So, you’ve mastered the basics of wakesurfing but you’re perhaps not quite ready to attempt anything too technical like spins, shuvs, or varials. You're in luck; there are plenty of fun wakesurf maneuvers within reach if you want to progress in your riding. You don’t need to be a pro to start learning new tricks!

In this blog post we’ll show you how you can use the Wakesurf Balance Board to quickly master four fun tricks that are always crowd pleasers. If you can surf without a rope and have a basic understanding of navigating the pocket of your wakesurf wave, then you’re ready to add this 4-pack of wakesurf maneuvers to your bag of tricks.

The four tricks we’ll cover are (1) Knee Drop, (2) Slash, (3) Fire Hydrant, and (4) Shoot the Duck. We’ll break each trick down into easy to understand steps and then explain how to practice on the Wakesurf Balance Board. For balance board practice, try a thicker, more cushioned, surface like a plush carpet for more stability or move on to a thinner rug when you’re ready to really challenge yourself. We have included GIFs of each trick on the water as well as on the Wakesurf Balance Board to make the tricks easy to understand and follow.

1) KNEE DROP

The back knee drop is one of the simpler tricks you can perform on a wakesurf board but, with a little imagination, gives the exhilarating sensation of tucking into the barrel of an ocean wave. Dip your head low enough in this position and you just may get a little water curling over the top.

Steps:

1. Allow yourself to drift to the back of the wave until you feel it splashing onto your back leg. Dropping your back knee will naturally shift your weight forward causing a forward acceleration toward the boat, so make sure you’ve got enough runway in front of you to prevent a collision with the boat.
2. Widen your stance to allow room for you knee to drop to the board between your feet.
3. Drop your back knee to the board using one of two methods. Method 1: Keep the inside edge of your rear foot planted on the board and pivot on that inside edge until your lower leg is parallel with the surfboard. This requires some flexibility for your knee to bend inward as you drop. Method 2: Rotate your back foot onto the ball of the foot so that your foot and knee are now pointing forward along the main axis of the board. Drop your knee to the board. This requires less flexibility than the first method but maybe lacks a little of the style.
4. Hold the knee down position while imagining getting pitted in the belly of giant hollow wave. Have a little fun in this position by reaching out and running your hand along the top of the wave or ducking your head into the wave for a quick cool down. If you feel like getting a little crazy, try moving around the pocket with your knee still down or even initiating a spin.
5. Stand back up slowly into your normal riding stance.

Wakesurf Balance Board Practice:

The Wakesurf Balance Board is perfect for practicing this trick on dry land to speed up learning process on the water. Steps 2 through 4 above can be performed on your balance board exactly the same way as you will do them on your wakesurf board behind the boat. Run through the whole trick a few dozen times on your Wakesurf Balance Board and you’ll have the muscle memory locked in to maintain your balance throughout the process of lowering your knee to the board and then rising back to an upright position.

2) SLASH

The slash is another trick that has it’s roots in ocean surfing. It looks much like when an ocean surfer carves aggressively to the top of the wave and kicks their back foot out over the lip of the wave before bringing the board back under their body and riding down the face of the wave. This trick is best suited for surf style wakesurf boards but is fun on skim style boards as well.

Steps:

1. Allow yourself to drift to the back of the wave until you feel it splashing onto your back leg.
2. Begin to generate speed with a couple of quick pumps down the face of the wave.
3. Accelerate down and slightly away from the wave after your last pump and do bottom turn on your toe edge to angle back into the wave.
4. When you near the top of the wave, keep your weight on your front foot while you kick the back of your board over the lip of the wave and toward the boat.
5. Quickly bring the board back underneath your upper body and get forward on the board to keep the wave. You’ll lose a lot of speed when you kick the back of the board around so you’ll need to really focus on getting forward and finding the pocket to keep from falling out the back of the wave

Wakesurf Balance Board Practice:

To practice the slash on your Wakesurf Balance Board, stand on the balance board in an athletic stance with knees slightly bent and kick the tail of the board out in front of you for a little more than 90 degrees of rotation. Hold the board momentarily in that position and then bring the board back to its starting position while staying centered and balanced throughout the process. Try to keep your upper body from rotating while your hips and the board rotate. Repeat until you can comfortably keep your balance while performing the trick.

3) FIRE HYDRANT

The fire hydrant is all about balance, making the Wakesurf Balance Board the perfect tool for getting this trick dialed in before hitting the water. The trick involves raising a single leg in the air, similar to a dog relieving itself on a fire hydrant, which is where the trick gets its name.

Steps:

1. Find the sweet spot in the pocket near the bottom of the wave where you can coast along without having to pump or carve.
2. Place your front hand on the board next to your front foot.
3. Gradually begin to lift your front foot off the board while adjusting your weight to keep from moving forward or backward on the wave. If you feel yourself drifting backward transfer more weight to your hand or if you feel you self accelerating forward place more weight on your back foot.
4. Fully extend your front leg behind you while also extending your back arm in front of you as a counterbalance.
5. Hold that position long enough for your homies on the boat to understand how awesome you are. If you’re feeling adventurous, try moving around the pocket in the fire hydrant position.
6. Carefully bring your foot back down to the board and lift your front hand off the board until all the weight is back on your foot instead of your hand. That’s it, you’ve just nailed the fire hydrant!

Wakesurf Balance Board Practice:

The fire hydrant translates perfectly to the balance board, so you can repeat steps 2-6 exactly like you would on your wakesurf board. See how long you can hold the fire hydrant position without tipping over. Repeat the whole trick beginning to end a bunch of times on your Wakesurf Balance Board and you’ll be ready to bag the trick with confidence on the lake.

4) SHOOT THE DUCK

Shoot the duck is another balance focused trick that looks cool and is a lot of fun to do. It is similar to the fire hydrant except you’ll be extending your back foot in front of your body instead of your front foot behind your body. This trick comes from the figure skating maneuver where a skater crouches low with one leg extended in front of the body.

Steps:

1. Find the sweet spot in the pocket near the bottom of the wave where you can coast along without having to pump or carve.
2. Crouch low and place your back hand on your wakesurf board next to your back foot.
3. Gradually begin to lift your back foot off the board while adjusting your weight to keep from moving forward or backward on the wave. If you feel yourself drifting backward transfer more weight to your foot or if you feel you self accelerating forward place more weight on your back hand.
4. Fully extend your back leg in front of your body angled toward the boat so your foot doesn’t catch the face of the wave. Imagine your leg is a rifle and the boat is the duck you are about to shoot.
5. The longer you hold that position the more impressed the spectators in the boat will be. Don’t forget to smile for the camera. As with the other tricks in this blog post, if you want to dial it up a notch you can try navigating around the pocket while in the shoot the duck position.
6. Carefully bring your foot back down to the board and lift your back hand off the board until all the weight is back on your foot instead of your hand. Stand up and ride away like you’ve done it before. Or perform a victory dance on your wakesurf board if that suits you better.

Wakesurf Balance Board Practice:

Shoot the duck is another trick that is perfectly suited for balance board practice. The transition of weight from foot to hand and then back to foot can be a little tricky. However, with enough reps on the Wakesurf Balance Board it will start to feel a whole lot easier and you’ll be ready to take it to the water!

WRAP UP

Now go grab your Wakesurf Balance Board and get ready to bag some new tricks! If you haven’t already picked up your own Wakesurf Balance Board you can get one HERE. Be sure to also check out the Lakesurf Balance Board mobile app that pairs with your balance board to give you a realistic at-home wakesurf simulator, interactive trick tutorials with world champion wakesurfer Sean Silveira, skill building games and more. When you screen mirror the app to your tv, you can practice this 4-pack of tricks in wakesurf simulator mode, giving an even more realistic training experience. You’ll be able to dial in the body positioning and balance needed to execute the trick all while navigating the surf wave and staying in the pocket. Happy shredding!