Mindfully Moving on Plastic Rocks
During the off ish season, I was reflecting on the recent run of Reel Rock. This slew of short films often highlights some climber trying to do a 5.16 or some other such impossible feat. One short that stood out was “With my Heart” involving IFSC Climbing world cup winner Sachi Amma.
He describes his journey to this achievement and how upon reaching the moment of glory began to feel disillusioned by this pursuit of victory. In wake of this, he left the competitive scene in search of deeper fulfillment. He became much more concerned with the idea of style as it pertains to climbing and the how one projects themself onto the rock as they climb it.
In conjunction with these ideas, I was listening to the Nugget Podcast and their discussion about climbing types. They likened certain beginner climbers to hammers, those that see everything as a nail and therefore approach a different problem the same way. These types of climbers often defer to using their natural aptitudes in favor of learning different techniques.
The culmination of these ideas for me was that I’m definitely a hammer type climber, relying on natural strength to muscle through moves when a different approach is likely more effective. I took this to heart on a recent visit to the gym and employed some different areas of focus, and the results were deeply gratifying to say the least.
Climbing has never been about getting up something as much as it is how you get up something. Someone could just as easily bring a ladder up to your project and walk up, but there’s nothing meaningful or worthwhile about doing that.
Much like my experience while slab climbing, I took the time in the gym to purposely slow down and feel each and every movement while doing it. I felt more deeply connected to my body and also felt a much lower level of exertion by being slow and deliberate instead of bulling my way through. So much of my climbing up till that point had been concerned with simply pushing through to get to the top, particularly within the realm of gym climbing.
This can be an easy habit to get into especially in a controlled environment, but it’s of particular consequence to take the time to be intentional with it here as well. There’s no better place to establish solid habits than in the gym and one might even go as far as arguing that this the purpose of the gym to begin with.
For a session I felt that I had tapped into something much deeper while climbing as I concerned myself primarily with the style in which I ascended the rock, versus ascending the rock. It’s an elusive state of mind, but much like mindfulness it isn’t necessarily a destination. This feeling is something that you gradually return to when you catch yourself wandering, and recognizing the process within it is the first step.
