Starting my unhooked career! Currently I can only land raileys and unhooked backrolls, and although I am excited for some freestyle/ wakestyle kiting this summer , I have a lingering thought in the back of my mind pretty often; how common are knee injuries with freestyle/ wakestyle ? What can I do to prevent such injuries ?
I ride a tona pop and it's pretty rigid, wondering if it's going to cause s*** in the long run?
Any contributions are Much appreciated

I did mcl twice and then the dreaded acl. I rode with a ossur carbon brace but now only strapless waves and skim board. Brace holds knee well but would only wear if injured. Knee brace for sale if anyone has problems! (Right)

Thanks, have you found that wave riding is alot easier on the knees / body ?!?

I've done my MCL (right side) also, I took a sick day to go kite in the waves and a wave crunched me.... Karma? idk lol. I guess it can happen any way, I guess with a surfboard you're not strapped in so I guess that could help.

+ 1 MCL

always wear a brace on the TT now and now issues.

What about shoulders?

Yes, very much so.

By looking at the pros it seems that wakestyle is the most knee injury inducing part of the sport. At a guess wake binding plus poping high and landing hard without the kite to float you down probably causing the most injuries.

Hey Jono,interested in your knee brace.Would it fit me?6'3"-100kgs.
Up for a knee op in April so hoping to keep kiting until then.Atm being careful not to wreck it totally.

Perhaps a sticky thread on injury prevention? Especially for the young enthusiastic kiters who might be saved a lot of grief if they could hear experiences from riders who have already busted themselves up. Any high level riders who'd be generous enough to share their thoughts on minimising injuries whilst progressing would be doing the young guns a good service.

I ain't no wakestyler but my 2c for any progression is to take gradual steps, work on smoothness and control - if you're forcing it you're taking too big a step and asking for trouble. Realise that some days everything will click and others your timing just seems off - work with how you're feeling each session rather than what your expectations are from previous sessions.

Make sure its fun - don't use kiting to try to prove too much to yourself or the world. Many years ago I was an angry young man who used sport to get attention, validation and recognition. This was a pretty destructive attitude and led to unnecessary injuries. If only I'd had an older, wiser guy to call my bullsh!t and suggest a better path ...

Thanks for that, it seems as though wakestyle and freestyle are both quite injury-inducing aspects. I'm sixteen at the moment so I guess I'm less prone to injury, but the last thing I want to be doing is wearing a knee brace!
Wanting to go harder is so addictive, but I guess body strain is just in the sport's nature.