Beginner Level Wakesurfing Tricks
Ready to elevate your wakesurfing game? Once you've mastered the basics of riding the wave and maintaining your balance, it's time to add style, flair, and technical skill to your sessions. These beginner tricks will transform you from a confident rider to an impressive shredder.
Prerequisites - Are You Ready for Beginner Tricks?
Before diving into these tricks, make sure you've got these fundamentals locked down:
Essential Skills You Need:
Rope-free riding: You should be comfortable letting go of the rope and maintaining your position in the pocket for at least 30-60 seconds.
Basic balance: You can ride without constant wobbling or fighting to stay upright.
Wave positioning: You understand where the "sweet spot" or pocket is and can stay in it consistently.
Simple turns: You can shift your weight heel-side and toe-side to make gentle directional changes.
Controlled falling: You know to bail safely when things go wrong.
Wakesurfing Tips: Pumping the Wave
Pumping is how you generate speed and maintain your position on the wave without relying on the boat's power alone. It's one of those skills that separates riders who just survive on the wave from riders who can really work it. Think of pumping as your gas pedal — master this, and you unlock a whole new level of control.
Two Types of Pumping
1. Pumping to Catch the Boat
This is your rescue pump when you're losing the wave and need to get back into the pocket fast.
How to Practice:
Keep the rope in your hands while you practice, extended to its maximum length.
Let yourself drift back far on the wave until you start losing push.
Make quick, small hops on the toes of your board.
These are tight, compact movements — think little bounces rather than big swoops.
Each hop brings you closer to the wave and back toward the boat.
Pro Tip: Make it a game — let yourself fall back on purpose, then pump your way forward. The more comfortable you get with this rescue pump, the more confident you'll be exploring different parts of the wave.
2. Pumping to Generate Speed
This style is for power — bigger, more aggressive, and designed to build serious momentum for tricks.
How to Execute:
Use your whole body, not just your legs.
Swing your back arm to help generate momentum down the wave.
Create a bigger, swooping motion rather than small hops.
Drive down the face of the wave with intention.
Think "carve and drive" instead of "hop and bounce".
The Key Difference: Speed pumps are all about using the wave's face as your runway. You're carving down and driving through, using your back arm and full body rotation to maximize momentum.
Pro Tip: Watch your body position — your head should stay relatively level while your legs and lower body do most of the work.
Common Mistakes:
Bouncing straight up and down instead of working with the wave's angle.
Using only your legs instead of engaging your whole body for speed pumps.
Pumping too aggressively when you just need to catch up (small hops work better).
Once you've got both types of pumping dialed, you'll have the speed and control you need for almost every other trick in your arsenal.
How to Drop a Knee While Wakesurfing
What It Is: A back knee drop involves lowering your rear knee to the board while keeping your front foot planted, creating a low, crouched position that shifts your center of gravity and changes how you interact with the wave. It's a simple move that opens the door to creative variations and teaches you important weight transfer skills.
Why Learn It:
One of the easier tricks to master as a beginner.
Teaches you forward weight distribution and balance control.
Gives you that "barrel riding" feeling from ocean surfing.
Sets you up for variations like knee spins and wave touches.
Looks incredibly stylish with minimal risk.
Great for building confidence before tackling more complex tricks.
How to Practice:
The Setup:
Position yourself toward the back of the wave.
You should feel the wave splashing onto your back leg.
This starting position is crucial — dropping your knee will naturally shift your weight forward and accelerate you toward the boat.
Make sure you have plenty of runway in front of you to avoid getting too close to the boat.
Widen Your Stance:
Spread your feet wider than your normal riding stance.
You need to create room for your knee to drop between your feet.
This wider base also helps with stability.
Dropping Your Knee - Two Methods:
Method 1: The Pivot
Keep the inside edge of your back foot planted on the board.
Pivot on that inside edge until your lower leg is parallel with the board.
Your knee will bend inward as you drop.
Requires more flexibility but offers a cleaner style.
This is the more traditional and stylish approach.
Method 2: The Rotation
Rotate your back foot onto the ball of your foot.
Your foot and knee should now point forward along the board's main axis.
Drop your knee straight down to the board.
Requires less flexibility and may feel more natural for beginners.
Slightly less stylish but easier to execute.
Standing Back Up:
Rise slowly and deliberately–no sudden movements.
Press through your front foot as you lift.
Bring your back foot back to its normal position.
Return to your regular bent-knee riding stance.
Pro Tip: Start your knee drop farther back on the wave than you think you need to. The forward acceleration when you drop is more significant than most beginners expect, and you don't want to suddenly find yourself racing toward the boat with no escape plan.
Common Mistakes:
Starting too far forward on the wave and accelerating into the boat.
Not widening your stance enough before dropping.
Dropping too quickly and losing balance.
Leaning too far back instead of keeping weight forward.
Standing up too fast and overcorrecting.
Trying this before you're comfortable riding rope-free.
How to Carve While Wakesurfing
Carving is one of the most important foundational tricks in wakesurfing—and it's what gives you your personal style. Once you've found your sweet spot and can let go of the rope, carving is what transforms you from someone who's just riding to someone who's actually surfing. This is what makes you look cool out there. It's all about flowing up and down the wave face with control and, most importantly, with style.
How to Practice:
Starting Out:
Keep the rope in your hand while you learn
Focus on going up and down the wave smoothly
Once you're comfortable, you can drop the rope and carve freely
Going Up the Wave:
Put more weight on your toes
This pressure shifts you up toward the top of the wave
Push with your legs to drive yourself upward
Use your back arm to help generate power and maintain balance
Straighten your legs as you reach the top of the wave
Going Down the Wave:
Release the weight on your toes
Bend your knees a little to descend back down
Let gravity help you pick up speed on the way down
Control Your Nose Direction:
When going up the wave: point your nose slightly toward the inside (toward the boat)
When going down the wave: angle your nose slightly toward the outside (away from the boat)
This subtle steering keeps your carves smooth and flowing
Pro Tip: Carving isn't just about going up and down—it's about drawing smooth S-curves on the wave face. The more fluid your transitions between toe-side and heel-side, the better your flow will be.
Common Mistakes:
Keeping your board pointed straight instead of angling the nose
Making jerky, abrupt movements instead of smooth transitions
Forgetting to use your legs—let them do the work
Not shifting your weight enough on your toes
Once you dial in your carving, you'll have the board control needed for almost every trick that follows. It's your foundation for everything.
How to Do a Bottom Turn Wakesurfing
The bottom turn is the foundation of powerful wakesurfing. It's the move that generates speed and sets you up for almost every other trick in your bag. When you carve down to the bottom of the wave and redirect back up toward the pocket, you're loading up energy that you can use for airs, slashes, and spins. Master this, and everything else gets easier.
How to Practice:
Understanding the Bottom Turn:
A bottom turn involves carving down the face of the wave into the "flats" (the calmer water at the base)
You then redirect and drive back up into the power zone
This generates speed and momentum for your next move
The Setup:
Start in the pocket of the wave
Let yourself drift back toward the middle or back third of the wave
This is where the transition from wave face to flats is smoothest
Executing the Turn:
Begin carving down the face of the wave on your toe edge
Apply pressure with your front foot to speed up
As you get closer to the boat, squat and compress your body low
Your back foot becomes your pivot point—push off hard with your back foot to direct the nose of your board outward
Drive with your legs and use your back arm for momentum
Now redirect back up the wave face, extending your body as you climb back into the pocket
Pro Tip: The bottom turn isn't just about going down and coming back up—it's about the redirect. The harder you can push off at the bottom, the more speed you'll carry back up the wave. Think of it like a skateboard ramp: you're using gravity on the way down and then converting that into upward power.
Common Mistakes:
Leaning too far back and not having enough speed
Not going deep enough into the flats before turning
Forgetting to compress in your turn before driving back up
Not using your edges effectively—let your board carve, don't force it
The Key Difference from Carving: While carving is about flowing back and forth on the wave face, a bottom turn is a more committed, powerful move that takes you into the flats and generates serious speed.
Once you nail the bottom turn, you'll have the speed and power to launch into bigger tricks with confidence.