Tail Ride

[jwakes]

Thanks to all for helping the "tip chatter" on my 67.5 A-1.  putting a little more depth (2.517) seemed to get rid of it as well as moving the fin slightly back.....(.754)  while keeping the tip (6.86)

What i have noticed though is that i am now riding the tail pretty much the whole way from edge change through the turn....if i make an aggressive body movement (late) i end up biting it hard or blowing out the tail...Does anyone have a good suggestion that would help get more centered on the ski?  i can get open...counter rotate...do everything i am trying to do and still do it all on the back of the ski.  if i think about moving my CM more forward i just end up with a bizarre upper body over the top move at the finish and then a backward compensation...you know the rest.  I can still get through 28@36 but it's not real smooth.  should i move the fin farther back?  should i move my bindings forward?  they are alligned in the "neutral" hole settings.

 Thanks

j

[JAYK]

Without seeing you ski I would guess that the ski setup is totally irrelevant, I would venture a guess that you may be counter rotating with your upper body but your hips are the ones that need to lead, not your upper body. Most people end up on the tail when the counter rotation is done improperly from what I've seen.

[jwakes]

Jay-

Thanks...when do you begin the counter with your hips...through the edge change?...i feel like i do it right at apex and end up forcing my body forward..instead of a smooth slide...it's too abrasive. I end up doing all the counter after i have released my off hand...and then i am inside the turning arc and too far back to do anything but hope!  thoughts?

J

[skibug]

Not sure if this is an issue; but, I see skiers tend to drop the handle down when over emphasizing the counter rotation.  When you release with your off hand, think about keeping the handle up and out in front, in your line of sight.  Sometimes skiers will tend to reach in towards the centerline of the course instead of reaching towards the pylon. 

[JAYK]

Someone may correct me on this but countering starts as you edge change as you are atempting to carry direction outbound, if you watch Thomas Moore ski it would give you a great idea of body position, I think he does it more than anyone else. I would still bet your lead hip is behind when you are skiing. I found standing tall into the buoy helps also, when your crouched it's hard to bring that hip ahead. 

[jwakes]

Jay-

yea...i have seen T-MO ski from the boat...and have had some instruction by him.. the guy is unreal.  my lead hip IS for sure behind me...i am just trying to get a new thought that would get it forward because the last one..."inside hip leading" i think left me going out the front with a tail blow out...i'll try the standing tall thing...i do remember him saying something like he skis with almost all his weight over the front foot..

 j

[Horton]

95% of all the coaching I do is based on the following: http://ballofspray.com/vanillaforum/comments.php?DiscussionID=25

With a little humor I tell skiers to try to ski stiff legged. In truth, you do not want your legs totally straight but if your center of gravity is behind your head and feet then your back leg is bent more then your front. However you want to think about it you need to get near equal bend in both legs. Since I am NEVER going to cross the wakes new school, the only way for me to get my CG forward is to extend my feet further from my head.

There are some skiers who drive thier ankles forward but that is way beyond me. If you can do it, great. Otherwise, just push on your feet. 

[JAYK]

So there you go! Advice from the bad guy from the Incredibles and Krusty the clown! How can your skiing not improve?

[jwakes]

Horton-

thanks for you comments...one question though.  i realized that i am skiing pretty straight legged.  my CM is not behind my feet and head b/c this would mean that i am bent over a bit....hunched if you will.  However...when i "stand up" my ski feels like it continues to slide forward and i am "standing" straight pretty much on the tail...the only way i feel like i can move forward is some contrived weight shift that is not natural.  So just standing for some reason isn't getting back to the center of the ski...any thoughts?

J

[tsixam]

J, 

If it feels like your ski is sliding away from you, I believe that you maybe are leaning backwards when you are trying to stand straighter and not hunched on your ski. Try to stand neutral on the ski and push your knees and hips forward to meet the handle. You don´t have any video to post?

Tsixam

[JAYK]

Try standing on your front foot, all your weight on your toes/ball of your foot, if you can feel that you can't get much more weight forward. When I'm waiting to pull out for the gates I make sure I feel it all in my toes/ball of my front foot with my hips facing the wake ( attempting to mimick Larkin's gate), then I can slide/lead wth my hip into the direction I want to go staying open, it takes very little effort to pull out when I do this properly. In the glide or preturn for the gate being LFF I can feel the weight in my big toe/ball portion of my foot as I turn in, and at 2,4,6.

[jwakes]

Jay/TSIXAM-

I have video but it is on Digital Video Cassette...i don't have a converter or a memory stick ...i'll have to get one.  Upon Video review i can tell 3 things.

1.  Jay- on turn in i am standing tall...LFF...handle out in front ...(slightly countered but not much)..then my first move is tipping in and slightly back.  Although my ski gets rolled..it still is slow and gets me in a more closed postion behind the boat...with my hips for sure....but it's hard b/c i am LFF.  My shoulders are pretty open but i can tell i have more load in my lead arm than my trailing one.

 2.  Maybe as a result of not being open...i change edges past the second wake and my new edge isn't set until past the white wash...at this point then both arms are pretty much out...my back arm..(right arm now) is getting pulled up and out so i just end up releasing.  i can still run the pass but it's just not real smooth.

3.  on both sides my shoulders tip in at the finish...instead of staying square and level they rotate and tip at the finish.

 

thanks guys.