Beginner Surfers Learn to Pop Up
There are many steps for Beginner Surfers to Learn to Pop Up. Beginners do not realize that the pop up is a sequence requiring each step be added like a dance and that it is not instinctual. In fact, our instincts work against the correct pop up.
We have been standing up since we were toddlers. This is often how beginners try to stand up on a surfboard. Those toddler instincts are counter to the surf pop up. The objective of the pop up is to get the front foot in the correct place and the body in the right stance. Nothing we have ever done is similar.
The Pop Up is Contrary to Our Instincts
We never stand up with one foot in front of the other and our hands in front of our body in this position. Skiing has two legs together and hands in front. Snowboarding and skate boarding have one foot in front of the other but one hand behind twisting the body and butt over one rail of the board.
The surfer stance has the body squared to the front with weight equal on both sides of the middle stringer and the hands in front like we were pushing a box. When you are standing pretend you are balancing on a balance beam with your hands in front. Here is another picture. You are going to stand in front of a refrigerator and while pushing on it you will stretch the calf on one leg.
The Objective of the Pop Up is the Correct Stance
The pop up is designed to get you into this stance. You will be balancing in the middle of the board like on a balance beam. Your hands are in front and you are pushing on a big box. The body is upright so the head is high and the back is straight.
There are two main pop ups to get into this position. There is the advanced pop up and the beginner pop up. They both get into the same stance. The advanced pop up requires more strength and agility, so I start beginners on an easier process.
The surfer paddles and catches the wave. Most beginners don’t have the sense of when the wave is pushing the board and try to get up too soon pushing the nose of the board under water. The board has to be paddled until it is level on the water. Then the surfer puts his hands in a man’s push up position with hands flat next to the rib cage.
Leaving the Hands on the Board for a Few Seconds
Now after a 3 second glide, the surfer pushes up to a full extension while bringing one foot up under his butt and placing it flat on the surfboard at an angle to one side. This is at least a two foot move with the back foot. Now the surfer stands on that foot. While standing up, he lifts his hands off the board. Now he is getting into an upright position and putting his hands on the box he is going to push. So that he can push the box, he brings his other foot to the front so now he looks like he is stretching one calf on a refrigerator but his torso is upright.
Weight is equal on both legs. Knees are flexed so he can absorb bumps. His eyes are looking forward over the nose of the board. If the surfer’s head is looking over one rail, that means his butt is over the opposite rail and he is going to fall on one side or the other. I call this the snowboarding position.
In the right stance, the board goes straight and the surfer does not have to do any work. If the surfer’s body is struggling for balance on the board or the board is carving in one direction, his stance is not correct.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
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