I Ate It Yesterday and need help....

[kiarragrant]

I am learning how to surf on a shortboard and yesterday was my firstday. I was woundering if anyone had tips on when to pop up becuase I got that way wrong... Also where do you lay on the board when paddleing.

[Laguna]

Ok, learning to surf on a shortboard is relatively harder than learning on a longer board. Do you know the whole pop-up stages? Can you pop up well on the beach when practicing?
When you are laying on the board you have to be laying so that the nose of the board is an inch or two above the water. If the nose is under the water you wont be getting very far and will nose dive when catching waves. If the nose is too high up out of the water you wont be catching any waves.

[kiarragrant]

I can pop up fine on the sand when I practice. The probelm I am haveing is when you are paddleing and get into a wave it is really fast and I can't do it in time so. I am just not prepared for when i catch waves I guess because everything is so fast and I was woundering if anyone had any specific tips that would help me work on this because I am not even attempting to stand up when a waves comes. Everyone said geting waves was hard,but the standing up part is what is hrd for me..

[Driftingalong]

Do lots of push ups of various kinds on days you don't surf.

ie..
10x each
Standard
Hands spread out farther
Hands closer (touch your index fingers together, and thumbs together)
Knuckles (so your palms face eachother)

Then raise your feet up and do it again!

[Laguna]

Ok, I know what you mean and it does feel really fast the first time you start surfing. You will get use to it, believe me. You gotta start catching smaller clean unbroken waves and then work your way up to bigger waves....
When you go to catch the wave make sure you paddle as hard/fast as you possibly can , and when you feel the wave pick you up, paddle once more and then pop up quickly without thinking about it.
Ive surfed some waves where I have drop in off the lip of some 4-5ft waves and I felt like I was going to fall and had nothing to pop up on, but just pop up and when you make the drop you will be amazed at how awsome the rush is.

[Mojo Jojo]

What you described is exactly the reason why you shouldn't be learning on a shortboard. You can pop up fine on land because you're not doing it on a squirlly shortboard. Getting to your feet is only the beginning of surfing, but one of the major fundamentals. If you start on a larger, more stable board, you would learn to get to your feet faster and then begin to concentrate on actually riding a wave. When you get your fundamentals down on a bigger board, you will become amazed at how responsive a shortboard is. If you keep at it with your shortboard, you will get it eventually, but it will take you much longer.

If pop ups is your problem and you can do them well on land here's what I did to drill the technique. I started surfing late in life and since I had to make up a lot of time, I approached surfing in a fairly analytical manner. Number one is that you have to let go of your ego. Yes people are watching you on the beach, but mostly they don't care. Heck, you're doing what they only dream of. So, what you should do is find a beach with nice rolling white wash away from the crowds. Go out to about waist to chest deep water. Wait for a nice white wash wave to approach and hop on your board. Get on the board early enough so you don't have to adjust your balance at the last minute. Start paddling lightly to get your board moving and then increase your paddle strength as the wave approaches. By the time the wave is about to hit you is when you dig into that wave as with all your might. Arch your back as you paddle. This pulls weight off your nose so you don't pearl and helps you glide better. You should feel yourself surge forward and as you do grab your rails. Arch your back up like a cobra and perform your pop up as fast as you can. The white wash waves will be a bit bumpy, but remember, this is for training. The idea is to increase your wave catching and pop up ability as fast as you can. Doing this in the white wash like this will help because you get back to your spot faster and don't have to sit around 10 minutes waiting for a wave and then worrying about battling other guys in the lineup for position. You will progress naturally as the white wash waves become to easy for you. You will crave larger, more unbroken waves and will paddle out further and further each time looking for them.

Try this drill out for a few weeks. It's time tested. I got it from Taj Burrows book and it was used in my daughters surf camp. I used it even though I thought it would be humiliating. I use it to teach my friends and I still do it when the outside waves are just to big for my tastes.

[GowerCharger]

steeper waves mean faster and more critical takeoffs, smaller waves are harder to catch and you need to pop up faster to avoid losing momentum. what you need is something in the chest high range but fairly sloppy, you'll find that more forgiving on your technique. unfortunately you can't always have the perfect wave to practise on so you just have to get out there and keep at it and make the most of what you get.