Knee Boarding Tips - Tricks and Jumps

Deepwater Start The deepwater start is necessary to the knee boarder beginner. The following are some steps on how to do it correctly. 1) Put the strap in loosest position and make sure it is at the front of the knee pad. 2) Lie on your stomach on the board with your hands in the palms-down grip. 3) Signal the boat driver to take the speed up slow. When the board begins to plane, start to pull your knees onto the knee pad. 4) Slowly slide or crawl on your knees until they reach the normal kneeling position. 5) As soon as you are in your comfortable position sit up, let go of the handle with one hand and put the strap over your legs. Surface tricks The side slide is the simplest of all the tricks. 1) Place yourself correct after the boat with your hands in the palms-down grip. 2) Turn the board in both direction and lean away from the boat. Intermediate tricks For the wake jump: The wake jump is the basis of doing any trick which involves catching air. 1) With your hands in the baseball grip, make a good cut to the wake. 2) Right before you hit the wake, stop cutting and shift your weight slightly to the boat, then bend back slightly as the board hits the wake. 3) As the board begins its climb into the air keep a good pull on the handle. 4) While you are in the air, keep the nose of the board slightly upper than the tail. 5) As you come in for a landing, keep the nose of the board up and prepare for a slight bounce on impact. Advanced tricks The wake back flip is a trick which needs patience and determination. 1) Make a strong cut towards the wake from the right side of the boat using the baseball grip. 2) Concentrate on getting a good pop off of the wake and just before hitting the wake stop your cut and level your body out so that is parallel with the water. 3) As soon as the front of the board hits the wake, pop by pushing your knees away from your chest and pull the handle into your right hip. 4) As you start to rise, free the handle with your left hand, throw your head backwards while pulling your knees into your chest. 5) When you reach an inverted position, keep pulling your knees into your chest and keep your pull on the rope. 6) As you reach the full turn, make sure the nose of the board is slightly higher than the tail. Ultra Advanced tricks The backwards back flip is a very complicated trick. 1) Make a strong cut towards the wake from the left side of the boat using the palms-down grip. 2) When you reach 180 degrees, release the handle with your left hand, pull the handle into your right hip and as the tail of the board hits the wake, throw your head and body backwards. 3) As you turn upside down, keep pulling your knees into your chest and pulling hard on the handle. 4) Look for the water, and spot your landing.