Surfing Waves

Hey guys.

I'm having some issues and I've read a bunch of the other threads and although they are great advice, I could use some more opinions.

I'm gonna give as much info as I can to better assist you in helping me.

I used to surf a ton when I was younger probably about 10 years ago. Now I'm 30 and I just got back into it at the end of last summer. I got back on a minimal and did really well. With that being said, I decided to try to migrate over to a 6'6" quad-fin bat tail. Needless to say, I have been having an incredibly hard time popping up on this bad boy at the Jersey beaches. Now I live near Philadelphia which is at best, a good hour from the nearest beach. Because of this I can't get out more than once or twice a week at the most. I understand that it is gonna be much harder to progress because of this fact.

I do go to the gym and I also run an adventure group on the weekends (so I do a ton of climbing, backpacking, freerunning, etc.) so I am in pretty good shape. In addition I snowboard and longboard skateboard. As far as the longboarding goes, I own a 44" fiberflex with original spring-loaded trucks and mostly ride downhill, usually on hills that can generate speeds up to about 35mph. I can LDP really well and my balance is good. I also practice balance constantly on my balance board and I consider myself to be good at that as well.

So the question is this, I can practice popping up at home on the floor, but that really doesn't do anything for me because technically I am not popping up on the actual board nor am I in the water which is a totally different feel anyway. My thought was to perhaps put the board on my bed to prevent pressure dings and such from popping up on it. The other thought would be to practice in a pool. I know this sounds lame, but I really can't come up with a better solution being that I can't get to the beach as often as I should to practice and let's face facts as many of you have already stated....practice, practice, practice.

I hate to think that I need to go back to the minimal as I feel like the only way to get back on the shortboard is to just see it through and get past the frustration and just keep practicing. It just sucks because I feel like a kook once again. I know we've all been there before and it is a natural progression, but it's just a letdown to know I was there at one point (back when I was 17 or so) and am no longer in that position. I guess getting older makes things a little more difficult.

Any suggestions, my friends? Thanks in advance for the help.

What is the width & Thickness of the quad?

It's about 2.75" thick and 21" wide. So now that I think about it, it's really a hybrid rather than a shortboard. It was shaped by Brian Wynn who is a local shaper out here. I believe he was in CA at some point as well.

practise is the solution to all woes Sounds like the board should be good as a transitional board so just stick with it

Sounds like it has plenty of volume so is pretty stable. The only thing I would say is check your positioning on the board & just keep trying!!!

I think you should try renting some shortboard and minimal. The fish or hybrid is not a beginner friendly board.

Do squat thrust excercises on land without the surfboard - lots of them.

Practicing in a pool won't help and will probably be nearly impossible in still water. You're right. Practicing on land doesn't help much either if you already know how to pop up on a minitank. It is just recommended for beginners so that they can get a feel for the motion of popping up to their feet before trying it out in the water.

The difference between taking off on a minitank (minimal or whatever you call 'em) is that you can take off much earlier on a bigger board. An unbroken wave is much easier to take off on since you have more time to get on your feet and catch your bearing. On a smaller board, you need to take off steeper or later on the wave. Needless to say, steeper sections are usually faster and more pitching so you need to be quicker to your feet. The 6'6" may or may not be a good transition board depending on your height/weight. A 7'+ board might be easier to transition on or perhaps you should bring both boards to the beach with you. Ride the minitank for an hour so that you catch some waves and then go back out on the 6'6".

afau wrote:The other thought would be to practice in a pool.

i cant tell you what to do because im pretty much a beginner... but i heard chlorine is bad for your board and wetsuit

TReMoR wrote:

afau wrote:The other thought would be to practice in a pool.

i cant tell you what to do because im pretty much a beginner... but i heard chlorine is bad for your board and wetsuit

he's probably talking about backyard pool which people just normally fill up with tap water.

I don't think he'll be stupid enough to walk into his local area pool with a surfboard, hahhahahh...

But there are some places which have artificial waves
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/inde ... 18898.html

if you're getting on fine on the minimal then as you've already stated yourself, practice is all you need.
Maybe practice your pop up in the smaller waves just so as you can get a feel for were you need to position yourself on the board! Also in the smaller waves you'll more than likely pop up lots of times and it'll become more of a natural movement to you. This will be easier than trying to go straight out and nail it in bigger waves.

Wow...thanks for all of your help/advice. You're a good crew. I guess all there is left is to just practice and put the ego aside. I'll have to try to get more vaca days so I can sneak outta the office a few days a week.

I know that I'll get the feel for it sooner or later...hopefully sooner. I just wanted to get some other opinions on the matter.

Once again...thanks all!

The 6'6" may or may not be a good transition board depending on your height/weight.

Oh, I'm 5'8" and 160 lbs.

I don't think he'll be stupid enough to walk into his local area pool with a surfboard

Nah, I don't think the local area or gym pool lifeguards would be real cool with me strolling in board in tow. haha. Although it would be quite funny and a pretty good story.

But there are some places which have artificial waves

Germany is a pretty far haul for me. Although they were talking about building one up in NYC but I think funding fell through.

crepuscular wrote:

TReMoR wrote:

afau wrote:The other thought would be to practice in a pool.

i cant tell you what to do because im pretty much a beginner... but i heard chlorine is bad for your board and wetsuit

he's probably talking about backyard pool which people just normally fill up with tap water.

I don't think he'll be stupid enough to walk into his local area pool with a surfboard, hahhahahh...

But there are some places which have artificial waves
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/inde ... 18898.html

i took my board into my pool in the garden...and yes it has chlorine in it...
all of the colours havre faded...
i wouldn't reconmend it...

etchy6 wrote:

crepuscular wrote:

TReMoR wrote:

afau wrote:The other thought would be to practice in a pool.

i cant tell you what to do because im pretty much a beginner... but i heard chlorine is bad for your board and wetsuit

he's probably talking about backyard pool which people just normally fill up with tap water.

I don't think he'll be stupid enough to walk into his local area pool with a surfboard, hahhahahh...

But there are some places which have artificial waves
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/inde ... 18898.html

i took my board into my pool in the garden...and yes it has chlorine in it...
all of the colours havre faded...
i wouldn't reconmend it...

lol bummmmeeerrrrrr
i would probably hang myself for doing that to my board
but then again i remember the first day i got mine i rode a wave in all the way and tore a 8 in long and 3 in wide gash=[[[[
not fun
but my advice would to practice on the beach! you may look like King Kook but its great practice for your footing
i def need some more of it as i am in semi the same situation
i try to pop up and then get eaten by the wave : (

you should praactice at home in the living room or something....

but not on the board causet that causes dingss

(:

yeah so you should practice getting up faster on the ground with a imaginary surfboard..

Hey, where in Philly are ya?

well i had the same problem when i was learning but over a period of time it will just happen like when i am paddling i just pop up and im up do a lot of ushups and have a lot of arm stregnth.
also in a pool you have no speed so you arent gliding and the steeper the wave the eayer it is to pop up

i paddle in my pool and ive never seen any difference to my board.