Surfing Waves

Hi folks,

Just wanted to get your thoughts on my popup problems. Yep I know I know...not another popup thread! Well stay with me as my particular problem is quite interesting. First things first, I have been longboarding for nearly 8 years now and I have made quite a bit of progress in terms of paddling, wave selection etc. I started at 40 and now find myself at 48 still struggling with a fluid popup. I get to my feet easily enough but it isn't pretty to watch. Most of the time I get to my back knee first, or if I try and swing my legs through I end up scraping my back foot or knee (plenty of battle wounds over the years!). I have been doing yoga and pilates for the last year but I haven't seen much improvement with the popup. I am 6 foot tall and not over weight.

So this year I had a few one on one lessons with a good surf coach here in the UK, and we tried to break my popup down into stages both in the water and on the beach. We kind of both decided that my problem could possibly be physical in that my legs are either too long or my arms too short! Here's what I have found. If I popup on land using my knuckles, rather than flat placement of hands, the extra height makes my popup almost perfect. My front foot comes straight through directly under my hands every time. When I popup using the normal flat hand placement, my front foot is always about 6 inches behind where my hands are, and, more often than not, my trailing back foot scrapes on the floor.

So the question is should I try and replicate the "knuckle" approach in the water or will it lead to problems further down the line? Are there any other 6 foot plus surfers out there having having similar issues?

Love and peace.
M.

cornish1970 wrote: I get to my feet easily enough but it isn't pretty to watch. Most of the time I get to my back knee first, or if I try and swing my legs through I end up scraping my back foot or knee (plenty of battle wounds over the years!).

Then you're ARE NOT getting to your feet "easily enough".

cornish1970 wrote:Just wanted to get your thoughts on my popup problems.
So this year I had a few one on one lessons with a good surf coach here in the UK, and we tried to break my popup down into stages both in the water and on the beach. We kind of both decided that my problem could possibly be physical in that my legs are either too long or my arms too short!

So you paid for a coach that seen you surf and knows your physical form / technique. He figured out your problem, so I would say that is that. Not sure what even a 6 foot + forum member can add to that.
As for someone not 6 foot, but likes to help beginners with there pop up, I would say one of your problems is:
1) Your EYES. If you look far up and away, your upper body will clear out of the way for the legs better.
2) Your Hands. You have to explode OFF the deck, not just release your grip. Your knuckles technique won't let you control the gyrations of the board.
Post a video of your land pop up ( or in ocean ) and I bet there's a easily remedied problem. And it ain't get arm extension surgery.

Firstly i dont believe you could use knuckles on a wet hard board, you will slip off

Secondly, plenty of over 6ft surfers can pop up (Im 6’3). Your pop up has to being your legs under, but your arms are shorter than your legs no matter what. So short arms wont make a difference. You are still bringing your long legs into a smaller space

In addition to waikikichans tips, move your hands further towards your hips. Like lower rib level. Remember to explode up

If all else fails, try a ‘sprinter’ pop up - back foot plants (not knee) and then push off that foot to bring your front foot through

Btw: fun fact. For the average person, the distance between fingertips when arms are outstretched is the same as the height of that person (also called ‘ape index’). Measure your arm span and it will tell you whether you do, indeed, have t-Rex arms.

I am 6.3 and have the same issue. But it goes back to basics as wkk suggests. My default behaviour is still to look forward or even down, and I need to make a conscious effort to look up and away. If I do that, and have the hand at the lower ribs, I always have enough room. And I do have heavy, long legs and short, weak arms. I cannot imagine popping up on knuckes would work on the water, it might even hurt unless you are on a softboard.

Lots of push ups and work on the flexibility of your lower back will help immeasurably. Losing a bit of weight might help too.

As waikikichan said, if your front foot isn't coming through it's almost definitely symptomatic of looking down. A good way to rectify this is to consciously keep your head up, even when paddling around the lineup. If you enforce that good habit it will quickly translate to keeping your head up when paddling into a wave.

Pat O'Connell had alligator arms and it didn't seem to hinder him!

Thanks for all of your replies. Some really useful tips. I have never been told to keep looking up during the popup. I will try this during my popup exercises on land and get back to you all with any progress updates. I'm also glad that I can cancel my arm extension operation

I am 6'2" and 64 years old. What makes popping up easier for me is to arch my back maximum amount before I popup and this allows me to get my hands further back toward my waist and that makes an easier popup.

..just to add my two penneth worth. [I've got short arms too btw!]

Try; thinking when you pop up "throw yer butt in the air", [this might help the knee first habit too]

Do 5-10 pop ups at home on dry land every day....till yer sick of 'em! [burpees are good too]

thank goodness for Ol' Man's comments. I was beginning to think it was not possible to surf if you are taller than 6 feet! It was beginning to sound like the opposite of the amusement park ride minimum height requirement.

I’m 6’1” and have unusually long arms (37”)....hard to find long sleeve dress shirts. Anyway, I will catch a tie or knee if I look down, time the pop up wrong, or don’t arch enough and lazily set my hands too far forward as a result (see OMS post).

Then again Bethany Hamilton has only one arm! She does OK!

Maybe stretch your hip muscles often so you can fold up your long legs away from the deck. Push-ups (the real one not the cheater one with the knees) and burpees are good for strengthening from the arms to the stomach, and you need all those muscles for smoother popups.

Besides beking slippery, using the knuckles would probably dent the deck.

I’m 6’4” and had a similar issue with trying to “crawl” up instead of pop up by going to my back knee. What worked for me was a bit of dry land practice, then committing to a full on POP up on the water. Everything seems scarier when you think about it, stop thinking to much and force yourself to committing to jumping to your feet. Hope that helps a tiny bit.

Went surfing all last week. I nailed it!!

G'day , I agree with all the above, also being a tad over 6ft, don't look down , don't think about it just jump up bro, push ups will help, push ups into jumping up will also get your firing muscles working better, commit to the spring . the more you do it the more natural and easier it becomes, your body WILL learn what you want to do, and as I see you have nailed it ! awesome stuff … keepit up m8 … keep it up …. onya !

my dad is 6'5 and can pop up just fine, he has surfed heavy hollow surf, you just need to keep your eyes up and practise more.