How to pop up on a shortboard

A clean pop-up means you're on your feet by the time the wave stands up, low enough to ride the drop, and committed early enough to make the section. A slow or stand-up-tall pop-up turns clean shoulder-high waves into wipeouts, your weight is in the wrong place at exactly the wrong moment.

On a shortboard especially, paddling is harder and waves are steeper than on a foamie. The pop-up has to be one explosive motion, not a series of stages. Nail this, and every other piece of surfing, bottom turns, cutbacks, riding the pocket, is unlocked.

Most failed pop-ups are lost before the pop-up even starts. Three things to get right while you're still paddling:

• Hand position. Hands flat on the deck, palms down, fingers spread, just under your shoulders, not way up by your chest, not down by your ribs. Elbows tucked in.
• Paddle speed. Three or four hard strokes once you feel the wave lift the tail. If you stop paddling early to "get ready" you miss the wave.
• Eyes. Look down the line, where the wave is going to break next, not at your hands or your feet. Where you look is where you go.

This is the one you want. Chest-to-feet in one explosive push, no stops, no knee on the deck. It feels like a controlled little jump.

The step-through (sometimes called the chicken pop-up) breaks the move into two stages: front knee comes through first as a stepping stone, then the front foot replaces the knee, then you stand up.

On a big stable foamie or a beginner's first few waves it's a forgiving stepping stone. On a shortboard it's a trap, that extra beat costs you the steep section of the wave, you stand up tall to compensate, and you go over the falls. Use it once or twice to feel the foot placement, then drill the classic on land until your body does it without thinking.

Once you're up, your stance is roughly shoulder-width, slightly wider than your hips, not legs splayed. Front foot angled around forty-five degrees toward the nose. Back foot more or less straight across, sitting over the traction pad just in front of the leash plug.

Weight is centred, not so far back you bog the tail, not so far forward you pearl the nose. Knees bent, chest open, eyes down the line. Regular or goofy? Whichever foot you'd put forward if someone shoved you from behind, that's your front foot.

• Looking at your feet. The board does whatever your eyes do. Look up and out.
• Popping up too late. If the wave is already standing up, you're behind. Pop the moment you feel the tail lift.
• Hands too far forward. Pushing on your chest, not your shoulders, means you can't press hard enough. Hands directly under armpits.
• Knee dragging. A knee on the deck breaks the motion in half. Drill the classic version on land until the knee never touches.
• Standing tall too early. You'll get pitched off the back or fall forward. Land low and stay there for the drop.
• Feet too narrow. Feet under your hips = no balance. Shoulder-width gives you a base to ride from.

The pop-up is muscle memory. The cheapest, fastest way to build that memory is on dry land where you can do fifty reps without getting tired from paddling.

• Twenty pop-ups, every morning. Slow and clean for ten, then fast and explosive for ten. No knee. No exceptions.
• Tape a board outline. Lay a piece of tape on the floor matching your board's outline so you can see exactly where your feet are landing. Adjust until front foot is forty-five degrees, back foot over the pad.
• Push-up to low squat. Push up explosively from the floor straight into a low squat, hold for three seconds. Builds the exact pressing power the pop-up needs.

Start in whitewater on a foamie or a soft-top. The wave is slow, forgiving, and you get five times the reps you'd get out the back. Nail your foot placement at slow speed before you chase green waves on a shortboard.

Spots like the inside at Llangennith, the corner at Caswell, or Rest Bay in front of the lifeguards on a small day give you the whitewater rollers you need. Bodhi will tell you which spot is beginner-friendly on any given day, that's the whole point of the app.