BIG Air

So I'm a beginner rider, I'm still hammering out my technique on my wake jumps, but I think a great tool to work on my technique would be to see a few video clips of the pros taking it HUGE. I've seen the photos, but it would be amazing to see how they actually achieve the massive pop to reach those heights (minus the ridiculous boat speeds). So, does anyone know where I could find some good quality big air clips? Also, if you can suggest a wakeboard DVD, I'm down for buying one, too.

dont get much bigger than this.... Parks Double or Nothing double up contest.

http://videos.wakeboardingmag.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=664&title=2007_Parks__Doubl e_or_Nothing_Competition

I agree with your thoughts brian, but watching a video wont really tell you much IMHO. Most people watch a video of someone who goes massive like lyman and then charges the wake with all speed and no progressive edge. SOOOO much of that pop comes from things you cannot see in a video. If you really want to see this watch Tino Santori's section in the truth (I believe). He does a MASSIVE HS FS 180 with rediculous amounts of pop. The reason you wont really catch any tips in simply watching this as there are a lot of forces there you dont see. Like the amount of muscle exertion to keep completely stiff on the approach, and the amount of line tension.

Cool, thanks. I guess I'll just have to keep at it until I begin to figure the technique out for myself. I've got the progressive cut down, I just don't know what I'm doing wrong through the wake. Some people say to stand tall, some people say to jump, some people say to just keep your knees from bending...I wanted to watch some of these vids in slow-mo to see what their knees were doing on the cut and during the pop.

they are definitely straightening their legs and making their entire body completely stiff. more load on the line, more spring.

it's all about the progressive edge....load that line hard and DON'T flatten-out/let-off as you edge into the wake.

you might try bouncing over and over out in the flats...repetitive bunny-hops to get your timing down for that snap off the wake....

someone have a link to the CIE dub comp with Murray's OA3?

When I watch a video with my kids, I find myself saying "look where he keeps his hands and look at his torso" to get them to see the form. Yeah this not a spectator sport to learn a lot from, but I think you can pick up some good habits watching the vids, well after you have seen the same one 5x then you start noticing the more subtle details. The instructional ones that break down the tricks and slow everything down are all the better.

Stand tall all the way through the wake.

I think people telling you to jump don't really realize what their bodies are doing. "Jumping" often causes you to bend your knees again and this absorbs the pop. Try jumping just standing where you are. If you're going for height (i.e. how far off the ground your feet are) you will bring your knees up. Now try jumping with keeping your legs straight when you leave the ground. That's more of what you want on a wakeboard, except you really don't have to do it as abruptly as "jumping."

It is something your body has to get used to though. I have been great on HS forever and suffered on TS. Only recently have I trained my body to stand tall just before and all the way through the wake to get the results I want on TS. Once you get the real feeling though you'll know it and it'll be easier to do the next time and you'll be able to soon take it bigger too.

Good luck!

Jumping can work if the timing is right. If you think about the physics behind jumping you are essentially pushing down with your legs (thus keeping your legs stiff if your cutting). I actually use the term "stomp" with some newbies trying to get pop. I tell them that as they approach the wake perform a long slow stomp starting in the trough up through the wake. This usually gives them that "pop / snap" feeling. In fact I had a friend perform this maneuver and he landed in the flats since he carried the same speed into the wake as his normal w2w with more hang time due to the pop. It really opened his eyes to what he was looking for in the release off the wake with one of those "ohh I see" faces. Ultimately YES jumping and stomping are incorrect but if you can open someone's eyes with it and let them FEEL the difference it usually begins a new step in progression.

I hate to bring slalom skiing in to the mix, but they have the perfect progressive edge for big air.

When I was younger and... I'll admit it, slalom skiing, I was taught to edge progressively until I got to the wake. Many of the legends have slalom skiing back grounds (Shapiro, parks, shane, Zane, Necrason, even Horell) Guys that learned on the Cable seem to do well in the air department as well.

Cutting back and forth on a ski isn't a bad way to cross train and learn proper edging.

If you edge really hard in the beginning of your cut, the boat will pull you off of your edge by the time you get to the wake. What you want to do is start easy and slowly build your edge to where you make 100% at the wake. 0% to 100% edge in one fluid motion is ideal.

Body position is crucial as well. Stand tall with the rope close to your hips

If anyone knows a trick to not blow your knees out upon landing, please post!

Thanks for the input, guys.

So from all I've gathered, it seems that the goal is to keep your legs from absorbing the pop as you edge all the way through the wake; at the end of the progressive edge (i.e. at the top of the wake), both the line tension AND the force you are applying with your legs should be at their greatest, correct? This would mean you have to increase the force you are applying to your edge with your legs as the wake lifts your board in order for your knees to not bend and absorb the pop. I suppose some could describe this as jumping, though it doesn't involve much or any bending at the knees, which is why others may call it "standing tall." Am I on the right track?