How do you popup on a smaller board?

[Wetstuff]

Not having the most flexible body in lineup limited my ability to prone years ago in our quick-pitch surf. Getting up on a stable, SUP board is easier ..as there is a longer time allowance sitting outside. However, my new favorite board, an 8-8 Sunova Skate, is 135ltr compared to my 9-2 Allwave at 160 ..and the stability sweet spot seems a lot smaller.

To get my feet close to the right spot to stand I actually bury the nose. I'm 5-11 x 185, so not off the charts.  I have tried and can do both, the one foot first ..or the both feet pop up.  It's tricky - I'm not totally comfortable and occasionally (now better with practice) simply never make my marks ...even falling over the nose.

Figgerd ..one of you has been down this road already and would have some wisdom. (no prison soap jokes please - unless they're funny)

Jim

[Badger]

On my 8'5 I start by kneeling at the handle with my back somewhat upright. If you are kneeling at the handle, the nose shouldn't sink. Put your hands on the deck next to your knees. Look straight ahead. First bring up one foot and then the other.  Use your hands to help but keep them close to your knees while pushing up. Practicing on the floor at home might help.








 

[red_tx]

My two comments are

• Unfortunately not all handles are installed in the center of the board from front to back. I have two boards where they are not in the center. Go paddle flat on your board and play around with where you stand.. Make sure the nose is not pearling etc...
• I start on my knees and push up with my hands. One key thing I do that nobody ever taught me was to IMMEDIATELY put your paddle in the water.

From the knee position, my hands are clutching the paddle perpendicular to the length of the board. The blade is out to my right usually, right above the water. ( roughly 2 inches above water). As soon as I push up with my hands/arms I am submersing the the paddle blade into the water. This gives you immediate bracing abilities even at a compromised or kneeling position. Any herky jerk that you encounter during the stand up process can be neutralized with the paddle brace in the water..

[supsurf-tw]

Paddle on you knees then as a swell rolls beneath you pop up with both feet at once just after you're over the crest as the board drops. Super easy. Its like a prone pop up where you let the board fall down the face and just STAND UP.

[Wetstuff]

Ya good..thanks.   

t-tw, I usually need to get outside the swells into the chop - that sounds good but also like juggling multiple giggles for this old retard.  I remember watching those videos where the board come-to-you paddling out.  My efforts when the board is active usually ends in a bruise.

"On my 8'5 I start by kneeling at the handle with my back somewhat upright. If you are kneeling at the handle, the nose shouldn't sink. Put your hands on the deck next to your knees. Look straight ahead. First bring up one foot and then the other.  Use your hands to help but keep them close to your knees while pushing up."

....aaaaah!  I sense I am more trying one of my wife's yoga tricks - moving forwards from my toes rather than knees - with the ole' 'Butt-in-the-air'.  Perhaps I am doing more of a lunge than a 'popup'?  I'll practice this method. 

R-Tx,  Ya I use the paddle on other boards ..but because I sink it with this one, it seems to hinder more than help ..especially if you have a little forward movement.  It's also a bigass round shafted Rivera paddle, not comfortable without forming a bridge with your fingers. 

Jim

[SUPflorida]

Don't know how you guys do the knee thing...that feels more unstable to me than standing...it's not always friendly to tweaked backs and knees, but I jump up in one motion just like a conventional short board. Kind of like ripping off the bandaid real quick vs the slow pull of a thousand ouches. Laying down I'm fine...on my feet I'm fine, just don't ask me to transition by way of my knees.

[addapost]

1. Once you're feet are under you keep your butt low and squat up, keeping your center of gravity over your feet.
2. As mentioned, look out in front of you not down. Keep your head up.
3. As mentioned, get your blade on the water and moving (bracing) ASAP.
4. Finally, before you do any of this, get the board moving forward from the kneeling position. Some people find standing up to be more stable if the board is already moving. It's like riding a bike. It is easy to stay balanced and upright when you are moving but REALLY hard to do when stopped.

[kayadogg]

R-Tx,  Ya I use the paddle on other boards ..but because I sink it with this one, it seems to hinder more than help ..especially if you have a little forward movement.  It's also a bigass round shafted Rivera paddle, not comfortable without forming a bridge with your fingers. 

I can't stress enough how important your paddle is in helping achieve and maintain balance. The fact that it's hindering you could be a sign that its too long. Last weekend I swapped boards with a buddy just to see if I could stand on his (it was 7'5 x 25" ~80L). I'm 6'0 and about 188lbs. My every day board is 93L and my paddle is short, about even with my forehead. On my friends small board, I had to get the board moving immediately after standing up. Even with an already short paddle, I needed it shorter as I wasn't able to get it out of the water quick enough to get moving. If I stopped paddling, I would literally sink the entire board until I was knee deep. I eventually did get up and could paddle it around but not long enough to catch a wave. He bet me I couldn't stand on it at all, so that's all I was going for. So, long story short: how long is your paddle? I recommend popping up. The fewer movements you do, the less the board has a chance of moving around. Pop-up into a semi-staggered stance, get your paddle in the water and start moving.

[supthecreek]

I don't "Pop" or leap, or jump up. Ever. My knee won't bend enough to get out of the way.

Here's the simple instructions....

I go from 2 knees
to left foot flat on board.... just forward of handle center.... right knee, still on the board, just behind the handle.
Then, with the paddle in right hand, I place the blade on my pad, just  forward and right of my knee.
I grip the waxed center of the shaft and simultaneously pull up with my right hand and stand up with my left leg.
The paddle on the right, balances the weight on my left foot.
I time the whole thing to match the movement of the bumps and voila' ---- I'm up.

Piece of cake!

It gets interesting in big surf with 25 mph winds and backwash 

A technique used primarily by the criminally insane.

But it gets me up. I'm sure it's on a hundred or so of my videos.

[SUPcheat]

I have eventually gone from a "lazy pop up" that seemed to induce some additional imbalance with the Prowave to "fast pop up" with rapid repositioning of feet if necessary.  The faster pop up seems to give an extra split second to correct in upright position.

Creek's knee pop up is more pragmatic, and might be better in challenging conditions.  I have done it, but it also takes some practice to get the paddle hold right.

[Biggreen]

1. Once you're feet are under you keep your butt low and squat up, keeping your center of gravity over your feet.
2. As mentioned, look out in front of you not down. Keep your head up.
3. As mentioned, get your blade on the water and moving (bracing) ASAP.
4. Finally, before you do any of this, get the board moving forward from the kneeling position. Some people find standing up to be more stable if the board is already moving. It's like riding a bike. It is easy to stay balanced and upright when you are moving but REALLY hard to do when stopped.

addapost nailed it! Do all this and it'll work. May take a little practice, but his advice is spot on. Well said and described, addapost!

[IRideYellow]

On my 7'10 I start on my knees then put the left foot flat on the board.  Then I push up on the left and the right feet while twisting the right foot so it is perpendicular to the slot of the handle.   I complete the upwards motion until i have evolved into a standing human twisting my foot back to parallel.  If I can get it all to work it leaves me very stable and then I start paddling.  I practice 10 of these every morning and before surfing.  However, my success rate can be very low when I'm tired or there is lots of wind and chop.  But I'm no longer able to pop from my knees to my feet so its my only solution.

I think i need to work my paddle into my crawl up routine.

[Wetstuff]

SFL,  I wish I would have been able to do a true proner popup.  I really tried but didn't live within 2hrs of a surf beach 'till my mid-40s.  I loved it. I tried ..but, it's why I ended up under kites for a decade.  I could catch or outrun almost any wave.

Creek, I remember you telling about using the paddle as an assist because of the bum knee.  That's a tricky combination too tho'.   

IRY,   ..that's interesting; "right feet while twisting the right foot so it is perpendicular to the slot of the handle" ...practice before play also makes lots of sense.  100% when tired: I can barely make it out of the shore break much less stand on the board when I am 'done'.  The 'best tired ever' however.   Thanks all.   I'm going to play on flatwater later today - carrying notes.

Jim

[RATbeachrider]

I'll try to get a video of my friend who we called "popper" because he's really good at knee paddle into pitching beach break waves.  He rides a small board too (7x29).

[SUP Leave]

On Maui I saw more than one rider sitting on their board kayak style with a kayak paddle. They would paddle into waves on their ass, and popup from sitting -  it takes flexible knees for sure, but looked fun. The paddle was useless on a wave though.

I highly recommend learning and loving the 3rd world squat if you have the joint flexibility to get there, makes life a lot better. http://gearguideformen.com/2015/02/10/third-world-squat-benefits/