Ok, I feel bad enough when Sifu Brinker has to get on our case about our blog, but when a student does, I somehow feel even worse. I have had 3 different blogs ready to go, but just haven't made the time to get them published. Here goes. . .
I had an exciting week last week, as I finally took my test for belaying as a lead climber. I PASSED!! Woot woot! My friend has been helping me practice for a few weeks now, and I finally built up the courage and confidence to just go for it. Without my lead belay ticket, I can't lead climb at the climbing gym, I can only top rope. ( I already have my ticket for that).
Lead climbing has added a whole new level of challenge into my life, never mind into my climbing experience. It is very, very hard! When top roping, you are suspended from the top of the climb by a rope that is attached to your belayer at the bottom. If you fall, you come away from the wall, and simply hang suspended from the top. You get back on the wall when ready and "climb on" from where you left off, if you so choose. In lead climibing, you are attached to you belayer from the bottom. Period. You pack the heavy rope up with you as you climb, and clip in as you go. If you fall from your climb, after just having made a clip, you fall away from the wall, and down, but not to far. If you fall just as you are about to make a clip, you fall as far down, to your last clip and then some. It's kind of scarey. Your belayer has to be on their toes so they can quickly scoot into the wall as you fall, so that your fall is not a sudden jolt when you stop.
Also in lead climbing there are a lot more climbs that slant out away from a nice straight vertical ascent, plus tons more overhangs. A lot of the lead climbing routes at the climbing gym, end with the climber hanging from the ceiling. I have yet to master keeping my feet touching the wall/ceiling in such an occasion. When I am suspended from the ceiling, my feet want to hang straight down. I am not sure yet if that is a case of inexperience with the technique or leg strength, or both.
Also with lead climbing, you often have to hang from the wall with only one hand, as your other hand makes the clip. So not only are you using all the strength you can muster to pull yourself up the wall and hang onto the wall, you have to let go with one hand, pull up enough of your rope as you need to reach the clip, and then clip. This is where I feel so much personal growth, for lack of better words. I don't know how to explain the feeling. After about the 3rd clip, any more become a real chore. My muscles are very fatigued, and I just don't feel I can hang on a second longer,and my mind is yelling ...YELLING at me to just hang on and make that clip!! "You can do it! You can do it!" Then after the clip, I can get both hands back on the wall. If I really need to, I can yell down, "take" to my belayer, which tells them to tighten up the rope, so I can let go of the wall and rest my arms. Then my own silent words of encouragement. "Wow, you did it".
I have found a huge difference in my need to be prepared for lead climbing, in a way I didn't have to for top roping. I have to make sure that I get a good nights sleep the night before. I can't go if I am even the slight bit tired, or feeling even a bit out of sorts. I have done this in the past, but my level of focus is not at all what it should be, plus I tire out very quickly. I don't climb well, and I sometimes leave upset at myself. Being able to problem solve is a huge part of rock climbing, as with any activity that becomes hard if you are tired. Outside on a real rock face, lack of focus, can have deadly consequences. In the real world of having to defend for yourself, it's very much the same.
This brings to mind the need to bow in at the beginning of our kung fu classes. We need to take that time to get rid of anything outside of the kwoon, and bring all our focus inside it. Inside of ourselves. Kung fu is problem solving as well, but at a much faster pace. You have to act now. You may not have the time to feel your way around and decide on your next move.
In a physical sense, lead climbing has introduced me to new muscles I have never felt before. The strength I feel increasing in my back starts with the good pain I feel the day after. I work my abs all the time, but after a day of lead climbing, my abs are saying, "we're still here." My shoulders and forearms are at a level of strength they have never reached before.
I feel very blessed to have a physical body that allows me to enrich my life through activities such as rock climbing, and kung fu. It allows me to push myself that much further and enter a new realm of personal growth. I am appreciative of a clear mind that recognizes the good these things bring into my life. I am also grateful for the martial arts that have given me tools to become so aware of my true self, and the confidence to not be afraid to dig further into, and explore what makes me tic. I am grateful for the adventures in my life and the courage to seek new ones. My life is incredibly enriched with a friend who shares all these adventures with me, and willingly takes my hand to find new ones.
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