Beginners’ Guide to Wakesurfing: Get your basics right!
Wakemusters Beginners Guide to Wakesurfing

Taking up Wakesurfing as a new hobby can be pretty daunting for some. Although there’s nothing we can do if you’re completely averse to wake sports, our team of certified coaches are confident that we can get you to fall in love with Wakesurfing once you’ve tried it with us.

Natural talent aside, we firmly believe that good guidance and the right technical knowledge gets you off to a great start and helps you go a long way. This is especially true if you want to become adept at Wakesurfing and have some tricks under your belt quickly. Whether you’re a first-timer, or beginner who has gone for a few Wakesurfing sessions before, here are a few tips to improve your Wakesurfing experience:

1. Confidence is Key. Get in the right headspace!
Show up for your session with a “I can do this” mindset. You may set yourself up for failure if your thoughts are flooded with images of yourself struggling or concerned with how you might look silly! Wakesurfing is a fun and great activity to enjoy with friends. The close proximity between you and your friends on the boat makes it easy to be encouraged and cheered on. Trust that everyone is rooting for you, stay relaxed and allow our coaches to guide you every step of the way.

beginners guide to wakesurfing
Wakesurfing is a fun and great activity to enjoy with friends.

You can also consider setting a goal for your session if it helps you to stay focused – whether it is to get let go of the rope for the first time, or to nail a new trick by the end of your session.


2. Rope Safety
When it comes to Wakesurfing, remember that the towrope is only used to help you get up on the board. After that point, concentrate on controlling the board using your lower body instead! Pay attention to the weight distribution on both feet, heels and toes.

  • Don’t use the rope to pull yourself towards the boat.

    Rather, learn to press onto your toes to move into the wake and put more weight on your front foot to move forward. Keep your knees bent over your toes and shift your front foot slightly towards the toe-side rail.


Quick Tip: Shifting pressure between your toes and heels will help you move side to side, engaging the board’s rails to move you toward and away from the wake.

  • As you start surfing towards the boat, don’t take the rope in and coil it around your arm.

    This is extremely dangerous as you may not have sufficient reaction time to uncoil it when you’re about to fall. Your arm may get caught and the rope may cause serious abrasions or worse, dislocations.

    You should only hold onto the handle of the rope at all times. If you require, get someone on the boat to assist in taking in the excess rope as you move closer to the boat.

  • Always throw the rope to the other side of the wake.

    When you feel confident enough to release the rope, do not drop the rope on your surf side as the rope handle may cause you to trip and fall. Always throw the rope to the other side of the wake so that the rope handle will not get in the way and thwart your efforts.



Fun Fact: Did you know that using a Wakesurf-specific towrope is important for your safety? Unlike Wakeboarding, you can get ahead of the rope when you accelerate towards the boat. As such, a Wakesurf-specific rope is made thicker and with a smaller handle so that you won’t get yourself tangled in it, which could cause serious injuries.

Wakesurf RopeWakeboard Rope Handle
Source: Ronix
Left: Wakesurf Rope – Smaller handle, thicker rope
Right: Wakeboard Rope – Larger handle, thinner rope


3. Body Posture
As a first-timer to Wakesurfing, you may find it difficult to get into the correct body posture when your sole objective is to stay up on the board. We completely understand how your body might freeze up just to stay afloat! Allow your body to get acquainted to this new experience. Once you feel more comfortable, make these simple adjustments to your body posture and you’ll notice that they will help you get better so much faster!

  • Keep your shoulders squared with your hips.

    Hips and shoulders should be parallel to the wake.

  • Stand tall with your chest up, butt in and knees slightly bent over your toes.

    This will allow you to put pressure on your toes more effectively.

  • Use your hips

    If you’re having trouble surfing forward (i.e. towards the boat) even though you feel like you’re putting all your weight on your front foot, chances are, your hips are shifted towards your back foot. Remember to move your hips into a neutral position. You can even exaggerate your hip movement towards the front foot just to see how it affects your board control.


For more personalised tips, engage a dedicated coach for your next Wakesurfing session!

A dedicated coach can spot mistakes and help you to correct them in real-time while you’re surfing. You no longer have to wait for your next fall to find out what you should have done.

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