Expert climbing session with Tonde and Florian

over the new year weekend, believe it or not, i spent it climbing from 9-4pm.
almost a full day save for lunch break in between.
we had a mini mock comp on the routes set by the routesetters, in a "World Cup" style..
with big volumes and different moves. plus very very very dificult.
when i say difficult, it really means difficult.

the first day, i got 2 bonuses out of 4 routes.
as i look around me, i see climbers dropping off the walls like flies.
dropping of the 2nd or 3th hold, not the top of the route.
we hardly see that of Open climbers and we really got spanked and owned really badly. haha.
kudos to the routesetters for setting hard shit man. it was really fun climbing those routes.
got to try out whats it like to start ifsc format, with the taping system and stuff, 4 points of contact, etc.
it was abit confusing at first.. but i got the hang of t after awhile.
on the second day, with almost zero skin left, we were at it again, climbing even more difficult routes.
this time i got zero bonuses. haha. hard to think of a time when i got that kinda

there are a few differences between these routes and the ones we usually do.
right from the start, the route is just not easy man.. haha.
starting the route already requires problem solving. and its not as simple as getting up on the starting jug and moving off.
you either have to heel hook or tension or psyche up just to start.
and it gets even harder after that.. haha
theres no more left right left right kinda movements. alot of adjustment and shifting. and definitely as much pull and locking.

over all, i learned alot in those 2 days, more so especially afer being an OW for so long.
got a few take home points that tonde and florian taught us.
thought i'd write it down here so i'll remember.

1) breathe
dont only do this during the crux, but constantly throughout the whole route.

2) focus
age old advice, but sometimes it matters to just put in abit more effort to block out unneccessary things, especially when competing

3) try (really) hard
this is something that had an impact on me. tonde and florian would be always asking us to "never give up" when we're on the route. because that 1 try really matters. that single attempt could get you a final or a podium. so dont ever give up when you're on the route already. ESPECIALLY once youve passed the hard parts. its gonna be a bitch to go thru all that again, so just stay on the wall. keep calm and carry on climbing.
come to think of it, we always tell people to "come on" and "allez" but "never give up" seems different and more compelling. when we say that, we know that we have to make the effort to give our 100% so that success comes eventually. no such thing as sighing and exclaming and just step off the route, but fight through and really DO the route.

4) find new solutions
the routes are always different and especially world cup routes, different from our style of routes bac home. so try to pull out as many beta and solutions that you can think of and use it to work through the route. if one doesnt work and you fall off, use that little bit of info, grasp it in your thoughts and use it to find a new solution.

5) be confident
this brings me to somethings that jensen taught us once... about knowing yourself and ur strength and weaknesses.. plays a part in knowing how well you can climb the route. eg. span or moves or holds.

6) fight until the end
this is for whe after you've gotten the bonus, or simply pass the hard struggling section of the route. same as previous points, dont just leave it as that! stay focus, breathe and COMPLETE the route.

7) climb well
enuff said.

8) have fun
agreed. right now, im trying to take things easy, and not be so intense and all... im climbing only when i feel like it and when i want to, not forcing myself to work on things when im tired or do routes because others are doing and i'll feel like im losing out. just trying to take things as it comes and enjoy the process. i had fun even when i clocked in zero bonuses and couldnt start one route. it didnt bother me that others could and i couldnt... i just let it passed and focused on other things. yea. i kinda like this feeling right now. haha. being a little carefree right now until the situation demands of me to perform, like when im actually doing a route, not the whole notion of competing. if you get what i mean? haha.

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went to nus for their mock comp with TP today and tried to apply what i learnt.
well, its not 100% that i practiced what i learned... but i took home some things.
breathed when i had to, took a break and focused when i needed to. and planned and executed a route withe 100% effort and great success. but then, i also lost focus and let tiredness get to me. i shortcut my planning and didnt think on the route. i made many mistakes, like slips and wrong moves and bad decisions.

but still, im psyched to keep trying to perfect this whole mental process.. as well as physical when i can. i know i lack the power and perfect footwork and strategy. will try to push the standards up when i can too.. haha. we'll see we'll see.