|
Nov 2013
6:25pm, 10 Nov 2013
16,723 posts
|
halfpint
He's not messing about and I don't think he means to swing. He's just doing what comes naturally. I made a point of leaving a wee bit of slack today and he was much better. He has natural talent to some extent but he will need to develop technique over time. He is only 10 tbh so I'm not going to be too tough on him but will keep on encouraging good technique.
ION -I bleedin loved it again today. I really enjoy the challenge. My friend and I are going to ditch the kids next time though 
|
|
Nov 2013
6:46pm, 10 Nov 2013
2,068 posts
|
phôôk
HP, sounds like a good development. Might also be worth mentioning to him that if he wants to lead eventually, he'll need a good technique that doesn't rely on the rope.
But the most important thing is he enjoys it.
|
|
Nov 2013
6:54pm, 10 Nov 2013
16,726 posts
|
halfpint
I mentioned to him last time that he will need to learn to not rely on the rope if he wants to lead. The problem with him is he doesn't listen to a damned thing I say half the time. There is a kids club that use the climbing place and I think I may see about signing him up once he has been doing it a while. It's run by parents so I would need to go to but hopefully I would pick up hints and he might listen to advice from someone else.
|
|
Nov 2013
6:57pm, 10 Nov 2013
2,069 posts
|
phôôk
If he doesn't listen to you half the time, it means he does listen to you the other half, so I guess you're doing pretty good, really!
|
|
Nov 2013
8:29pm, 10 Nov 2013
1,188 posts
|
MudMeanderer
You could always threaten penalty slack every time he unnecessarily weights the rope
A slightly slack rope isn't a bad thing for the most part. I used to find if someone belayed with quite a tight top rope it was hard to do some moves. Especially on more gymnastic routes in corners or those with small traversing sections you may temporarily lower your CofG to move between positions in a stable way and that can be hard with a very tight top rope.
The other advantage is he may become more comfortable taking small falls onto the rope, which can be good for when he eventually leads - it can be hard to commit to moves near your limit if you're scared of any sort of fall.
|
|
Nov 2013
5:55pm, 30 Nov 2013
16,839 posts
|
halfpint
Hello folks. Our climbing wall has installed a couple of auto belays. This meant I could take the boy but do a wee bit of climbing myself. It's not the same as climbing with a buddy and it's terrifying letting go the first time BUT it was great to get some climbing done. Also I think it helped with QP's swinging issue. He couldn't put any weight on the rope without it letting him down therefore he had to climb. I noticed that even when I was belaying for him he wasn't swinging. The nicest bit is we were able to climb side by side
|
|
Nov 2013
5:57pm, 30 Nov 2013
28,301 posts
|
Velociraptor
That's great, halfpint
I like the autobelays at Kendal, but I have to confess that I've never relied on them to let me down, I've always downclimbed when using them.
|
|
Nov 2013
6:06pm, 30 Nov 2013
16,841 posts
|
halfpint
It's definitely a leap of faith but quite good fun after the first time. I screamed and said 'I don't like it' very loudly the first time and when I got the bottom there were several people laughing at me (including the boy) - to be fair they were all laughing as they had felt exactly the same when they did it Nothing like looking like a total numpty.
Having been brave enough to do the autobelay I still can't bring myself to try bouldering - I don't get it and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. It's more of a spectator sport for me
|
|
Nov 2013
7:01pm, 30 Nov 2013
28,302 posts
|
Velociraptor
I don't entirely get the point of bouldering either. Well, I sort of do, it's about repeatedly trying to crack a move and actually falling off and hurting yourself instead of being held by a rope, but ... nah.
I did actually take a proper tumble off a bouldering wall soon after I started climbing. Must have been about 10ft off the ground. The instructor broke my fall, bless him.
|
|
Dec 2013
8:36am, 1 Dec 2013
1,208 posts
|
MudMeanderer
I do quite enjoy bouldering. I like the idea of finding a series of moves that you can't immediately complete, and working through the options until you can eventually manage it. A good boulder problem is a good problem solving exercise, both physically and mentally challenging.
|
