5 Tips
for a Good Pop-up
The pop-up is one of the most fundamental techniques of surfing. There are a few mistakes that beginners always make:
Whether you're just starting on your surf adventure as a beginner or looking to refine your technique, these five tips will help you to a smoother and more confident pop-up.
1. Practice on Dry Land
The pop-up is one of the surfing techniques you can practise on dry land, anywhere and everywhere. So before jumping in the water for your surf session, make sure you do 10-15 pop-ups on dry land. This will give you a feeling for the movement and improve the mind-muscle connection. For an immersive learning experience, consider joining our pool sessions or our Learn-to-Surf (LTS) school, where our professional surf guides share valuable tips and tricks.
Practise your pop-up in front of a mirror, get your phone out or join one of our video surf sessions, included in your package. This will help you to see how you do the movement, our surf guides are ready to provide personalised feedback and guidance on improvement. Looking for how to make the dry land practice more challenging? In our camps in Bali and Sri Lanka, we also have balance boards of different shapes and sizes that you can use for additional pop-up practice.
See here how you can make your dry land practice even more challenging and effective:
2. Right movement, Position & Order
The most effective pop-up starts with a good body position. Lay down on your board in a proper paddle position, making sure your chest is centred in the middle and your feet are hanging off the tail. This will set you up for an easier pop up!
Start with pushing your upper body up, without grabbing the rail of your board, putting your hands flat on the board beside your chest. Then swing your knees forward and land on your back foot. Make sure to put your back foot first, then your front foot on the board. This technique allows for better balance and precise foot placement.
Practise your pop-up without using your toes or knees ensuring a low position for better balance with your front knee just below your chin and precise foot placement.
3. Eyes up, Head up, Pop-up
The most common mistake among surfers is looking down when popping up. Looking down at your board when popping up might feel natural, however, looking down can hinder your balance, and speed, and lead to nose dives. Things we really don’t want during our pop-up.
So, if you really want to master your pop-up, make sure you look in the direction you want to go. This helps you to maintain your balance and speed in the right direction. If you wanna go to the right, look to the right, angle your board to the right and pop-up. If you wanna go to the left, look to the left, angle your board to the left and pop-up.
This simple adjustment will make your surfing experience more fun and controlled!
4. Timing is the key
When you are in the ocean waiting for the waves, try to read the waves. Attend our daily classrooms at Kima to learn more about how to read the waves, ensuring you catch the right wave at the perfect moment.
Feel your board sliding down the wave, generating momentum and speed. Timing is key! Ideally, you want to pop up just as the wave is about to reach you. Popping up too early or too late can throw off your balance and result in missed waves or unplanned nose dives. Getting the perfect timing is also a matter of experience - the more often you surf, the better your feeling for the right timing will become.
This simple adjustment will make your surfing experience more fun and controlled!
5. Stop Thinking & Just Do It!
Every start of a new hobby can be difficult, this also and especially applies to learning how to surf but it is time to just do it! Stay relaxed, let your muscle memory work for you and pop up when you feel the board taking speed on the wave! And don’t forget to put a smile on your face and laugh when you’re riding a good wave or experiencing a playful nose dive.
