please help..

hey people.. i tried wakeboarding for the first time this year yesterday.. and i couldnt make it up. my brother has been wakeboarding for a few years.. and tried to help but.. i duno i just couldnt get it, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get up? what kind of board is probably easiest to get up on?

What ever anyone says, dont try to pull yourself up, just hold all your joints as still as posible and let the boat pull you up. once your on plane, losen your joints and just stand up.

Stay down low, dont even try to stand up. When your in the water sit with your knees bent up to your chest. Once the boat starts going dont try to straighten your legs out just leave um bent. You can ride around the lake all day in the sitting position if you wanted to, but once you get the board up on plane then stand up slow. I cant remember where I heard it but the key is "stay down low, stand up slow." Like he said dont try and pull yourself up.

By "holding all your joints as still as possible" I'm sure he doesn't mean strait. Because you should really keep your knees bent. Almost sitting on the board, and stay that way until your up. Then slowly stand up. Also, don't point the board in any direction. Just keep it sideways until your up then slowly shift your weight a little to your back foot.

Good advice sweet baby. You beat me.

LOL, "By "holding all your joints as still as possible" I'm sure he doesn't mean strait"

Well first off, I don't, its cool that you understood what I ment. And second, that would be so hard to get up with your legs straight, someone should try it and video tape it! I would, but I dont have a camera...;( That could also cause some major knee injuries...

thanks people... this should help.. hopefully, im going tonight so ill try it. i knew you didnt mean to keep your legs strait dave lol. i think i should try to get up the right way firt, but if i ever make it up ill try that lol, jk. that would be pretty funny though. Anymore advice might help to.. so keep posting. THanks

If all else fails, I've gotten a few people up this way. Find a dock floating or stationary it doesn't matter just so it's not more then a couple feet off the water. Sit on the dock with your board on top of the water and your butt on the dock. If it's under a little that's ok just make sure your toe side edge is sticking out of the water. So now you’re on the dock toe side edge up and in the sitting position. Have the boat driver take off ever so slowly and remain in that sitting position, don't worry about turning the board that will come naturally, just keep your toe side edge up. When I say slow I mean really slow, the smaller you are the slower the boat can go. Everyone always worries they are going to fall back and hit their head on the dock, I'm not saying it can't but I've never seen it happen, in 2 seconds you'll be five feet away anyway. Plus it'll give you something else to worry about instead of getting up, try not to think about it to much just let yourself be pulled.

I get up with my feet straight under the board all the time, it takes more leg strength but I'm just to lazy to go into the sitting position sometimes. All of my bro's that are big sumo type bro's 220 and over always get up that way, and I would recommend any big peoples learning to do the same thing. Just seems easier for them that way, takes less arm strength and more leg strength, you just kinda float straight up. If you’re a small person I wouldn't try it this way, you probably wont be able to hold the board straight under your body when you’re floating let alone moving.

Sorry bout the essay I'm just trying to create more addicts.

ashly, I have only been about 5 times now, but got up on my very first try with this method and have not had a problem since.
i stayed crouched down like i was sitting on the board and just let the boat pull you up..and i keep my board sideways till i get standing up all the way..hope that helps. I am not sure where you live, but I went to watersports west to buy my bindings, *in florida* and doug and jon had a rope hooked up to the door and had me sit on the ground with a board on and pull myself up with that rope..then Al *action watersports on seminole* showed my on the back of his boat *the wooden thing* and basically had me do the same thing i did with the rope and door..so maybe try your local board shop if you dont get it again, and they can give you some tips?? good luck!
angi

Along with everything else everybody has said, keep your knees INSIDE your elbows when you are crouched in the water. That's something that has worked for every person I have taught how to get up on a wakeboard.

What I do, To get people up when they are having the hardest time, is I jump in the water(with a vest) and from start I'm holding the board on how "it should be" in water at start. Once the boat starts I'm still holding the board (dragging along and telling them what to do) once there is enough speed that they can stand up I let go. This works great cuz next time they know excalty what to do and how it should feel. It has always worked for me, but it is usually the last resort.

ok.. is it easier to start with ur board sideways.. like it should be when i stand up.. or straight out in front of me, and turn sideways when i get up? i've seen it done both ways, but which way would be easiest? Aaron, i wish i had someone to help me.. but everyone's too lazy to get in the water and help lol.. we're going camping tonight, so im gonna keep trying to get up.

angi im from wisconsin.. where i live.. we really dont have ne shops around here we can go to.. it is so lame lol

No one taught me how to get up on a wakeboard, I had to teach myself. I set it on side, and set my strong side of the board up out of the water just a little bit. I push forward with my right leg (I'm goofy foot) as the boat accelerates. The very minute where I feel like I might be able to stand up against the boat, I do. And the board just comes right up out of the water.

Strait out in front of you and then turn when you get up. (feet pointed at the boat)But you don't really need to turn. Just shift your weight to your back foot and it will come natural.

thanks jeremy.. hopefully this helps a lot.. i was never realy into wakeboarding till this year.. now.. its somehting i really wanna do, slalom skiing is just getting kinda boring since i was doing it since i was 9... 5 years of cutting across the wakes.. i decided id try somthing new.. and i hope it works... thanks for all your help.. and more is well appreciated

You can try it the other way too. Thats how I tried the first time. But you need a lot of strength in your legs to be able to keep the board underwater. I'm just a kid, not fully grown, so I'm not near strong enough to do that, although I can do it in the pool, but cant do it in the lake... weird... Well like Brandt said, if you do it side ways, don't try to turn like you would on a snow board or something, because it'll just spin you into a surface 180 or 360, and when your learning... thats not good.

The main part you got to remember is to let the boat do most of the work, while pulling you up, and straightning out.

Dave

(Message edited by bassboy8855 on June 18, 2003)

how old are you dave? im only 14.. so im sure im not strong enough lol..

i'm 15

This usually works. Knees bent almost to chest. As the boat starts to go, rock your heels back toward your butt(not to fast). Dont stand up too fast. I saw this on Higher Education. Since Ive been doing this getting up has been easy. My wife got up first try last week! Good luck.

ps the boat doesnt need to start up too fast. My sons girlfriend practically popped out of the water and I was just barely moving forward!

thank you guys so much... i finally made it up yesterday, when i woke up i waited for enough ppl to get up to go out on the boat, and i kept trying till i made it, it didnt take to long, i held the board in front of me first then my brother told me to just try it sideways a couple times and i made it. It feels so great to finally be able to wakeboard after 2 years of trying.

after riding for about a minute or 2 my front ankle starts hurting.. is there any way that i can stop this from happening? its not gonna stop me from going.. but im just wondering if there is any way .. thanks