[Oldmanmatt]

Congrats!

Welcome to the club.

It's not sooooo bad...

First 12 months are the hardest and you won't notice anyway, due to sleep deprivation.

Mine are 3 and 6 now and I'm back up to F7a/b and pushing.
Seem to get more time to climb than before (despite other issues..) and less brownie points required to sneak off if you take the kids (a little training and you can do your thing while they amuse themselves).

Figure I've got another 9 years before paunchdom strikes...

[Jim]

myself, like a few other seemed to climb harder after having the first.
even the 2nd din't slow me down that much.
snapping my arm has tho and I've grown a paunch and am now an official punter

[Doylo]

don't worry dob hopefully the cave will still be there in 18 years 

[dobbin]

Thanks beasts! I'll drop the spawn off at yours on the way through dudno Doylo?

[Stu Littlefair]

Amazing. A mini-dobbin to call the lime. The dynasty is complete!

[Nibile]

ah Fantastic. i picture mini dob, mini ru and mini harris, in a few years from now, pulling together and trying to burn each other off or arguing over who's father is stronger! it'll be amazing to witness.

[Oldmanmatt]

ah Fantastic. i picture mini dob, mini ru and mini harris, in a few years from now, pulling together and trying to burn each other off or arguing over who's father is stronger! it'll be amazing to witness.

"My Daddy's got wheels on his Zimmer...."

[Bonjoy]

I've already doled out your requisite congratulations I think, but here have another one, what the hell it’s nearly Christmas 


Good coaching rant, missed seeing this till now. Funnily enough it reminded my of something my old man told me. When he was about sixteen circa 1960 he went on a Whitehall (outdoor pursuits centre in Buxton) climbing trip to Skye. His instructor was one Joseph Brown, apparently he was shit and very impatient as a teacher. My dad recalls spending a while trying to second a pitch and Joe lowering a loop of slack down to haul up some of his ciggies to relieve the boredom. Which goes to show that it’s not a new phenomenon and that even great climber don’t always (or rarely) make good teachers.
Becoming good is not hard in theory is it, most of us just decide not to make the sacrifices needed to be that single minded. You could distill it into one tweet - start young, put in the hours, stay thin, have fun, do long trips, change focus to stay psyched, don’t number chase, use common sense.
The difference between the average and the good is 99% motivation/attitude and I’m not sure that can be taught. Beyond that what makes one highly motivated hard working climber good and another highly motivated hard working climber great is maybe 30% theory and 70% fairy dust (genes, accident, luck, independent wealth). In other words, in my ever humble opinion, if you’re young and psyched save your money until you are good and have stopped improving and then if you really want to squeeze the last drop out of your potential think about getting coaching and then go for the punter with a good CV and track record rather than the wad who will be too busy being obsessed about his/her own climbing to obsess about yours.

[tim palmer]

Congrats Ben, I never realised you are so old, how long before the little sea moonkey burns you off? 

I too enjoyed the coaching rant, I accept that some want to make a living from climbing and this is not easy, but it does not sit well this idea someone wanting payment for advice re-climbing.  I like climbing being an amateur sport and I have had lots of help from people who are/were vastly superior climbers to me over the years but I regarded this as people being friends and wanting to help, and some people still seem to do this, for instance nick reyner and debbie corbet coach kids at wolf mountain pretty much every sunday and have done so for years without payment despite having fulltime jobs and a young baby (they may get free wall membership I am not sure, but I doubt they asked for it).  This little rant of my own probably seems very dewy eyed and naive but I suppose it seems a shame that now people feel they have to pay for advice that previously I had received free of charge, I guess it boils down to a question of whether you feel a shift toward professionalism is the right thing for the sport. 

[slackline]

I guess it boils down to a question of whether you feel a shift toward professionalism is the right thing for the sport.

Nothing wrong with professionalism, its the commodification that grates.  But not everyone has to partake in it.  No one has to use a coach and if others want to coach for those who are willing to pay thats up to them.

[SA Chris]

i picture mini dob, mini ru and mini harris

There's an obvious shortist joke there, but I'm not going there.

Nice one Dob. I can see a healthy market in outgrown wetsuits, bicycles, and climbing shoes developing very soon on UKB.

[Bonjoy]

Just to be clear, I wasn’t dissing wads who make money coaching. Whilst I’m doubtful about how useful some might be as coaches I think it’s a sensible way for good climbers to earn a living. There’s money to be made out of gullible punters and it might as well be hard up dedicated climbers who are making it. I suspect a certain amount of the coachees are starstruck stealth stalkers who are infact getting great value for money out of their fee anyway!

[Ru]

i picture mini dob, mini ru and mini harris

There's an obvious shortist joke there, but I'm not going there.

It's Stu's favourite joke. Every time I see him, 2-3 times a day.

[SA Chris]

Any good joke has long legs.

[tim palmer]

Nothing wrong with professionalism, its the commodification that grates.

   

Surely professionalism and commodification go hand in hand? 

No one has to use a coach and if others want to coach for those who are willing to pay thats up to them.

Sure one has to, but I think if you are just getting into climbing/training and there is a prevailing ethos of payment for advice, then that is what will happen. 

Just to be clear, I wasn’t dissing wads who make money coaching.

I was not really wanting to diss anyone either, my point was really about professionalism within the sport.

There’s money to be made out of gullible punters and it might as well be hard up dedicated climbers who are making it.

oh dear.

[Bonjoy]

 

[slackline]

Decide for yourself...

Commodification

Professional[ism]

They may not be mutually exclusive, but my reading of the original rant wasn't that coaching (i.e. someone skilled in teaching or professional) isn't bad in its own right, but that it is increasingly being seen as a means to making a living (i.e. without necessarily being skilled at it so its becoming a commodity).

But what the fuck do I know? 

[tim palmer]

Decide for yourself...

Commodification

Professional[ism]

Yeah, I sort of view them (professionalism and commondification) in this context as going hand in hand, but as I said this maybe my dewy naivety. 

[/quote]

my reading of the original rant wasn't that coaching (i.e. someone skilled in teaching or professional) isn't bad in its own right, but that it is increasingly being seen as a means to making a living (i.e. without necessarily being skilled at it so its becoming a commodity).

[/quote]

I sort of shot off on a tangent from Dobbin's original rant, sorry that was not clear. 

[Bonjoy]

There’s money to be made out of gullible punters and it might as well be hard up dedicated climbers who are making it.

oh dear.

To clarify my earlier clarification. By that I meant punter as in unit of potential custom, not as in low grade climber. I may be a callous and hard nosed pragmatist, but I'm not a gradist.

[SA Chris]

or elitist, or shortist.

[comPiler]

Roachford Blockwrestler
5 December 2011, 9:35 am

All through the Peak we cursed the Fletchers. There is no way it will be dry we agreed as the car aquaplaned down Froggat pass. Only fools would continue, but one fool had, and he insisted it was ok in the west and that roads and walls were dry. The cursing continued. As we passed the sign welcoming us to Staffordshire, it appeared there might be a chance. 

Things looked green, but dryish. The deep dark crevices were no good, but exposed boulders were actually climbable. Plus, Mushin actually looked ok. Jordan and Naomi turned up, padded it out and did the problem, thus dispensing any chance of blaming conditions for the impending failure. 

Good to see the Fletchers, good to be out with a full team for the first time in about a year. Biting wind at Mushin. Hard to stay warm. James does best, but that wasn't enough and none of us do it. I'm mithering to go to Tetris. James is bleating its a long way. It is, but it's worth it. Is this the best looking block of Gritstone? Jordan is there too, and has just done Columns. 

I do Tetris stand thanks to wild but correct jordan beta, and then nearly do the sitter but run out of beans before elimanating all possible means of failure. Go to the winking man for a pint. Good day for the Buys.

Source: The Blog of Dob

[comPiler]

Sparkly Duds
3 January 2012, 9:39 am

I got this message down my internet pipe yesterday. It's from my old mate Dick Splinters : "Yesterday I went on the board. I felt pretty strong really. I think I was probably the strongest man in a vest since Keith Bradbury did Il Partner on that telly video of Creschironico. I've got massive guns. Then I didn't acheive my potential at some esoterica outdoors and finally I went rowing. It was brilliant." Great update there from Dick. Think he is bound to have a good year. 

Once was the time when there would be almost daily updates on this blogroll. But then again once was the time when it didn't rain every day. There've been opportunities of course, dalliances and odd scuffles but nothing worth writing about. Then came Xmas, and with it annual leave, everyone off together and more time for everything. I managed to get out once. Once throughout the whole break! It wasn't lack of chance, it was just wet everywhere. 

On that day I had heard that the great Jon Barton was going to be at Rivelin, and I thought if I could just get to meet the great technician, maybe I could push into the upper 5's. Ed and I cracked open our autograph pads and set off. Extreme mud scene on the approach. Cheeks and beaks wet, as was the thing to the left. Nik's wall also wet (i think this looks doable! that so many capable people have failed suggests it must be harder than it looks), then we went up to Faze action which is good (didn't do it). It's all a a bit wet really. The wall won't be a bit wet. The wall will be dry - and we can have a coffee. Only got a short time - want to make the most of it. But the sky is clear, and it feels like copping out going to the wall. Perhaps we should stay? yeah, but this is the last chance before xmas, and we both want it to count. If only Jon Barton was here - he'd know what to do. 

Master Kush was wet when we got there, but drying out and probably climbable if you are really good at rock climbing. If only Jon Barton were here. We mince around dancing to Shakira's She Wolf (aroooo!) before heading off on a recommendation to look at Sparks. And there he is, the technical master - poised on the mats beside a complaining Dolly. In a mere hundred and fifty goes he has dispatched the complex and brilliant Sparks with an implausible 3D sequence straight out of the climbing works (literally). The day ends and we head off on our respective christmas holidays.

Source: The Blog of Dob

[Bonjoy]

More Dick Splinters please 

[Fiend]

Once was the time when there would be almost daily updates on this blogroll. But then again once was the time when it didn't rain every day.

Well if you got back to the old skool Dob of moaning about training, instead of moaning about Mecca, you could update a lot more and everyone would be happy

[dobbin]

Dick just rang me from the gym. He'd fallen off the rower because his muscles were too big for his heart and he'd fainted. He seems to be on one at the moment, and I expect this isnt the last we will hear from him. Oh no.