Progressive Edge

I never have really understood the fundamentals and the correct way to have a progressive edge. Do you keep leaning back farther and farther on you heels or what?

There are tons of videos out there on Youtube and what not about this so do a search... but the basic concept is you cut all the way outside the wake, and slowly/
"Progressively" begin to dig your heels in and lean against the line. You will pick up speed as you edge harder.... the fastest point of your edge should be at the peak of the wake (don't let off your edge until you have left the wake). Most people tend to edge super fast at first and level off right before the wake in order to prepare themselves for the wake jump... which is not "progressive".

People use the word "fastest" and "speed" and it confuses many new riders. A Progressive edge is not a huge cut out and then coming back in faster and faster to the wake. The best way to work on a progressive edge is see how small of a cut out of the wake you can make and still go wake to wake. Pop has NOTHING to do with speed, it has EVERYTHING to do with acceleration and line tension. All a progressive edge means is that you accelerate the hardest as you ride up the wake. Acceleration is created from line tension, and line tension is created from you not moving in line from the boat. A good rider doesnt need a lot of speed and that is why when you watch their videos it looks like they all come into the wake so carelessly. Dont get confused and charge the wake thinking you just need more speed

I always charge the wake too fast and get no pop. Do you guys think I should slow the boat down?

Brian, it depends on a number of things. To give you an idea, if you are riding behind a wake specific boat, at seventy feet and 22.5 you should be able to easily go wake to wake with a nice easy progressive edge. I could give you some more advice if you provide me with some more details.

I also was/am confused about this. Sam what you said makes alot of sense. I tried speeding into the wake and being a bigger rider would just crush through the wake and get zero pop. I am still learning to get more pop. I did find bringing the rope in and slowing the boat down helped me. I am riding 60ft @ 21mph and I am getting more pop but still have alot to go. In this first pic you can see what happens to me alot. I landed this one but alot of the time I get pulled over my toes and end up crashing on landing. I am getting better but need to learn how not to get pulled over the front. the second pic is one of my better jumps I have been working on trying a grap but just cant make myself do it!

Hey Kevin it looks like the wake on your boat is very small or not much there that may be making things a bit harder as well, not to mention on alot of boats riding at 60ft length of rope the wake can get bad or whitewashed out.........your jump looks good except it does in one pic look like you are leaning back a bit.....you want to try to keep somewhat even weight over the board when you are in the air, also what helped me alot at first was also making sure I am not looking at anything except the other side of the wake where I want to lane or better yet the shoreline at other side of wake......not looking at back of boat or down at wake........I think alot of the advice here is very good......I for sure agree it helps to start out practicing getting progressive edge by just cutting out less maybe 5-6ft outside the wake and practice keeping good line tension on the rope and a good progressive edge...... I hope any of this helps...... Tobin

Thanx Tobin. that is unweighted with just my wife and kid in the boat. I was just out with the family and dont usally fill the ballast when I am the only one wakeboarding. Do you feel it better to learn with the bigger wake, or fill the ballast and start off on the bigger wake. I just found I get out of shape less on the smaller wake and can concentarte on edge technique and timming. THANX again for your help.

I personally feel a smaller wake is better for learning as it'll force you to develop good technique to get anywhere..

There are different edges for different tricks, the first one you should learn is the progressive edge. There are lots of instructionals out there, the Book being one of the best. You should check them out. I would suggest lengthening the rope to like 75ft so you land in the middle and focus on getting upward pop instead of clearing the wake (once you figure out the technique, distance is just a matter of harder edge and faster cut). So, do a short approach, keep your handle in close, your elbows in, your back straight, slightly seated ( you can practice this position on land). Cut out just beyond the white wash, pause, wait for the boat to start pulling you in toward the wake, don't edge hard at first, but hold your edge all the way through up wake. Set the angle of your board early and keep it that way, as you get closer to the wake, line tension will increase on its own because of the angle of your board relative to the direction of boat's travel. Your job is to lean harder on the line to compensate for the increasing line tension (like playing tug of war with the boat), keep leaning as you ride up the wake, as you reach the top, stand up. To me, pop is about timing the cut and the stand up, learning to develop the right amount of line tension depending on what trick you're doing. I also find it helpful to push down on the handle as I leave the wake. All that work will create energy and push your board upward, so don't waste it with soft knees -- be sure to extend your legs as you leave the wake. Just my $0.02.

Thanx Ak I agree alot with your first statement thats one reason I dont fill my ballast when I am the only one wakeboarding so I can get better technique. with these tips I am starting to understand and work on the prog. edge and it is working. Making an effort to concentrate on line tension has been one of the biggest keys to my improvement over the last 2weeks. i am going tomorrow and saturday and will keep trying to improve on my edge technique. I am older and not sure I can do 75ft. quite yet. My knees can not take casing the wake that much. I am really enjoying landing in the sweet spot at 60-65ft and it to has really helped my confidence. I do understand what your saying about not worrying about clearing the wake but my old bones just cant do it. I do want to work on getting more height and still be able to clear the wake. Thanx again man

KEVIN your not old you are experienced.lol

Kevin, I'm suggesting 75ft so you land in the middle and not have to worry about casing the wake. I'm almost 40 and have had a bad back for 20 years, so I go out of my way to find ways to save my back and my knees (both of which got pretty sore last time out as I was working on stuff that took me into the flats). One wake training has helped me a ton. Because you don't have to worry about casing the other wake or landing in the flats, you can concentrate on the trick you're working on. Unfortunately, not every trick can be learned that way, but many can. The only downside is that the landing is harder because the water is soft prop wash. The upside is that catching an edge hurts a lot less..

And by "landing is harder" I meant that it's harder to stick the landing, probably because the water is airated by the prop and thus is soft, giving in more on landing and making the board less sticky. On the plus side, if you can stick your landings in the middle, w2w or flats will be easier. That's how it is for me, anyway. YMMV. :-)

I think I am going to give your 75 ft and landing in the middle a try this weekend. I have been clearing the wake with ease at 60 whle trying a 180 but have yet to ride one out. And carring the speed to clear the wakes makes it a harder crash than it needs to be until I can get used to landing them.I just feel like I need to go W2W with them because the other guys I ride with make it look so easy but they have also been riding 10x as long as I have so they should. they are also half my age and half my size.
YMMV..sorry u lost me

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary