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1st time barefooter


Michigan boarder

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After years of slalom, then years of wakeboarding, I ventured into barefooting last week. I received a lot of great input from this site, videos, instructions, etc. Set up the boom and put on the shorty. My wife drove me at 37 mph, I'm 5'10" and 170lbs. Falling was not an issue, I was up and at it right away. If I hit a ripple and one of my feet kicked out I just hung on, dropped the other foot back, then swung around to 3 point and back up. Did this for about 20 minutes, up and on again, I had to let go twice from my arms wearing out.

The problem is my right cheek is VERY bruised, as is the outside of my right calf from swinging into 3 point. Is this normal? No the went suit is not padded, does it make that big of a difference? What about the leg stuff?

Any input would be great. I'm going again tonight.

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The wetsuit will help quite a bit with the cheek bruising. A quality barefoot wetsuit will provide the right padding so that won't happen.

As for the leg, are you hanging directly onto the boom? If so, there's not much you can do about that. Once you go to a 5' extension then a "tumble up" will eliminate that problem. you'll roll onto your back and do a half tumble turn with both legs out of the water, thus eliminating the leg bruising.

Edited by sabre
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Welcome to the best water sport ever (IMO). It sounds like you're off to a good start but let me make my couple of suggestions.

- Get a barefoot wetsuit or at least try to borrow one and padded shorts too. They help a tonne...not only for the a** bruising but with bouyancy. It will be way easier to tumble around with a barefoot suit and padded shorts.

- Slow down. The speed calculation you are using is right if your on the rope or even long line. You should be able to foot directly on the boom at around 32 mph.

- raise the boom up to shoulder height until you get comfortable tumbling around. It will give you some lift and let you work on better technique to tumble around ON YOUR BACK rather than sitting up half way around and catching your calf.

- once you're up concentrate on position...relaxed straight arms and grip...shoulders over hips, knees over feet, ankles flexed. Like sitting in a chair. Your quads are going to burn if you are doing it right and your abs are going to be screaming with the tumble ups.

That's probably enough info for now. Good luck.

Edited by rushman
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My Eagle barefoot suit only has enough padding if you are only standing up. Once I tried butt sliding and deep water starts, I had to add much denser padding, or I would be very bruised. The extra padding also allowed me to butt glide and not even feel it. It stopped me from bouncing when learning the Dp wtr start, too.

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Welcome to the fine sport of barfooting!

If your cheek was bruised maybe you are clenching your teeth! haha

The barefoot suit AND padded shorts are the answer. It seems expensive to spend $250-$350 for a quality suit and shorts but they will last many years. If you think you are going to stick with it you will be glad you bought quality equipment. You wouldn't think skiing on barefeet could be expensive but you will want a good quality barefoot handle and when you move to long line a good barefoot rope too. Barefoot central had a package deal on a suit and shorts but it is not on their website anymore. Give them a call and maybe they will still make you the deal. http://www.barefootcentral.com/

If you want some help and tips from the pros Barefoot Central has a forum. http://barefootcentral.websitetoolbox.com/

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Man did I chuckle when I read this. Years ago I could have written the same post. At the risk of offending a few but making many laugh, I share with you this photo which may or may not be me...... Whistling.gif

post-1009-1244567785_thumb.jpg

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Man did I chuckle when I read this. Years ago I could have written the same post. At the risk of offending a few but making many laugh, I share with you this photo which may or may not be me...... Whistling.gif

Yep, that's about it. Looks like you had it a bit further down than me. Worst bruise I've ever had in my life, and at age 40 I've fallen off of or into just about everything you can.

So my plan:

1. Buy the padded wetsuit

2. Reduce speed

3. Check boom elevation

4. Focus on form 'till it's second nature

I'll planning on a short rope by July 4th, long rope by Labor Day.

Thanks for all your help guys Yahoo.gif

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Man did I chuckle when I read this. Years ago I could have written the same post. At the risk of offending a few but making many laugh, I share with you this photo which may or may not be me...... Whistling.gif

post-1009-1244567785_thumb.jpg

I don't think I want to try this sport :unsure:

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The wetsuit will help quite a bit with the cheek bruising. A quality barefoot wetsuit will provide the right padding so that won't happen.

As for the leg, are you hanging directly onto the boom? If so, there's not much you can do about that. Once you go to a 5' extension then a "tumble up" will eliminate that problem. you'll roll onto your back and do a half tumble turn with both legs out of the water, thus eliminating the leg bruising.

Once you're comfortable with your basic standing position and 3 point (adding the bum), then you can start trying deepwater starts, but I would not suggest tumbling up to learn as is referenced above. Just place your feet alongside the bridle, straighten out as mush as possible and push your shoulder sback inot the water which will help you come on plane. Boat does NOT need to be flying up to speed, but at about 15, you can sit up and ride on your bum until the speed is there. It is everyone's natural tendency to feel panicked about planting your feet....don't...that's the only way to mess up a deepwater start is by jamming your feet. Once you're sitting up, place your feet in the water slowly and flat. That will make you bring your heesl to your bum which is what you want. Stand up, and you're all good!

.....and oh yeah, GET A BAREFOOT SUIT! and even some slider shorts underneath. will be much more comfortable. If you tried to deep up right now you'd bust it every time because you wouldn't be able to take the pain of riding on a bruised bum with no protection!

Edited by JohnDoe
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... The barefoot suit AND padded shorts are the answer. It seems expensive to spend $250-$350 for a quality suit and shorts but they will last many years...

Exactly. Went out tonight in my 9 year old Eagle barefoot suit and BI Iron padded shorts. They still look new and I'd never do a set without them.

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A cup isn't a bad idea either. Some suits are thick enough that you don't need it but I'm not a fan of the spray in the knackers.

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All fantastic points above. Get a set of padded shorts AND a padded barefoot or jump suit. I also agree with raising the boom and slowing down a bit. Not only will it help you spin under the boom more easily, it'll save your feet quite a bit going a few MPH slower.

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All fantastic points above. Get a set of padded shorts AND a padded barefoot or jump suit. I also agree with raising the boom and slowing down a bit. Not only will it help you spin under the boom more easily, it'll save your feet quite a bit going a few MPH slower.

Yes, it's in the budget. Starting with the shorts immediately, then the padded suit to match once I save some cash. Bruising or not, I'm diggin' this sport. I'm ready to go again without even having the shorts yet. Pulled the boat off the lift into the garage to do a mid-season wax and teak coat, but I'll be out there Friday night.

Again, thanks everyone for your tips.

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Hey, how did you do Friday night??? Did you go a try again?

Nope. The Red Wings came on at 8, right about when the water was ready. So everyone was off the lake (which would have been perfect) and the wife was out. Instead we drank beer and watched a disappointing hockey game. Crummy weather Saturday, too much family stuff yesterday. Got a neighbor pulling me tonight. No padded shorts yet, but I'll risk the bruising. It heals. I'll just try to spend more time on my feet and less time on my bum.

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We had some good runs over the weekend. Haven't picked up the padded gear yet, just got up and stayed up. Zero bruising. Reduced speed to 34mph. Actually felt like I knew what I was doing!Having some difficulty negotiating turns, we have a long and narrow lake that requires pretty abrubt turn arounds.

Any input on the form? Everything felt right, but I'm always open for suggestions.

This pic was with my wife driving, 10 year old operating the camera, 8 and 3 year olds watching from the spotter's seat.

Oh yeah, we all wakeboarded too and almost got the youngest on the ski skimmer, but she got a little too nervous when I was pulling her by hand up and down the beach. Won't take much though.

post-8942-1245691699_thumb.jpg

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you can take these for what they are worth:

form looks ok, but try to get your feet shoulder width apart, and have your butt a little lower (more like sitting in a chair), and arms even more bent/relaxed. you will find that you "glide" a lot better, and your back will be a bit more straight up and down. Even 32 on a boom is pretty fast (depending on your size). I weigh about 175, and can longline comfortably between 34 and 36.

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you can take these for what they are worth:

form looks ok, but try to get your feet shoulder width apart, and have your butt a little lower (more like sitting in a chair), and arms even more bent/relaxed. you will find that you "glide" a lot better, and your back will be a bit more straight up and down. Even 32 on a boom is pretty fast (depending on your size). I weigh about 175, and can longline comfortably between 34 and 36.

Thanks for the input! I see what you mean about the feet, a little to far apart. I may need to adjust the boom down a bit for the other stuff. Or should I just try the short rope? On the speed, I am mostly going off of RPM, 3,200 shoud be about 33mph. My speedo's seem totally whacked.

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if you can, pick up a cheap GPS to validate speed.

get your form perfected on the boom until you feel very confident in the 3 pt stance, then go short line (you look close in the photos).

Check out the video on the other thread with keith st orange (sorry about the spelling). you can see how close he has his feet together. allthe footers on the video have great positioning.

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Hey Michigan,

Great job. Nice to see the picture. It's actually a great picture from the 10 year old.

First off...You're Smiling...that's good. Sometimes that's hard to do when you're focussed so much. Keep Smiling!!

Just a couple of other tips...

1- Roll your shoulders back and stick you chest out nice and proud. That will help get your back straighter and it is less fatiguing. Yeah you could sit a little more maybe too but more importantly...

2- FLEX your ankles and UNCURL your toes. Flexing means the opposite of pointing. Your ankle should always be flexed. This allows you to glide better and brings your knees over your feet which equals less plowing. Less plowing equals more time on the water. Make these adjustments nice and slow. Your form will just get better and better.

I would work on from the standing position, sitting down, butt glide then 3 point and stand again. Do this over and over until it's real good. When your form is nice...try a one hand then the opposite hand right on the boom. This will teach some balance.

Clean this stuff up and definitely get to the 5 foot rope. Good luck,

Kevin

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if you can, pick up a cheap GPS to validate speed.

get your form perfected on the boom until you feel very confident in the 3 pt stance, then go short line (you look close in the photos).

Check out the video on the other thread with keith st orange (sorry about the spelling). you can see how close he has his feet together. allthe footers on the video have great positioning.

I saw that, and did look very closely at the positioning. Videos provide a million words of explanation! Thanks.

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When your form is nice...try a one hand then the opposite hand right on the boom. This will teach some balance.

Actually did that, unintentionally. I heard someone yelling, looked over to see a neighbor fishing with the "rock-on" hand up in the air. Gave it back, down I went. We got a good laugh over that later.

Thanks for the pointers, I'm printing this thread and putting it in the boat, great input from everyone.

My next move is to figure out speed via GPS (thanks jgouveia3), or new instrumentation. That's a whole other forum.

-John

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the wave to the crowd is almost a guarantee of a faceplant for newbies... i will never forget the first time my bro-in-law footed, and we have it on video too. He was too tall for my wetsuit, but we crammed him in it anyway. he gets up on the boom, and is doing great, but the zipper would not stay up. so he is going along great, looks down, sees the zipper down and decides he must have it up. needless to say, the attempt at pulling up the zipper...bam!!!

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