Surfing Waves

I am now sitting in the line up and catching some fun waves and missing some waves. I am not quite sure what I do or don't do when it all comes together for a good ride. I have had recent occasion to drop in on some waves and while it is a bit scary it is a fun ride. My question is to do more of this are you supposed to pop up earlier? Am I still supposed to wait for the wave to grab me and then pop up? SHould i pop up before i get in the pocket? Sometimes i have waited and then I am in the pocket and going too fast that i chicken out and don't get to my feet until it is almost white water. Should i just man up and get to my feet? I am riding waist high/chest high waves? Any recommendations of video for people popping up on smaller waves not big competition waves?

On a another note do successful surfers know which way the wave will break before they turn their back on it and paddle? I have been trying to find video of breaking waves to learn but havn't been successful.

thanks a million for any tips

I guess that is something difficult to learn for a beginner . When exactly does the wave have you? For me it is somewhat automatic in that I don't usually think about it but usually when I pop up is when I feel the tail of my board lift up and simultaneously the board scoots forward a little. If it is a steep wave I feel the board fall over the edge. I still make a mistake once in a while. Probably what you have to do is to try it earlier and see how that goes. I am not sure how useful a video will be because it is a feeling that you have to sense that the wave is pushing you forward and I don't think that shows up in a video. The correct form for pooping up can be seen and there are lots of videos showing that.

You should not pop up early. On the other hand you shouldn't stand up late. Bad things happen if you paddle slow. But worse things might happen if you paddle very very hard. Sort of getting my point ? When do you pop up ? At the "right" time. You catch the wave when you match it's speed, at a given moment and place. Let's talk another sport you can understand easily. In baseball, the batter needs to make contact with the ball at a given time and place. You don't swing earlier or later then what the ball calls for, and expect to get a hit. You need to meet the ball. Also you need to stand in the batter's box, You can't be off to the side. Catching a wave is just like a batter hitting a ball from the pitcher. BUT ......... the pitcher is stand behind you. You have to bat a moving wave that is coming from behind you , not at you. That's is why catching a wave is difficult. Everyone know what to do, but the ones who know know when to do. That only comes with experience and time in the water. And c'mon surfing is much harder than golf. Golf must be a piece of cake. The dam little white ball isn't even moving.

I like the baseball analogy and your comment "You catch the wave when you match it's speed," thanks. how about the question regarding which way it will break. I know to turn away from the white water but do you good guys (and gals) know this before your back is turned to it?

surfergg, take some time to read through all the pop up threads because there is a great deal of difference between the sweetspot in white water pop ups and green face take offs, wave to wave even.
You have to have the need for speed, paddling to match the wave's speed, not just letting the wave catch you.
If you are taking off on unbroken waves you need to get a feel for both the speed needed for catching the wave and to feel the point where you have actually caught the wave. When gravity has begun to take you down the wave.
Be persistent, get into the surf as often as possible you will get it

Here is a well timed take off and pop up gravity has taken over and the surfer has begun her pop up and will set up to drive a turn at the bottom of the wave.


This one shows that the wave has been caught but he is struggling to organise anything about his pop up, the forces of the wave are too fast and strong for him. He should already be up and riding
You'll notice legs are everywhere. Wipeout followed shortly, this guy consistently tries to pop up at the bottom of the wave and consistently fails.

As for which way the wave breaks , take some time watch the surf see the wave and which way they break. You are very much a beginner, so you can only get better, we all did

I sometimes make the decision after I popped up. When I was learning this happened a lot by accident. It's how I learned to go backside. Reading a wave is a skill you will learn. At some breaks the waves will always be the same and other places especially sandbar breaks you have to read it. Sometimes you will see a wave coming and think that looks good but as you paddle for it the wave changes and you abort the takeoff. Sometimes you can pick which way you want to go because the wave has a rideable face in either direction. I sometimes find my self drifted out of alignment to go right and just go left because that is the easier option. I might still be able to go right but I have to go around a section and on some waves that would be the choice I make and others I go left and avoid having to go around a section. It's going to take some time in the ocean to learn and actually this is a process that never ends unless you quit trying to learn.

What I meant to say was that partly which way to go depends on what skills you have.

Most of the time the wave will break in the same way ie a wave wont break right one time and the next wave break left. Because the wave direction depends on the ocean floor (or point) and that wont change between waves. Sometimes a wave will break left with one swell direction and right in another or, less commonly, change as the tide changes. But if you sit on the shore and watch the waves before you go in, you will know what to expect.

As to when to pop up - its the vibe of the thing (aussie saying). You will feel it - when the wave has caught you then you start considering popping up. For some waves you actually have pop up at that point (steep waves). For fatter waves, or when you are on a longer board, you might actually have a few seconds riding along before you pop up. When to do it - after a while you just get the feeling. I know that isnt an answer, but its just experience.

Same with paddling with the wave behind you - you start feeling when the wave is about to break, if you need to speed up or slow down. As the wave comes in and starts breaking, it 'sucks up' the water up and over the face, and you can feel this movement.

A good way to get some feeling is to bodyboard, because its much easier to catch the waves and its less difficult and so you can catch a lot of waves. But it will help you feel what is going on and that translates into proper surfing.