May 01, 2024

Hey guys,
I’m new to the community and OMBE, loving it so far! I’ve been working on my walk up and relaxing in the water and the bus stop analogy has done wonders, I’m no longer second guessing myself with positioning.
I just had a question as me and my friends always have arguments about this.
So if you are surfing fat waves all the time can this effect your pop up for when you go into steeper waves?
Or is the problem not actually in the wave but in the pop up itself. I understand a steeper wave is going to give you more lift/push but if you position yourself correctly on a fat wave does it really matter?
Thanks,
Laura

7
Sorted by
May 02, 2024

Good technique is good technique, no matter the wave. The biggest difference with steep vs fat waves I would say is time, as Graham mentioned. Fat waves roll in slower than steep waves. You got some time to glide and walk up. Steep waves you got to be fast and absolutely looking where you want to go, because the steeper the wave the quicker you need to get on rail. 

That being said, steep wave take offs can be a bit easier - in terms of walk up - because gravity is on our side. While we popping up, the board is going down so the gap between our chest and board opens faster allowing us to get the front foot through easier and sooner.

Next factor is the board. A long board is going to get a fat wave sooner than a short board, if at all. Mind you, long boards catch steep waves sooner as well... :)

2
May 01, 2024

A fat wave will probably give you an easier take off and glide, whereas a steep wave may require you to be "on point" with your technique simply because you have less time to get up before you end up nose diving or the wave dumping on you.So use slow, fat waves to practice, but don't get lazy.Also remember that, as Clay says, often it's not a pop up/ walk up problem, but a looking problem, so make sure you pick a line appropriate for the wave you're trying to catch.

1
May 03, 2024

Probably one of the hardest skills to learn in surfing is to read waves well. You could probably spend a lifetime and still improve.

You will have to adapt your pop up to the wave but the basic technique remains the same. Depending on the shape of the wave it may for instance need to be quicker. The glide phase might be really long or virtually non existent etc. If you want to compare to complete opposite ends of the spectrum have a look at Batu Balong (know as the wave that never breaks) and something like Pipeline or Teahupo’o. The basic technique is the same but speed of execution is different. Also fast waves might require you to really knife the takeoff.

Adapting to what that specific wave needs is part of the learning process. And this is of course also why looking at the wave as it stands up and during your takeoff is so crucial. You will sort of adapt automatically.

May 02, 2024

Hi Laura, welcome!!! OMBE is a great place to be!!

As my husband likes to say, regarding steeper waves vs nice walled up waves, “Everything just speeds up”. Basically everything is the same, you just have to do it faster. 🏄‍♀️