"Locking" in when catching a wave?

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"Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby gd6 » Fri Jan 31, 2014 5:41 pm

I've been learning on a shortboard right now (6'4" channel islands k-small, I'm 170lbs) , and I'm happy with my progress, but I still struggle with catching decent sized waves that have more power. I've been surfing since late summer, and have been out on the water between 20-30 times at this point. The waves I'm struggling to catch are 4-6' waves with a long swell period. I'm sure the main thing I need to do is to just keep on practicing, but I was watching what other people were doing, and many people, right before pop up, arch their back while holding the rails, and hold that for a few seconds, and they look locked into the upper portion of the wave, before going down the face of the wave. This is definitely something that I don't do, I just very quickly grab the rails and throw myself to my feet instantly once I feel like the wave has caught me without a pause, and it works really well for me until the waves get past a certain size/strength. Do many of you pause and 'lock' into the wave while arching your back for a few seconds before taking the drop? I'm pretty sure I'm positioned well on my board, I rarely miss a wave that I decide to catch, but I have been wiping out because something seems a little off on the bigger stronger waves. I had this same issue on my bigger 7'8" thruster as well, and going smaller hasn't actually made this issue any harder or easier. I wish a had a gopro for reference but I've already spent too much money on this hobby of mine for now.

Also, I seem to feel more comfortable paddling with both arms in unison, especially when catching waves. I never understood why it was said that this shouldn't be done, but I seem to be able to focus on the wave and feeling my board catch it when I'm not paddling with one arm after the other. Would someone care to explain the difference and why its nearly always recommended for a beginner not to do this? Thanks for your help!
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby oldmansurfer » Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:55 pm

I have several different pop ups that I do. Usually I just pop up but some times if I am sort of on a wave but not going down the face, I will push the front of the board down by pushing away from the board with my back arched till I drop off the top of the wave then I finish the pop up while I fall down the face. As for the both hands at the same time paddle, I think it is likely that you can go faster with alternating arms because in swimming freestyle is faster than butterfly but it may not make too much difference. Very interesting, I wonder why more people don't do that? You know if you are having fun then that is the main thing.
So what is worse.... dying or regretting it for the rest of my life? Obviously I chose not regretting it.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby oldmansurfer » Fri Jan 31, 2014 6:58 pm

If you want to explain in what situations you wipe out we may be able to help you out...like is it at the bottom turn or turning off the top of the wave or at some other particular time.
So what is worse.... dying or regretting it for the rest of my life? Obviously I chose not regretting it.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby gd6 » Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:18 pm

I wish I could explain the wipeouts better. On bigger stronger waves, it seems like the window of opportunity for catching the wave just right is much smaller, and there is just less time and less room for error. If I get to my feet I often can manage after that, but I think I may be popping up too late or something. I was trying to pay attention to what was going on but it was difficult as the waves were just breaking fast and strong and my skill level for the strong and fast 5 foot waves just isn't there yet. I guess I have a hard time telling when I really caught the wave and when the right time to pop is. When I do manage to catch a nice wave, my riding and turning seems surprisingly good and that part comes pretty naturally to me. I definitely feel way more stable standing up than I do when I am paddling to catch waves.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby oldmansurfer » Fri Jan 31, 2014 10:09 pm

Usually the take off is more critical on bigger waves but a coupe weeks ago I was riding less than head high waves on a shallow reef break that had a difficult to figure out line up. I just popped up but in that short time the wave bottomed out and the wall became incredibly steep. I had to angle my board which was probably longer than the wave was tall to keep from pearling into the reef, I made it but the wave was breaking too far in front of me to catch up with the lip. Keep working at taking off. Once you feel comfortable taking off at a particular spot try taking off a little deeper, not much just a little so you aren't entirely comfortable with it. Long boarders long ago used to kneel and paddle with both arms simultaneously. I do use both arms rarely just to get an extra oomph to take off on a wave that is getting ahead of me but haven't ever seen anyone else use two arms. To me taking off is the best part of a wave. I get a thrill from taking the drop (adrenalin rush).
So what is worse.... dying or regretting it for the rest of my life? Obviously I chose not regretting it.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby oldenglish » Fri Jan 31, 2014 11:28 pm

Are you talking about being shot down the face of a wave into the trough before a pop-up? As in paddling for a wave and once the wave catches up to you it kind of just shoots you straight down causing gforces that prevent a popup?

And does it seem that others can stall in a planed position on the face of the wave easing the take off?
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby gd6 » Sat Feb 01, 2014 2:43 am

Oldenglish, it does definitely seem like other people are stalling in a planning position before taking the drop, and thats why I asked about that, because I feel like sometimes the wave catches me too much and there is too much force that prevents me from popping up. This only happens on bigger stronger waves, whatever method I use for catching waves works pretty much most of the time on decent strength 4 foot waves, but once they get stronger I don't catch them well at all. I also think my stamina is a factor as I get worn out faster in bigger surf and thus can't paddle as hard.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?c

Postby oldenglish » Sun Feb 02, 2014 4:42 pm

Ok I used to have the same problem. A few things could be happening.

1) your not getting up to speed quickly and the lip is launching you forward and Down the face. This happens in not so steep and onshore days. If the wave was barreling you would be sent over the falls and slammed.
Solution: paddle hard, dig deep.

2) your board might have low entry rocker. Good for small waves but bad for bigger stuff. When a relatively flat board starts planing it can run pretty fast making popup hard. You really have to arch your back to get weight on the fins and create some drag so the board slows easing the take off.
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Re: "Locking" in when catching a wave?

Postby gd6 » Mon Feb 03, 2014 11:53 pm

Thanks for your advice, it does sound like what happens to me. I am going to experiment with arching my back, its not something I think I do at all at this point. I do have to work on my paddling, well specifically my stamina, as I try to spend 3 hours in the water when I can make it surfing (due to it being an hour drive away), and only the first hour do I feel like I have the strength to paddle as hard as I would like to. It will be a little while before I get to ride stronger waves...They will be 4-5 ft but very short swell period at the end of this week, but those kinds of waves don't seem to give me any issues.
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