Move On Up - One Handed Jumps

This month we look at letting go in order to boost and enjoy our jumps even more. One-handed jumps will really improve your regular jumps and they also feel awesome.

- Jem Hall

THE BASICS

Letting go of the boom, with one or both hands, has the benefit that it encourages us to keep low; position the rig and our body/hips/legs correctly; get away from the rig; sheet the sail in or out correctly and position our hands more precisely on the boom. It also massively helps us to take a more risk taking mindset, which is crucial to moving forward in our jumps and wavesailing. When one of my rippers does not let go of the boom, it tells me a lot about not only their skills, but also their mindset!

I will present this move with the formula of who, what, why, where, when and how. And also present the options you have of what to do with your hands.

WHO: This is for both people who are early in their jumping career and experienced ‘airtimers’. Intermediate freeriders who are aspiring to be wavesailors should know that doing your recommended ‘Hall’s homework’ of one-handed blasting/sailing is already putting you in the position to be able to enjoy your one-handed jumps in the future.

WHAT: The one-handed jump is the releasing of either hand just as you take off, or even just before. It will improve your hooked in jumping, which is an important skill and one to be undertaken after properly learning and improving your jumping in the more physical, and safer guise of being unhooked.

WHY: There are really so many reasons to do these jumps, but the main one I discovered after feedback from one of my female wave rippers, Patricia Herrero, is that you cannot do them taking off into the wind! Jumping into the wind is an absolute killer for most ‘normal’ jumps and is one of the top malpractices that I have to coach out of people.

Here are a few more reasons to let go:

The main one is that it is fun and really feels great.