Surfing Waves

I have been having trouble popping up on the board in one step. I am quick to get up but i tend to drag my knee on the board and sometime loose the face of the wave and get caught in the whitewash and when i try to take off late I will end up taking the drop on my knees and look like a fool . What is the best way to improve my technique and how could i practice at home?
Thanks for the help!

I find practicing pop ups on my board on the beach for a few minutes before each sess helps me out. Then you can get into a bit of a groove before going into the water and hopfully it'll come naturally then.

davos wrote:What is the best way to improve my technique and how could i practice at home?

Yes, practise on your living room floor - a few thousand times will do it

As for technique, it sounds as though your hands are too far forward. That way you tend to drag yourself forward along the board (and so a knee lands on the board) rather than popping up.

Just before you pop up, move yours hand back so they're about by the bottom of your rib cage.

Also, if you're still learning on whitewater, it can be difficult to do in one move and the board will be bouncing around all over the place. Time to go for a clean wave

Practice - practice - and then some more, well, erm, practice..........

Dragging the back knee is a common thing to do - but if you keep doing it, then you'll end up with a nice compression ding on your deck, so better to get out of the habit sooner, rather than later........

I wouldn't necessarily say pracising on your board on the beach is the way forward, as you still might ding it (unless it's a pop-out or swelly, in which case I'm talking poo), but you can either draw a 'board' in the sand and practice - or there is a product which we happen to sell (sorry - blatant plug, but said product is also available in other shops, etc) called the 'Ollypop'.

It's a towel with a surfboard design on it, complete with foot positioning. It was designed by a surfer (and surf coach) and even when you've perfected your pop-up, it's still a useful towel for the beach.......

If you add 'dot com' to my username, then you'll find a website that might be of use..........

I have actually been able to surf the face of the wave for a while now and can do simple carves and floaters and all that and can padle on the un-broken waves comfortably its just that my take off has been letting me down and because of this I loose speed and the wave seems to be that one step ahead of me and I get behind the section. I also ride a shortboard if that helps. It's 6'2, 20 1/2, 2 3/4.
Thanks for the help!

davos wrote:I have actually been able to surf the face of the wave for a while now...

In which case, I'll still go with the hands too far forward

what i thought helped was measuring out on the floor at home and popping up so your feet are just in front of the area above the fins, thought it helped loads

still do it now if ive been out of the water for a while

if its not your hands being too far forward as drowning said, practice with your board on your bed, i do it everyday and it helps alot in pointing out whatever your doing wrong..

I recommend using a cardboard cut-out of your board for practice versus your actual board. No need to needlessly pound on it on dry land.

drowningbitbybit wrote:As for technique, it sounds as though your hands are too far forward. That way you tend to drag yourself forward along the board (and so a knee lands on the board) rather than popping up.

Just before you pop up, move yours hand back so they're about by the bottom of your rib cage.

i'll be trying this tommorrow afternoon. if it works, i'll email you a pint

maybe i'm expecting too much too soon (absolute newbie, four sessions up to this point!) but i'm not going to be happy until i've stood up for more than 3 seconds!

nice meeting you all by the way (first post!).

Surfing-Innovation wrote:It's a towel with a surfboard design on it, complete with foot positioning. It was designed by a surfer (and surf coach) and even when you've perfected your pop-up, it's still a useful towel for the beach.......

was that on the dragons den programme?

Also...i thought it's worth mentioning. I was surfing with a mate who's just starting, and it occured to me the he was holding the rails of the board when popping up....meaning all his weight was going forward, rather than up.

Your hands need to be in more of a flat pressup position, rather than gripping the rails.

Luke252 wrote:
Your hands need to be in more of a flat pressup position, rather than gripping the rails.

learned that one the hard way.

i'm used to bodyboarding so holding on to the board feels natural. as soon as i pushed up from a clasping position, the board became unstable and started to oscillate.

i've learned to trust the downward pressure on a flat palm - all i've got to do now is get those feet foward into position. by the time i've managed to get close, the wave is closing out or the board is sinking...

One more bad thing about grasping the rails, if you hit a spot with little or no wax, and your hand slips off, you can get a pretty nasty gash on the chin. This may or may not ruin an otherwise perfectly good session.

ALWAYS PLANT YOUR HANDS PALMS DOWN ON THE DECK TO LAUNCH!

Thanks guys, I shall try the palms down bit next time we get some swell this way. I have been suffering from the dragging my back leg syndrome and though I've practised on dry land with more success I've not manage to stop in the water....probably more fear that anything else lol. I have been gripping the rails though - thought thats what you were supposed to do! but now I know better!!

When you're taking off on a wave, you're committed to that wave. Why risk ruining the wave by dragging your knee? You've already committed so why jack around? GO FOR IT! Good luck!

Another idea, for what it's worth:

Focus your attention more on the foot that's not making it up. You know the front foot will make it. So concentrate only on getting the other foot planted.

Use this as a mental focus training as you do what ever land pop-up practice you do. Also, don't do your land practice as a "mechanical exercise." Instead, visualize as realistically in your mind as you can that you are catching a wave. Feel it in your mind, sun, wind, salt and sound, and then do the pop-up "at the right time" with the focus on planting the other foot. Imagine you've paddled back out. Visualize catching another wave with the same focus.

Then, as you are catching a real wave, focus your mind as much as you can on the same thing--planting the other foot. Even if you wipe out because you "forgot something else," you are training your other foot to get where it needs to be. Maybe let the things that are working just happen on their own. Put your focus where it needs to be, and like Otter says--you know what it's supposed to be, so make sure you go for it.