Toe Side Help

[Boatdrinks797]

I'm comfortable moving around on my heal side and landing out in the flats on jumps but still feel akward on my toe side. I've never even thought about jumping the wake toe side. I ride a Ronix Mona and can spin it around without any problems. I've been wakeboarding for several years and thought this would get easier for me at this point.

What do I need to do to feel more comfortable on my toe side?

[bzubke1]

Don't try and clear the wake right away. Make sure your are edging all the the way through the top of the wake and you're keeping the handle close to your hip. From there start with small jumps where you feel comfortable while still using good form. Once you feel comfortable jump a little further and so on until you clear the wake. I discourage people from trying to clear the wake right from the get go because I think it leads to bad form and taking unnecessary hard falls.

Make it a point to jump heelside and toeside back and forth everytime you ride.

[brain_rinse]

Everything he said ^^^

Also keep your legs straight - DON'T try to jump/stand tall/whatever you do heelside. Just keep them straight.
And your chest should be pointed up to the sky/toward the boat (not down or away from the boat.) You can start by practicing hard toeside cuts out in the flats prior to your heelside jumps. Then inside-out TS jumps, then 1 wake, then W2W. Good luck! It makes wakeboard SO MUCH BETTER to jump both ways.

[New Guy]

And don't be afraid to commit that was my biggest problem. I wouldn't commit then I would come off edge and be all out of shape, get pulled out the back ect.

[tnbrooks01]

As others have said break it down and take baby steps to avoid unnecessary falls. Learn the body/ handle position for edging first, keep the handle close to your body at your lead hip. I teach to "put the handle in his back pocket". This keeps your body twisted, keeps the handle close to your body and you stay in control of the handle not the handle controlling you. Once you leave the wake push the handle down to your lead knee to keep you balanced in the air and help with keep you from falling back onto your heels. Once you are getting ready to land take your back hand off the handle for balance, trust the TS edge, keep your chest over your toes and pick a spot on the shore/horizon to look at. You may have heard "look up=stay up, look down= fall down", once you land hold the edge and keep edging in that direction.


With all that said I teach a TS180 before doing TS wake jumps for two reasons. 1)The takeoff for both is the same 2) a switch heel side landing is easier to learn because of your body wanting to untwist when the board releases from the wake. The TS wakejump is more difficult because you have to keep your body twisted when there is no resistance to keep you twisted.

[maxpower220]

I've been boarding for almost 2 decades and it is still not a normal feeling, especially TS wake to wake. I suspect that almost every TS flip, jump, etc was designed to get them to land HS. So, you need to practice everytime that you go out. I suggest that your first run and your last run is focused on riding TS. First when you are fresh and last when you are tired. With practice, you will get used to the twisted uncomfortable position until is seems normal (but it isn't). When I TS jump into the flats, I always land 1 handed to limit the twist.

[501]

The best piece of advice i got is when cutting in, you should have 80% of the weight on your back hand/arm as you hit the wake. And when you start your toe side cut, slowly lean over your rear arm, making sure you can feel your bicep pressed against your chest. It may sound awkward but wow, does it work. Toe side is all about LEANING away from the boat and against the rope. People always let off at the last moment and thats where they lose their pop. Commit using this technique.

[saskie99]

I had to learn to commit to holding my edge all the way up the wake, when i figured that out i was impressed by how easy some grabs became and how i like to let go with my leading hand so I didnt get pulled out of shape. This made it so easy to grab the board and to tweak the grabs. It still feels akward to me but the pop when you hold the edge is the same as a heel side pop.