Popping up is an integral component of becoming a better surfer, requiring strong upper body strength, an understanding of surfing timing, and exceptional balance.
To launch yourself onto a surfboard, paddle hard into waves with strong strokes. When the nose of the board dips below the wave face, make extra paddle strokes so as to force your board downhill and down the face of the wave.
Push off the board
Popping up on a surfboard is one of the core skills required for surfing, yet can be one of the hardest movements to master. Practice is essential if you want to become an effective surfer! Once mastered, though, this ability will make you an even greater surfer!
First step to surfing successfully is locating waves that will help build momentum and position your board correctly. When you find one with white water forming into walls or ledges that extend from shoreline across ocean surface, turn around and begin paddling towards it immediately.
Once you’ve identified a wave, take two to three additional strokes with your paddleboard in order to force its nose down the face of the wave and gain additional momentum that will enable you to pop up on it and ride it to shore.
When you are ready to pop up from your surfboard, use twisting your hips and pushing your chest up on top of the board as leverage for pushing off. Your hands may also assist in this effort – make sure they are oriented so they face forward under your chest with fingers facing forward for best results.
As part of your surfing technique, it’s also essential that your back foot be planted firmly on the tail of your surfboard so you can push yourself over easily without encountering any challenges. Once completed, only your back foot and hands should remain on it.
Step two of this process is planting your front foot on the board, which may prove tricky at first. To get it just right, put significant pressure on your front foot – something which may take practice to accomplish successfully.
Once you’ve mastered this step, the next step should be popping up. Practising on the beach before hitting the water can help your technique and speed immensely.
Next time you head out on the water, practice pop ups before heading into waves. This will allow you to hone your timing and instincts as well as identify when to pop up based on wave shape.
Twist your hips
As a beginner surfer, learning the pop up is of critical importance for staying safe on the water and increasing speed and distance on your board. Furthermore, this skill helps prevent collisions with other surfers and ensure your own personal safety in the water.
To master the pop up, it is necessary to train your body to move in one continuous and fluid motion. Although it may take practice and time for you to achieve success with it, success will ultimately come!
Once you have mastered the fundamentals of pop ups, more advanced moves like the figure four should become second nature. When starting out however, it is wise to focus on perfecting your technique before going for big leaps!
Contrasting with the figure four, which requires you to step up step-by-step, with the pop up you twist your hips and plant your front foot between your hands – this allows your foot to swing forward for greater speed and momentum when performing this exercise.
Turn your body from hips up, then slowly bend knees until your arms can assist with balance while your eyes look forward towards the board. This position allows for rapid weight shift and faster entry onto the board without nose diving.
Next, position your front foot on the stringer of your surfboard between your hands. Make sure your front knee is under your chin so your toes point towards the nose of the board.
Push your torso through your chest to force the nose of your surfboard down the wave face and into the water, thus avoiding pearling and ensuring an easier pop up experience. Furthermore, having your chin up will enable you to generate more speed and power once standing up on your surfboard.
Plant your front foot
No matter your skill level or experience level, mastering pop ups is one of the key techniques in surfing. Pop ups should be part of every take off from your board; this first move should form the basis of your overall technique.
Balance and coordination are critical to successfully popping up on a surfboard, so regular practice of this maneuver should be undertaken. Though initially it may prove challenging to master this technique, with practice you will eventually master it and perform it effortlessly.
Planting your front foot correctly is an integral step of the pop up process, so it is vital that it is done accurately. To do this, place both feet – back on tail pad, front slightly wider than shoulder width apart, toes facing towards nose rail of board; knees bent for stability during rising.
Maintain an open arms-and-eyes stance with your gaze directly ahead, towards a point directly in front of you (in water, this should be at a beach) as this position will help ensure balance as you step onto your board.
How you plant your front foot is of vital importance when it comes to popping up onto your board quickly and smoothly. Without proper placement of this part of the pop up process, transitioning from sitting to standing up could become exceedingly difficult.
Professional surfers commonly land with their back foot first and gradually shift forward with their front foot afterwards – an effective technique for beginners, as it means your feet don’t need to be perfectly lined up when planting them – something which often leads to wipeouts.
Practice makes perfect when it comes to mastering the plant-and-pop up technique; doing it multiple times on land will help develop muscle memory and become part of your daily movement. Once mastered, this move should require minimal effort when used on any type of wave.
Stand up
As soon as you master how to stand up on a surfboard, standing will become much simpler with practice. Over time you will become adept at popping up onto one paddle and riding waves effortlessly.
Step one in surfing is selecting an ideal wave. Look for waves that break quickly and are strong enough for you to stand up on without losing balance.
As well as watching for the shape and breaking style of waves, it’s also important to pay attention to their shape and speed of breaking. If they are steep and fast-breaking waves, quickly pop back up on your board if the wave becomes steep enough so as to prevent falls off or breaking it completely.
After you have found the appropriate wave, it is time to paddle for it and catch it. Paddling as close to it as possible will allow you to ride it smoothly, helping gain speed which is essential when standing up on a surfboard.
Once you are settled into your surfboard, step one must be planted firmly in the middle of it – roughly shoulder width apart and slightly above its stringer (the line running down its center).
With the correct stance, you will feel at home on your surfboard. This stance is known as the “proper surfing stance”, and can be practiced right on the beach.
As you step onto your surfboard, be sure to bend your knees and compress your lower body in order to remain balanced and not fall off of it. Furthermore, focus on where you are headed rather than looking down at the board itself.
While trying to pop up on a surfboard, grabbing onto its rail could throw your balance off and lead to disaster. If this proves impossible, try instead grabbing hold of its top instead.