beginner blues

[Randall Smith]

I just took up surfing at age 56 and I'm 5' 11", 150 lbs. and live in San Diego. After some research I bought a imitation Walden shape fun board that is 7' 6", 213/4" wide, 2 1/2" thick and is fiberglass construction. I've been out 4 times so far. First time got careless and let the board tag me in the ribs so thats been a limiting factor to a certain degree. The second outing I got a leason from a friend who has great expertise and helped tremendously with a lot of the basics. The last 2 outings the ribs hurt to point I had to shut it down prematurly. I have managed to paddle, catch waves and stand on a straight ride to the shore (sometimes). One of issues I need to resolve is I'm able to pop up pretty well when my toes are touching the surface of the board but in that position on the board I'll often pearl on the takeoff and if I move back enough to keep from pearling my feet are off the back end of the board and I struggle on the popup. I've practiced popups at home a lot and I'm Kelly Slater in the living room with my toes touching a surface and I've also tryed sliding the rear food sideways and forward first, that seems to help. So I'm thinking to practice that some more to see if that solves my problem but I"m also considering a longer board where my toes would be on the deck without pearling on the takeoff. It will always be fun getting the next board but I would like get this one to work for me. Any ideas would be appreciated. Oh, I used to think of surfing as "whats the big deal". I'm addicted, for sure, after the first ride.

[jeromejacobzy]

Thank you for sharing my height is also 5.11 i really like your advise here please send me more advise i will wait.

[Lomax]

Don't get bummed out man. Four pieces of advice:

1. Try the forward position, but arch your back as you catch it to keep the nose up. Obviously if the wave is steep you should be looking to take it at an angle. Heading straight to shore isn't a good plan for waves that are dumping.

2. If you're already arching and finding the right angle and still pearling, lay further back on the board. If you have trouble with getting to your feet, try planting with the back leg first.

3. Don't get tagged by your board.

4. Have fun!

[jasedrummer]

Hey Randall, I am in totally the same scenario here......I'm 38 years and 6'. After reading up on what board to get etc, I decided on a 7'6" funboard thinking it was long enough for me and would be a good beginners board......

I can pop up like a pro on land when my feet are touching the floor, or even the board as I practiced shoresurfing on the beach.....however as soon as I get in the water I have to shift my body back down the board to stop the front sinking, resulting in my feet hanging off the edge of the board.

The problem with this is, is I can't pop up without getting to my knees first which I know is a bad habit to get into.......

There are several demos of how to pop up on a shortboard online but I've tried them and I'm struggling to get up without dragging my knees along the floor / board.....

So....does anyone have any advice? Would it be better to get a longer board (which I don't really want to do to be honest, unless I have to....), or is there a correct technique for popping up without using your feet?

[vandangos]

when popping up (when your feet are off the back of the board) use you knees instead of your feet. check this video