While water skiing remains one of the most fun and exhilarating activities you can undertake, it is not especially easy to either learn or master. This only serves to make it even more rewarding when you do eventually master the art however, and there are several things that you can do to make the process more manageable. The following 5 tips will help you to remain focused and calm while learning how to water ski, and provide the foundation knowledge on which you can develop your skills and experience.
- Relax and Enjoy the Learning Process: Water skiing is an activity that demands a relaxed and mobile posture, so any tension you have will effect your ability and balance. More than this, it is designed to be a stress free and recreational past time, so anxiety while learning will simply ruin what should be an enjoyable learning process. So remain relaxed and carefree at all times, as otherwise you will not get the most from the experience.
- Make the ‘Chair Position’ Your Default: Of all the positions you will learn while water skiing, the chair position remains the most crucial. This default position is not only easy to relax in and out of, but also the most suited to absorbing waves and currents, so you should always look to adopt this position during any moments of uncertainty.
- Embrace Falls and As Part of the Experience: The most important aspect about learning anything is that your prepare to suffer setbacks, and losing your balance while on the water skis is something that you must embrace to succeed. Approach both your successes and failures as part of an overall experience, and consider every fall as something which can make you stronger.
- Learn to Move as One With the Boat: The need for fluid movement of the body is key to water skiing, and this also needs to be in conjunction with that of the boat. You need to remember to follow the boats movement as your emerge up and out of the water, as otherwise you will competing against its motion and will ultimately lose balance. Use the momentum of the boat to your advantage.
- Remember Your Basic Positioning: While learning how to ski you will be taught the importance of several positions, and most important are the placement of your skis and handle. While skis should always point outwards towards the boat and raise between 3 and inches out of the water, so too your hands must be outstretched and bent at the elbows while holding the handle.
The Bottom Line
Keeping these 5 points in mind should help you to stay true to the fundamental psychological and technical principles while learning how to water ski. More than that, they will also help you to enjoy the learning process and make the most of what is intended to be a unique recreational experience. Remember that mistakes will only help you to master the art quicker, and ultimately enjoy a hobby that can bring you years of joy and excitement.
Written by Rob, Event Organiser for Chillisauce, company specialising in Stag Weekends and Activity Weekends