Please critique my short-shortboard ride

[waikikikichan]

I try to look down the line as I pop up.
I definitely looked down the line during the bottom turn in the ride

Way too late. You need to be looking down the line BEFORE you hands even touch the deck. So even before your feet land, the body will be going that way.

[pmcaero]

[You need to be looking down the line BEFORE you hands even touch the deck. So even before your feet land, the body will be going that way.

Noted! Thanks!

[drowningbitbybit]

[You need to be looking down the line BEFORE you hands even touch the deck. So even before your feet land, the body will be going that way.

Noted! Thanks!

You mentioned that you find it hard to do this - one way to cheat is to start paddling while aiming at a landmark down the beach. You can work out your marker before you even start paddling so you're ready to go without thinking about it. Focus on the marker for the first few strokes. Once the wave catches you, you'll be pointing in the right direction to go down the line, and at no point will you look down the wave.

[RinkyDink]

Are you using a surf cam to make your video captures? If you are, can you post the link to it so I can watch it and get a wider angle of the break you're surfing?.

Here's a shortboarder who actually knows how to ride the wave from yesterday. Conditions were shifting between close-out waves into waves you had to get in early with some mushy waves in between. Really hard to gauge well at my experience level.

I'm going to start taking my shortboard out soon. Here's my gauge for whether it's worth taking it out: 1. The lip of the waves have to be throwing out in front of the wave. If it's just breaking along the top 1/3 of the wave and essentially making froth, then I'm taking out my Wavestorm. 2. I need to consistently make those steep drops on my foamie before I even think about trying them on my shortboard (my shortboard is 19 1/2 inches wide and very squirrely). I really am reaching the point where my Wavestorm is limiting what I can do. However, I still haven't perfected my popup on steep 5 foot waves. I make the drops on those about a quarter of the time. I'm not ready yet, but I'm getting close.

[pmcaero]

I need to consistently make those steep drops on my foamie before I even think about trying them on my shortboard

Good luck! I'm scared of pearling if I don't have some nose rocker up ahead. Kinda miss this big boy shortboard board I had, it's too waterlogged now, but would catch anything and make steep drops too.