learning to barefoot

I can see this thread starting to slip, so here is some video of a barefoot trip I took over the weekend to an "open water" reservoir up in the California Foothills. I have discovered the 'scurge' of the barefooter: these so-called surfers. Their boats send rollers for 30 minutes before they settle killing the water to all comers. And for what? a 5 MPH ride? Looks boring. Having surfed the North Shore of Hawaii, it looks pretty dang boring to me.

Anyway:

Footin' Bullards Bar

I say arms straight out is better than bent arms...for the most part.

It depends on what you are doing but for a beginner arms out is best.

Lewy,

Like you, I went the economical route at first and taught myself deepwater starts with shorts and a vest. It worked fine. You would think the lower back edge of the vest would catch, but it didnt seem to, cant tell you why, other than a key part of learning the start is to arch your back like crazy, driving your shoulders down into the water. Thats the only way to avoid bouncing. (yes, thats an 80s style foam vest...(picture from about 1982) I am guessing your vest will be even better/easier

Lewy, it depends on how you plan on starting. If you want to "tumble up" hanging on to the boom, the waist band of the shorts may catch. Ask Joe how he thinks he may have faired on Lake Lanier over the weekend if he hadn't had an actual barefoot suit on... Stepping off a ski or standing up off a board won't matter, though the vest may catch on a fall. I would consider buying a used suit, hell I'd send you one to borrow but you should be able to pay less local than shipping back and forth.

my 2 cents: Lewy, what you have will work, use your boom(no rope/handle), tilt it up high so when boat takes off only your knees drag, pivot around by doing a pull up and set feet in slow and easy don't stab them in...this will give you the basic idea/feel of barefooting...if you like it get a barefoot suit because it will be better to learn everything else in the suit....borrow a suit if you can and find someone there who knows how to barefoot and go out with them.

DO NOT LET GO OF THE BOOM! NO MATTER WHAT

Thanks for the advice guys and the offer of used equipment. Hollywood pink is not really my colour anyway.

Have been looking on Ebay for used suits over our winter a couple have come up but not in my size. Being 6'3" and about 195lbs length is the limiting factor. All the suits have been too short between the shoulders and the crotch. So a cup is required hey. Will require a lot of extra crotch room now.

Going to Sydney for a family party over the weekend will have a look in a couple of Ski shops. See if I can pick up some old stock or unwanted colours.

How tight a fit should these suits be? I noticed when James & Keith were putting their's on in the boat at GL. They were able to get them on dry. Even with the iron wrap shorts underneath.

if you need a little help getting out of your wetsuit...it fits.
A loose suit will beat you up and stop your progress.

I hape to say that my suit is almost 18 yo so for me is very tight!! LOL...


note the holes at the hipsss....the neoprene is all rot...

I am not sure I understand the common thought process of using the bare minimum or old and worn out equipment among beginning footers. I understand that money is tight, and if you only want to "just" barefoot then I guess your model works. I taught a kid in one set how to go from boom to long line in just board shorts and life jacket. He asked me if I would coach him and thats how he showed up. What do you think the next thing he did was..?
Well, he bought a barefoot suit and padded shorts, because the step off and wakeboard start are dead ends. Sure they can be fun, but then you have to go back and get the ski, hope someone doesn't run over it. The next season, he is performing both front and back toe holds and both back to fronts and basic front to back.. He is a gifted kid, but he still needed a barefoot suit.

The gentleman in the earlier post needs a large tall suit, that will give him the extra room in the crotch and mid section. A barefoot suit allows you to properly perform, deep starts, tumbles, flips, toe ups, butted out toe fronts, etc. It just overall feels better, sure people have done 2 ski jump outs and surface turns and every thing under sun without a wetsuit, but in this day in age why would you want to?

I contest that you really only need a cup for jumping. I think they cause more discomfort than they solve. It puts so much pressure on the sides of it, that using them feels worse than any failed two ski out I have ever had. If you perform the backdeep properly you won't ever need a cup becuase you are supposed to get but lift early, thats why guys do them naked, not becuase they are made of steel. lol.

So if you ever want to progress beyond, just barefooting, do yourself a favor and buy a new suit and padded shorts. I hope you already have a boom, because again they are necessary to progress further than just the basics. I would also highly suggest a pair of barefoot trainers. They are great for rougher water and for learning new tricks with less falls.

Lane is all about hype, I like the new eagle suits. You already have the boat, spend a few extra dollars and get the right equipment the first time and you will be much better off. No use getting racked.

I hope your footing goes well, and if you are traveling to Florida, try to take a couple of half days a ski school as well. That will certainly accelerate your progess!

Good Luck!

Ryan Lamon

WaterCraft Sales
Aqua Devils Water Ski Show Team

I hear you, not a big contention, I was more comenting that the guy said he needed more room in his wetsuit for a cup. A few guys use them, most do not.
Back deeps are learned more easily for the skier and driver if you plant as soon as you plane off, longline at 10-12 miles an hour before or after the stern roller; depending on how hard the driver pulled you out. Once your feet plant, your crotch is off the water, a few seconds maybe, simple as that.

I like to protect the boys as much as the next guy, but I have only heard of one guy that said that he HAD to have a cup on a backdeep. Suit yourself, like you said 8 bucks no big deal, I would give it a go first with out one though, just one less thing cluttering up the boat, IMO. Plus the chicks don't really dig it

Please give us an update on your progess, if you have questions fire them away.. free help is hard to find lol!

Ryan

I invite you all to watch these videos and then rate/judge/comment on them. The idea is to portray Freestyle Barefooting. You can get instructions on how to rank/rate them. Make your opinion $count$.

    http://www.barefootcentral.info/FreestyleChallenge.htm


cut and paste

Great Job Roy,

You have been progressing from your earlier videos, a few thoughts that might help.. I am sure that your friends have already mentioned these, but on your feet, if you bring your feet closer together, it will be much easier to glide more and progress to one foots. They should be as close as you have them when you are on the shoes.

You can also bring your chest up higher on your feet, while keeping your back arched.

On your one foots, make sure your tilt the handle a bit, hold on more with the upper hand and then push your foot out in front of your (towards the boom) before you lift.   The way you are doing it works, but on your feet there is a tendancy to let the lifted foot drift behind causing a head packer.

In addition when you lift the foot, you are pointing it, or straightenging it.. This causes two problems. One, if you lose your balance its not in a skiing position for a quick set down, a second is all you have.

the other problem is when you point one foot, generally your brain makes you do the same on the other, causing you to plow and you dig your toes in the water.. That is why you are experiencig the bobbing sensation while you are one footing.

to correct this make sure you are flexing your toes to your shins, just like when you learned to plant, so that your foot always looks like it could be set down and skied on. If you flex your foot and push it out the front at the same time your one foots will be that much cleaner and more "foot" ready. While on the shoes, think about progressing to touching your foot to the line in preperation for the back toe.

Great work and progress though.. I hope these tips work for you!

One quick suggestion on your tumbles, to dial those in on the longline, try to extend your legs so that they are almost straight with a slight knee bend and then have your ankles touching the whole way through out the tumble, this will keep you on axis much more easily.   
Having your knees bent allows you to creep on to your shoulders and "catch" half way on the longline. You are also sitting down and rocking back on to your shoulders at the beginning of the turn and thats where it starts.
Next time get into a great butt slide, extend your legs and touch your ankles, then start your tumble. They will become much smoother and then you will be able to sit down half way in the turn and make them very quick!

Best of Luck, keep the videos coming..

to answer, sn206, I have only barefooted on the boom, no spray and in the curl, not much to keep you there like tournament barefoot boats, but very smooth due to less spray.. I haven't crossed it, it doesn't look like much improvement from previous in barefoot department. In addition its slower because the boat is wider, but if you pull back on the hydrogate, you get 2mph.. which is doable with a light boat crew.. I am guessing 40 with a footer, and 42ish with two people in the boat, I weigh 190. Thats with the excalibur. The boat is incredible in every other aspect, awesome trick wake, blows away the 196, and there will be several records on slalom in no time. This boat makes everything feel like a dinosuar.

Thanks,
Ryan

we use the adult XXXL ---cup, that is

I have been bare footing for a while but not so much in the past few years. When doing deep water starts I always end up with a great deal of water up my nose, which then actually ends in a sinus headache. I have tried arching my back more and throwing my head back but in the end found the only solution was to wear a swimmer's nose plug. Anyone else wear a nose plug? Any suggestions on how to keep the water out of my nose?

This topic comes up on occasion and in fact it did in this thread a few pages back. Its particulary tough with back deeps. Some folks advocate medical tape to seal their noses. Andy out in CA (given his footing ability, his recommendations suit me fine) uses plugs like you've got. After several snootfulls this summer working on back deeps, I finally went out and bought some nose plugs. Unfortunately they are tough to find these days. After not finding any in several pharmacies I finally found some at a 5 & 10 type store. Only problem is they are purple. My son, who typically goes out with me, finds it particularly humiliating, but if it saves 3 days of horrific sinus congestion, I dont really care. Hollywood and some others talk about various nasal sprays that help. Go back a few pages in here and you'll find more info. Try to find the picture I posted of Roy if you really want to appreciate a snootful. Bottom line, if those plugs work for you, go for it.