I need a faster pop-up. Technique Ideas

Hey everyone. I've been surfing for about a year. Doing ok, moving down to smaller boards. One thing I notice is that I need to take off on a more critically steep wave and get to my feet faster.

This is where I can get burned. On overhead waves I sometimes don't get to my feet fast enough, and rocket to the bottom of the wave before I can get up and get in control. I'd like to be able to pop right up and get a turn going or at least some weight on my back foot.

So, I'm trying a little dry land training and analyzing what I do.

Most instructional sites just say: 'pop to your feet in one fluid motion'. Well, that's easy to say, tough to do.

In dry land training, I removed the fins from my board and have it on the lawn. If I just start with a pushup and swing both legs under me and land on them keeping low, my foot placement is all over the place. And, I seem to need to push off of the grass to get my feet up and going. Fast, but un-predictable.

I also found this website and description with a neat little video: http://www.wavelust.com/tips.html#pop

This writer first finds the tailpad of his board with his rear foot, uses that to lever against while swinging his forward foot into position. Does anyone else do this? I tried this on my lawn, and it does markedly improve my accuracy in foot placement but seems like a two step process. I wonder if I will be able to easily find the tail of my board while in the water and the wave is jacking behind me.

What does everyone else do? I'm sure those of you who've been surfing just go into auto and pop up without thinking about how you get there.

Thanks for any insight into this critical little movement.

1. Wait on smaller waves and then make a point of popping up as fast as possible.

2. On dry land, get little kids to lie on your back and then try popping up. You can make this a game by seeing how far you can throw them with the power of your pop up. Either get tough little kids or improvise a very soft landing area for them.

3. Consider that it may just be an angle problem on steeper waves. Or maybe a smaller board would be better for you.

4. If all the above fails, come back and ask for excuses on how to avoid bigger waves.

Gleshna

I give wave priority to U.S. Marines. It's my way of saying, 'Thank you.'

Now that's funny!

Joey lay flat on your surfboard or sudo surfboard taped out floor with your hands beside your chest like your going to do a pushup.

Take your power foot and roll it over on your inside ankle.

Let the hip above your power foot roll up off the board.

Keeping your power foot back, push your chest off the board and start bringing your front foot up beneath you.

This should take you in one continuous motion from a prone position to two feet on the board .

This isn't the technique that I learned starting out but it's effective and easy. There's a few photos in a long winded 'learn to surf tutorial' that I wrote with one of the local surf school owners at http://www.coastalbc.com/surf/learn.htm

The first good swell of the autumn hit yesterday. http://www.coastalbc.com/surf/photo00.htm

There was a better photog on it and he shot these photos. http://www.coastalbc.com/surf/photo01.htm

Got my truck waxed. Story to follow. Cam
http://www.CoastalBC.com/

I'm practicing on a shortboard. (longer boards are no problem). Since the back end of the baord is up somewhere near my knees I first need to bring my powerfoot in to find the board. This is the step I was wondering about. It sure feels right on my lawn, but can I go from mad paddeling to finding the end of my board quickly enough?? Is this what most people do on a shortboard?

Once I find the board end, bringing my front foot up is a natural. I've yet to try this in the water.

So far, I've just been doing a big pushup that gives me room to swing my hips under me and land on my feet. I think it could be faster (might be my slow muscles) and more accurate. If I land with both feet in the wrong spot on the board I crash quickly! Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

That may be your problem, is this a kneeboard or sponge?

Even on a relatively short board, the end of the board should be near your feet. Certainly no farther than your ankles. If your knees are at the end of the board, then you are far too far back, and this would cause late take-offs, and steeper than necessary drops, which makes getting to your feet much more difficult than it need be.

Best of Drops,

This instruction is from our very own Buddy.

In the end, the more you do it, the better you get at it. It really becomes very fluid and unconcious, therefore hard to describe. Don't scoff at dry land practice, because it'll help. And also remember that even some good surfers don't have smooth entries (Liam McNamara for example).

It may help you to stroke harder and deeper to get into the wave earlier. Maybe start out a stroke or two further to gain momentum. 'Most' of the other suggestions posted are good also.

That's it. You just need more practice at planting your feet properly. If you get in the habit of doing one foot, then the second, you will always be slow.

smoke a nice phatty, inhale deeply and hold your toke_breath until the very end ... this will expand your mind and make training your feet more efficient ... and enjoy!

Also consider your takeoff. A well executed takeoff will make the popup so much easier - a fluid motion where the board drops under you as well as you popping up on it - is the best ASCII relation to the feeling I can come up with at the moment.

Best way to improve your takeoff? There are many but 'paddle like you mean it' works well. Also, consider the angle of the takeoff in relation to the type of wave your riding and whether your early or late - experiment, take note, adjust, experiment some more and often.

It will all fall in to place Dropping down a fat face Bottom turn And burn!