Quicker pop up techniques...?

seachto7

Apart from the more you're in the water, the better you get, any other ideas for improving pop up on the board, or getting up quicker?

I notice on the smaller waves, I can get up fine, but on the more powerful ones, I usually need a few extra seconds to compose myself as the waves catches me, then pop up. However, I feel this is probably too late, and I should be getting up earlier.

It seems to be only on the more powerful waves that I struggle to pop up in good time, or else I wipeout..

What about popping up on the carpet during the week. Doing reps of around 10 or 20? Surely that would do me good....

I suppose there's nothing like actually being in the water.

it finally clicked into place for me yesterday though on the whole. I think I can call myself a "surfer" now....:). was back patting myself all the ways up the beach afterwards....

Now, to ditch that Bic, and get a custom job..........

Low Pockets

Practice on the bed, floor has too much resistance.

loctite

For years trying to perfect my popup was the monkey on my back.....and after 4 years I finally nailed it last winter.

I don't think popping on a bed or the floor actually helps. IMO and what has worked for me has been once you have paddled into a wave and it has you..

1) place your hands on board approx slightly forward of your hips

2) lift your upper body off the board, and move your hips forward. (Just like if you were to do a press up on the floor by fully extending your arms but leave your hips on the floor) by moving your lower body/hips forward this actually elevates you off the board and make the popup easier.

It is crucial to keep your chest up and look in the direction of travel as this will help you to take off at a sharper angle

3) Once you are in the elevated press up position with your hips moved forward, PAUSE!.... just hold it for a second or so and allow yourself to glide along on the wave. IMO this is what make the pop up work. Then jump to your feet. The pause is the most important part because it allows you to steady you and your board whilst you are elevated off it for the pop.

I know some waves don't allow for that pause, but practice this technique in smaller waves and I can guarantee that it works.... I have a few surfer mates who have tried it and swear by it....As you get better and faster at your pop ups you will no longer need to pause for as long and will be able to take off deeper in the waves....

Practicing on the floor or bed (IMO) is useless, because for a start the bed/floor does not become unstable when you press on it and when you try to get into the elevated position mentioned above, on a solid surface, your hips and lower body stay on the floor. When you do it on a board they naturally float off the board, making it that bit more unstable but actually easier to get to your feet.

Hope it helps!

ben bennett

hi ben coaching for nealry 17 years and let me tell you there is no need to pause although most of what loctit says is correct there are a few things you need to do that are different.

Firstly you dont push up when on a board ,you push down, this drives the board down the wave and creates speed and a hole for you to swing into. If you lift up you take the weight of the board, slowing it down so you might not make the section even if you make the drop.This is why practice on the floor may help with strength but is not really same as doing it in the water


Secondly if you feel your getting into waves to late or nose diving, you may not be taking even angle, so as you are about to pop focus down the line of the wave rather than straight down it.

Lastly you said time in the water is the best thing to improve your surfing, but have to disagree a little have seen hundreds of people go surfing lots and lots and improve very little. They may get fitter and more confident, but if you have bad technique all you are doing is practicing bad technique .. I always reccomend getting a decent coaching session every 6 months or so, especially at the start, learning from a friend only means you pick up their bad habbits,

hope this helps enjoy ben

www.benssurfclinic.com

seachto7

great feedback, and yep, I may get a lesson to iron out some of my bad technique.

An example: I catch some waves, and if I just lie on the board, it will basically "nosedive" me, so I'm thinking if I popped up earlier, I would take advantage of that nosedive and use it as initial acceleration down the wave.

Saying that, when it has happened, I've been pointed straight at the shore, rather than trying to find an angle....

ben bennett

yeaa if you are nose diving its not all about late or early but more about where you are focused . I find a lot of improver/ intermediates are concentrating on their feet/board/ or bottom of the wave, while they should be looking where they are going. you dont ride a bike looking at the peddles.

the more angle on the wave the more the board cuts into the wave, and holds, again if your looking down the line the board will hold. You may need to change mentally from surfing the board to surfing the wave.

hope this helps let me know or if in Lahinch drop over and discuss

seachto7

"You may need to change mentally from surfing the board to surfing the wave"

That's true enough...

I'm surfing a generic 7ft 9 mal at the moment, and will hopefully go down to a 7ft 6 hybrid..that's the plan anyways, but I'd rather have decent technique ironed before I go near any other board...

gerk86

No point practicing perfect popups on sloppy 1ft piddly waves. You need practice on waves of consequence. Next time your out on a big day just go for the biggest, latest drops you can find. Make it or not the wipeout/drop is fun.

Once you have this down you'll find you'll have all the time in the world on the smaller stuff.

loctite

Agree with what Ben is saying, but still maintain that the pause is important to steady yourself...... Agree to disagree... But it has worked for me........

seachto7

gerk86 wrote: »

No point practicing perfect popups on sloppy 1ft piddly waves. You need practice on waves of consequence. Next time your out on a big day just go for the biggest, latest drops you can find. Make it or not the wipeout/drop is fun.

Once you have this down you'll find you'll have all the time in the world on the smaller stuff.

that's exactly what I did, just tore into it last Sunday, and got out to the decent waves.....:cool: