Surfing Waves

OK, now I'm a bit confused. Are you supposed to popup like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPcaitajuc
Who slides his backfoot to the back of the board, and then just sort of stands up
Uhhh...I just read the comments with that video....so probably not?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2obOq6mlBw
or this guy, who pushes down on the board, popups with both feet, and then lands them at the same time.

Also, somewhere it said that you shouldn't hold onto the rails at all? Are you supposed to just push flat down on the top of the board only like a pushup?

Thanks

You can stress on technique....or you can practice.
A good pop-up is one that is smooth and gets the job done.

The first video seems like a shortboard pop-up to keep your foot on the tail.

The second vid looked more like 'basic get a beginner up and riding' type pop-up

Palms on board is recommended.....rail grip works just dandy.

Get er dun!!

b123 wrote:OK, now I'm a bit confused. Are you supposed to popup like this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPcaitajuc
Who slides his backfoot to the back of the board, and then just sort of stands up
Uhhh...I just read the comments with that video....so probably not?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2obOq6mlBw
or this guy, who pushes down on the board, popups with both feet, and then lands them at the same time.

Also, somewhere it said that you shouldn't hold onto the rails at all? Are you supposed to just push flat down on the top of the board only like a pushup?

Thanks

i think ive seen the foot sliding video... .. no.. atleast i dont pop up like him. Supposedly holding the rail can unbalance you :/ I dont hold the rail when i pop up... i dont think.. haha

That first one is terrible. I'd only do that if I was on my living room floor and I didnt want to ding my board by landing on it...

Hands on the deck is better, as it means you can push yourself higher, hence its easier to swing your feet underneath you.

But, as parrysurf said, just do it.

b123 wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPcaitajuc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2obOq6mlBw

no

Do as many popups as possible on the floor like your doing a pushup (without the board under you !!) (realy do a pop up and get your feet under you) in the water do whatever works that is smooth and fluidly I've done both and in the procces I am not thinking hands on rails hands on deck I just get the hell up as fast and smooth as possible nothing beats real time practice so go and try off the rail and try off the deck and see what is working and why.

when i'm teaching lessons i tell people to put hands on the deck. because if you tell them to grab the rails, sometimes people forget to let go. when i pop up it's a half grab/half hands on deck. my palms are kind of out on the edges of the rails, but i don't curl my fingers over. i know this because sometimes i put my palms down to close to the edge of the rail that there is no wax there and my arm flys off the board as i'm trying to pop up. ensuing in an over the falls wipe out or just missing the wave. the farther you get your hands down closer to your hips the more space there will be when you push up to get your legs under you. get your legs under you then stand up. so that your squatting, then extend legs. but whatever works as long as you don't use knees. i tell the people on the lessons whatever works, even if you have to use your knees, for the first lessons. because it's mostly just people who want to say they stood up and won't go much farther than that in surfing. but for people who want to continue it i'll tell them not to use the knee

I think they are exagerating on purpose. When you pop-up, for a split second, the back foot does go down first, then the front, but not that slow. What happens is that your back foot goes down and your hands are still on the deck, so you are stable, they are emphasizing that.

I've just started surfing for about 2 months and have surfed about 10 times. I live in Hong Kong and there are only a handful of beaches to surf, and the place I go to has many little surf board rental shops so I have been trying many varieties of boards. The typical waves we have here are pretty steep drops and I see most of the more experienced surfers using shortboard/ thrusters. I have tried 8ft, 7ft and 6ft boards. When I am trying to catch the bigger waves on the 8ft and 7ft boards, I have problem with the soft thick board's nose getting caught in the water and I would nose dive and get all messed up. I have tried using the 6ft boards, but I am 5'11" tall and I just cannot imagine how on earth I can pop up on a board that's as long as my own height, where I can't use my toes or even the 'step up' method.

Is it possible to pop up on a board that's as long as your height? if yes, how?

If I stick to the 8ft or 7ft boards, how can I avoid nose diving on the steep drops?

forgot to mention I am 170 pounds

yes it's totally possible to pop up on a board that's shorter than you, however you can't use you legs much at all. Put simply, you need to push up with your hands as close to your waist/stomach as possible, then swing your legs underneath you. It also helps to be doing this at the point where the board is falling down the drop, so you don't need to lift yourself as much (since the board is falling).

I think though that if you need to ask, you aren't going to be able to ride a board that's shorter than you. Take the longer 8ft boards out, and try to catch the wave further out than usual. Paddle a lot harder, and move your weight forward on the board as you are paddling, then move back toward the tail as you pop up. I think that will get you on the wave before it's too steep.

Its about timing and being smoothe and fluid.

And a little muscle/memory too.

When you 1st catch a wave the board starts to drop away from you down the face.

Start to 'pop up' (realy bad term for it) as soon as you think your on the wave, at this point better to be left behind the wave getting to your feet than pearl.

Extend your arms as the board drops.

At the same time rotate your lower body from straigth out to underneath you, leave one foot backwards, keep rotating the front foot/leg untill its by your hands.

Then let go of the board, your on your feet.

Make sure your angled (slightly , only a bit!) down the wave and not straight.

Once your on your feet (dont have to be stood up, stay crouched!!) you have a LOT more control of the board and can then angle it down and round the curve of the wave to along the face.

Your 'digging the nose in' because your not on your feet early and dont have contol. Nothing to do with the length of the board.

You also need to catch the wave properly , this means being approximatly the same speed as the wave - i.e. paddle...

It takes practice to get the move ment right, something you dont get a lot of in the sea. So if your finding it hard practice on land a bit, its not quite the same but will build the muscle and memory for when you do get on a wave.

Actually, they are both the same, the first video just overdoes it for emphasis, but in actuality your back foot will come down before your front one, physically it's harder to do both exactly at the same time. If yo slo-mo the second one the back foot comes down before the first.

On small waves where there isnt much drop i struggle more to "pop-up" than on bigger waves where the drop "naturally" aids you to bring in your feet.
As an advice try to think the pop up more of bringing your feet towards you, rather than using your feet to push you upwards.
And never, ever use the knees for aid. There´s a guy out here who has been surfing for several years and he cant get rid of that habit. It will make you loose balance, it will slow you down, and youll loose valuable seconds that would be better used setting the bottom turn or handling the drop off.

the first video is incorrect, you should not grab onto the rail when popping up, you should be pushing your body up from the deck with the palms of your hand.

the other thing is wrong is there is just not enough room on a shortboard to do the 'push-backfoot-frontfoot' motion, that's for longboards; shortboards we do 'push/slide-hop' motion to get into position

the second method is the correct method, which is the 'push/slide-hop' motion I mentioned above, that can be used for any board.

the 'push-backfoot-frontfoot' motion is only for boards when you are on lying on the board and your foot can still touch the board, pretty much the longboards and minimals

i've done this one a few times:
"Who slides his backfoot to the back of the board, and then just sort of stands up; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPcaitajuc"

I learned you have to make sure you don't place your knee below the deck height when it's over the water or it will dig into the water. This'll cause you to make a sharp turn or wipe out.

I think this is a really valuable thread, both for me and others who may stumble upon it, and I appreciate all of the responses, but I just thought I'd point this out:

b123 wrote:Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 6:03 pm

to be perfectly honest over analyzing does more harm than good. Just go out and practise. 99% of bad habits will disolve with enough practise. Otherwise its whatever works for you

isaluteyou wrote:to be perfectly honest over analyzing does more harm than good. Just go out and practise. 99% of bad habits will disolve with enough practise. Otherwise its whatever works for you

Agree. Don't out psyche yourself.

Hi dudes,


I just wanted to clarify something about JUMP stand-up.
There are 2 techniques:

- Longboard: with a load jump with toes.
- Shoartboard: with a load jump with knee.

(
There is another technique but it’s a 2 steps technique, as shown in
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUPcaitajuc
)

For my part, I prefer shortboard technique, because even if you use a longboard, it’s worth it because soon or later you’ll get a shortboard. So better to be used to shortboard technique since the beginning.

My question about shortboard technique:

I straighten my arms and then I do a pressure with my right knee so I can get my front foot under my chest.

So the pressure is done by my right knee and there is no pressure by my left knee through my back foot goes to the tail of my board.

Do you think it’s a good technique ?


Anyway, I think the best technique is the smoother and faster and there is no need in psyching but practising. But it would be nice if I could clarify this point.


Thanks folks.