Another trick in the balance trick category is the elusive fire hydrant. If you have ever seen a dog relieve itself on a fire hydrant you will quickly realize why the trick has been named this. With your front hand on the board and your front leg in the air behind you with some imagination you can see the resemblance. It is usually done as a stand-alone trick but there has been more than a few fire hydrant 360’s attempted and successfully executed.
It is also an excellent trick for the little ones to try. It promotes great board and weight control and keeps the kids in a safe place back at the bottom of the wave and away from the boat. Because of the static nature of the trick it takes the wave size out of the equation. Because you are at the base you won’t need to rise to the top of a wave that can be the size of a lot of kids.
- – Stand at the rear of the wave at the bottom or pocket if you will. The lower you position yourself on the wave the easier this trick will be to execute. The base of the wave is a flatter than the face which will help give you more stability.
- – While maintaining your position on the wave slowly start bending over to place your front hand in front of your front foot. While doing this try to maintain your position on the wave. You should be fairly neutral. You don’t want to accelerate or decelerate. If you’re not sure which way to point your board we suggest to keep your board running into the flats slightly. This will help you avoid rushing towards the back of the boat.
- – Slowly start transferring your weight from your front foot to your hand. When you get all of your weight transferred start lifting your front foot and leg behind you.
- – With your leg in the air and hand on your board try and maintain your position on the wave. You can control your speed just like you would with both feet on your board. Weight forward to speed up and weight back to slow down. The key for this trick is to try and stay at the base of the wave.
- – When you are done hot dogging and showing everyone, you can ride with one hand and one foot on your board start to return your leading foot behind your front hand. Once your foot is on the board transfer your weight back to your foot.
As with a lot of these tricks don’t be shy and try them on land first. You can save a ton of boat gas and pickups and get a great head start on the trick before you ever hit the lake. Once you get the hang of it and can really control your position on the wave play around with it. See if you can carve up and down the wave… Who knows. Maybe you will even be able to hit that elusive fire hydrant 360.
