Pop up on softboard

[koko90]

Hello guys!

I have bought new 7 ft soft board two weeks ago. I am 5' 9" and weight 156 pound

Now, about the pop up - I have tried surfing on 8 ft soft board and the pop up is pretty easy because I can use my foot (Because my foot are places on the board)
While surfing on 7 ft it's a different story - I can't surf with my foot on the board because it doesn't float me, so I place my foot and my legs outside the board.

My question is - how to popup properly? currently I am using my hands only and it's pretty clumsy.
I have read that on a short board the knees are being used for the pop up (therefor there is the traction pad?), I have tried to do this with no success, I just slip off..

What should I do? Pop up one leg at a time? Apply traction pad (anyone installed that pad on softboard before? I never saw it on softboard), Keep practicing?
Is there a way to practice this at home? I thought of taking the fins off and putting the board on a carpet or a few pillows

Thanks!

[koko90]

I don't know why but I can't edit it. I have another question:
Do I need to wax my softboard?

[jaffa1949]

Oh dear, there is so much wrong and ineffective here that prevents popping up.

Let's start, how are you lying on the board , only a small amount like your ankles and feet might be hanging straight off the back of the board when you are paddling. Any mor and you are entirely in the wrong paddle position.

If the 7ft is not floating you , it is not big enough, but knowing how floaty soft boards are , I would bet on you being in the wrong paddling position again. The nose of the board should be no more than 1 inch or 25mm out of the water when you are paddling.

Next your board is not a short board, whatever you are reading about how to short board surf put it well aside for now , until you can be ready for a short board, then throw the reading away because you will know how to surf.

Do not go paddle knee pop up , you need to bring your feet up to the standing position without stopping at knees on. Shoulder strength and practice. Two legs at a time, think similar to burpees read through all the pop up threads, lots of good information.
Traction pad is not needed, but wax is! Traction pad is an aid for turning power.

Jumping around on your board even with the fins off can damage it, and whatever you do on land while entirely replicate the movement and feeling of a board on water, or the shift in acceleration when the wave is caught.

Get a large piece of cardboard packing carton and cut to size and shape, practice your pop up there!

[jaffa1949]

Yes you wax your board!

[koko90]

Yes you wax your board!

Thanks for your replay!

First of all, does it make sense that I paddle with my knees and ankles outside the board? because as I said, if I paddle with them on the board it doesn't float me properly - does it make sense or I just at the wrong position?

Is this how I supposed to pop up? (chicken wing)

Or I should pop-up like in this video?

Either way if I am at the wrong position (legs and ankles should be on the board) the pop up isn't much of a problem..
The thing is that I have tried several times to paddle with my feet inside, it just doesn't float properly..

About the wax - I have sticky bumps - Do I need to apply another kind of wax before that one?

[Lusi]

There isnt a perfect a technique to pop up just use the one you think its better for you, And Just make sure you are well positioned on your board, and a good tip for improve your pop-up if you have your right foot in front turn your shoulders a bit to the left its a lot easier, while you do it lift your body with your arms and place your feet in the right place, dont forget lots of practice because switching to a shorter board changes everything, center of floatation and lots of other factors you were used to , are all different now. Practice and keep practising while you examine what you did wrong so you can learn.

[jaffa1949]

Like I said before , if the board doesn't float you it is the wrong board.
The second video!
Sticky bumps will do,
You need practice of the correct paddling position it takes a little time to gain the skill.

[dtc]

Lay on your board somewhere in still water (out the back or a pool or something). As Jaffa said, notice how far above the water the nose is. It should be about 1 inch. If its more than one inch, scoot forward until it is one inch (note: chances are this seems to be way too far forward but its not - trust us! This is where you want to be). Now - my tip although others disagree - when you are in the right place draw a line on your board at eye level (use your fingernail in wax or use a marker pen or something). Now this is your starting point every time you are on the board (you will learn that sometimes you need to be ahead or behind this line by a few inches, but this is your starting point). Start paddling - you can make subtle adjustments by bending your back (lifting your head) or laying right down on the board.

When you are in this spot I actually don't see that your feet will be off the board given your height, but lets say they are. Your feet in the water creates drag ie makes it harder to paddle. We don't want it to be harder to paddle, its hard enough anyway. So bend your knees a little bit and bring them above the water; alternatively put them straight behind the board (in the water) and point your toes a little bit (make them streamlined). Either way, your legs should be going straight down the board and your feet hanging off the end of the board - not the side of the board.

If your feet are out to the side of the board, this suggests to me you aren't balanced and you are using your feet as 'outriggers' or stabilisers. You shouldn't have to do this, but it might just be a matter of practicing and learning your balance. You need to end up with your legs going straight down.

Remember that 80kg surfers can paddle 5ft6 boards. Unless your board is totally waterlogged (ie faulty), your board will float you if you are doing it correctly.

Pop ups are a whole nother lesson....no knees involved.

[drowningbitbybit]

The thing is that I have tried several times to paddle with my feet inside, it just doesn't float properly..

Define "properly"... what are you expecting the board to do? In what way is it not floating?

The board absolutely should float with you on it and you absolutely should not be paddling with your knees and feet either side of the board.

[Big H]

I am 185cm....I have a 7' board that when I paddle my feet are just off the end....at your height I think on your 7' board your feet should have board underneath them when laying down....

Other than that, you have just discovered the first layer of surfing....it is nowhere near as easy as skilled surfers make it look. You have a lot of practice ahead; start with learning to paddle your board with your feet together, crossed even. This is an imperative and an easily measurable goal....be able to paddle with your legs together. It isn't easy but you should be able to sort it out with practice.

Wchan, a surf instructor here says that popping up is the easy part....we've been standing up our whole lives....learning to be in the right position to catch the wave at the right moment, learning when and how hard as well as the ability to paddle and make the board go faaaasssttt, making your move to stand at the right moment, controlling the board in the process so that going from prone to standing is relatively easy and stable is the trick....

My favourite training videos:

[koko90]

Thanks for all the replays guys!

About the paddling - my position is nearly the same as in the picture - small part of my feet are in the water, ankles almost touching each other.

Again, I am 175 and weight about 71KG, I should be able to paddle with my whole ankles inside?

About my ankles and feet placed inside the water - as far as I remember some one told me about that 1 inch thing and I paddle with the nose 1 inch outside the water, and even when the water was flat and I placed my ankles inside - the nose goes inside the water.
But if you guys says it doesn't make any sense and it should float me with my ankles inside - I will try practicing on it

[Big H]

I cross my feet and keep the bottom one along the surface of the water...lifting and lowering my head and feet affects the nose of the board....play around with your position on the board and what happens when you raise your feet out of the water then lower them again and when you raise your head and chest up high and when you lower them to the deck then use those small trim adjustment techniques to your advantage when: paddling through chop (nose up a bit when a choppy wave comes), catching a wave (nose down to get in, nose up to get up), sudden flat section of water when paddling back to the outside (legs & chest down making the board trim flat for speed to eat up those meters before the next wave comes).

[Big H]

Some illustrations:

[dtc]

About my ankles and feet placed inside the water - as far as I remember some one told me about that 1 inch thing and I paddle with the nose 1 inch outside the water, and even when the water was flat and I placed my ankles inside - the nose goes inside the water.

Well, maybe I'm stating the obvious, but if the nose is going in the water then the nose isn't 1 inch above the water. You might be squirming up the board without realising it, or doing the 1 inch measuring with your back arched and then paddling with your head down (your head weighs a lot, it definitely affects the balance of the board). But if the nose is going in the water, then move back a bit.

Don't worry about your feet being on or off the board in terms of positioning yourself for paddling. Your feet are where they are, and people regularly ride boards less then their height and have half a leg over the tail. Get the position right, then sort out the feet.

You should, as others have said, be popping up without using your toes or knees. So whether your feet can reach the board or not is irrelevant.