learning to barefoot

I don't want to PO the guy but geez why lie about speeds? why do you hear people lie about barefoot speeds? is it because they just do not know? or is it because they have small equipment? I hear it alot.

I had a Sanger that ran 53 on the gps, it had the 377 scorpion(377ci,377hp) from Mercury Racing Division.

At the barefoot nationals it pulled a 250lb skier at 51 for his wake slalom on Shortline lake.

It would pull me 52+ and all that was on the water was about 2 inches of heel...I had no steering.

I would love to see a barefoot pyramid at 50+mph...LOL

wow! that was CLASSIC

my advise: go back on the boom directly, work on glide and one foots. There is no shame skiing directly on the boom. It is a learning tool...use it. Looks like you have a death grip on the handle, toes are not picked up so they are catching. That little bit of water coming up between your legs at first is nothing to worry about. without plowing heavy on your heels pick up your toes a little bit, just flex them upwards some...relax your arms...if you get back on the boom you can solve all these issues easily. then go back out on the 5ft...post the video...it'll be better guaranteed.

Yeah I went back to the boom this evening. I don't think it was too productive though since the water wasn't that great. Bouncing a lot on the crap water. I'll post some of those vids tomorrow. ;)

SN206- good eye...on Saturday I noticed Roys cable is a little loose, the outer one I think...I shoulda said something to him...he'll read this and we'll get it adjusted better to reduce that flexing. Thanks.

They can and do flex alot, especially when you put them up high. The Barefoot International boom seems the stiffest, I have an ECI/Skylon boom and it flexes more for sure.

Mark Mel wrote: Ok, Had some time to record some short line work from this morning. For some reason I am getting a lot of spray between my legs on the short rope. Maybe I need a boom extension. The wipeouts look pretty good but I know how to fall right now so I'm not ringing my bell. ;)

DUDE, you are getting hammered. I can see you have been watching my "how-to" ski videos!!!...LOL. Seriously, good work! You have a nice tumble-up and smoth plant. I kept trying to detect why you kept falling, and it appears you are catching a toe. I like your plant with your knees together. That's what I do and I REALLY like it, esp. in rough water behind the boat. Solid. Once you are up, you still seem knock-kneed. Just a theory, but that may be putting your foot in awkward position, like maybe it points your big toe into the water. Worth trying it straighen your legs. Or pull your toes back.

It looks like I'm getting hammered but I am getting quite good at eating it without hurting myself - practice makes perfect. ;)

Behindprop -

live in CT and ski on Lake Zoar.

I guess what I meant, was to see that many falls in a row, for what seemed like the same reason is really unnecessary to the extent you need to make a simple correction or two. You fundamental basic looks good and you don't have to fall like that in the name of practice or progress. If you keep catching a toe, make an adjustment. Falls don't make me better. They make me aware of a problem, and even if they don't "hurt" they still take it out of me.

I do recommend a neck brace. I was real resistant to the idea. I felt claustraphopic, and I looked like an emergency room discharge wearing it. I wear it all the time, even if I am not trying something new or hard. I have taken a few falls I would not have walked away from, especially behind the boat or backerds.

LakeBoy wrote: With all respect, behindtheprop, I would rather learn "why" I am falling, than accept that I am falling all the time. I agree you gotta learn how to fall correctly, but Mark is not doing any "scorpions" that I can see. I consider myself new to the sport, and I will go 30 or 40 runs without a fall.

When I watch his video I see a canidate for shoulder dislocation. Its no FUN!!!!


Its hard to teach people to cross their arms in front against their body....its just a reflex to try to stop yourself. By teaching a front roll your body learns how to roll when you fall...with your arms tucked in. Later on in life this roll turns into a tumble turn when you catch one foot.

Kieth....Kieth...site owner.....do you agree????

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When I watch his video I see a canidate for shoulder dislocation. Its no FUN!!!!


Its hard to teach people to cross their arms in front against their body....its just a reflex to try to stop yourself. By teaching a front roll your body learns how to roll when you fall...with your arms tucked in. Later on in life this roll turns into a tumble turn when you catch one foot.

Kieth....Kieth...site owner.....do you agree????

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I agree with that. I did not notice what Mark's arms were doing. When I first learned, the falls seemed so sudden, now they are in slow motion.

Here is a good headplant from over the winter when I forst started to learn the toe hold:

Faceplant

just think of a waterski...the front is curved up...your feet are your waterskis...toes up just a little makes a big difference. just don't get heel-heavy(plowing-spray in face)...push the front of your foot down while keeping toes up a bit.(the spray will clear and go out the sides) and you will glide.

I pretty much never catch a toe/foot unless its really rough and choppy.


trying to hang on to falls(spin back up) is a recipe for surgery, just let go...its not worth it.

most barefoot falls happen so fast you really can't do too much to prep, just learn to drop your chin to your chest or tuck your chin this will get you to flip over with the momentum, don't put arms out keep them closer to the body.
there is nothing you can do to "catch" yourself.
once you start to do toe ups there is a new danger to the shoulder if you put your hands out in front and tip over its easy for them to catch and it happens super fast and tweaks your shoulder before you know what happened, it happens again while learning backtoe holds and tipping over, let your arms out from behind your back to in front of your face if you are tipping over.

this one shows why you keep your toes up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSibYvwZrTU&feature=channel_page

and this one shows an arm catch...and it hurt later too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRA6AcW-7wk&feature=channel_page

PS-

Nice videos! You must put a lot of time in footing!

there are no skis ever allowed in my boat(except shoe skis)

Couple of observations:

Two ways to bend your toes, one is to do just that which can actually push the ball of your foot down. Not desirable. Second is to bend your ankle up as much as you can, this gets your toes up without really bending them but can only be done if your feet are under your knees in good form, if the foot is out front your going to bury the heel.

Still comes back to teaching good form, to just tell someone to point the toes up is only half the information they need. Don't forget to get beginners on dry land or in the boat in the correct position before and after each training run. Newbies have a tendancy to say yup I got it and then get out there lean back and fight the boat it so you have to correct that every time.

Last comment is that if you have someone footing in the correct body position they are already setup to minimize the hard crashes when they happen. The real killer face plants are when you're just standing straight up with no spring in your body. If you've got knees over feet then you're already half way to a tuck when you do crash.

We can all agree going back to the boom for a "revisit" is important. Has far as the toes thing goes I have found when going back to the boom or showing someone posture while on the boom I find myself relaxing my intire body more and more. This includes my feet and toes. When I relaxed my toes it seemed my weight was more evenly distributed over the balls of my feet and made for some of my smoothest rides and felt so comfortable. If anyone can get thier hands on a copy of "Soul" with Ron Scarpa and company, they have several shots of thier feet and you'll see what I mean. Just M.O.P.

-Ryan