How to Water Ski in 1 Hour Without Falling
Imagine the feeling of gliding effortlessly on top of the water with the feeling of total confidence knowing you have the best form in the world. All your friends who have failed or got discouraged would be looking at you like you are the new resident pro! What would that feel like?
Learning by simply trying harder or getting the boat to go faster are for amateurs. You are about to get insider information that will help you look like a pro. Do not listen to the stories your friends tell you, and avoid anyone who has never taught someone else to water ski without falling. You are going to blow past their failures as if they did not even exist!
The biggest step to avoiding the pitfalls of your friends is knowing that before you ever get on the water, you are going to learn four lessons that will take you from junior varsity to pro before ever getting on the water. By simply understanding the correct sitting and standing forms, you will already be light years ahead of anyone you know that has learned to water ski.
The first lesson is easy. It can be done whether you are standing or sitting. Practice arching your back, pinching your shoulder blades together, and lifting up your rib cage as high as you can. This is the correct upper body position that I refer to when I talk about "Posture." It is critical to great skiing.
Now get a ski handle and attach it to a door knob. While holding the good Posture we just learned, I want you to lay back and drive your hips upward toward the handle without trying to move the handle with your hands. If you can do this with your shoulders behind your butt while getting your hips within 8 inches of the handle, then you have achieved the critical middle body position called, "The Power Band."
Now that you have achieved the powerful upper body form, you need to add the correct knee and ankle position of the lower body that will make you effortless on the water. This position is called the "Glide Position." Simply repeat the above steps to achieve your "Posture" and "Power Band." Now move back your ankles until they are behind your knee caps. This now gives you the total package of being light and powerful when you get up onto the water and it is critical to master on dry land.
Lesson number 2 is simple, but critical to your success. Now that you know what you should look and feel like while you are skiing, you need to learn how to sit in the starting position which is also known as the "Three Point Position." Still holding onto your ski handle, squat down with your knees together and your feet as wide as your hips. Your arms should be completely relaxed so that your handle is in front of your knees. You need to learn this position until it is relaxed because it is the first position you will practice while on the water.
Here is lesson number three. Now that you know the correct standing position and sitting positions (Three Point Position), it is time to discuss the next biggest mistake that amateurs make when trying to learn to water ski; never try to learn behind the boat first. The biggest insider secret that the pros do not want you to know is that you learn on a barefoot boom before ever going behind the boat.
A barefoot or ski boom is a solid aircraft aluminum pole that attaches to the front of the boat by two stainless steel cables. Designed originally for beginning barefoot water skiers, it is now the biggest insider secret to learning to water ski without ever falling. After mastering the correct technique on land, the barefoot boom is the next safe step to mastering water skiing. After that, you can add a five foot rope to simulate skiing behind the boat. Only then, are you ready to go behind the boat where you will make your very first attempt.
Get ready for the water! Now that you know what a good Three Point Position and the correct standing position (Posture, Power Band, and Glide) are, you are ready to take to the water. While you are holding onto the barefoot boom, practice your Three Point Position while the driver puts the boat in the slowest possible forward speed which is also known as putting the boat "in gear." While the boat is barely moving, master your control while keeping the ski tip out of the water, your arms relaxed, and stay sitting on the ski.
For getting up on a slalom ski, I recommend letting your rear foot drag behind you as you practice the Three Point Position. Once you can hold this position in a relaxed manner for 5 seconds, you can tell the driver to slowly accelerate to a speed where you can stand.
Once you have earned your badge for proper form on the Three Point Position, have your boat driver accelerate moderately to the slowest possible speed in which you can keep your form. As a basic rule try 10-12mph for kids (some slower), for medium sized kids add 5-8mph, and for larger adults go 20-25mph. I always watch form to determine the correct speed. If the form decays in the least, reduce speed, but if the skier confidently holds form you can increase the speed accordingly.
Once you have established the fact that you own the correct standing position, have the driver slow down and see if you can get comfortably back into the sitting position. If you can go fluidly from sitting to standing and then back to the sitting position, then you are ready to move on to the five foot rope. The same rules apply to getting to behind the boat without ever taking a fall.
The driver's role in learning without falling is to be vigilant in watching the skier's form. If the skier breaks from the correct form in even the slightest amount, it is critical that the driver slow down to a stop. By adhering to critical form in conjunction with boat acceleration, the skier will always be able to learn without falling. Although this can frustrate an aggressive skier, it is critical to mastering world class form and to avoid completely unnecessary falls.
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You can learn to water ski without falling. Let World Champion Lane "Dawg" Bowers help you with his free online video lessons which are guaranteed to help you learn to water ski in 60 minutes...guaranteed.
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by: Lane"Dawg"Bowers
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