How to get over your fears of falling? 360 attmept

So I was really stoked after the PWT and my friend landing his first 360 the other day. I gave it an attempt the day he landed his and caught my heal edge almost like doing a back side 180 and took a really hard fall. My side has hurt ever since about 5 days ago. Ever since I have been dying to get back out and try again. I set up a handle in my room and can jump and do the handle pass no problem everytime. So this leads me to belive i can do it behind the boat right?

Well when I tried today I made the pass no problem but caught my toe edge, didn't hurt to bad. My thought I almost got it just a couple of more and I can land it, Next attempt fell and pulled my arm really bad. 3rd attempt I could bring myself to make the turn. I tried about 7 more times, but only managed a w2w jump everytime. I psyched myself out thinking about the guy who was in a coma last year and all the stories about torn ACLs, concussions, and broken bones.

How do you get over these fears? Anything to do to protect yourself from hard falls?

Stay in really good shape. Drink alot of milk

From what ive heard riding a board with soft edges and no center fin will help with not catching. Almost all LF boards have a pretty rounded edge between the binders and is meant so you dont catch an edge and can finish the rotation.

lead with your head and your body will follow, lead with your head and your body will follow, lead with your head and your body will follow.. say that three times before loading the line and edging for the wake..
in time, you will be spinning at every chance and will naturally progress into slowing your rotations and spotting your landings.. it just takes time and patience.. if your side hurts, watch those diggers bro, as i have seen too many incidents of broken or cracked ribs.. good lucks and let us know when you stomp a huge 3 out in the flats!

try it 1 wake... i landed mine 1 wake first then took it w2w next try. kinda take the fear out of it.. also you can slow the boat down so you have less line tension and softer falls

Friend of mine that has taught most of us how to ride just said almost the same exact statement as scooter.

dont be scurred

Fall more often on less painful tricks. Thats what I do. Used to try H/S 3's, one time i didn't pass the handle but I pulled really hard, I thought I could land wrapped, at the time I rode an 04 byerly with the bottle openers, didn't go well. next time I went out I said I wasn't going to do anything difficult, was just going to have fun, went out, did some powerslides, etc., went for a moby dick, failed miserably, but didn't hurt. I don't know if that will work for you or anyone else, but I can't remeber the last time I pulled a dead sailor.

What I do is think of how in a week I won't think of the pain, just how close or if I landed the trick. I like to have no remorse after a set thinking I should have tried harder. So what if you hurt a little, just as long as you charged it.

I've been working on nice "poppy" one wake 360's... slowing the boat down to like 20... then taking it wake to wake once the rotation seems more natural... plus fall's don't hurt as bad when the boats moving a bit slower

Im going out again tomorrow so i get another chance. So far in my wakeboarding career i have kneed my self in the chin twice, chipped a bunch of teeth the first time and had to have 8 stitches in my chin on the second.

I like the idea of the leading with my head and trying it one wake first. I'll let you guys know how it went tomorrow.

I think in short Trevor is saying "grow a pair". Fall on a 3, try a Moby Dick. Called out by a dang teenager...

The problem with the handle in your room is that its not very realistic, its very easy to shuffle around using your feet. Behind the boat try starting with your elbows more at your side. A 3 is not a huge spin and you really just need to think about popping and turning the handle over into the small of your back, grab the handle and it completes itself. As was said above, try surface or one wake to get the feel. (My profile pic is a nose 3 for an example)

Biggest tip i could give is advancing your hips towards the boat.
progressive edge, nice pop, but also advance yourself on the rope.. a nice 360 should feel effortless.

As big heavy said 'hit the handle in the small of your back, then you'll know where to find it again.

Good luck

A lot of good tips here. Keep practicing and try to visualize yourself doing the trick. Keep at it and it will come.

Chad....I landed my first one last week after MANY MANY tries. I've taken a ton of hard falls but it comes with the territory. I think the 1 wake suggestion is a good one, if you have the handle pass you're almost there.

When passing the handle, you should be totally bent over at the waist, almost 90 degrees.

If you don't rotate enough ALWAYS make sure you are leaning away from the boat while passing handle so that you won't catch heelside edge. If you lean, you can slide out of it. Slow the boat down and do it over one wake first!!!

Try it off the roller during a turn around. I landed my first and only one that way and i suck

As was said above, slow the boat down a little and try it over one wake. That's how I started getting comfortable spinning. Eventually you will feel better spinning at progressively faster speeds.

I find it easier to throw a 360 if I work on getting a lot of vertical pop off the wake. Slowing the boat down doesn't work for me because it just adds drag and tension on the line. I practice my vertical pop and when I get to the top of my jump, I'll throw a spin. Also, I find the toeside jump and spin a bit easier than the backside.

Only bend at the waist if you are grabbing. Some people have an easier time learning the three by emphasizing the pass under your butt thus bending down, but learn it upright and in the small of your back first.

Do other sports where you land on cement, dirt, or ice. Then you come back to the water and life is good!

dang greasy teenagers...

I remember the biggest problem I was having was pulling with two hands for the first 180

I would not bend over, makes it harder to ride out when you do land. I would actually put your chest out when initiating the spin.

Wakeboard spins should not be lead with the head and shoulders, that increases line tension and makes the handle pass difficult. Initiate the spin by pulling on the handle with both hands, complete the 180, then turn the head and reach fot the handle pass.

What I do sometimes to pump myself up and not worry about falls is to take a couple shots or down a couple beers before I do my set... But for some reason sometimes that leads to me trying to hard or trying to go too big that I end up crashing worse...

there was some god tips that murray gave in a wake mag not long ago (forget which one)

The one with LF in Dubai on the cover I think. April maybe?