noob - adult surfer - need to learn faster!

[waikikikichan]

I noticed that many a time my front (left) foot is pointed to the left rather than the right

Well if that’s true, I think we’ve found your problem. If your left foot is pointed at 10-11 o’clock, you’re really really flexible ( or not human ).
Question: how did you know you’re a Regular footer ? I had a beginner that had a hard time popping up and sinking the tail for like over a year. We finally figured out he was opposite footed. His response was “that’s how my instructor told me how to stand”.

[dtc]

Ha - yes, I was trying to figure out how the foot pointed left unless he was very chest on. Maybe not twisting when popping up? Anyway a coach will help out

[CarlsbadSurfer52]

Yes, I think I am not pushing hard enough and getting my left foot in there but no twist. Also I am extremely right handed and I tried switching to the other side a couple of times and it was even more rubbish.

[Oldie]

Left foot placement during popup makes so much of a difference for me. When I am not paying attention, my left foot lands left of the stringer and then in most cases I cannot recover.

I think I am not pushing hard enough

Do you mean pushing from the feet? Maybe try pulling instead of pushing? I found it a smoother move if I pull my legs under me than pushing from my feet. That requires more core muscle strength, though.

[jaffa1949]

There you have it in one : If you push down with your Feet to push through and up between your hands you automatically push the tail of the board down, Instant stall Push your schest and upper Torso up this pushen the nose of the board down without touching the board bring your legs and feet forward to a slightly forward riding stance. you are not bringing your upper body back over your feet ( commonest beginner mistake) you are bringing your Feet forward and under and standing up there.

Another mistake is having a death grip on the rails when popping up.

[CarlsbadSurfer52]

Never grip the rails, so that is out. I don’t think I press down on my feet either before the popup. I meant pressing hard enough with my hands. But that leads me to a question: some videos suggest flicking your feet up before the pop up even on a long board so that the feet are naturally swinging downward and forward as you are popping up. Any merit?

[jaffa1949]

Let’s get you forgetting about everything youhave read or seen about popping up on anything other than board you ride!
The fastest distance in movement is a straight line, you need both abdominal strength (something I am working out for to regain after serious ops) an a peer burst upwards with an arm shoulde and back drive .
Like a bicycle the faster a board is moving the more stable it is!
So wave catch by matching or just slightly more than matching wave speed, take at least three more strokes, arch back pushing down and driving up the torso, make sure to angle of the upper body is moving forward and not back over the feet, this is an explosive burpee.
The arm pressure forces the board down the face the board drops away from the chest, legs come through into the riding stance.

A challenge all who surf have to master

[CarlsbadSurfer52]

OK. After my 1-on-1 today here is some feedback from my instructor. No real flexibility, fitness or strength problems. He felt the following 3 points are where I needed the most work.
- Commit to standing upright with hands in front (like T-rex). Many times I crouch and my bum hangs over the left side and my right hand refuses to let go. Knees only need to be slightly bent.
- I need to face more forward by swiveling my hips. My feet are right but my head is pointed to 2PM rather than 12. Apparently many skateboarders and snowboarder do this - but I am neither.
- Once I am up I need to focus on riding the wave and not trying to fall off as quickly as I can.
So clearly some mental issues to work through. I did overall feel my popups have improved today and I want to work on these items some more on my big 9' board.

[dtc]

Cool, much better to get feedback on reality than trying to interpret things over the Net. For the first two issues, recommend you have a look at the Surf Simply video ‘the poo stance’ - it looks at both problems (which are causally related)

[Big H]

- Once I am up I need to focus on riding the wave and not trying to fall off as quickly as I can.

Checklists are good for a lot of things......sooooi many things to lean when learning surfing it can be a little overwhelming when you try to write down everything that you need to work on, and in the end you come up with gems like the above.....all that is missing is a reminder to smile and have fun. I’m busting yer chops a little because if you overthink on land, you’ll overthink in the water....if you do that you will struggle to make progress and struggle harder to enjoy your time.

Be active in the water and build up your fitness and paddle technique.....a good paddle engine will make up for a lot of other shortcomings.

There is a video series that at the end of each lesson clip the surfer in the video puts a piece of duck tape on the deck near the nose and writes themselves a note with a marker on the tape about what they want to focus on during that sesh.....things like “keep your head up”, “reach over the log”, “bend your knees” or “don’t get caught inside and destroyed like last week”(LOL). Point is ONE thing to focus on at time is plenty.

[CarlsbadSurfer52]

Thanks BigH. Learning to surf has been very educational for me. Many strategies that are fruitful in my day job as an engineer are a serious impediment when it comes to surfing. Maybe this is why kids learn much easier ...

[oldmansurfer]

. Maybe this is why kids learn much easier ...

Young kids learn faster because their minds are more plastic, more adaptable and their bodies are more flexible. However spending more time helps sometimes. One of the things you will find out on this forum is that learning rates vary so much it's hard to fathom. One person can learn something like popping up in like days to weeks and for others it takes months to years. It seems for older surfers it's just going to take longer. As an older surfer myself I think perhaps that having minimal time to surf makes me less likely to get repetitive motion injuries. However I used to surf only 26 hours a year and increased to 52 and learning speed doubled. I hear about people spending so much time surfing without making any particular progress. I guess if you repeatedly make the same mistake over and over then you are training yourself to make that mistake and you won't progress. For some people they achieve a level of surfing that they are satisfied with and quit learning and they may surf years more hardly learning anything about surfing during that time. But it's a highly variable sport. You set your own goals. I just read a book by Torben Andersen called "An Old Surfers Story" about a guy who learned to surf at 59 years old. His progress was so slow and he worked only as much as he needed to keep surfing. He surfed usually over 100 days a year . While he barely made any progress in surfing during the 7 or so years he surfed, he totally enjoyed it. Most of us here totally enjoy surfing and we can't surf enough so we are here to talk surfing while we wait for the next opportunity.

[CarlsbadSurfer52]

Hello friends,
Just wanted to report that I am making good progress now thanks to your help. Popping up regularly in mush, getting fully upright and riding straight in. Even caught an unbroken wave today but didn't pop up fast enough. Some notes below :
- My big 9' board helps a lot. It has so much volume and width. Sure it is heavy and a bear to lug around but once it is in the water it gives me a lot more confidence to stand fully upright even in 6" of water.
- Tried goofy and regular foot. I am regular foot. But switching feet for a bit helped me turn off my brain and feel things with my body better.
- Getting much better at turning off my brain and not over analyzing while I am in the water. I try to just feel and do and leave the thinking and critique for the drive home.
- I even got a cheap skateboard to get more comfortable with moving platforms since I never did any sports like snowboarding or roller skating before.
A couple of questions:
- should I keep messing about in the mush or try more unbroken waves soon?
- Any value in switching back to my 8' board periodically to juice up my learning rate?
Thank you.

[jaffa1949]

Great to hear the beginnings of success, don’t mess yourself up,by shifting boards yet, get green and some skills there before even thinking about changing shorter, .
Benefits you have now won’t quite be there with a shorter board responding tomwave face conditions will be one of the new skills, as will being able to,generate speed, let the waves of the day dictate you green wave sessions, spend some time watching how they work, watch both the noob and the skilled surfers, see what the difference is, use your analysis watching not doing.
Thanks for the feedback so many don’t even drop,a than you

[dtc]

Second Jaffa's comment, Particularly when you are starting out, there is a lot of benefit in sticking to one board, learning how that board works eg where you sit, lie, how it turns, when to start paddling, when to pull out, how it balances etc etc. As you get more experienced you can pick up these board nuances a bit faster, but at the start it can take quite a while. Dont try to be learning a new board at the same time as you are learning your new skills - its hard enough as it is without adding things

[Apolx]

Hello to you from Sydney Australia, I learned - or relearned - how to surf in my 40s. I'm 53 now and surf most days. The biggest mistake I made was using boards that were too small. Sounds like your boards are pretty big though. If you're getting to your feet but not all the way up, then I suggest just practicing the 'pop-up' on land. Maybe even try in front of a mirror. One problem that can happen is that when we jump up we straighten our legs too much. Then you end up kind of straightening yourself up from the waist which is difficult. Its better to pop up to a position where you legs are bent - you are almost crouching - then straighten them. Well partially straighten them.
I would suggest practicing on dry land.
As the rest of it - just surf. Yes, definitely try some 'green' waves. If you can find a spot that is not crowded and the waves kind of sit up for a while before breaking, that is perfect. Even if you can't turn the board, you should be able to get to your feet and take a line across the face of the wave. Keep doing that and you'll be stoked in no time.
As for the boards, if you're not getting to your feet on a foamy, especially a big one, I don't really think the board is the issue. Provided the foamy isn't too small, of course.
Best of luck.