There are tons of reasons to learn wrapped tricks. Doing something wrapped is a great way to ease your way into learning how to spin with a handle pass; it also allows you to hold grabs longer when you eliminate a handle pass. It will help you understand the motions your body must go through and give you a sense of how the trick will feel when you add the handle pass. Doing a trick wrapped is a great way to add your own style to your riding and will give you a few more tricks for your arsenal. In this wakeboard how to, Kyle Rattray shows you how to make wrapped wakeboard tricks easy.
Wrapping Up
The easiest way to get yourself wrapped is to cut out away from the boat where you are free from the line tension. When you come off your edge you will begin to glide because for a few seconds you will be traveling faster than the boat. At this point, the rope will also be slack and free of any line tension.
Once you’ve cut out and come off your edge, pull the handle with two hands toward you. Then take your back hand off the handle and begin to reach around your body for the handle. Your back arm should go to the small of your back, and your front hand should meet your back hand to pass the handle. As soon as you have the handle in your back hand at the small of your back, take your front hand off of the handle and grab onto the wrap handle. When riding around wrapped you should have 80 percent of the line tension in the front hand on the wrap handle and the rest in your back hand.
Wrapped Backside 180 Inside Out
Doing a wrapped backside 180 from the inside out is another stepping stone in working your way toward being able to do this wake to wake. While doing the trick inside out you will have line tension throughout the spin, which actually helps you spin, and you will be going a little bit higher off the water. This will force you to wait until the peak of your jump to start to spin.
Have the boat slow down to 13 to 17 mph. Start out in the wrapped position standing inside the wakes but on the opposite wake you will cut toward. Cut toward the wake at a moderate speed. You’re not trying to go 5 feet in the air and 15 feet out; this is more of a drill to help you learn the motions and the feeling of the trick, so it’s better to start small. Once you approach the wake, let off your edge. You don’t want to try to ollie while you’re still on your edge. This takes a bit of timing, though. If you let off too early, you won’t have enough speed to ollie and get off the water, but if you hold your edge too long, you won’t be able to do a clean ollie and get off the water very well either. As you approach the wake, let off your edge and ollie off the top. Allow yourself to rise up to the peak of your jump before you start to spin. Once you’ve gotten off the wake and feel you’re at or almost at the peak of your jump, go through the same motions you did when doing this in the flats.
Lead the spin with your head by looking over your back shoulder. At the same time you begin to lead with your head, let go of the wrap handle with your front hand. This will put all the line tension into your back hand, which holds the handle. The line tension will naturally spin you in the direction it’s pulling from. The combination of leading with your head and allowing the line tension to “unwind” you will finish the spin.
Wrapped Backside 360 Wake To Wake
When cutting in, don’t hold the wrap handle too close. You do not want slack in the rope between the handle and the wrap handle. If there is slack when you let go of the wrap handle to spin, there will be no line tension for a moment, and then you will get a big jerk from the rope when it tightens. Cut into the wake keeping the handle in the small of your back and hold onto the wrap handle wherever it is. Don’t pull it in closer to you, and keep the line tight between the two handles.
Cut into the wake in the wrapped position the same way you would for a normal wake jump. Once you come off the wake and feel your tail release, allow yourself to rise up to the top of your jump. Once you’re at the peak of your jump, release the wrap handle with your front hand and begin to lead the spin with your head by looking over your back shoulder. Once the rope has unwound you and you’ve spun a 180, the rope will be in your back hand. Think about keeping the handle still and use the tension in the rope to allow you to swing your front hip back toward the handle — like you’re closing the gap between the handle and your front hip. While closing the gap between your front hip and the handle, also think about bringing your front hand back onto the handle. Simply reaching for it and going through the motion of bringing your front hand back to the handle will also help finish the spin.
