Mastering the Surf Pop Up

Mastering the surfing pop up is knowing the technique and practicing. In Oceanside Surf Lessons, we begin with a dry land lesson to teach the techniques, but it is easier on land than in the water. In the water, many elements enter that cause beginners to lose focus.

The Beginner Surf Pop Up

I start beginner surfers with a beginner pop up. In this pop up, rather than move both feet to the surf board at the same time, I have them put a back foot on the board first, then stand as they move their front foot to the middle of the board.

The advantage is they don’t need the upper body and core strength required by the advanced pop up you see most surfers use in film. When you stand on the back foot, you are using your biggest and most used muscle in your body to help.

The surf pop up process begins the same as the advanced pop up. I have students do a count out loud in the water. One is paddling. Two after catching the wave is putting their hands on the board under their chest in a man’s push up position. Three is pushing up. These three steps are used by surfers to catch foam waves or 30′ waves.

Getting the Hands Off the Board

Then comes the difference. In the beginner pop up, students put a back foot on the board, under their butt and flat on the board in the middle. As they stand on that leg, they raise their hands. This makes the front foot weightless so it can be driven to the front of the board.

It is important that the hands are raised right away or they block the front foot from moving forward. This means that if your hands are still on the board as you put your front foot on the board, the front foot will be on the back of the board behind the arms that are still holding on. One of two things will happen. Either the surfer winds up on the back of the board and the nose rises, losing the wave. Or the surfer flies off the front because his nose is in front of his toes and the body goes where the head is.

The Advanced Surf Pop Up

In the advanced pop up, the third step is a real push off the board. At the same time, the surfer brings both feet onto the board driving the front foot under the chest to be placed between where the hands were located. The body rises into an upright position with the torso equally weighted between the front and back leg.

What is crucial with both methods is the hands are in front of the body and the shoulders and hips are squared to the front. The reason most beginners to intermediates fall off right away is they allow one shoulder to drop back and then their arm and hand pulls their body off their butt side of the board. I call this snowboarding. Beginners can’t ride the surfboard like a snowboard or skate board with one shoulder back.

The feet should be on the board shoulder width apart (3′) with the front foot at a 45 degree angle forward and the back foot perpendicular to the two rails. The body is upright with the knees flexed so that the surfer can control the direction of the surf board.

Learn More:

For Oceanside Surf Lessons, see the Home Page

See the Post Surf Lessons Begin with Foam Waves

See the Post What You Learn in a 2 Hour Lesson

See the Post How to Progress in Surfing

See My Dry Land and In Water Demo video

See How to Catch a Green/Real Wave video