APPLIED TO WINDSURFING
This technique is actually easier when reapplied to windsurfing, since you also have the sail that contributes power to lift off. As a matter of fact, the more efficient the combination of legs and arms, the better the pop.
As you're sailing crosswind and spot a little chop, you're gonna want to open the clew up slightly and hit the ramp slightly upwind. Once you sheet in hard in this position, the sail will have even more power and the board will accelerate abruptly. Swing the rig forward across your body, pulling your arms up and keeping the boom close to your chest (Pic 3), to better manage the lift of the sail.
This is when the combined efforts of legs and arms generate the lift that pops the board off the water. From that point on, you just have to keep your rig close to your body and continue as if the sail weren't even there, like you just were Ollying on your skateboard.
SMASH AND GRAB
It's also worth practising tail grabs or rail grabs to help you exaggerate the movements required. Depending of the size of the jump, you can also decide to lend further back on the tail instead of almost dead flat, which is ok only for small chop-hops. The general rule of thumb is - the higher the jump, the further back you land.
Once you get a hold of the pop, nothing will ever be the same. Even for jumping in waves, you will start to and need to pop your board, and this basic technique actually makes a ton of difference in every circumstance. In flat water, obviously, it separates freeridin' from freestylin' in a big way and opens doors to every single freestyle move, from the Vulcan, all the way to the No-Handed Burner...What's a Vulcan? Hmmm. Pop, turn, land. What's a Flaka? Pop, turn, land. What's a Burner...? Now take the POP a step further to the
Vulcan
!
