Photo: @riseupsurfretreats//@salty_see
The pop up is pretty important. For obvious reasons, stroking into a wave and getting to your feet without falling down is kind of a dealbreaker from the get go. But even experienced and intermediate surfers hit snags in the process of taking off on a wave, which can create a domino effect of challenges that will halt our progress. From positioning in the lineup to ensuring your feet are placed properly for speed and control, picking the correct line along the wave face, and having enough speed to get through that first section, a good take off is composed of many pieces.
Kassia Meador has devoted video lessons to this concept in her Definitive Guide to Longboarding, which has been built into a three-part online course full of 45 video tutorials. In her latest edition, the Longboard Level Up 3.0, Kassi returned to a few basic take-off tips that can help beginning surfers get a strong start just as much as they can help an intermediate surfer find their way into longer rides with more speed and flow. Two particular tips stand out:
Look Where You’re Going
This is a basic one that we all need to be reminded from time to time. Spend too much time looking down at your feet or the bottom of the wave and you’re going to miss the entire first section of the wave.
“As I’ve said in our past courses, wherever we’re looking, we’re going,” she says. “If we’re looking down at a board when we start to pop up, that’s where we’re going to go before even getting to our feet. This means it’s really important to be looking down the line as you initiate that pop up. Think of it as you do in everyday life: look where you want to go.”
Engage That Inside Rail
Engaging the inside rail is another point we can easily forget but as Kassia explains, the mechanical function of it can be as simple as just reminding yourself to apply a little more pressure on that inside rail as you push up.
“I can’t stress enough how important this is,” Kassia explains. “You never want to hold onto the rails when you’re popping up though. You want to have your hands flat, pushing the board away from your body, not grabbing onto the rail. Your hands help engage that inside rail, so if you’re going to go right, you’ll engage that right rail a little bit. Not a lot. You don’t want to overdo it, just start to think about that right hand if you’re going to go right and you’re going to be able to stand up with more grace once that rail’s engaged.”
Similar to looking where you’re going, engaging that inside rail will give you speed and control as you set your line. There can be a lot of moving parts when it comes to developing a consistent, reliable pop up, but Kassia stresses that these “are two huge pieces of the puzzle” because they’ll get you into the correct position and set you on the right angle down the wave.
Learn more from Kassia with other tutorials on parallel stance, turning, fade take offs, and more in the Longboarding Level-Up 3.0. You can also check out Kassia’s 45-video lesson Definitive Guide to Longboarding 3.0 here. The Inertia readers save 10 percent by using code WELCOME10 at checkout.
