Surfing Waves

Im 46yo and im struggling to learn instant popup. Im reasonably fit and 71kg and really not sure what my issue is. i found this this video best so far


yet i cant flick my legs and lift my body. I always seem to use my toes. has anyone found this popup technique hard to master? I would be grateful for any tips, progression steps, sharing their learning curve etc thanks

Look up BAKASANA crow or crane pose. Are you able to do that ?

1) What size shortboard are you using where you can still push off your toes ?

thanks as always for your reply. i use 7'6 and if i place my toes on the tail then the nose sinks. so far ive been doing chikenwing popup.

greenskynz wrote:i use 7'6 and if i place my toes on the tail then the nose sinks. so far ive been doing chikenwing popup.

So if your toes are off the tail, then the nose does not sink ? So if your toes are off the tail, then how are you using your toes when popping up ? ( I guess the answer if the chicken wing technique )

But anyways, the answer to your problem is probably the same as 99% of my students. DON'T LOOK DOWN. When you practice again in your living room, keep your eyes focused THE WHOLE TIME on the corner of the ceiling far away from you, not looking down at the board for even a microsecond

waikikikichan wrote:But anyways, the answer to your problem is probably the same as 99% of my students. DON'T LOOK DOWN. When you practice again in your living room, keep your eyes focused THE WHOLE TIME on the corner of the ceiling far away from you, not looking down at the board for even a microsecond

Excellent advice, I forget this sometimes on bigger drops. Never look down, unless you prefer swimming to surfing.

The popup is actually a two step process, the back foot goes down first and the front foot second, we just do it so fast that it seems both go down at the same time. If you keep that in mind and try to exagerate it you should be able to land your feet spread appart and you won't have to flick your legs under you, it is too hard.

Second, if your feet are together then I'm going to assume that also, by mistake, you are facing forward. Remember that the body has to be sideways, landing facing forward will result in you falling backwards.

here is a video on what that looks like slowed down, see the info on minute 3:40.

Hope that helps

thanks, yes been doing chicken wing pop up, i think sometimes was taking too much time to bring my front foot forward. i bent my back foot and then 2-3sec and then front foot. i can also the the 1st technique from this video but just on a dry land. my board is too short and when im lying on the board my toes are outside of the board ~ a half or full feet from the tail.

greenskynz wrote:i bent my back foot and then 2-3sec and then front foot.

Did you mean 2-3 seconds or 0.2-0.3 seconds ?