pushing off or standing tall?

went to a lesson for some help and the guy told me i should be pushing off at the top of the wake, like bending while edging then pushing at the very top almost jumping. i hear alot of people saying stand tall. so should i be pushing off or just standing up with me legs extended goin through the wake. also he made it sound like i should never have my arms bent, some videos i have talk about pulling the handle in for certain tricks. should they be extended all the time. i keep hearing people say keep the handle low. so should i be dropping my arms to my waist while extended or pulling the handle in to my waist. thanks for the help

i always push off. i feel like i get more pop, but maybe it's because i'm at 225lbs. about the straight arms, not sure about that one. i don't think that far ahead.

he said to never have your arms bent? i think it's time for a different coach.

I agree with Joe on that "arms bent" thing (unless you were learning a spin of some sort, then it may apply).

As far as pushing vs standing tall that's a matter of preference. If your timing is right it should be the same thing. Often times someone needs to be told something half a dozen different ways until one explanation sticks.

push off like your jumping on a trampoline

By pushing you are "standing tall". You come into the wake with your knees bent, hips forward, at the top of the wake you're standing tall, straightening your legs to push you off the wake.

Now while standing tall is the action your body takes, the harder you stand tall, creates push. So as Glen at O-Town was fond of telling me a few times "PUSH HARDER"

As for the arms thing... see above posts.

Different method for different cuts.

For a standard wake to wake, just hit the wake stiff legged like you would on a trampoline or a diving board. The heavy line tension will catapult you up.

If youre going for a spin trick and need lower line tension, then come in very seated and push off, jump or even olley. Youll have to clear the wakes by pushing harder since the line tension wont pop you as much.

arms almost all the way out and down as close to hip level as possible

I guess its preference, but my arms are in a lot more. I set them up early and keep them pretty locked in. The front arm is close to 90* and the back arm seems to be more like a 120* angle. Id say its about 10 - 12 inches in front of my waist. Fully extended, it would be like 20 or 22 inches away.

I have heard the “Arms Straight” thing before.

The ultimate goal is to have your handle in a “locked position” down by your hips. For an example, go watch a video part of Chad Sharpe or Rusty (they both do that extremely well, and were the first people I thought of).

Sometimes, when people are first learning to cut progressive into the wake, they like to pull on the handle (change the position of the handle relative to their body) as they are cutting into the wake. I was not there, and it sounds like this is what you were doing. He probably told you to straighten your arms so that you could get the feel of the constant tension on the line (which is what you want). I don’t really agree with this method, but I have seen it work before. Once you feel a true progressive cut and pop once, it is a lot easier to duplicate.

WakeboardPittsburgh's got it right.

I have the same problem with my arms. The problem with bending your arms in while you're cutting is that you lose all that line tension. I've been frustrated on numerous occasions where I'd cut in hard and magically I would slow down right as I'd hit the wake because I'd bend my arms into my lead hip.

Your arms can be bent and locked to begin with, but don't bend them as you're cutting across for w2w. Good luck!

Hmmmmm..... a lot of good suggestion in here but no body really got it right except for Umali.

I would say that basically depending on your skill level you coach was partly correct but different tricks require different body positions and different "pop" or pushing off the wake. If you’re a newbie, then he was teaching you line tension control I would guess. But just remember that you don’t do every trick the same. For example, Toeside backside spinning you have your arms out when you approach the wake and stand fairly tall, this is so you can advance yourself towards the handle/boat in the air and start the rotation. On the flipside, a toeside frontside spin requires you to have your arms locked at your hip and be in a much more crouched position especially is your go off axis. Going even farther here, a heelside drift, i.e. Indy glide, requires you to have your arms locked at your hips and be in a seated/crouched position while taking an aggressive cut.

I guess where I am going with this is there is no one body position that is be all correct position while riding, it all depends on what you are doing once your in the air. Different tricks require different positions. If you popping the handle a lot, getting your arms yanked once in the air or getting hung up and "stuck" in the air chances are your approach was the wrong type of approach for the trick.

Again this all comes down to ability and skill level, you coach may have been dead on if he is just trying to teach you how to clear the wake.

Everyone does everything different. Thats it. I think the most consistent way to get good pop is to resist the wake, no matter where your arms are. I think pushing makes your board stick to the wake.