Surfing Waves

Hi guys,

For some reason I tend to drop on the wave too late all the time... when the wave is flatter there's no problem and I can just stand up and drop smoothly but when it gets bigger and steeper I always end up falling from the top of the wave or just not taking it as I can see I'm gonna fall and crash...
Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? is it because I'm not paddling enough? or fast enough? when do you know it's time to stand up?

Cheers

It might be your technique, or your positioning, or your wave knowlege, but I will tell you what it is FOR SURE: your paddling!

Ok, you might think that it's the least of your worries, but it's the most. If you paddle slow or you are not that good at paddling you will get sucked up the wave and dumped down, by having a lot of speed you glide into your pop-up and you slide down the wave. Head high, stroke down and not out so you use your back shoulder and arms and not just your shoulder. You need momentum to catch a wave.

Here is a mental picture, have you ever seen something floating in the surf? When a wave comes, does it surf down the wave? Nope, it has no momentum, so it can't. You need speed...

Check the size of your board in relation to your level of surfing and your weight.

I see so many beginners who surf on way to small of boards. They may be able to catch and ride the rollers, but the minute big or critical waves come they are helpless.
The wave just passes them by...sometimes violently.

The previous posts are absolutely correct about positioning and momentum.
Positioning is learned with time, trial and error style.
Momentum can be helped with the right board.
Bigger waves you will need a bigger board to help get the momentum to catch it early. When you are up and riding early the wave is much easier to ride

good luck

Thanks guys,

yeah I think you def right cause when I paddle fast I feel like I'm getting inside the wave and then the pop up is much easier.. my board is a 6'4 shortboard and i'm 6ft 84 kg. I've passed the beginner stage and usually can catch waves but it's just that when there are close outs it gets really hard not to end up falling from the lip and crash at the bottom.. but I can see good surfers that can catch the same waves so I was wondering how they do it..
Cheers

another hint that helped me a lot.... don't look at the nose of your board or straight down, look where you want to go even when you are paddling. It's kinda the same as looking out the side window of your car when you're driving everything seems to be moving much faster. If you are looking down the line it all slows down that little bit that can make the difference between a makeable drop and a wipe out.

When I am taking off late, I will slide back a notch or two on my board to let alittle more of my nose stick out of the water. This seems to help me when I am taking off late or I did not have the chance to paddle into the wave like I wanted to. Other than that what the others are saying is very true, paddlling is everything at take off