Intermediate Wakeboarding Trick Tips

How to do 180s

Synopsis: How to do 180s on a wakeboard. Covers the four base 180s, heelside frontside 180, heelside backside 180, toeside frontside 180, and toeside backside 180.

After you have learned how to get up on a wakeboard, how to jump, and how to clear the wake, it's time to take your wakeboarding to the next level. It's time to learn your first in-the-air trick: the 180. Learning how to do a 180 on a wakeboard is one of the essential steps on the ladder to greatness.

The 180 is the foundation upon which all other spinning tricks are built. There are four variations of the basic 180 (called the "base 180s") which range in difficulty from pretty-easy to pretty-technical. We will cover all four here.

180s are differentiated in two ways (hence the four permutations of the trick). The first is by edge: toeside or heelside. The second is by the direction of rotation: frontside or backside. By now you should know all about the toeside and heelside edges, but front-side and back-side rotations may be a new concept to you.

A front side rotation is one in which your chest and toes are seen by the spectators in the boat before your back. For a regular (left-foot-forward) rider, this is the counter-clockwise direction. A bask side rotation is one in which your back and heels are seen by the spectators in the boat before your chest. For a regular (left-foot-forward) rider, this is the clockwise direction. For goofy-footed riders, reverse the above.

The first 180 to learn is the heelside frontside 180 (HS FS 180). The key to this trick is to wait until you are in the air, then simply let go with your front hand and pull with your back hand. According to Newton's third law (for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.. for those of you who are little rusty on your physics), your body should rotate in the opposite direction as you pull the handle. If you pull the handle to your right, you will rotate to the left.

The trap that most beginners will fall into with their 180s is trying to twist with their waist to initiate the rotation. This will lead to two things. First, it will cause you to try to start rotating too early, destroying your pop. Second, it will lead to some hard falls. The proper technique is to use the handle to control the rotation.

The second 180 is the toeside frontside 180 (TS FS 180). If you have a good toeside wake jump, this will be a very easy trick for you to learn. When you are doing a TS FS 180, you are already contorted in a way that makes it easy to initiate the rotation. All you have to do is untwist your body when you are in the air. It's a pretty natural action.

Third is the heelside backside 180 (HS BS 180). This is peformed in the same way as the HS FS 180 except that you let go with your back hand and pull with your front hand. The thing that makes this trick a little more difficult is that you will either have to land blind or pass the handle. Landing blind means you land with the handle behind your back. It can look pretty cool, but is a bit more difficult to learn and will take some extra practice. Passing the handle means that you reach around your back and grab the handle with your other hand. Learning to pass the handle something everyone should learn. It is a necessary skill for more advanced tricks.

The easiest way to pass the handle is to pull it to the small of your back. You can practice this out of the water to get the hang of it. Other people find it easier to pass the handle under their butt. Just do what works for you.

The fourth (and most difficult) 180 is the toeside backside 180 (TS BS 180). This is the most difficult and technical of the four because you are already contorted and you must turn in the way that you are already twisted. This will take a lot of practice, but if you've practiced controlling your spin with the handle, it should be doable. This trick will require a handle pass.

So there you have it, the four base 180s. Once you have those mastered, you can move on to learning how to do 360s on your wakeboard. Or how to do your first invert on a wakeboard.

Need help on this trick? Visit our wakeboarding discussion board.