Surfing Waves

Hi,
I'm pretty new to surfing, and just had a quick question. When I finally catch a wave (paddle in front of it, feel it take me, etc.) it seems that most of the time, as soon as I start getting pushed forward, the nose will bury itself in the water in front of me, and go under and cause me to pearl. I've heard that this is the point where I'm supposed to pop-up, so that when I stand the board balances out, but I just wanted to make sure so that I'm not teaching myself any bad habits. (I doubt the problem is that I'm laying too far up on the board, if anything, I'm too far back.)
Thanks

yeah this happens to me too. u need to pop up as soon as u catch the wave. sometimes i miss the pop up and by the time the wave catches u and u pearl u are screwed. so yeah. just practice pop up i say.

if you are too far back the wave won't take you at all. so you maybe too far forward.
if not, then the wave may be a bit on the steep side. in which case its really a case of fighting the nose up. just arch your back a bit more, and angling the board a little down the line say 10 degrees or so sometimes helps. not too much or the wave will broadside you and you wont have a chance.
also on steep waves you have to be pretty quick on your feet.

Keep in mind to, if your in the right position you and the board will act like a body board and with no pop up will just shoot forward skimin across the water. So mabie your not in the position you think you are, If your to far back the brakes are on and the wave will pass through you so just start 1/2" scootin up till ya get that sweet spot ,If your in it well.... Then as soon as the wave force is there youd better get up( keep in mind you can pearl even after you stand up) so board position is a big key!! outher than that and to answer your???'s Yes correct, pop up time just before that happens, good luck and keep tryin you'll get it.

Thanks for the help guys, answered my question perfectly.

Also, as the wave picks you up, you should be slowly shifting your weight back by raising your upper body off the board in preparation for popping up.

Don't forget too, you can shunt yourself into a better position when you are 'bodyboarding' having just caught the wave.