Once again, it’s time for a little lesson about life, grammar and wakeboarding. This month we will be discovering how the term “mute” can be used as both a verb and an adjective. To the scholarly among us, you know that as a verb mute means to soften, dull, hush or deaden. In wakeboarding, mute actually means quite the opposite. We like to consider a good mute to represent a rider’s ability to punctuate and characterize a move. In this sense, wakeboarders prefer to use mute as an adjective, defined as expression without speech.
The act of stylizing your aerial maneuvers with a mute is an indisputable sign to your peers that you are quite accomplished at riding your wakeboard. To get yourself into the mute position, there are a few simple steps to follow. Make sure you have a good pop off the wake. This isn’t a Raley; try to go up, not out. Bring your board up to your hand by bending your knees up toward your chest. Plant your front hand firmly between your feet on your toeside edge. You are now muting. Try to keep your back straight and push down with both feet, proving how solid your grasp is on your board. Many times, it is easier to do a mute 180 than just a straight mute because your natural tendency will be to rotate as the rope is in your back hand.
