Dry Land Practice ... the Surf Pop-up

Persian-type carpets are good for a few things:

• softening the feel of hardwood floors
• collecting dog dander and food particles for small bugs to eat,
• providing a surface resembling a world class "stimp-meter" tested putting green
• having enough pattern to provide an imaginary surfboard on which to practice pop-ups

The lineup is a wave hungry place. A little dry land practice
in the living room is essential for a chance
 to get in the green room

Well I didn't putt any golf balls, and the dog, unfortunately, is in the spirit world, but since I officially have a filthy cold and horrendously clogged sinuses — the trip to New Orleans didn't help — I decided to stay out of the cold water and stick to bed, hot fluids, plenty of fluids and ... just a little dry land pop-up practice.

Not that I haven't known it all along, but the pop-up has long been the weakest part of my surfing game ... and without a pop-up, you ain't got nothing.

So I finally figured, after 10 or so years, that I better attack the problem systematically. A few practice pop-ups on the beach here or there was not cutting it.  Too many missed waves, late-caught waves and knee rides.

Once I'm up, I know perfectly well what to do ... it's getting up fast enough and consistently enough in balance that's the main problem. And sometimes it's getting up before the other guy. First on the wave, as long as you are closest to the peak.

The good news, the dry land practice has paid off on the water with a few better quality rides during the  last two outings.

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Apparently I wasn't  the only frustrated one. So if you're a new or begnning surfer, there are plenty of people with questions and answers on the Web:

As far as these tips from tony g at surfingwaves.com, are concerned I just substitute #1) imagine a centerline line "stringer" in the pattern of the carpet. I check the foot position each time to see if an adjustment is needed.

Practice your pop ups in your living room; here are a few tips:

1. Put a strip of masking tape on the floor in a straight line. When you do your pop ups try to land with your feet on the tape. This helps you to practice doing the pop ups correctly by getting your feet in the middle of the board along the stringer, otherwise you are telling the board to turn by putting pressure on the rails. It is never good to practice doing it wrong!
2. Try to be smooth and concentrate on getting your front foot forward. You do not want it to close to your back foot.
3. Build muscle memory by doing these every night till you do not have to think about it.
4. As you go to your feet try to stand in an athletic position with your back straight and not hunching over. It should kind of look like defensive stants in basketball or football. You also want to be looking where you want to go.
I had my brother in law do these a few weeks before I took him surfing and he poped up on nearly every wave his first time surfing. Good Luck! - 
See more at: http://www.surfing-waves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16849#sthash.6nu678s4.dpuf

The pop-up endurance needs to be better, too. After paddling a while the pop-up gets weaker, slower. Sometimes a rest on the beach helps the next popup succeed better.