Learn How to Water Ski in 60 Minutes and Never Take a Fall

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?

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 the upper and middle body position figured out, you need to adjust your knees by getting your ankles slightly behind the front edge of your knees. If you have ever snow skied then imagine how it feels to be in ski boots which force your shins to be angled forward. This lower body position is called Glide.

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.

Lesson number three is a major breakthrough in technology. The only safe way to learn to water ski without falling is to take advantage of a barefoot boom. While everyone of your friend's horror stories came from trying to water ski behind the boat for their first time, you will not be making this same mistake. Simply knowing this will make you safe as well as a great teacher.

A barefoot boom is an aluminum pole that goes off the side of the boat that has cables that attach it to the front of the boat. The beginning barefoot water skier, wakeboarder, water skier, or slalom skier can learn by holding onto the ultra stable barefoot boom while mastering the basics. From there, they can progress to a five foot rope that attaches to the barefoot boom, and after that, success behind the boat is certain.

Are you ready to get in the water? Let's practice by only using the Three Point Position while holding directly onto the boom where you will be able to see and talk to the driver. Simply keep your knees together, sit on the ski, and let your arms relax. When you feel calm and relaxed, have the driver put the boat in the slowest possible forwards speed. We call this "in gear" or at an idle speed. As the water pushes against the ski, learn to relax in the Three Point Position without the fear of the boat taking off and accelerating.

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.

Practice holding the Three Point Position for 5 seconds and then have the driver accelerate moderately to a speed that allows you to morph into your correct standing form. Slower is always better than faster since the boom gives upward lift and stability. Trying using 10-12mph for children, 15-20mph for medium sized adults, and 20-25 for larger adults. As long as the skier holds the correct form, you can add a little more speed.

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.