January 8, 2005 - Winter Haven, Fl... Cheeking Outside the Wake
January 8th, 2005 at 11:25 am
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January 8, 2005 - Winter Haven, Fl... Cheeking Outside
<br>
the Wake
<p>The addictive challenge of barefooting is to ski that
perfect <br>
pass where everything flows without the awareness of power
<br>
and precision.</p>
<p>To achieve this elusive pass requires facing dangers
others <br>
are not willing to face…and to prevail where
others are not <br>
willing to sacrifice.</p>
<p>The passion to ride the adrenaline rush of victory over
fear <br>
on our way to the next greater challenge parallels life in
<br>
that the successful confrontation of fear defines our
existence.<br>
--Lanemus Maximus circa 2001</p>
<p>Problem:</p>
<p>...When ever i hit the stern rollers i end up falling to
one side <br>
or the other, and actually the other day i really hurt my
foot <br>
when i lost my balance, and my foot got nailed by the
handle. <br>
anyways, i beleive that it has something to do with the
<br>
position of the handle, because i have been holding it
against <br>
my hips for the start, but then i am supposed to move it
it <br>
forward right? i just dont know when to do this and where
to <br>
hold it excactly. hope to hear from you soon, thanks alot.
<br>
-Parker Burke </p>
<p>Solution:</p>
<p>1. Equipment check- </p>
<p><a
href="../../equipment/handlesrobes.htm">rope</a>:
Make sure you are using a <a
href="../../equipment/handlesrobes.htm">barefoot
no-stretch rope</a> so that <br>
there is no bouncing going on that occurs when using a
poly-<br>
propylene rope (wally rope that skiers or tubers
use).</p>
<p><a
href="../../equipment/handlesrobes.htm">handle</a>:
A barefoot handle such as the slalom handle is 15 inches
<br>
instead of 12 inches. This gives better balance unless you
are a <br>
small child who might be better off using a 12 inch jump
handle.</p>
<p>wetsuit: this is not a place to skimp on money. It is
critical that <br>
you use a great barefoot suit and full wrap shorts. For my
<br>
recommendations <a
href="../../equipment/wetsuits.htm">go
here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="../../equipment/pylons.htm">Fligh
High</a>: Tremendously easier with a high
pull</p>
<p>2. Boat speed-</p>
<p>This is one of the most common mistakes. Keep your boat
speed <br>
at 25mph or less until you become proficient at cheeking
outside<br>
the wake.</p>
<p>Now that you are on a level playing field with the best
chance of <br>
success, you need to brush up on your butt glide position
and then<br>
learn how to change directions while in the butt glide
position so you<br>
can plant your feet in your three-point position in the
calm water<br>
outside the wake!</p>
<p>Position-The <a href="ne67.htm">butt
glide position</a> should have your knees completely
straight<br>
with either one or both feet on the rope. Knees are
together to keep<br>
water out of your face.</p>
<p>Handle remains into your hips until your feet touch the
water in your <br>
<a href="ne61.htm">three-point
position</a>. Only then does your handle come out in
front of<br>
your knees. </p>
<p>EXCEPTIONS: small kids or women(may need to keep the
handle AT <br>
their knees in the three point) </p>
<p>and <a href="ne34.htm">BIG
DUDES</a> (220-380lbs) who I allow to keep their
handle out further<br>
from their hips to counter balance their
beef.</p>
<p>It is absolutely critical that your legs remain
completely straight so that<br>
your knees are never above the rope while in the butt
glide position. A <br>
bent knee is the beginning of many troubles ...trust me on
this.</p>
<p>Another huge tip for added control is to make sure that
your feet and your<br>
head are the same distance from the water. This creates
stability by <br>
keeping your weight balanced.</p>
<p>Rolling over in the butt glide position occurs when you
are not
balanced.<br>
I almost forgot. Make sure never to put your heel over the
rope. Only put<br>
your foot arch on the rope. This keeps your knees together
and below the<br>
rope.</p>
<p>If you roll over AND have your heels or ankles crossed
on the rope, when <br>
the handle comes out of your hands, it smashes your feet
when it cannot<br>
get away. This usually feels like you have broken bones in
your feet from<br>
the impact...but it usually is just a nasty
contusion.</p>
<p>The only exception to heel over the rope is when you are
wearing shoe <br>
skis. In this case, put only one heel over the rope. Keep
the other off <br>
and straight.</p>
<p>Cheeking Outside the Wake-</p>
<p>With your new and improved position, think of the wake
as a big bowl<br>
were you want to get up enough momentum to get up and out.
</p>
<p>As soon as you can sit up into your butt glide position,
begin by leaning<br>
to the left to get your momentum started to the left. I
usually tell kids<br>
to fart to the left to go left, fart to the right to go
right.</p>
<p>Do not try to get out on your first attempt. Simply
start the momentum<br>
and then as soon as it dies, fart in the other direction.
With two
or <br>
three goes at building up your edging speed, you will be
able to cheek<br>
out to the trick curl.</p>
<p>Bonus points-</p>
<p>If you start way off to one side instead of directly
behind the boat, you<br>
can either get one swing and get right outside or even
better...get out<br>
side the wake without having to go over
it!</p>
<p>I hope this helps. If you need more help try a layer of
<a
href="../../slickfeet50/index.htm">SlickFeet50</a>.</p>
<p><a href="../../slickfeet50/index.htm"><img
src="../../confession/images/slickfeet50.jpg" width="187"
height="156" border="0"></a><a
href="../../members/index.htm"><img
src="../../confession/images/headshot.jpg" width="211"
height="185" border="0"></a></p>
<p><a href="mailto:lane@lanedawg.com?subject=Yo%20Lane%20Dawg"><img
src="../../confession/images/signature.jpg" width="188"
height="115" border="0"></a></p>
<p></p>
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