A lot of times when l try to get up surfing l seam to end up nose diving a lot. Like when im poping up the board just goes straight down into the water. l dont have my weight really that far forward and im not pushing down by the nose. Can you tell me what l might be doing wrong!!! ty
l do get up a lot but it seams like l nose dive mostly during the bigger sets. l am using a 5'11 board.

You r 'pearling' & it happens to everyone once in a while. You need to angle ur take off, paddling diagonally toward the beach, moving in the same direction the wave is breaking. You r probably paddling straight in now. Also, the larger & steeper the wave, the faster u have to 'pop up' to ur feet & take control of the board, either making a 'bottom turn', or cutting directly across the face, depending on where u r positioned in relation to the shoulder when u take off.

The others may have told u that u r too far forward, but l suspect that it is more likely ur angle of take off. If u move too far back, u will stall rather than take off, & u will paddle all day with getting any rides.

l have been surfing since 1966, & l think that the best answer for this, is to have one of ur more experienced surf buddies watch u while ur surfing, & let him/her make suggestions based on what they see u doing. It will be a lot more accurate than what u get from a bunch of strangers over the computer.

my buddy John here is right. you are probably pearling. just point diagonally toward the beach and then have a late take off. you will get used too it after a while. make sure your board is big enough, but l think it is since you say you have gotten up a lot.

Just like everyone said: Paddle and take off diagonally. Also pop-up as fast as you can after you catch the waves.

The Surfboard Man
http://thesurfboardman.com/

the guys above me are right and you should probably angle your board a tiny bit unless you surfing slow waves and you have your bottom turn down. or it could be that you are taking off on to big of close outs. get a more experienced surfer to surf with you and tell you whats wrong.

try to lean back on the board if that doesnt help move back and center your wieght.

As usual, John is probably right. Which is why l will never overtake him as top answerer. Taking off straight = pearling a high percentage of the time, especially on a steep take off.

John is right, try to keep centered, and try leaning back jus a lil bit