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Who Wants to Learn to Water Ski Without Falling in 1 Hour

Author: Lane"Dawg"Bowers
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The single biggest problem with learning to water ski is that so many people have tried the wrong way and then told all their friends about the experience. It is too easy to just give up or never even try if you get taught by one of these people. But what if success was guaranteed? What if you could learn without ever falling?

There an an unlimited line of nay sayers who would love to tell you that they already tried to learn to water ski. If you will listen, you will hear about how hard it was or how they took a serious beating in the process. Avoid them altogether knowing that you not only will avoid every mistake they made, but you will also have the information to teach others without ever having a single fall.

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.

Lesson number one. Where ever you are right now, practice rolling your shoulders from front to back and then keep them in the back position so that your shoulder blades are pinched together. No expand your chest and arch your back. This upper body position is what I will refer to when I talk about "Posture."

Try to hold a ski handle while adding the correct hip position to your upper body "Posture." Now pull back with your shoulders until your upper body is close to a 45 degree angle away from perpendicular. As you do this, drive your hips upward without pulling in on your arms or losing your "Posture." If you have done this correctly, you should feel the pull of the rope coming through your hips like tug-of-war. This hip position is called the "Power Band Position."

The third part of the standing position is all about your knees and ankles and is called "Glide." While holding the "Posture" and "Power Band Positions," adjust your ankles so that they are slightly behind the front edge of your knees. This will put your shins in a slightly forward angle and this is how you achieve great "Glide" that will make you feel light on the water!

Lesson number 2 is also done out of the water. Now that I have shown you what position you will be in while you are on top of the water, you need to learn the sitting position which is called "The Three Point Position." While still using your ski rope, sit down with your knees together, handle out in front of your knees with arms totally relaxed, and your feet as wide as your hips and as close to your butt as possible. It is similar to the starting position for rowing. This is the critical position that must be learned off of the water and while the boat is "in gear."

Lesson 3 is huge. Now that you know what the correct Three Point Position and standing positions are, you might think it is time to go get behind the boat and try it out. That is the next big mistake that separates amateurs from the pros. If you truly want to learn as well as teach others to water ski without falling, then you will need to use a water ski boom or a barefoot boom.

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.

Now that you know the proper progress, it is time to practice your Three Point Position on the barefoot boom. While holding onto the boom, simply have the driver pt the boat "in gear." This is simply the slowest possible speed that the boat will go while being in the forward gear. It is usually about 2-3 mph, and is just enough speed to test your Three Point Position.

If you are learning with only one foot on the slalom ski (what I recommend), simply let your free foot drag in the water while trying to sit on the ski. If you can hold this idling position in total control for at least 5 seconds, then it is time to move to the acceleration stage where you will stand up.

After showing you are relaxed for at least 5 seconds, simply have the driver accelerate moderately to the slowest possible speed that you can hold your Posture, Glide, and Power Band. For children, it might be as slow as 10-12mph. For mid sized adults, 15-20. For larger adults, 20-25mph will suffice.

Now that the skiers exudes the confidence of having the correct standing form, it is time to practice slowing down to the sitting form again. If the skier can move smoothly from sitting to standing and then bac to the sitting position fluidly, then you can move with confidence onto the five foot rope. Following these same rules will take you to behind the boat without falling.

The key to learning without falling is to have the boat driver shut down the skier (decelerate completely) whenever he or she tries to pull in with the arms, bend over, or stand up before the boat has pulled them up. Although this can be aggravating for an over anxious skier, it will keep them from ever taking a fall while mastering the form of every champion on the water.

About the Author

You can easily learn to water ski without falling. Let World Champion Lane "Dawg" Bowers help you with his free video lessons which are guaranteed to help you learn to water ski in one hour...guaranteed.