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How to Barefoot?


KRMartin123

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Simple question never did it before but want to try this how do you barefoot ski?

How fast do you pull?

do you need a wet suit?

all info on it please.. Thanks everyone! :)

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Simple question never did it before but want to try this how do you barefoot ski?

How fast do you pull?

do you need a wet suit?

all info on it please.. Thanks everyone! Smile.gif

General rule is your weight divided by 10 plus 20. I weight 165 divided by 10= 16.5 +20= 36.5 and this is roughly the speed I run. On a boom and for learning less speed can actually be better.

Yes you absolutely need wetsuit and mroe importantly a barefoot suit as they have padding and flotation. Most people recommend barefoot shorts as well, btu I've never used them. Make sure the suit fits you properly as well. A boom is a HUGE HUGE HUGE advantage and I recommend learnign on one first.

As for how to do it, their are LOTS of threads on here taht you can search, for all types of barefooting and barefooting problems. The best thing I can recomend is you find someone who knows how to barefoot. This gives you a huge advantage as it's not easy to learn on your own. Also a good driver (ie barefooter) can make your day or break your back. Check around this site and otehrs, I'm sure theirs someone near by that barefoots and would be willing to teach you.

Oh ya and BEST of LUCK, the first 5 seconds up are unforgetable!!Yahoo.gifRockon.giffooting.gif

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General rule is your weight divided by 10 plus 20. I weight 165 divided by 10= 16.5 +20= 36.5 and this is roughly the speed I run. On a boom and for learning less speed can actually be better.

Yes you absolutely need wetsuit and mroe importantly a barefoot suit as they have padding and flotation. Most people recommend barefoot shorts as well, btu I've never used them. Make sure the suit fits you properly as well. A boom is a HUGE HUGE HUGE advantage and I recommend learnign on one first.

As for how to do it, their are LOTS of threads on here taht you can search, for all types of barefooting and barefooting problems. The best thing I can recomend is you find someone who knows how to barefoot. This gives you a huge advantage as it's not easy to learn on your own. Also a good driver (ie barefooter) can make your day or break your back. Check around this site and otehrs, I'm sure theirs someone near by that barefoots and would be willing to teach you.

Oh ya and BEST of LUCK, the first 5 seconds up are unforgetable!!Yahoo.gifRockon.giffooting.gif

Do exactly what he recommends. All very good advice. I will add that the first 5 seconds up are also the most addictive :crazy:

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Spend the $ on a coach if you can. It will be some of the best $ you've ever spent.

If that isn't an option head over to YouTube and do a search on "DawgTV". Lane Bowers has a good group of videos over there. They are the same ones that are on his DVD.

Mike

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martinarcher

Spend the $ on a coach if you can. It will be some of the best $ you've ever spent.

If that isn't an option head over to YouTube and do a search on "DawgTV". Lane Bowers has a good group of videos over there. They are the same ones that are on his DVD.

Mike

Right on. He's got a lot of good stuff about anything from form, starts, boat driving, speed, etc. Good info.

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I can talk at length about what NOT to do!

But I do know, without a doubt, you need a barefoot suit and a boom. If you graduate to the point of long line, you can always sell the boom, but I use my boom a lot for other people/purposes. You will be very happy you got it. And you can get by with a wet suit, but the padded barefoot suits are fully flotational and offer protection from bruising.

Areamike must be busy fine tuning his presentation....

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I can talk at length about what NOT to do!

But I do know, without a doubt, you need a barefoot suit and a boom. If you graduate to the point of long line, you can always sell the boom, but I use my boom a lot for other people/purposes. You will be very happy you got it. And you can get by with a wet suit, but the padded barefoot suits are fully flotational and offer protection from bruising.

Areamike must be busy fine tuning his presentation....

You cannot deep water start or do surface tricks such as tumble turns w/o a good BF suit. Shorts are also a big help and save your butt on less than smooth water. Consistent boat speed is the most critical element of driving. I can foot in chop, under high speed or often too slow of optimal speed but changing speed is unfootable.

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How 'bout 5 days since my last run and still have a neck issue!

If there's one thing I know, it's these two things:

-watch all that video and perfect your skills off of a boom

-don't try long line without an experienced person there to provide advice

-my neck hurts

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How 'bout 5 days since my last run and still have a neck issue!

If there's one thing I know, it's these two things:

-watch all that video and perfect your skills off of a boom

-don't try long line without an experienced person there to provide advice

-my neck hurts

So why does anyone want to do this again? haha why don't you just go cliff jumping or something hah. :crazy:

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So why does anyone want to do this again? haha why don't you just go cliff jumping or something hah. Crazy.gif

Cause it's that first five seconds thing! It is a really amazing feeling to glide along the water on just your feet, I think it's the best water sport out there. I just ramped it up a bit to fast. I'd offer some real advice on technique but I'm pretty new to it too. But my point is, be careful, and know what you are doing. Don't try long line stuff without knowing the drill. The boom is a safe way to learn and get the same thrill.

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Cause it's that first five seconds thing! It is a really amazing feeling to glide along the water on just your feet, I think it's the best water sport out there. I just ramped it up a bit to fast. I'd offer some real advice on technique but I'm pretty new to it too. But my point is, be careful, and know what you are doing. Don't try long line stuff without knowing the drill. The boom is a safe way to learn and get the same thrill.

Actually long line is very easy, its the falls. If you put your chin on your chest when you catch a toe, you will flip onto your back and not take a facial. The trick is to know when to bail and tuck your chin. I usually catch a toe in the prop wash if I don't carry enough speed across the wakes. Use a good quality kevlar rope because they dont stretch and stay back 100 feet. BTW NEVER look down at your feet.

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A good trick to learn to Barefoot is to get a pair of shoe skis and get up sitting on a single ski. Stand up slowly and the ski will drop out and practice on the shoe skis. Then work up to bare-feet.

I never used a boom learned when I was about 18. Just made my mind up I was going to do it. After quite a few falls I did it. Always do a few times a year. Its like riding a bike. I am over 50 so its something you can continue to do and it gets a lot of attention. The boom is too easy you can just about hold your self up with it. I guess it will give you the feel of the water on your feet but nothing compares to putting one foot in the water and going faster and faster then stepping off the ski..................its a crazy feeling............

Just go for it!

Do check your speedometer with a GPS to be sure you go fast enough. I agree with the calculation above. I weigh 160 and foot around 38-39mph.

Edited by Dave SML VA
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Many years ago I learned to barefoot with a 75 ft line dropping a slalom ski. Not the best way to learn. This youtube clip demonstrates the best way to learn without a boom.

This is how my son learned to barefoot. I suggest a 100 ft line to reduce turbulence. A barefoot wetsuit is a good idea. Barefoot shorts at minimum should be used. My son uses a wakeskate instead of a wakeboard. I do not think it makes much difference. The most difficult aspect is keeping the board from bouncing. I teach that the board should be mounted at midline or slightly forward prior to getting up on plane. This makes leaning way back while getting up important. The driver should slowly accelerate to around 15 to 20 mph. At that point the skier should place both feet in the water. The driver should slowly accelerate and watch the skier. If he starts bouncing then slow down. The first few times I would not attempt to drop the board but work on keeping the board from bouncing. Learn to be stable at barefoot speed before attempting to drop the board. A few other thoughts: Learn to quickly tuck your head to chest while falling. I think it is best to learn outside the wake because of the lack of turbulence. Longline footing is a bigtime thrill. Still feel the adrenaline rush after 37 years of footing.
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About 20 or so years ago my buddy and I had heard about people barefoot skiing but we had never really seen it other than magazine pictures. We decided to teach ourselves (we were 17). At that point we both had been skiing for at least 10 years a piece and were pretty good on a slalom. I wasnt exactly running running 6@32 but I was consistently getting through the buoys. We also had surfed some limited amount so we got the big idea to straddle on a hydroslide like a surf board and once the board planed out good stand up and drop it. After a long day of painful falls we were both getting up with that method. The next summer and a couple of barefoot suits later we were doing deepwater starts by crossing our legs over the rope and planing out on our backs and standing up. To this day I have never ridden on a boat with a boom, but it seems like a much easier way to learn.

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Thanks guys for all your replies I'm thinking I'm going to give it a try today after work, hopefully I don't die! hah just kidding. :thumbup::footing:

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Do us a favor and video it if you can. It's always fun watching people trying to foot for the first time.

Ahh damn my camera just broke...... nice try... :crazy::horse:

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About 20 or so years ago my buddy and I had heard about people barefoot skiing but we had never really seen it other than magazine pictures. We decided to teach ourselves (we were 17). At that point we both had been skiing for at least 10 years a piece and were pretty good on a slalom. I wasnt exactly running running 6@32 but I was consistently getting through the buoys. We also had surfed some limited amount so we got the big idea to straddle on a hydroslide like a surf board and once the board planed out good stand up and drop it. After a long day of painful falls we were both getting up with that method. The next summer and a couple of barefoot suits later we were doing deepwater starts by crossing our legs over the rope and planing out on our backs and standing up. To this day I have never ridden on a boat with a boom, but it seems like a much easier way to learn.

Funny, we learned the same way behind a 115 OB about 20 years ago. When we got a little more power (150 OB) we started deeping the same way from a article in WS mag. Never used a boom and never will. For a while, the only thing we'd bring in the boat was a rope and our BF suits and a little bit of liquid encouragement

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Funny, we learned the same way behind a 115 OB about 20 years ago. When we got a little more power (150 OB) we started deeping the same way from a article in WS mag. Never used a boom and never will. For a while, the only thing we'd bring in the boat was a rope and our BF suits and a little bit of liquid encouragement

Must be some good liquid... :thumbup:

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Funny, we learned the same way behind a 115 OB about 20 years ago. When we got a little more power (150 OB) we started deeping the same way from a article in WS mag. Never used a boom and never will. For a while, the only thing we'd bring in the boat was a rope and our BF suits and a little bit of liquid encouragement

Same here :thumbup: , cept we learned and continued to ride behind a 1984 "invader sport" with a 150HP V6 Johnson and a dog ugly wake. We also would only bring just suits, rope and liquid encouragement (and maybe my HO Turbo). If we managed to bring girls, there was the possibility there would be sandwiches and towels, they seemed to be concerned with such things. I also seem to remember we figured we should be going about 38-40 because every time I would bust it, I got my eyelids torn off.

Come to think of it, the boat I just bought was actually the first non-OB I had ever driven. The first time I tried to back up I was like "WTF?".

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The next summer and a couple of barefoot suits later we were doing deepwater starts by crossing our legs over the rope and planing out on our backs and standing up. To this day I have never ridden on a boat with a boom, but it seems like a much easier way to learn.

This has been mentioned dozens of times on this board, but it cannot be repeated enough. DO NOT cross your legs over the rope. When the handle pops out and your legs are crossed over the rope, where do you think the handle is going to go???

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