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Technique Training - anyone? (Read 8118 times)

highrepute

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Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 09:42:07 pm
So I've been trying to focus on improving my technique over the past year or so. A pretty general term I know, but by technique I'm trying to refer to things like foot/hand placement, movement, body positioning, stuff which are by definition hard to define. Mainly using the exercises mentioned in The Self Coached Climber and aiming for a style of climbing that Dave Mac describes in his book, which I guess can be summed up as "dynamic".

Just looked through every page of topics on here and can find no mention of word technique - or any of the other words people use (which all seem to be references to homosexuality - an indication of attitudes perhaps?).

Wondering if anyone specifically trains technique?
Any exercises you can recommend?
Is it just about climbing on rock more often, or can you train indoors?

and finally, can anyone dare to try to define good technique?

sidewinder

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#1 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 10:10:46 pm
Just looked through every page of topics on here and can find no mention of word technique

mustn't of looked that hard  ;)

I always come back from font climbing better than when I left, I've decided that it's the volume of climbing I'm doing (all those orange and blue circuits) having a massive impact on my technique. Technique, it seems, is one of those things that wall climbing and hanging off a finger board can't really train. Who would have thunk it!

get your arse outdoors lots, don't worry about the grades just get lots of climbing on rock under your belt.

psychomansam

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#2 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 10:25:18 pm

Things you could do if you're really bored:

Find some interesting bouldering at your local wall that challenges you and do it, then keep doing it until you can do it absolutely perfectly, smooth and flowing. Stand on the edge of a piece of wood in your rock shoes, balancing and stepping sideways etc.

Things you actually should do:

Watch (hot) girls climbing*
Climb more. On rock.


*Hot girls will climb better than fatties

The Aaronator

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#3 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 10:29:05 pm
Good climbing technique is about moving over the rock economically.

A good technique for training 'technique' is to climb a problem and repeat it as many times as it takes to find the most economical (but not necessarily perfect) way up it. Repeat it a couple more times to reinforce the newly learned moves. This can be done indoors and outside.

Tip - Look for drop knees and rolling shoulders or high Rockovers all the time (good energy savers).
Tip - Dynamic climbing does not mean you can forget about your feet.
Tip - You need good shoes - there's no such thing as 'training boots' as sh!t shoes reinforce bad foot work.
Tip - Place your feet carefully but move quickly between the hand holds. Its all about good foot placement. Climb with your feet! Did I mention good foot work?

FEET!

You can actually learn a lot by watching how girls climb ;)
« Last Edit: February 28, 2011, 10:50:45 pm by The Aaronator »

psychomansam

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#4 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 10:44:03 pm
Tip - You need good shoes - there's no such thing as training boots as sh!t shoes reinforce bad foot work.

Agreeing-with-you-rant:

This one always confused me. I use my best, most sensitive shoes at the wall. Nothing else makes sense. The only not-so-good ones i might use at the wall are ones starting to get a hole in them - extra sensitivity!

Less sensitive, more comfortable shoes make sense for easier climbing outside / all day climbing, but if you use them inside you'll train shite footwork. Unless you're a ballet dancer, in which case you can do what you want.

 :fishing: < pointless use of new smiley


shark

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#5 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 11:02:45 pm
and finally, can anyone dare to try to define good technique?

Making the moves as easy as possible

TobyD

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#6 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
February 28, 2011, 11:18:02 pm
try a 'hips in' drill. No innuendo intended.

try a given problem / route and focus only on how far your hips are from the wall. certain hold types will dictate your body position, but if you watch a lot of very efficient 'technical' climbers, the average hip postion is mighty close in.

A wise (ish) man once told me when placing a foot on a foot hold to aim for a pin head not a tennis ball. I found this an excellent way of explaining careful and accurate foot placement, and i've never forgotten it.

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#7 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 06:51:51 am
Its all about good foot placement. Climb with your feet! Did I mention good foot work?

Indeed. I was working a hard-for-me problem at my local wall over a couple of sessions recently. One evening I got a good hand sequence wired and though I would immediately have it in the bag next session. Turned out I spent most of the next session getting the right foot sequence before I finally bagged it.

Muenchener

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#8 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 07:14:27 am
Some thoughts/experiences on the shoes-at-the-wall thing.

I got back into climbing in 2009 after a break of over ten years. Quickly discovered that my antique 5.10s (still) hurt, and initally thought I was only interested in belaying Frau & Kind up easy stuff, so asked the man in the shop to sell me something comfy. Got Sportiva Mantises - which are, indeed, comfy.

Last summer, however, the ambition bug bit again as I suppose was inevitable sooner or later, and I quickly noticed the Mantises are clunky & insensitive. Bought Katanas in order to be able to feel I was doing with my feet. Which worked. But in order to keep the Katanas nice I still use the Mantises for warming up / aerocap traversing / doing easy routes with family. And I find that, having re-learned something hopefully a little more resembling footwork in senstive shoes, I also use my feet better in clunky shoes. Whereas I wouldn't have learned anything had I stayed with the clunky shoes the whole time.

Is there a point I'm making here? Not sure.

SA Chris

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#9 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 10:00:58 am
I find repeating problems helps too. I find it especially good if I get on one or two of the problems I did earlier in the session again once a bit of fatigue has set in, ans you then have to rely more on other ways of getting it done rather than just bearing down. I also think some people get caught up in ticking the problem, so once you have done it you can contentrate on finding ways to do it better, and can get involved in experimenting and finding different ways of doing things which may or may not work.

slackline

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#10 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 10:02:27 am
I find it especially good if I get on one or two of the problems I did earlier in the session again once a bit of fatigue has set in, ans you then have to rely more on other ways of getting it done rather than just bearing down.

 :agree: was saying the exact same thing to my friend at the end of last nights bouldering when we were doing some easier problems to warm down and finding them a little tougher than at the start of the evening.

Monk

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#11 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 10:28:50 am
Tip - You need good shoes - there's no such thing as training boots as sh!t shoes reinforce bad foot work.

Agreeing-with-you-rant:

This one always confused me. I use my best, most sensitive shoes at the wall. Nothing else makes sense. The only not-so-good ones i might use at the wall are ones starting to get a hole in them - extra sensitivity!

Less sensitive, more comfortable shoes make sense for easier climbing outside / all day climbing, but if you use them inside you'll train shite footwork. Unless you're a ballet dancer, in which case you can do what you want.


I'm definitely in the 'training shoes' camp. Indoor holds are generally so big (even most tiny screw ons) compared to real rock holds that I really don't see the point of wearing shoes that are ideal for subtle gritstone smears or have the stiffness for matchstick edges. You're just wasting rubber. A decent, well fitting comfortable shoe does just fine for 99% of problems. Every now and again I will change into good shoes if there really is a hold that needs more precise footwork. I have to agree with Muenchener's comment though - I think this approach only works once you have developed some half-decent footwork in the first place.

Rocksteady

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#12 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 11:05:56 am
I went on a bit of a technique crusade over the last year or so too, which has now resulted in comments that I have good technique and 'just need to get strong'!  :-[

For me technique encompasses being able to identify and execute the most efficient series of movements to ascend any given configuration of holds.

I do a lot of the drills in the Self-Coached Climber at the start of every session at the wall as my warm up.

I find an easy overhanging boulder route and practice outside edge, inside and outside flags, and egyptians. I do traverses where I only move my hand if that hip is closest to the wall. And I do easy boulder problems in lots of different ways, just experimenting with body position and how it feels to climb the route. Then I do them fast as I can or eliminating holds etc.

30 mins of this and I feel nicely warmed up.

Repeating problems at the end when knackered does seem like a good idea, though I'd always understood that you should train skills 'fresh' as then you will apply the correct movement schema. In martial arts and other sports I've 'trained' in, a lot of the time is spent on drilling, over and over, to get the correct technique.  Then you get on to sparring/match play later on. I'm trying to be disciplined and make my climbing sessions follow the same routine.


lagerstarfish

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#13 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 11:48:02 am
I find repeating problems helps too.

Malc once told me that when he gets a problem after working it he tries to do it again (during the same session) after a short rest - his reason was that it helps to improve technique.

No SCIENCE, but that's one hell of an endorsement

Much like the world's best most expensive compression clothing

chris05

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SA Chris

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#15 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 12:48:19 pm
Adam told me name dropping isn't cool.

underground

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#16 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 02:20:43 pm
Lagerstarfish once told me to 'just climb better'. Seemed like fair advice till the invoice for £47.76 dropped through the door

SA Chris

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#17 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 02:24:07 pm
You got done. He charged me £36.63 for the same advice.

lagerstarfish

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#18 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 09:26:07 pm
I did think about pretending that the info was third hand, but thought that honesty was probably worth a try just this once.

If I wanted to name drop I'd be gushing about all the ski beta I got off Martin Burrows-Smith. Besides, everyone should meet Malc at some point.

Any way, I'm off for a roast pork sandwich with my mates Mel Gibson and John Galliano.

Might go to a party with Max Mosley later if the wife's asleep.

Is there a Name Drop smiley ? if not, why not?

lagerstarfish

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#19 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 01, 2011, 09:27:23 pm
$449.99

S Smith

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#20 Re: Technique Training - anyone?
March 02, 2011, 08:39:50 pm
Things you actually should do:

Watch (hot) girls climbing*

So true:



Absolutely loving the flick up into the undercut at 1:35.  Great use of momentum.  Most guys would definitely have just beasted through it.

If you can climb like this, you've got good technique.
If you look like this, give me a call.

 

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