Surfing Waves

I'm a 41 year old progressing beginner, and like most older guys am not very flexible. I train for an hour or more each day for other sports, so I'm more than capable in terms of power to weight ratio of popping up explosively (from paddle to push-up and when the moment's right pop! - on my feet), but I'm very aware that this 'pop' approach where you let go of the board really isn't the best way to do it. From watching decent surfers, they all seem to stand up in a much more controlled and smooth way, where often their hands stay in touch with the board throughout standing up until their feet are fully in place. The thing is, that despite stretching a fair bit every day and doing Yoga once a week, my ageing frame and long legs just can't manage that sort of cat-like pop up.

Does anyone have any tips? Perhaps some different stretches to try, or different techniques to try?

Look up. The most common issue is your head is down/looking down and thus forward and your balance is off. You can’t pop up if your weight is forward. Your head needs to be up and then it’s mid point and your hips can pivot underneath

Second tip is just move your hands further back. Like bottom of rib cage or even a touch lower

Check out these - this is a nice video channel I just found, from a beginner surfer who analyses his mistakes

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MbmjU1DxuYM&t=1s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wS3yu6rifaA

I would recommend to practice the pop up at home every day. It gradually will get smoother. On the water, I think it is more technical faults that are the limit (if I look at myself), most common ones as said by dtc, but I am alos getting stiff out of excitement, or wildly jump up out of panic and loosing control and speed. I still search for that relaxed power you see in good surfers. DIfficult to get when you are landlocked for 3-6 months in a row, but am still aim for it.

Beginner77 wrote: I'm very aware that this 'pop' approach where you let go of the board really isn't the best way to do it.

That's the problem, you are just "letting go", taking your hands off the deck. When you should be using your arms to EXPLODE off the deck. That helps in taking pressure/strain off your back and get your upright faster.

Beginner77 wrote:I despite stretching a fair bit every day and doing Yoga once a week, my ageing frame and long legs just can't manage that sort of cat-like pop up.

Maybe don't be a Cat, be a Crow. Can you do this Yoga pose ?

Thanks for your reply.

waikikikichan wrote:

Beginner77 wrote: I'm very aware that this 'pop' approach where you let go of the board really isn't the best way to do it.

That's the problem, you are just "letting go", taking your hands off the deck. When you should be using your arms to EXPLODE off the deck. That helps in taking pressure/strain off your back and get your upright faster.

As I said in my original post, I can already pop up explosively and get to my feet really fast. What I want to do is pop up more slowly and gracefully with my hands on the board the whole time (as in the videos above).

Beginner77 wrote:I despite stretching a fair bit every day and doing Yoga once a week, my ageing frame and long legs just can't manage that sort of cat-like pop up.

Maybe don't be a Cat, be a Crow. Can you do this Yoga pose ?
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I can just about do the crow, yes.

dtc wrote:Look up. The most common issue is your head is down/looking down and thus forward and your balance is off. You can’t pop up if your weight is forward. Your head needs to be up and then it’s mid point and your hips can pivot underneath

Second tip is just move your hands further back. Like bottom of rib cage or even a touch lower

Check out these - this is a nice video channel I just found, from a beginner surfer who analyses his mistakes

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MbmjU1DxuYM&t=1s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wS3yu6rifaA

That's exactly what I'd like to be able to do - his hands are still on the board when his feet touch down. To get my legs through underneath me I have to spring up with more power than that.

I struggled like crazy to get a good take-off, (I learned at 47) - Even though I could get up and surf I had some hitches in my technique that I knew held me back in fast pitching surf.

I have it dialed in now but it took awhile. It's not really an intuitive motion until you've been doing it awhile. Some people say dryland practice is a waste of time, but I don't think so - unless you can get in the water at least 3 or 4 times a week.

I do the same motion in dryland practice that I do in the water, but it feels much different in the water, and there are things that happen in the water that are crucial to getting right (push /lift of the wave/timing). But if you get get your body to automatically execute proper mechanics, then it's just a matter of getting the timing in the water. When you're older like myself you have to train your body in different ways than when you're 12.

Another big difference in the water is frame of mind. You've got to be determined to catch the wave. Don't underestimate this. When you're mind is focused on getting the wave, there are a lot of little subconscious movements that occur. You shift your body weight forward, you put in the extra paddle, your head leads your body - all without really thinking about it.

After an injury, I couldn't get into waves awhile and couldn't figure out what the problem was. Fear. Hesitation.

NO HESITATION!!! Major point.

Anyway, I don't think of it as an explosion or even a pop, but a tight, controlled lift and flick. "Flick" your legs forward and underneath you as the tail lifts and the nose drops. You can imagine how a dropping board would affect your mechanics, it makes it easier than on dry land. That takes water time to get the feeling.

If your pearling, you're on the right track, now you just have to get the mechanics together and get to your feet smoothly.

Here's a video I made for this forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFF4Pgxd2UA

A couple things, I'm not sure if my hands are this far back when I'm in the water, because when my tail is lifted, my fulcrum point (my arms) moves forward slightly. Also, when I'm in the water my head is on a swivel right up until my last paddle or two when I put my head low to the board to get moving down the wave face.

Surf a lot and have fun - it will come. If you find yourself getting frustrated in the water just clear your mind and just enjoy yourself.

Hope this helps.

Thank you - I'll watch your video after work. I'm catching waves fine, but jumping to my feet so quickly doesn't give me very good board control during the pop up. I can get away with this most of the time on an 8 foot foamie on a waist high wave, but I'm guessing once I progress I'll start having problems! Plus of course, I'd like to change 'most' to 'all'

I think it is amazing how your body learns to adjust to the task at hand in surfing without thought about it. Popup becomes one of those many things that occur in the split of a second without thought or even if it takes you longer than a second then the adjustments your body makes occur during that time. Fear....I understand that is an issue with beginners but it never was for me as a beginner. I had gone out paipo boarding or bodysurfing in bigger waves than anything I would attempt to surf for at least a year and a half. But at some point fear comes into play for most surfers myself included. Hesitation becomes a big issue in more critical waves. Smaller weak waves have much less consequences to messing up and are more forgiving if you do mess up so hesitation isn't so important. I have a rule on bigger waves if I hesitate I stop trying to get the wave. On smaller waves I am not so careful. On the waves I surf I often have to make a decision to continue paddling and popup quickly or stop immediately and pull back from the wave and those decisions are made without conscious effort it's more like "yes" or "no" and I either go or don't go for the wave. To go along with this the bigger the wave the less likely I am going to even try to paddle for it if I am not close to exactly in the right place to catch the wave. I am not even sure what I do when I popup on bigger waves I just know it's generally quick and smooth and where I land on the board is adjusted to by how quickly I want to get down the wave more forward for quicker down and more back for not so quick. and this is generally done without thinking.

Beginner77 wrote:I can just about do the crow, yes.

From the Crow pose, instead of just bringing the feet back down behind your hands, twist and bring the front foot down and have it land in front of the hands. Back foot lands behind the hands. That should keep you in contact with the board longer.

1) Are you seeing this long pause pop on short or longboards ( or both ) ?
2) Can you do a Fade Take-Off ?

JJGreenberg wrote:Anyway, I don't think of it as an explosion or even a pop, but a tight, controlled lift and flick. "Flick" your legs forward and underneath you as the tail lifts and the nose drops. You can imagine how a dropping board would affect your mechanics, it makes it easier than on dry land. That takes water time to get the feeling.

If your pearling, you're on the right track, now you just have to get the mechanics together and get to your feet smoothly.

Here's a video I made for this forum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFF4Pgxd2UA

A couple things, I'm not sure if my hands are this far back when I'm in the water, because when my tail is lifted, my fulcrum point (my arms) moves forward slightly. Also, when I'm in the water my head is on a swivel right up until my last paddle or two when I put my head low to the board to get moving down the wave face.

Nice video. Thanks for sharing it. I use my old Wavestorm for dry pop ups because I like popping up on an actual board. It's not necessary, but I find that it makes the dry pop ups a little more interesting.

Beginner77 wrote:Thank you - I'll watch your video after work. I'm catching waves fine, but jumping to my feet so quickly doesn't give me very good board control during the pop up. I can get away with this most of the time on an 8 foot foamie on a waist high wave, but I'm guessing once I progress I'll start having problems! Plus of course, I'd like to change 'most' to 'all'

In that case, keep your hands in contact with the board even after you get to your feet. Stay in a low crouch - bend your back knee toward the board. In my video. notice my low position after I get my feet under me - dropped back knee, hands on deck.

RinkyDink wrote:Nice video.

Thank you.

Yeah those are some nice waves. Where is that?

oldmansurfer wrote:Yeah those are some nice waves. Where is that?

At the end of the video I posted? It's British Columbia Canada (Vancouver Island)

Wow! Long go I gave up a chance to go check out Vancouver island, had a girlfriend from there but she was from Victoria so not much surf there

oldmansurfer wrote:Wow! Long go I gave up a chance to go check out Vancouver island, had a girlfriend from there but she was from Victoria so not much surf there

That particular spot is pretty remote. Victoria surfers have an hour or 2 drive to some pretty good waves, so yeah, it may be a little out of the way for a regular surfer.

Great fishing in the area too.

JJGreenberg wrote:

Beginner77 wrote:Thank you - I'll watch your video after work. I'm catching waves fine, but jumping to my feet so quickly doesn't give me very good board control during the pop up. I can get away with this most of the time on an 8 foot foamie on a waist high wave, but I'm guessing once I progress I'll start having problems! Plus of course, I'd like to change 'most' to 'all'

In that case, keep your hands in contact with the board even after you get to your feet. Stay in a low crouch - bend your back knee toward the board. In my video. notice my low position after I get my feet under me - dropped back knee, hands on deck.

I can't do that, which is what this thread is about.

Beginner77 wrote:That's exactly what I'd like to be able to do - his hands are still on the board when his feet touch down. To get my legs through underneath me I have to spring up with more power than that.

You can't practice this on dry land. The key element that makes it look smooth and allows space for his legs to come through is that the board falls away during the pop up which doesn't happen practicing on land.

Try sitting like this. I do this all the time now especially if I am talking to someone who is also squatting. When I first moved here I couldn't sit like this; now I can squat down for 5-10min. I do this when I check the surf before I go out and it loosens everything up. Try to get so you can do this easily and you'll have an easier time getting your legs underneath you.

The other thing I do before I go out and every night at home is the child's pose. Loosens up shoulders, ankles, back, hips and all the things you need for a smooth pop up.