Fix Your Surf Stance – From Poo Stance to Power
Your stance is the foundation of your surfing. Get it wrong, and you’ll feel heavy, stiff, and awkward. Get it right, and suddenly you’re light, fast, and explosive—able to move in all directions with ease.
The most common mistake? The dreaded Poo Stance. Here’s why it happens and how to fix it.
1. Why the Poo Stance Holds You Back
Wide knees, bent back, and hands low – it’s a stance built on fear of falling. But this “squat” position locks your hips and kills your ability to shift weight. Instead of flowing with the wave, you end up dragging water and looking stuck.
2. Think Sprint, Not Squat
Great surfers don’t squat. They lunge. Think of a sprinter in the starting blocks – knees close, body stacked, ready to explode. This posture keeps you light, balanced, and mobile, with room to compress, extend, and rotate.
3. Pop-Ups Create Your Stance
Most bad stances come from a rushed or stiff pop-up. If you push up too explosively, you lock out your joints and fall into the Poo Stance. Instead, focus less on “popping up” perfectly and more on landing in a balanced stance where your joints are stacked and ready to move.
4. Knees That “Kiss” = Mobility
Watch the pros: Jordy, John John, Steph, Toledo. They all rise with their knees close together. This doesn’t just look better – it makes weight shifts easier, reduces drag, and sets you up for powerful turns. Squatting spreads your base and limits movement. Knees “kissing” unlock full 3D mobility.
5. Forget Perfect – Focus on Movement
There’s no such thing as the “perfect” pop-up stance. What matters is whether you can move freely afterward. If your stance allows you to compress, extend, twist, and shift weight forward and back – you’ve done it right.
TRAX: Showing You Where Your Stance Breaks Down
Bad stance often feels fine in the moment – you only see the problem later in photos or clips. TRAX bridges that gap by tracking weight shifts, balance points, and turn angles in real time. It shows whether you’re stuck in a squat or moving like a sprinter – so you can adjust, improve, and surf with power.
Related Reading:
→ How to get comfortable falling — Stay safe and reduce wipeout fear
→ Surf stance – finding your balance — The foundation of all good turns
→ Look where you go — How head positioning shapes your surfing
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