Surfing Waves

Getting Front Foot to Where Your Hands Are

Getting back into surfing, I've found I no longer have the flexibility and strength to get my front foot all the way up to where my hands are when popping up. Most videos say this is essential. For example:

https://youtu.be/LCqlQvO6t60?t=98

But I find that most videos of longboard surfers show that the front foot doesn't have to go that far forward. For example:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHu0EhDDxF_ ... 9qflgw1qb3

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CHvuW9fj ... i3pk0tjvrb

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG-6tAynXN_ ... e2rhh4i9gx

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGq8azGD_kz ... 2wpnx1ledw

Maybe those boards are extra long??

I've found that even though I can't get my foot up to my hands in the living room, my popups work okay on the water. OTOH, sometimes I end up with my feet too close to one another.

Chicken Wing Popup (AKA Australian or Back Foot Popup)

Using the chicken-wing popup I can get my feet up far enough. Last time I tried that on the water, I decided it was too slow, but I'm going to work on that some more. I'm thinking it will be more reliable and more likely to result in a wider stance.

https://youtu.be/J8YshKx2BB0?t=200

If you're in the same boat, perhaps that will help.

At 69 I have the same problem and find that it helps to popup just as the nose drops down the face. This opens a little more room for my slow feet to get under my aching body!

I'm 68 but not entirely sure how my popup is. Sometimes I am a little slow on small fast waves. A couple tries brings me up to speed usually. On all other waves I seem to do okay.

BoMan wrote:At 69 I have the same problem and find that it helps to popup just as the nose drops down the face. This opens a little more room for my slow feet to get under my aching body!

Yes, exactly. Occasionally, when the board is dropping away from me, my front foot magically gets well forward on the board.