging as a generic term is simply putting resistence on the rope with the board. This doesnt have to be with the board kicked up on one side with a 10ft rooster-tail coming off of it. You can come in relatively flat and still have decent tension on the line. Pro's master the art of coming in upright and balanced while still maintaining tremendous load on the line.

How? Speed management. This is where that progressive edge comes in. See, it doesnt matter how aggresively you create the load, as long as you maintain it to the wake. A progressive edge means you are in a constant state of acceleration through the entire cut. the rate of acceleration might not be much, but you are still progressively gaining speed. Many will say that flattening off at the wake is why you dont get pop. This is true, but why? because flattening off from a more aggresive angle to a less aggresive angle is a reduction in acceleration. This reduction releases tension off the line.

So, when you cut start slowly into the wake. Accelerate at a slow pace the entire trip in, and be accelerating when you leave the wake. If you accelerated to early too fast, you will gain too much speed and be out of control, then you have to flatten off to slow down and gain control, but you lose the load in the rope.

That is why pros dont seem to be cutting hard and still come in flatter and get lots of pop.

(Message edited by jason_ssr on April 26, 2006)

So how do you maintane load when you do flatten out like the pros? Like with the tantrum? I understand how the progressive edge would keep the line loaded, but I am just curious about how to keep the line loaded when flattening out? Is it just a feeling thing that you eventually get? No real technique to it.

nice description jason.

I would also add that I belive the drift method allows people to generate more pop because it simply delays when they start their acceleration, allowing them to continue accelerating through the wake without as much velocity as they would have if they did not drift.

the tantrum doesn't relate to any other trick. it's one on the only tricks that you should let up on your edge at the wake

Luke, you dont flatten of from a stronger edge angle, you just use a flatter edge angle the whole time and keep it consistent through the entire just. Consistency is more important than aggresiveness. But you have to balance the load, speed, and edge angle to keep the edge in the water. If you have too much speed and too much load with a flat board, then it will break loose. That is where the talent is. There is that perfect spot where all are balanced and efficient.

I like that Jason...

Thanks jason, that makes more sense. Does anyone have any sweet videos of keith lyman?

Buy Such is Life. That is what you want. His section on that video shows some great cuts, not to mention the video is amazing.

Jason.... excellent description. I think I'll print that one and tape it in my boat!

Good tips Jason, they made a lot of sense to me. I used to believe that flattening off just before the wake would give more pop as the board would have more surface area being pushed upwards by the wake. Then I started to hold the edge thru the wake (still not 100% committed but getting there ) and I'm finding I can get twice as much pop starting from 10ft away from the wake as I used to get from 30ft.

I quite often land on my back with my head rotating round towards the boat - I think it's due to me allowing the back hand to pull my body round. Any other ideas on this one (the obvious idea is to use my lead hand only)?

Pete

Jason, so what you said was this...load, speed, and edge angle increase and decrease at the same time so faster riders will have greater load and edge angle, and slower riders less load and less edge angle? thanks everyone for clarifying this grey area of instruction

yes, they are all interconnected. Depending on the trick you are trying to do, you make ajustments to the edge, load, and handle position. So, fo an Off Axis 3, you start your progressive edge with the board at a mellow angle, and you maintain that angle while you slowly accellerate into the wake. You know at what speed you want to hit the wake, so you time it such that you reach that speed right as you leave the wake. You pop, and pull the handle in close and pass it, landing smoothly on the other transition. On a raley, you start your progressive edge, but since you want more speed and load for this trick, you set a more aggresive edge angle. Your rate of accelleration is increased, thus increasing load. You know at what speed you want to hit the wake, and you time it such the you reach that speed right as you leave the wake. Instead of pulling the handle in to your hip and staying upright into the flats, you let the handle out in front of your face. This creates an alignment of your body and the rope, so you are thrust into the raley position. As this recoils and you pull the handle down to your hips, your feet are then thrown right back under you.

See, its all about edging, load, and handle position for ANY trick you are wanting to do.

Peter, you body reacts to the load on the line based on your balance on the board, and from what point the load is pulling (handle position). First thing to look at is your balance on the board. When we are first learning to edge the board, we find it is easiest to dig that back corner in, since it sticks like glue and creates alot of speed. however, this is not a fundamental edge. You need to get some weight on that front foot to so that the release from the wake is balanced and consistent. This adds risk because the board isnt as sticky when you have more than just the back corner edging, and you have to manage that edge angle or it will break loose as you head into the wake. This freaks us ALL out! So work on edgin with more balance and confirm that your release is both balanced and under control.

Next is handle position. You could indeed be pulling too hard with the rear hand. You want balance here as well. However, the problem can be remedied by moving the handle from the centered position around your bellybutton, to sitting just above your front hip. You can over pull all you want with your rear hand, but if the handle is sitting over the front hip, its gonna pull from the front hip. The concept is easy, the practice is challenging. It takes some arm stregnth to do this. It takes using muscles that we dont use every day. So repitition is key, and you will be able to do it without even thinking about it in no time after those muscles are built up.