Technique Question

Here's the deal. When I jump, it seems like I don't get much vertical pop, it's mainly horizontal. I can clear the wake easy, but just can't get vertical. A few times i have, but I don't know what I did. Is there some sort of technique that I'm missing? Like approaching the wake differently depending on what you want? I ride an 07 Murray, which I understand is a continuous, so it doesn't boot you up in the air as much, but from what I've heard just digging around the forums you should really be able to get good pop with almost any board with the proper technique.

Progressive cut

Load the line

Edge through the wake

Don't absorb the pop

That should do it!

ollie at the lip

What should my legs be doing? Because right now I'm bent at the knees as i approach and trying to straighten as I come off the top, yet i've heard other people just stand straight through the cut and wake.

I had the same problem you did, and I was just able to overcome it Sunday.

What worked for me was to keep my legs bent all the way through the progressive cut (think 'sitting in chair' position), and then extending my knees almost, but not quite to, a locked position all the way through the top of the wake. What I realized I had been doing previously that was killing my pop was extending my legs too early. They would get almost all the way straight before the top of the wake, and then bend again, absorbing the pop. Hope this helps.

The bottom line to getting pop is that the line must have tension on it; it must be tight when you leave the wake in order to get pop. Think of it like this... if a catapult had a loose rope it wouldn't shoot its ammo very far, but with a tight rope it will.

All the things that were said above:

Progressive cut
Load the line
Edge through the wake
Don't absorb the pop

are ways in which you keep the line tight. If you fail in any of them you will lessen the tension on the rope and thus decrease your pop.

You do not necessarily have to straighten your legs at the wake; you just can't let your legs absorb the pop. Some people straighten their legs just to counter the energy from the pop that will instinctively make your knees bend and absorb the energy.

One piece of advice that was left off is letting the handle get away from you. If you let the handle out as you leave the wake it's the same as bending your knees or letting off of your edge. You are releasing the rope tension. One thing I do is approach the wake with the handle out and then pull it close to my body as I'm leaving the wake. Much like straightening your legs, this technique helps me to ensure that I am not letting the handle get away from me as I leave the wake.

You can ride however feels comfortable to you just as long as you keep tension on the rope.

pretty much same thing that all of them are saying.

but also keep a lot of weight on your back foot. i told that to me friend who was having the same problem as you and he starting to get some serious height on his wake to wakes.

stand tall on your way up with wake?

Is what Gramps and Blabels taught me back in the day. Then I landed way out in the flats smacking my ribs on the hard @$$ salt water and got a contusion. Lesson learned with injury nothing wrong with that.

(Message edited by slipknot on June 24, 2008)

Thanks for all the advice guys, I'm going out in a little bit. I'll definitely put it to use and see what it brings me!

well.. everyone else is spot on.. but i can tell you that i had the 07 murray.. i never popped either... i did just kinda float off the wake though.. and it wasnt the wake doing it b/c that thing was just a straight up wall of water.. put a lil more pressure on your back foot.. helped for me.. once you get used to that board.. you can BOOST off that wake.. i just didnt like how it weighed 200 pounds.. so i ditched it for a premier

So wait, are you saying you couldn't pop well with it or once you got used to it you could pop really good? And yeah, you are right, it is heavy as hell, but it seemed like a good deal, so that was what I went with for my first upgrade.

Thanks for all the tips guys. Really helped. I didn't get to go out until today, depressing, I know. But I think my main problem was not edging through the wake, coupled a little with not keeping the handle to my hip. Once I did that I really started getting some good pop. Now i just have to work on keeping my weight back, cuz I'm landing with a little too much weight forward; not quite enough to nosedive, but enough where it isn't smooth.