How to Successfully Pop-up on Your Surfboard

Popping up on a surfboard can be a difficult experience for newcomers. Unfortunately, there is no avoiding this important surfing skill. However, following a few words of advice and practicing on a regular basis will make the challenge of popping up much easier. To help you reach that point, we've listed 4 tips that will have you successfully riding your surfboard in no time.

Get To Know Your Footing
Before you even try to stand, you must first discover which stance fits you best. You have two choices, either “goofy” or “regular.” Goofy footing means you stand with your left foot back, while regular footing means your right foot is back. To find out which is your dominate foot, stand with your feet together and your eyes closed. While you're in this position, let yourself fall backwards. The foot you step back to stop the fall is considered the dominate one and will be your back foot when standing on your surfboard.

Land Before Water
Once you have your stance established, its time to start practicing your pop-up on land. First, you will need to lay on your board with your chest slightly above the center of the board. While in this position, start paddling as though you were actually in the water. When you're ready, put your hands on your board and hop to your feet. At this point, your feet should be a little more than shoulder width apart with your dominate foot firmly planted in the back. To truly get a feel for popping up, you will need to run through this motion on land a number of times.

Popping Up On An Actual Wave
To begin with, you need to practice on smaller waves, not only for the difficulty factor, but also for your safety. Discovering the correct time to pop-up is half the battle of successfully standing on your surfboard. As you're paddling and a wave grows closer, you will feel yourself speed up. While your speed is increasing, your surfboard will also begin to feel sturdier. Both of these changes indicate that the time to pop-up has arrived. Unfortunately, your first few attempts may end with you in the water, however practice will definitely help you master the pop-up motion in time.

If you're looking to buy your first surfboard or you're in need of an upgrade, please contact us today and we'll be happy to help you.