This isn’t a shaping question, but I thought I’d throw it out there since there are so many Swaylockians no longer in their 20s or 30s who might have struggled with something similar. Any advice would be MUCH appreciated!
For the past few years I keep on having the same glitch with my pop-up. (Once I DO finally get up, I can ride the wave fine so long as I haven’t lost too much momentum - but it SUCKS when the best part of the wave passes me by!)
I finally narrowed it down to the fact that my front knee keeps wanting to flop DOWN on the deck instead of sliding UP under my chest. (When I practice on the sand or the living room carpet, I can do it correctly, but out in the water it’s like my front knee just REFUSES to do what my brain tells it to do!) I think it might be because, due to some relatively minor but ongoing lower back issues, I have developed kind of an “automatic default” of dropping that knee flat whenever I have to get down on the floor to pick something up, or get low for any other reason. (Rather than bending at the waist, which feels a bit strained always.)
I have practiced my pop-up on land so much that, last year, I actually injured my front foot from the impact and had to spend about 3 months out of the water letting it heal - so too much repetitive practice is out. I have gone to three different surf coaches for help, but none of them focused specifically on the body mechanics of retraining my front knee. I’m wondering if this is a NEUROLOGICAL issue, and if I should try something like hypnosis to “deprogram” my knee out of this bad habit? Or maybe the kind of physical therapy people get to retrain muscles after a serious injury or stroke? Or maybe I should quit worrying about it, because it causes me a lot of frustration, and just keep popping up in my own slow, awkward fashion? What do you guys think?
Art;
I did an analysis on pop-ups on another thread, to check it out
do a search.
My opinion is that your issue IS NOT with your knee. Your knee
on the deck is the result of your issue, not the cause. Surf coaches
don’t necessarily have a clue about bio-mechanics of motion or how
to analyze something. Watching a person is the best way to break
down a problem. Video helps. check out what I said in the other thread.
Anyway, as far as analysis goes, I would say your issue is related
to your lower back muscles & stomach muscles. These two sets of
muscles work together to get your rear end off the board, allowing
room for your front leg to get into position. Pop-ups on land are slightly
different and back weakness is often compensated for by leg strength.
Try stretching your lower back and doing a two part pop-up. Sit-ups
to strengthen the stomach will help also. As we get older, some of us
suffer from lower back issues just like you describe! Hope this helps!
If its lower back issues then theres a chance that just a decent amount of stretching pree surf might cure it. I'm stilll in my twenties but ahve back issues that can occaisionally affect my pop-up, expecially if its cold. Stretch your ham-strings, glutes (might not have that name right) and your back (curving it both ways) before surfing and you might find the problem goes away.
Thank you! Right before I surf I do about 75 crunches to try and get my core activated. I also do some other warm-ups I learned from a surf fitness DVD. I do a set of quadroplexes too, a child’s pose and downward dog but not much stretching. (In recent years, I have often heard that it’s better to stretch AFTER surfing than before, but I’m willing to try stretching before like I used to if it will help.) Surfteach, you mention a 2 part popup, at what stage do you split the movement to divide it into 2 steps?
practice your popups on a downward angle to simulate going down a wave
lay your bard on a grassy knowl nose down, see if you can recreate the cause/effect
maybe its your brain chickening out, I have a friend who can surf ,but when he gets up he squats all the time,
like he’s in a tube ride, funnyer that all gitout!!!