Yes it helps very good, especially the confirmation that it is OK to be intsinctivly watching what they are doing, as it makes them the observer of the climb. I will work on observing their states before the fall and/or release from the wall and judge their excuses/critiques openly.

Alec

Hope all is well my friend!
What is your take on the “quick excuse.”

By this I mean when almost before or as the climber is falling they are already calling out why it happened and maybe even how to fix it.

Does this show the involvement of the climber in the process or must there be time for reflection before.

I guess I relate this as a mind trick of “knowing” a bit to much in the situation and taking away from the commitment/action stage?

Alec

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“Mindful Distraction” …Does it help me learn? In certain circumstances I believe it does.

In situations where there is a lot of NEW information to process – maybe some overhanging route which I suck on for instance, it is not a technique I would instinctively use. But for paddling up or across some hard slab it might be a choice I’d make. Maybe because the distraction does not come from an external source – I find the emotional aspects of my mind relax and I can concentrate more intensely. Perhaps here I am collating and synthesizing known engrams.
So where have I applied this mindful distraction? Once doing “I Can’t Believe It’s a Girdle at Joshua Tree” I hummed the opening bars of “Espana” – Chick Corea tune – as I led the crux pitch. Then again on the traverse of “Black Presidents” at the Tree and on the run pitches on “Fairest of All” at Tuolomne Meadows. Maybe in those circumstances it was an out. I was on Paradise Lost on Middle Cathedral in Yosemite year ago – pretty stressed on the route finding, small questionable gear and run out when John Bachar started playing his Sax down in the Meadow below. His Coltrane riff just settled me down and we completed the route without further incident. Rest of the time I am irritated by external input – boom box at the sport crag and so forth.

After many years of climbing I am still learning about this process works.

By labeling the outcomes of our past actions, we create certitudes which can be extrapolated to other future actions, with the sole purpose of shielding us against the stress of engaging into similar risks. Actually, by using our acquired certitudes for labeling the possible outcomes of our future actions, we try to escape the stress by faking the familiar. Creating this friendly “unknown in disguise” will loop into a vicious circle that will create a bridge between the “known” past and the “predictible” future, producing and reinforcing a habitual behaviour and diverting our attention away from the “here and now” of the learning process.

I tend to see labels as tools. Labels can be useful – for instance in grouping discrete bits of awareness or problem solutions to see a bigger principal or for faster memory searching to solve a new problem, but they can also be misused or abused.

I agree, one common misuse to just apply the label, then discontinue further inquiry and awareness. For me, labels also work well if I am procrastinating and don’t want to acknowledge doing so.

Years ago I really wanted to lead the second pitch of Blankety Blank at Taquitz Rock. I had done it 2 years previous and wanted the repeat. It has an un-protected steep section of delicate 5.10 b/c smearing right out of the second belay station to a small edge about 15 feet up. At the belay, I remember breathing to center my awareness, talking to my belayer and setting up for the catch. It was never a discussion about success or failure, but about what to do if…
I remember falling off 5 or 6 times before I completed that section – sliding fall right into the station. Each time I recovered, re-centered, re-focused my attention, readjusted my sequence and dynamic balance subtly. I seemed calm and intently focused, but when I got past the crux I remember letting out a yell – I believe releasing the tension of the moment.

“What thought was in your mind when you separated from the rock? Did your body or your mind let go? You don’t know exactly, and labeling it as failure won’t help you find out. “

I am thinking, I should try this because it might work and I am not going to be able to hang here much longer. If I came off, here it would be because my feet cut loose. Why? Each time explore what happened. Find some subtle adjustment and re-try.

I lead it that day, but also had times when I couldn’t lead it.
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“Your mind will always look for ways to avoid discomfort or circumvent stress….If you want to realize your full potential, you will need to come face-to-face with the stress generated in the climbing experience.”

I don’t do it often, but I’ve used a technique we called “mindful distraction”; humming a jazz tune while leading is my most common behavior. Works for me when the commitment factor is high

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