Tips by David Ngiam
Video : Mark Griffin
Photo : Bernhard Hinterberger
The cable front flip is quite similar to the S-Bend. The difference is when the rotation begins. Some people attempting front flip for the first time, might end up landing an S-bend instead. The same goes vice-versa.
To do a front flip, you should at least know how to land a regular air raley. The approach and take off is quite similar. Take a progessive approach with a little more weight on your back foot than you would on a Raley. The timing and method to pop off the water is pretty much the same as the Raley, but don’t let your arms get stretched out too far on the pop.
Once you have popped off the water, turn your head aggresively over your back shoulder and dip your front shoulder, while trying to keep your arms in. It may help to pull up your front knee to speed up the rotation. As you come around, you should be able to spot the water to land.
The key to this trick is to make an agrresive turn. Unlike the backroll where the rotation is in the opposite direction and a little more natural, the front flip has an up and over rotation, which takes a little more work to initiate it.
If you are making the rotation and you find that you are landing on your butt alot, its probably because you are initiating the trick too early. On the air raley, if you initiate the trick early, you probably could get away with it. On the front flip, you really need to release tall off the water. Like most wakeboard tricks, how you take off is how you will land. If you take off early while your body posture is still at an angle to the water, its likely you will land at the same angle, and hence the butt check on the water.