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Barefooting Basics ?


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I have a question for the footers. I have been barefooting for 15 years maybe 2 times a year. I learned to long line coming up off a kneeboard long before we had a training boom, so I never have learned to 3 pt slide or deep water start. My goal with barefooting this year is to learn both skills. I could use all the constructive advice that I can find.

Joe

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Personally I think the next step is to go see a shrink. :)

Anybody that wants to ski on their feet at 40MPH is definitely questionable Biggrin.gif

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Well, if you have LL'd before and have a basic feel for the water, now you just have to work on deep water starts.

Send me your email address and I will send you a vid of a 5' deep water start. It's not perfect, but you will get the idea.

The 5' rope is not the first step.

Put the boom on try a few runs on the boom. You can start however you want, either dragging behind a stagecoach or crawl out at speed. It is entirely up to you and what you feel comfortable doing.

I would suggest that you get used to riding on your butt with your legs in front of you and your feet flat, just skimming the top of the water. While the boom is going to hold you up and give you a false sense of security, it is good to get used to riding on your butt with your feet skimming in a true 3pt position.

While the show skiers will disagree with me, I say that you want to set your feet lightly on the water when you are ready to stand up from the 3pt. The show skiers say jam them and go. This usually ends in a quick stop for the footer Tongue.gif

After you are comfortable riding in a 3pt position on the boom, graduate to the 5' rope. Find a driver who has driven a front deep before or have the driver do some research. The driver can make your first deeps very unpleasant.

Take the handle and keep it at your waist with your arms snug with a slight bend in your elbows. Remember, no slalom grip here, both hands on top! Take one foot and put the arch of the foot against the rope. Put the other foot against your foot. Do not cross your legs over the rope or make it so when the handle comes out, you lose your leg or a foot. Have the driver take up the slack and you will start to move forward very slowly. When the boat starts to accelarate, take your butt and push it toward the sky. You will then be riding on your shoulders while the boat comes to speed. When you start to bounce, it means you are going too fast on your shoulders and you should move to your butt. SLOWLY transition from your shoulders to your butt. Remember, when you go to your butt, if your legs or feet hit the water, you will either get spun around backward, or you will just plug and stop.

When you get on your butt, you will be in a position to get to a 3 pt and get comfortable riding there. I strongly encourage you to think the following:

This is 3 steps. Transitioning from your shoulders to your feet usually ends in a faceplant and/or injury. Remember, ride on your shoulders til the boat comes to speed, then your butt for a 3pt and then set your feet on the water and stand up. This process will take MUCH LONGER than you think it will. Most people say hit it and in 2 seconds they are trying to stand up. If you think you are ready to move to the next step, wait a couple seconds and you will still be too early the first few times.

I have skipped some stuff, however this is a basic idea. Others can help fill in my voids.

Also, we use, two very specific commands when we are footing. There is "take it up," which means just put it in gear and take out the slack and drag me at idle speed so I can get comfortable. Secondly, we use "hit it." Sometimes "hit it" comes in the form of "do me" or "show me the way home" or "give it to me" but you get the idea. I really like the 2 command communication between the driver and footer. I feel it saves some problems.

Good Luck and keep us posted. You have a great footing community here who can help your learning curve Yahoo.gif

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Oh yeah, one more thing...

Dropping the hammer is not necessary. A slower acceleration on the 5' or LL is often times easier. It just takes longer. BE PATIENT!

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I have tried the 5' on a training boom with Driftwood coaching me. I was however exhausted from a very full ski/wakeboard/boom barefooting weekend, so I got to the bouncing stage. Every time I tried to come off my shoulders I would let my feet slip off and wow can you get turned around in a big hurry. I like the idea of the 3 pt off of the boom for starters. I think I will order that footing suit this week so that I don't get too hurt learning this new skill.

Thanks for the Advice

Joe

Ps If any one has a favorite suit brand I am now searching.

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Ps If any one has a favorite suit brand I am now searching.

I have had Intensity and Eagle. I think the Eagle suits are more durable and the zipper stays up better when you learn to go backward. The Mike Seiple Iron Man suits are pretty indestructible, but are pretty stiff. There are several other brands too choose from. Be sure to get padded shorts to go with the suit. make sure the suit fits tight when new because it will stretch. I prefer suits with full wrap padding around the chest and back.

Martho's instructions are very good. Be sure to work on that butt ride position. Right, Madmanacrossthewater. LOL Biggrin.gif

Bill

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martho's comments are right on. Agree with the barefoot suit recommendations too. I have the Iron Man now, and it is definitely indestructible, but stiff. it is probably one of the easiest suits to do a front deep on.

There is a good video here about half way down the page on this link on doing a front deep. the page is a bit annoying though, because it plays music in the background (or 2 videos at once sometimes).

Front Deep

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One more kudos for Martho's description.

As for suits, I used a Casad for years. It is beat to hell and quite warn out. I now have an intensity. I like it much better. However, the Intensity was more expensive and having a sleeveless barefoot suit makes my tumble-turns even less predictable.....

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I have an eagle suit and am very happy with it.

I also agree with tvano re: not letting go on the boom if you catch your toes while on the boom. it's usually less painful to hold on, "superman" out. you can then roll on your hip, spin your legs back around in front, and get back into your 3 point.

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  However, the Intensity was more expensive and having a sleeveless barefoot suit makes my tumble-turns even less predictable.....

Not to pick on you, but if the shoulder openings of a sleeveless suit are catching the water during a tumble turn your form may be a little off. You should be on the small of your back and butt during a tumble turn, not your shoulders. My first suit was a short sleeve Ski Warm and was cheap. The material was very stretchy and the foam padding in the back of the suit would catch the water during tumble turns with very unpleasant results. My next suit was an Intensity. I could not believe how much easier tumble turns were with it. A good suit is worth the money.

Bill

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Bill,

Not to pick on you, but if the shoulder openings of a sleeveless suit are catching the water during a tumble turn your form may be a little off. You should be on the small of your back and butt during a tumble turn, not your shoulders.

My next suit was an Intensity. I could not believe how much easier tumble turns were with it. A good suit is worth the money.

Bill

I certainly don't feel picked on. I agree with you completely. Although it was frustrating at first the sleeveless barefoot suit has actually helped improve my form (with a bit of pain attached) for exactly the reason you point out.

I can also confirm that a good suit is worth the money. I was only pointing out that Intensity is a bit more expensive. Obviously I decided it was worth it since I bought one.:-)

Jeff/AirChair1

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Not that I'm very good at it, but I think that a good boat driver makes a huge difference when learning to foot on the line. I have found that a lot of the bouncing can be controlled by the driver. As soon as the footer surfaces on his/her shoulders if the driver backs off the accelleration for a few seconds to just let the footer plane out and transition from shoulders to butt. As soon as the footer is on his butt, then the driver needs to rapidly accellerate to footing speed.

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