So you’ve figure out how to pop up, but now what? Just stand there and shred right?Surf stance is a tricky thing because it goes against how your body naturally wants to react to things. A proper surf stance also goes against what you learn in most other sports. So if you’re getting into surfing later in life, you may already be at a disadvantage because you’ll have to break muscle memory.
Once you pop up, your knees should stay bent. Don’t go stiff or stand up straight – you’ll just lose balance and speed. Make sure you are bending at the knees, not at the waist!. Don’t lean too far forward or lean too far back. Your feet should be in the center of your board, just like how they were when you were practicing pop ups.
Keep a narrow width stance, maybe a little less than shoulder width, and don’t point your knees apart. You don’t want to look like you’re taking a poop out there (poo stance). Keep those knees forward, almost pointed together. This is going to help with moving your weight around so you can turn and go where you want to go. Being able to move your hips properly will let you really throw your butt into a turn. Or it will allow you to get your weight back fast enough so that your nose doesn’t dip on a steep drop in. You want those hips loose and in a good position so you can react.
Now onto your arms. Don’t drag your arms, but don’t flail them up high either. Keep your arms outside of the correct rails. Match your front foot with your leading hand. So I’m regular footed, which means my left foot is forward, which means my left hand should be outside my left rail and my right hand should be outside my right rail. An easier way to remember is to look at where your hands are on the board when you pop up, your hands actually stay on the same side as they were during your pop up. Having your arms on one side of the board is going to make it really hard to balance.
Open up your chest, don’t have your arms all stiff and tight together, and look where you want to go. As simple as it sounds, this is something that often gets overlooked. Your body will follow your head, so look where you want to go.
A good stance will take some time to perfect, but knowing what NOT to do will help make sure you don’t have to break bad habits down the road. So again, knees bent, knees pointing forward/almost in, arms outside your rails, and look where you want to go.
If you need help, tips, or feedback on your stance, feel free to leave a comment on my YouTube video or shoot me an email. We’re finally ready to surf, in the next article we’ll get out in the water and go over how to catch waves.