Starting with just surfing the wake is crucial for learning to ride switch on a wakeboard. It is essential to ride the boards edges from toeside to heelside rather than pointing the nose around. Cross the wakes heelside and toeside while maintaining good body position. The switch ollie can feel funky, but it is important to learn how to do it early in your wakeboarding journey as it opens endless possibilities as you progress.
To ride switch, start by doing a small forward-facing jump by jumping out of the water like an ollie, only rotating your board 180 degrees. This is one of the best options for improving as a wakeboarder and learning more tricks. Riding switch (or Fakie) involves riding the opposite way to what you usually do, with your right foot forward. Visualize carving, doing grabs, or other tricks in your normal riding position and then visualize doing the same thing switch.
When riding switch, stand tall and keep your hips in front of your shoulders. Most people when they start riding will have their left foot forward, but it is essential to learn to ride with the right foot and your left foot forward as soon as possible. You can do the Switch directly under the running wire.
There are no shortcuts to riding switch, just get used to it and start small on jumps. There are no shortcuts, just have to do it and get used to it. Start small on jumps and don’t be afraid to switch up your feet and get comfortable with the new technique.
📹 How To Switch – Beginner Wakeboarding Switch Tutorial
Next up, how to ride switch. It’s super important to learn how to do it early in your wakeboarding journey as it opens endless …
What foot goes first when wakeboarding?
In many cases, people tend to balance on their dominant foot when putting on pants. When you stand to put your pants on, take notice which foot you lift to slide into your pants first and which one you balance on. Whichever foot you slide into your pants first will go in the front binding on your wakeboard, while the other foot you balance on is considered dominant and should be in the rear binding of the wakeboard.
With this test, you’ll need a soccer ball. You can place the ball on the ground in front of you or hold the ball out in front of you with both hands. Pretend like you are trying to score a goal and kick the ball. The foot you use to kick the ball is your dominant foot.
For this test to determine if you are regular or goofy footed, you will need a partner. Ask someone you trust to do this exercise with you. Close your eyes and stand with your feet together. Your partner will gently push you forward. The foot you step out with first to catch yourself from falling is typically your dominant foot, meaning it should be the foot you would put in the rear of your wakeboard.
What’s harder wakeboarding or wakesurfing?
Wakesurfing is a fun and exciting sport that requires balance, strength, and skill. Unlike wakeboarding, which can be more physically demanding and challenging, wakesurfing is generally considered to be easier to learn and suitable for riders of all ages and skill levels. It’s also a great way to enjoy the water and get some exercise while enjoying the thrill of riding the boat’s wake.
Wakeboarding is a water sport that involves riding a board while being towed behind a boat. The rider stands on a wakeboard, which is similar to a snowboard but with bindings that attach the rider’s feet to the board. The board is designed to be buoyant and provide stability on the water’s surface.
As the boat accelerates, the rider is pulled along by a tow rope attached to the boat and uses their body weight to control the direction and speed of the board. The rider carves back and forth across the boat’s wake, performing tricks and jumps as they gain experience and confidence.
Is wakeboarding harder than waterskiing?
Muscles Used in Wakeboarding. Both sports require leg and chest strength, but since you have to balance both your legs on the wakeboard (vs one ski on each leg), wakeboarding takes more core strength.
It also feels similar to skateboarding and surfing, so anyone who is familiar with one-board sports may find comfort starting here.
If you’re determined to be the best wakeboarder possible, practice planks, do pushups, and maybe even get yourself a balance board before camp. That way you’ll be prepared when it’s your turn to strap on that life vest and go sailing over the water.
How do you get up easy on a wakeboard?
And don’t rush the process. Once. You get up simply put some weight against your heels as you lean against the rope. And put your leave foot.
Is wakeboarding harder than wakesurfing?
Wakesurfing is a fun and exciting sport that requires balance, strength, and skill. Unlike wakeboarding, which can be more physically demanding and challenging, wakesurfing is generally considered to be easier to learn and suitable for riders of all ages and skill levels. It’s also a great way to enjoy the water and get some exercise while enjoying the thrill of riding the boat’s wake.
Wakeboarding is a water sport that involves riding a board while being towed behind a boat. The rider stands on a wakeboard, which is similar to a snowboard but with bindings that attach the rider’s feet to the board. The board is designed to be buoyant and provide stability on the water’s surface.
As the boat accelerates, the rider is pulled along by a tow rope attached to the boat and uses their body weight to control the direction and speed of the board. The rider carves back and forth across the boat’s wake, performing tricks and jumps as they gain experience and confidence.
How to switch stance in wakeboarding?
- Getting up on the wakeboard – This first move takes practice. Just as with all wakeboarding moves, it is important not to let yourself get discouraged as you learn them. Remember, even wake legends, started here as beginners!
- Edging – After you know how to get on the wakeboard and find your balance out on the water, you can start moving your board from side to side within the wake. This involves switching from toe side to heelside, and vice versa.
- Crossing the wake – Once you are comfortable with edging you can move in and out of the wake by crossing it. Practicing this move will help you learn how to shift your weight on the board and move your body in preparation for more complex moves.
- Switch Stance – This is an optional move to know beforehand, but one that will help you when you are trying to learn the surface 180 as the move requires it. In switch stance, you wakeboard with your feet the opposite way that you would normally place them. In other words, if you usually wakeboard with your right foot in front, in switch stance your left foot would be in front and your right foot would be in the back. This switch stance is also called the goofy stance, and mastering this move is a beneficial precursor to moves that involve turning or spinning, like the surface 180.
How to Perform a Surface 180 on a Wakeboard. To perform a surface 180, your front and back feet are going to switch position as you spin your board. This spin, or rotation, will be completed on the surface of the water so you do not need to worry about jumping or getting any air with this one. Some wakeboarders find this move easier to perform if they start in their switch stance and then switch to their regular stance, but you should try it both ways to find your own preference for the move. Even if you do not start in switch stance, you will find yourself in switch at some point during this move, so it is a good idea to be prepared for this goofy stance, especially if it is unfamiliar to you before you learn the surface 180.
- Lock your elbows in to your sides.
- Bend your knees and use your hips to turn your body (keeping your weight in your heels will help with this step).
- DO NOT LOOK DOWN!
- Use your back foot to lead and initiate the spin.
- Spin 180 degrees in one direction (facing outward behind the boat towards the water) and then back again to complete the trick.
What is the easiest wakeboard trick?
Ollie. Ollie is a basic wakeboard trick which is another way to jump or get some air. It’s essentially jumping out of the water without using the wake to launch you. To start the trick, you must jump down on the tail of your wakeboard to compress the water, pulling your front foot up also.
Once you get the hang of it, performing a wakeboarding trick is an exhilarating achievement. Clue up before you go and let your Neilson instructor know what your target is so they can best assist you with learning how to wakeboard.As soon as you’ve established what stance you are – ‘goofy’ or ‘regular’ – you can focus on perfecting your skills on the water.
Whether you want to master riding the wake, want to get some air, do grabs or complete rotational tricks, we have a range of beginner tricks for you to try out. This is your guide on how to learn to wakeboard and pick up some easy wakeboarding tips and tricks.
Once you’re comfortable and in control of your wakeboard, and have sussed surfing the wake, you can practice crossing the wake. Leaning into your toe and heel edges and pulling the rope away from the boat, you’ll feel your wakeboard turn. Fluidity is key when executing a good turn so that you carve through the water.
How hard is it to learn how to wakeboard?
How to Get Up on a Wakeboard. Learning to wakeboard is difficult, and by far the most daunting part for beginners can be getting up on the board. But, like anything in life, all it takes is practice, patience and knowing where to begin. Start by floating on your back with arms straight out, holding the towrope. With the board strapped onto your feet, place it in front of you toward the boat, and then place your arms on each side of your legs and bend your knees. Signal to your driver that you’re ready, and then, keeping the board on its side in the water, allow it to plane on top of the water. As you pick up speed, allow the boat’s force to pull you up into a standing position. Stay crouched to maximize your balance. Try not to push, pull or fight against the forces of the water, the board or the boat – just stay relaxed and patient, and let your board and the water do the work.
How to Turn on a Wakeboard. Like other board sports, turning is a matter of controlling the edges of your wakeboard. To do this, you need to know how your feet and your weight can be used to control the movement of the board. In practice, this will look like leaning – either to your toes-side edge, or with your heels. If your stance is regular, a toes-edge lean will turn you right, and a heels-edge lean will turn you left. Try to keep your movements fluid and smooth at first, as sudden changes in your stance can upset your balance, causing you to catch an edge and fall.
Once you have everything you need and you’re standing up on your board, it’s time to get to the best part of wakeboarding – the tricks! This is why so many people turn to wakeboarding as a sport, with a ton of fun moves to make out on the water and even in the air. But we’re not launching into backflips immediately; these are some wakeboarding tricks for beginners.
Is it harder to water ski or wakeboard?
Try Both Sports Out!. Both wakeboarding and waterskiing are great water sports that offer unique experiences. When deciding between the two, it is important to consider your personal goals and preferences. If you’re a beginner, wakeboarding might be the better option, as it is easier to learn and less physically demanding. If you’re looking for a challenging workout, however, waterskiing might be the better option for you. Whichever sport you choose, you’re sure to have a great time on the water and make lasting memories. So go ahead, pick one, and have fun!
How do you switch sides in wakeboarding?
So you again lean on your heels. You pull your hip up to the handle you keep your head up. And you should spin.
How to get better at riding switch on wakeboard?
The following are suggestions on how you can either learn to ride switch or improve your switch riding:Visualize It. Just like any other sport, visualization helps in wakeboarding. … Practice On Land. Grab your handle and tie it to a tree, wall, door, or some other object. … Riding Switch. … Switch Tricks. … Fear. … Take Action.
That’s actually not the case, learning to ride switch after you know how to ride or learning a switch version of a trick you already know how to do is much easier then learning how to ride or do the trick in the first place. This is because your body already knows how to do it, you just need to reverse everything, and get some repetition at doing it.
The following are suggestions on how you can either learn to ride switch or improve your switch riding:
1. Visualize ItJust like any other sport, visualization helps in wakeboarding. When going to bed at night, driving to the lake, sitting in class, or sitting at work, visualize how your body feels when you’re riding normally, then visualize how it feels when you’re riding switch. Think about how your weight is distributed on your feet, how your knees are each bent, how you hold the handle, where your shoulders are, and how you hold your head. Think about each body part in your normal riding position, then map it over to switch. Visualize carving, doing grabs, or whatever tricks you can normally do, and then visualize doing the same things switch. The more visualization the better.
Is switching directions on a wakeboard hard?
Switch riding is easier then most people think, and it can really improve your wakeboarding. As you advance, so many tricks involve switch riding like 540s, 180s, Roll To Reverts, Scarecrows, etc. that it’s essential to be a good switch rider to become a good wakeboarder. It also is an easy way to add more tricks to your arsenal by adding switch versions of the tricks you can already do.
📹 Low Risk High Reward Progression : Wakeboarding Switch Stance
Riding Switch (with your opposite or non dominant foot forward) feels funky for nearly every rider. Even if you are the person who …
Thanks for these articles Shaun. I don’t get to ride a lot, only once or twice a year, and as a beginner that makes it really difficult to get any kind of feel for what I’m doing. Breaking it down like this really does help me get a feel for things in the least amount of time with the lowest risk of falls, which helps the confidence and keeps me happy on the water!
As usual you never disappoint with your detailed explanations before getting on the water, utilizing the BBTalk while riding, and explaining more after the set is hands down the best support for all us!!! Absolutely always look forward to your next article.!!! Keep doing what you do to help up succeed man!!! Your coaching is priceless and super appreciative Shawn!!!
I’m still learning to ride switch, getting fairly comfy, but still had some sort of uneasy feeling whilst doing it. This vid made me realise that I was forgetting the fundamentals of wakeboarding when riding switch, crazy how overthinking something can cloud the rest of your thoughts. Anyways cheers for that article Shaun it really helped me progress🤙 keep up the great tutorials and articles!
What a clean, clear, awesome tutorial about the concept of riding. Thanks, Shawn! I’ve forwarded this to the kids. They were able to get up and ride this fall, but did a lot of the lean mistakes you demonstrated. I think perusal you explain it will work better than me doing it. You are helping so much. THANKS!!!!
I can’t begin to tell you how helpful these articles are. I’m in a friendly competition with the parents of their child who competes in the British Columbia, Canada Provincials (last year was his first, he was 12 at the time) where myself and the husband and wife are basically starting this wakeboarding journey this year together. I’m about 12 years their senior at 54, but regardless, it’s on like Donkey Kong! Bought a board in February and hit the water, bathing suit and lifejacket early May. I’ve been out 4 or 5 times so far, and I’m slowly increasing my speed, last time was 16 MPH. I’m reasonably comfortable doing surface 180’s, and can go wake to wake heel side and toe side standard and switch. Currently worried about catching a toe side edge (did that first time out, 15 MPH, now I know what a full frontal face slap feels like and my arms had welts for a couple of days afterwards) and I’m uncomfortable cutting. (nervousness increases with speed) I’ll have to watch this and your ride switch better articles a few times before the weekend, I think the “stack your bones” and leaning against the rope are 2 lessons I forget when riding. Thanks again, Doug
Shaun – These tutorials are fantastic! I’m a beginner rider, still learning one wake jumps. Can you do more articles where you are coaching other riders? Please, please. You have one that I’ve watched a ton. Even though you’ve said it a million times, after that article I finally had the light bulb moment on the water where I LEANED AGAINST THE LINE. It was amazing. Hahahaha. Seeing newer riders make instinctive mistakes is super helpful because I make all the same ones!
Everytime you said “most people do this” I feel attacked lol. I got better through last season but only managed to clear w2w a handful of times. perusal articles I always bend my knees on the wake and absorb all of the power into my body rather than jumping. Definitely more to work on. I have no one local to teach me in person so these articles really help a lot!
Shaun! HAHAHAH @5:30 when you made that throwing motion it reminded me of something. A buoy had come loose from a boat or dock or something and I got pulled passed it. I was able to snag it riding by. I thought, well this will be funny, I’ll throw it. I did. My hips traveled with my follow through. Front edge caught REAL crisp like. And I nosed over full on belly smack. I was laughing so hard before I even hit the water! Anyway, solid article as usual! Good tips and advice. ~Ryan
Hey man, first off. Your articles on YouTube are excellent for us guys learning, especially me being 46 😂. Tbh I have been skiing since I was about 8, just a big trick ski isn’t it lol Anyway I can’t order any of your muurch off your website as being in Scotland 🏴 it doesn’t give me this option….this needs sorted mate, go global lol 😂 🙌✌️✌️
Love these thanks for taking the time Shaun. I felt like the light bulb came on for me a little doing surface spins when I got a new to me Watson board a few years back…took it with me to my first ever trip to a wake park and had to remove the fins to use it there. I was blown away with how easy it was to spin and took it back to the boat finless. It forced me to learn to use my edges better as an added bonus, and spins were so much easier. I found it was almost like i had to really work at it to catch an edge. Since then I have put the fins back on once and after about 5 minutes took them back off lol. I really love the way it feels finless. Do you ever choose to ride finless and if not what size fins do you prefer? I have noticed though after perusal this and some of your other tutorials that I do not ride leaning against the rope consistently enough, especially on toe side jumps which I have always struggled with. I can’t wait for it to warm back up so I can get out and practice some of these drills and tips. Thanks again for your easy to follow tips!
HHi Shaun, Thank you for the amazing teaching article I am 73 and started Skiing when I was 11. I don‘t live where I have constant water access, so for the last 20 years, my skiing has been limited to summer vacation at Laske Millstadt in Austria durin 4 weeks of summer vacation. Because of my age and size (115 kg) I have been skiing with a Big Day from Connelly for the last five years. I always start with a helper Ski and drop it as soon as I am in top of the water. I jusr recently purchased an HO Hoverkraft ski. I would like to know if you have a learning article for using the HO Hoverkraft including tips on making a water start. Thank you Ken Sell
Hey thank you very much for this articles! Do you have some tips for ppl who can only wake board at the sea? im doing it in the sea and its very wavy, is the posture still standing against the rope also when there are waves? The best point for me in this article comes from this, there are a lot of beginner people that does wakeboarding for fun at vacation or something at some beach (never did before), the drivers always seem to drive the boat really fast, you just fight to stand let alone working on position that can lead to simple tricks, i see that doing it at slow is much more efficient to learn and i will ask the drive next time to take it slow (i did it on 5 occasions with 5 different guys lol on different countries over the world, all of them went really high speed). To someone who has only a 1-2 times a year chance to do wakeboarding (and to improve) this whole lesson is a Huge light bulb, completely. thank you!
Hey Shaun, this is so amazing! Beginner rider here, like complete newbie! I have a question, when bringing you back leg forward, what if your not strong enough? The only way I got to switch was to swerve for momentum to bring it forward, like side to side to flick my hip and back leg around.. any advice to what I’m doing wrong would be amazing! Keep the articles coming please too! 🙂
the water there is always so smooth and flat, any tips for riding rougher water? Also, you talk about slowing down to like 15-16 mph. Anything under 18-20 and I think I’m sinking. Am I using the wrong size board? What is the right size? Also thank you for letting me know that I’m not too old. I know height/weight probably has something to do with it. I’m 5’11 about 180-185lbs. Not too out of shape, just a little beer gut. lol. Also any specific workouts or exercises for the off season? What to do during the work week when I can’t be out wakeboarding to keep my body in shape for the weekend? I try to go to the lake every weekend, but sometimes I’m fixing the boat or fixing the Suburban. Any tips on choosing a brand of board? I’m on a small budget so maybe something that comes with boots? Thanks, love the articles. Keep having fun stay cool. You’re Awesome!
Great article! What do you recommend to avoid high impact falls. Getting back into wakeboarding after a 28 year break from it. Did it as a teen for a few years when it first started (grew up slalom skiing and jumping), but still remember the wipeouts being brutal. At 48 don’t want to take those shots anymore.
I was just practicing these today on my 2001 Belmont 144 (which would be 🔥🔥🔥 if you could autograph someday, I just live up in Jax 😊). The question is, are the 1.9″ single fins harder to release than the smaller double fins? This board traacks awesome but I feel like it’s a chore to 180 without ollieing (which I suck at). It could be that I have too much board (5’8″ 180 lbs).
I’m looking to go back to the basics with everything, I have a mental block with clearing the wake after tearing my bicep doing it a few years ago. so to get comfortable and build confidence how would you suggest to start clearing the wake? For example should I drop to 15/16mph and 45’ rope? I’m behind a Malibu vlx so I can fully adjust the wake
I can ride switch but the years of neglecting it in skateboarding and snowboarding make my balance feel super awkward and I can’t seem to maintain body positron well…I know I just have to force myself to keep doing it more but it’s not fun lol. I still can’t get over how effortless you make those wake jumps…I can’t seem to stay “standing tall” hitting the wake if I don’t start with bent knees and time the push
Hey Shaun.. maybe u can help me with advice.. im a wakeboarding beginner riding without fins.. regular stance, im very comfortable.. but once I switch stance I keep feeling like my body wants to rotate back to regular.. I cannot keep my board straight in switch stance.. the only way I can stay in switch is by one-handing the handle bar .. the second I try to reach with my rear hand to grab the bar, I start feeling my legs forcing me to rotate back to regular stance.. any advice for me?