Surfing Waves

Ok so you guys helped me to stop conserving by telling me to pop up earlier and it worked. But now I face another problem. I feel as if I am catching the waves too early. I mean I successfully catch and popup, but I don't drop down the face for like 3 seconds. And as I am dropping down I don't have time to turn as it already crashing. Is it possible I am catching it too early?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=44PURl7CS28 I feel like I did what this kid did at like 43 second.

I am not sure what you are saying that kid did. However it sounds like you need to put more pressure on your front foot. If you are at the top of a wave and you want to get down you have to aim your board down. Lean forward and if that doesn't get you down the wave try stepping forward a bit if you are on a long board. One of the things beginners often do is take off leaning back because it's like a natural response to looking over a ledge but you need to overcome that urge and lean forward.

Thank you for the advice. I meant how the kid is popping up at the bottom of the wave

That kid is Joel Tudor , he as a child prodigy surfer , that for a wave of that size is a perfectly executed take off .it is so small the but he is still standing at the top!
Practice , practice practice, and lean forward, if you do manage to get a take off while you lean back you will be popped off the board with its sudden acceleration .
PRACTICE you will improve!

Sometimes when you pop up early you are in fact 'too early' and then stuck on the top of the wave (which then collapses underneath you) rather than just under the lip (ie just forward of the top of the wave) which is where you want to be. Particularly on small waves, there may not be enough power in the wave to get you down the face (without you doing some speed movements, like pumping).

This is just a timing issue - now that you recognise it and are getting 'the feeling', when you think you want to pop up take another stroke (or two) then pop up. This is the scary part in a way, because by this stage the board is probably already pointing downwards a bit. Look at that video right on 2.02 - here is a screen cap, showing the perfect spot to take off and that the board is sort of heading downwards already (but because of the size of the wave he could take it at an angle which minimises the downward ness)



And lean forward as the others say, try to scream down that face not go down as slow as possible.

I hadnt seen that clip before - should show it to those who claim being on a longboard is holding them back and they need a 5ft8 shortboard ASAP to make any progress.

Here's a better shot of 'board going downwards at time of pop up' - JJF at Tahiti

If you can master the pop up in this sort of surf ,you need no longer seek advice on this forum
People will probably pay you to put their logos on your surfboard
BTW I'd be terrified just watching from the channel

Save me a seat Jaffa I'll be right there with you in the channel. Watch what they do it's pretty amazing. The reason for the rail grab drop in really becomes clear. they are using their hands to pull their board to set the rail as soon as possible. When I was younger I would probably want to ride one big wave there and then never ride it again. Now I have people relying on me (in other words I got old and lame) and as much as I would want to surf I would be sitting in the channel watching if I went there on that day. Watch Kelly Slaters gopro footage and you don't get a clue about the steepness of the drop or the massiveness of the wall of water or the thickness of the lip.....but who boy the thrill of riding waves like those....you can see it in all the surfers faces

I surfed pipeline in 1969 when my gonads were bigger than mine brain I was twenty!!
Chopes is just that much more beyond anything I wish to experience in reality!

oldmansurfer wrote:Save me a seat Jaffa I'll be right there with you in the channel.

I'll be on shore with some binoculars...

Ok I will try all you guys said. I am going to go this weekend. There are 1-2ft waves which are goods for me to practice on.