Going fast body pos

[Efitzgerald514]

So i am getting my ski set up andgoing faster but trying to learn body position....the problem is lol dont see a real right or wrong and have been made fun of for both ways.
1-when going fast straight or carving hard-get low in the tray lower body back, chest over the bars.
2- knees bent but mostly upright just flowing.

When "racing" this weekend they were busting my balls for getting low, which atm feels more stable, but when i showed them a video of pros getting low in the tray, they said thats not the right style .
Then i was shown a video of pros staying pretty much vertical the entire ride.

So help anoob out! I aint fast enough yet to say it works and i beat u with it...regardlessof which...

 

[X2Kid]

When I was young (a looong time ago) I attended an MX training camp. Expert tuition helped me a lot.

It might be worth your while to see if someone reputable is running something similar for stand up ‘ski’s and get yourself coached by an expert. They’ll critique your style and improve it.

At the end of the day your riding style is whatever it is. Many world champions in various sports have had wildly varying styles to other champions of the same sport. If your ‘style’ makes you the winner, then it’s obviously the correct one.

 

[Efitzgerald514]

I have been looking, alot are too far south. I am finding a new "crew" of people to ride with and hopefully learn from. Each ride out is better and putting more "learning" to the water. I also found tuning the ski more for me and conditions is helping.

 

[wydopen]

Whatever’s comfortable while learning..personally I ride with my back foot totally sideways with my lower body centered over the tray..I don’t switch my stance depending which way I’m turning....allot of guys ride with their back foot facing forward which allows you to hang off the back and that works for them..they also switch their stance depending which way they turn so they can always bounce their butt off the water on a hard turn..you can watch old videos of Jeff jacobs he didn’t switch his stance

 

[Jr.]

Where in Fla are you? The ProWatercross tour is coming thru St Augustine (Villano Beach) this weekend 4/1-2
and PCB (Sharkys) next weekend 4/8-9 Come out and watch first hand some of the very best Pro Standup riders shred it!

personal Watercraft is just that! Personal. While there are certain principles that need to be adhered to.
everyone has a unique style to their ride. Dont be afraid to develop yours!

ski ya, Paul

 

[Efitzgerald514]

Where in Fla are you? The ProWatercross tour is coming thru St Augustine (Villano Beach) this weekend 4/1-2
and PCB (Sharkys) next weekend 4/8-9 Come out and watch first hand some of the very best Pro Standup riders shred it!

personal Watercraft is just that! Personal. While there are certain principles that need to be adhered to.
everyone has a unique style to their ride. Dont be afraid to develop yours!

ski ya, Paul

You mean 5 1/2? I am located in south Ocala. I was just talking to a guy Devin Golder, about that last night on IG. Maybe I will try to schedule a ride out there to check it out. lol the issue I am having with watching the racing scene is it has me itchin for a kommander GP1....that thing is just sexy

 

[Jr.]

You mean 5 1/2? I am located in south Ocala. I was just talking to a guy Devin Golder, about that last night on IG. Maybe I will try to schedule a ride out there to check it out. lol the issue I am having with watching the racing scene is it has me itchin for a kommander GP1....that thing is just sexy

Correct, 5/1-2 I seem to be running a month behind even in my typing! Lol
Sat is always the best day, race wise. If you come, look me up and say hello.
im always in the Tech tent.

P

 

[tipafew]

They are still only staying straight up in the straight aways. Most will move forward and down in the turns. I agree that crouched with a Lower CG is more stable but most humans don’t have quads that can allow them to squat that long......

 

[Vumad]

Full disclaimer, I suck and am a terrible source of advice.

With that said, they are both right. Staying up keeps you more relaxed and reduces fatigue and takes stress off your back. Staying in an aggressive position when you do not need to be increases fatigue and increases the chance of a repetitive stress injury, such as a back injury.

You are right that being low is good, it reduces leverage and decreases the forces on the ski from your body weight, and improves transition time from side to side.

HOWEVER, as a new rider, you are likely crouched for the wrong reason. You are staying in a crouched position too long to compensate for a lack of skill. It increases fatigue. You will likely find over time you can stand upright and more relaxed as you can better anticipate the behavior of the ski. Crouching is good, but being crouched to compensate for a lack of ability to not be crouched is bad. It's very important, when comparing your riding to the pros, that your position is the same as theirs in the the same conditions. If you are in the same position as them when you are in 1 foot chop and they are in 3 foot chop, and they are doing 60 while you are doing only 40, then you can see where this is not an apples to apples comparison.

Now, with that said, one universal piece of advice I think applies to everyone in all situations...

I broke my wrist riding my Quad. After that, I was told to keep my elbows up. Elbows down pushed that landing into my wrist. Elbows up helped on the quad in all riding situations.

It also helped on the ski. Elbows up put you into a bench press position. It puts you in a more aggressive stance that actually reduces fatigue (bigger muscles) and lets you put all that power in your chest to into your bars->pole->nose. This is especially useful going into a corner, where you can press hard into the bars to get your weight forward and scrub speed letting you enter more quickly. I had a bad habit of keeping the bars in my hip coming from wakeboarding. This is not a wakeboard. Bars in the chest = power into the ski.

ELBOWS UP!!!

(not to say sometimes you have to get the pole lower than than your chest...)

 

[E350]

I have always liked this photo that I found on the web:

 

[Efitzgerald514]

@E350 Thats killer, just look at the various styles.
@Vumad 1---We need to ride together lol. 9 skis come up my way to ride a few weekends back. most from your area. Do you know Clark Thomas?
2- I get 100% what you are saying and from the dirt race background i keep my self in the elbows up attack position. I can ride standing relaxed np now, i guess its just more figuring out the nasty chop the river gets when we are carving a course. It just feels more balanced to shoot out the corner crouched low and stay that way for the brief straight. The other thing I have noticed is how different body weight riders position themselves. I am 200# top heavy. I like to be low down when getting aggressive. My friend is 180 buuuut its all lower and he feels stable standing. Then there are the skinnies....they do what ever and dont notice

 

[E350]

@Efitzgerald514

"BE THE PUMP"

The pump is your focus. Your job when trying to go fast is to develop a feel for when the angle of the intake grate is such that the pump is pulling green dense water rather than white frothy foam. IMHO, the person in the lead in the photo above has his body in that position. Your body is a reaction to your goal. Your body should be positioned to accomplish that goal - whatever position works.

"Be the Pump"

 

[Vumad]

@E350 Thats killer, just look at the various styles.
@Vumad 1---We need to ride together lol. 9 skis come up my way to ride a few weekends back. most from your area. Do you know Clark Thomas?
2- I get 100% what you are saying and from the dirt race background i keep my self in the elbows up attack position. I can ride standing relaxed np now, i guess its just more figuring out the nasty chop the river gets when we are carving a course. It just feels more balanced to shoot out the corner crouched low and stay that way for the brief straight. The other thing I have noticed is how different body weight riders position themselves. I am 200# top heavy. I like to be low down when getting aggressive. My friend is 180 buuuut its all lower and he feels stable standing. Then there are the skinnies....they do what ever and dont notice

I usually ride Lake Seminole in Pinellas county. I haven't been riding much but I hope to get some more time on the water or dirt once I finish restoring my toy hauler. Hopefully once I get that fixed up I can make my way up to Ocala.

But don't let my post think you can learn anything from me. I haven't ridden much since I hurt my back and I was pretty mediocre before that.

 

[Big Kahuna]

If your getting tired. One thing many forget to do while riding and it really helps if you do this. Many will say, squat down, many will say, move forward. Dont ride with both feet back, "ride like you are on a skateboard - one foot forward", but that is not it. (That my advice partially, but not the purpose of this response). Others will stay elbows out (or up, depends on how you look at it)............ But my answer............. Breathe. That is right. you will catch yourself not breathing when you are hitting waves and such. This wears you out. Breathe.

 

[Efitzgerald514]

If your getting tired. One thing many forget to do while riding and it really helps if you do this. Many will say, squat down, many will say, move forward. Dont ride with both feet back, "ride like you are on a skateboard - one foot forward", but that is not it. (That my advice partially, but not the purpose of this response). Others will stay elbows out (or up, depends on how you look at it)............ But my answer............. Breathe. That is right. you will catch yourself not breathing when you are hitting waves and such. This wears you out. Breathe.

I am very lucky in i am used to running enduros on a dirt bike. Breathing is a must, i am hoping to get my longer ride plate and see the difference it makes. They say it will make it feel way more comfortable for my bigass

 

[Vumad]

I am very lucky in i am used to running enduros on a dirt bike. Breathing is a must, i am hoping to get my longer ride plate and see the difference it makes. They say it will make it feel way more comfortable for my bigass

You can try rear sponsons as well. Ride plates help with pitch. Front Sponsons help with roll and rear sponsons help with Yaw, if that makes sense. Rear sponsons are easy to make. You can use cutting board material, lexan, star board, layup some fiberglass on something flat, etc. I made mine by putting down drop plastic, putting some fiberglass down, covering it with drop plastic, and then setting a cinder block on it, which made a free cheap compression mold. They improved the handling.

 

[Efitzgerald514]

You can try rear sponsons as well. Ride plates help with pitch. Front Sponsons help with roll and rear sponsons help with Yaw, if that makes sense. Rear sponsons are easy to make. You can use cutting board material, lexan, star board, layup some fiberglass on something flat, etc. I made mine by putting down drop plastic, putting some fiberglass down, covering it with drop plastic, and then setting a cinder block on it, which made a free cheap compression mold. They improved the handling.

lol that would be an adventure, never done anything with fiberglass. I will look into it alil more. I was looking at the tubbies for the front but not sure if i want or need them. Want to try them first. This may end up being my wifes SKI and I will get get a new SJ or SXR 1500 in the future. I rode a new SJ and loved it, hoping to try an SXR 1500 and see how that is, especially cuz they are available.

 

[mthomps]

Whatever’s comfortable while learning..personally I ride with my back foot totally sideways with my lower body centered over the tray..I don’t switch my stance depending which way I’m turning....allot of guys ride with their back foot facing forward which allows you to hang off the back and that works for them..they also switch their stance depending which way they turn so they can always bounce their butt off the water on a hard turn..you can watch old videos of Jeff jacobs he didn’t switch his stance

I ride exactly like you, back foot sideways, not switching for backside turns. My back foot center of gravity is right in the middle of the tray. Never really noticed until someone said it looks like I'm trying to ride a surf board lol.

I agree on watching Jeff Jacobs. He is the best racer of the Golden years. OP, note how he rounds his back and straitens his legs between turns to rest. And when the next bouy comes he slashes it at a better angle than anyone on the track.

Interestingly enough, Jacobs DID in fact end up switching feet to always turn backside. Only reason I know is because I was called out on not catching it on a thread that I said jacabs didn't switch. I can't say a timeline on if he switched first than didn't or vice versa but there is in fact video of him switching backside every turn

 

[DownHillWilly]

I ride exactly like you, back foot sideways, not switching for backside turns. My back foot center of gravity is right in the middle of the tray. Never really noticed until someone said it looks like I'm trying to ride a surf board lol.

I agree on watching Jeff Jacobs. He is the best racer of the Golden years. OP, note how he rounds his back and straitens his legs between turns to rest. And when the next bouy comes he slashes it at a better angle than anyone on the track.

Interestingly enough, Jacobs DID in fact end up switching feet to always turn backside. Only reason I know is because I was called out on not catching it on a thread that I said jacabs didn't switch. I can't say a timeline on if he switched first than didn't or vice versa but there is in fact video of him switching backside every turn

Adding to the Jeff Jacobs style - I find that having the back foot sideways gives me a little more "feel" when initiating turns and modulating the angle of the ski.

I just need to get my left foot a little bit stronger!

 

[Efitzgerald514]

Adding to the Jeff Jacobs style - I find that having the back foot sideways gives me a little more "feel" when initiating turns and modulating the angle of the ski.

I just need to get my left foot a little bit stronger!

I have since sold that superjet as i nvr meshed with it. Dunno y. Rode others, and was faster and more comfortable. Having bought another stand up yet. Got a 1200 b1 and was having too much fun on it...the i broke the drive shaft lol. Its getting a full overhaul and paint. I think i really enjoy the b1 more. Its like riding sport bikes