Surfing Waves

Hello
I am 178cm and weigh 77kg. I have a 6'4 short board (19.5' on 2.25)
When Im trying to catch a wave that is bigger then 1.5ft I ussaly end up either nose diving or ditching the board because the wave takes me high. Any tips on how to catch it better?

Surfing a board that size at your weight you should be able to catch a wave and pop up in the dark, with your eyes closed and drunk. For starters that board is waaaaayyyyy too small for you, you need to be in the steepest and most critical part of the wave to take off, have excellent timing and positioning and be able to paddle better.....you also NEED bigger waves and NEED to be taken high so that the thin board you have will actually have enough speed to plane on top of the water.

You need a bigger board because the pop up is just a symptom.

tdh wrote:Hello
I am 178cm and weigh 77kg. I have a 6'4 short board (19.5' on 2.25)
When Im trying to catch a wave that is bigger then 1.5ft I ussaly end up either nose diving or ditching the board because the wave takes me high. Any tips on how to catch it better?

If the wave isn't even 2-3 feet, you shouldn't be even using a shortboard anyways. Shortboards are high(er) performance vehicles made for higher performing waves, not 1 foot white water mush.

BUT....... since you want to be a cool shortboarder, not a lame old gizzer longboarder, get really good at paddling. One benefit of a shorter board compared to longboards is your feet hand out over the back. So you can kick to help out your arms with propulsion.

Because a shortboard takes off AS the wave is breaking, not BEFORE the wave breaks like on a long(er) board, you can not point straight ahead. You have to angle in to fit the contour of the wave. BUT......... since you don't have the right paddle or pop up technique yet, you now will be pitched over sideway instead of head over heels.

Question - are you getting up on one knee then to your feet ?

I need to make some corrections- 1ft mesured from behind, its about 3ft front side of the wave. I catch some waves and when I do I pop-up straight to my feet without the knees. The problem is that when the wave takes me higher ì cant manage to angle the board and i simply nosedive

tdh wrote:I catch some waves and when I do I pop-up straight to my feet without the knees.

So you catch some, you miss some and some waves catch YOU. Happens to all of us. Timing and Position is critical. It's like trying to hit a baseball. Can't go too early or too late. Some people will tell you to pop-up when you feel the wave raises up the tail of your board, BUT that's more for beginners on longboards. Since you're already on a shortboard, you need to be more PRO-active than REactive, when knowing where the wave is and the right time to get to your feet. By the time, you feel the wave, it'll be too late and you're falling over. It takes practice and experience to know the WHEN. Plus every wave is different ( double ups ) and tides change, wind goes on-shore. You just gotta keep at it. just like learning to hit a baseball.

Big H is right. You should not be riding a shortboard whilst having to ask for pop up tips.

tdh wrote:I need to make some corrections- 1ft mesured from behind, its about 3ft front side of the wave. I catch some waves and when I do I pop-up straight to my feet without the knees. The problem is that when the wave takes me higher ì cant manage to angle the board and i simply nosedive

that's weird. When I ride a board with rocker, like a shortboard, many times I have the opposite problem, I get left behind by the wave. Especially on smaller waves. Is it possible your board, while short, is some sort of a groveler for small waves? (Though the small width and thickness make me think it's a true shortboard).

pmcaero wrote:

tdh wrote:I need to make some corrections- 1ft mesured from behind, its about 3ft front side of the wave. I catch some waves and when I do I pop-up straight to my feet without the knees. The problem is that when the wave takes me higher ì cant manage to angle the board and i simply nosedive

that's weird. When I ride a board with rocker, like a shortboard, many times I have the opposite problem, I get left behind by the wave. Especially on smaller waves. Is it possible your board, while short, is some sort of a groveler for small waves? (Though the small width and thickness make me think it's a true shortboard).

Sounds like he doesn't paddle enough or is standing too far forward, when you don't paddle enough you get hung up and when surf is small the lip pushes your nose into the water no matter how much rocker you have you're going over the handle bars if you don't paddle well

Thanks all probably the paddeling because in the beggining of the session im much more better. Another question i have us when to angle the board?

tdh wrote:Thanks all probably the paddeling because in the beggining of the session im much more better. Another question i have us when to angle the board?

Unless you're pulling into a jacking wave or surfing tiny waves don't angle your board, get used to paddling straight for shore and then bottom turning, starting off with an angle is a very bad habit, yuo can only use it once you can do it the normal way

icetime wrote:

tdh wrote:Thanks all probably the paddeling because in the beggining of the session im much more better. Another question i have us when to angle the board?

Unless you're pulling into a jacking wave or surfing tiny waves don't angle your board, get used to paddling straight for shore and then bottom turning, starting off with an angle is a very bad habit, yuo can only use it once you can do it the normal way

???

Really depends on the wave....it is not a bad habit at all. Try paddling at a shallow angle first like 10-15* then like all other movements learned practice and experiment while paying attention and noting all the involved variables.

icetime wrote:Unless you're pulling into a jacking wave or surfing tiny waves don't angle your board, get used to paddling straight for shore and then bottom turning, starting off with an angle is a very bad habit, yuo can only use it once you can do it the normal way

what if you are not positioned perfectly at the peak and you have to take-off more on the shoulder?