Chasing Fear
I talk with a lot of climbers who practice falling to diminish fear in their climbing. They are doing many of the right things–incorporating falling into their warm-up, working with a trusted belayer, and even taking things one step at a time. Many of these climbers are still struggling, though. After months of practice, they are more scared than ever.
As I talk with these climbers, there is a common thread: are they chasing their fear when they practice falling?
What does this mean?
When they decide to take steps up, they ask themselves “What is the fall that I am afraid of?” and they work towards that fall quickly, taking the fear response that they feel before letting go as proof that they are practicing effectively.
The problem is, this approach to practicing reinforces the fear response. It also opens the climber up to increased risk of injury and it’s no fun!
So how do I know what kinds of falls to take?
When we teach falling practice, we teach climbers to start in their comfort zone. This is usually “taking” about a body length or two below the bolt and pushing in and out of the wall to practice impacting the wall. Who doesn’t enjoy swinging around on a rope?
Then, the climber will take one step up, still with the bolt clipped above the head, to create some slack in the system. If they can fall well there without a fear response, then they can consider taking a step up.
And when can I take a step up?
This is the key part of practicing falling with awareness. The goal is to unlearn the ingrained fear response around falling by exhaling while falling, looking down in the direction that our body is moving, and having a relaxed and attentive body position. When we can observe our own response to falling and we have developed the skill to fall effectively at a certain height, we take steps up to increase the challenge. Using our ability to do the breathing, eyes, and body position technique of falling allows us to have a clear guideline for taking steps up without needing to chase fear.
Practice Tip:
If you are someone who is taking steps up just because they feel almost-not-terrible, start to pay attention to your falling technique and practice falls that are well within your comfort zone. Do this during your warm-up to prime your system for remembering that falling is a part of climbing.
After each fall, evaluate the quality of your breathing, eye position, and body position for that fall. Repeat falls with the bolt clipped above the head until you are able to exhale through the whole fall, look down at the ground as you are falling, and sit back into the rope with your hands off the rope and in front of you.
