Rock Climbing - Productive or Counterproductive

[Nexus]

Rock climbing does build up a lot of strength in the hands, forearms, and biceps. Anyone done this on a regular basis during taijiquan and seen it as counterproductive/productive to their training, or does it stand neutral?

- Nexus

[dedalus]

Hey, a fellow rock rat!

I used to climb *heaps* at my last uni, and you're **** right that its good for muscle tone. Come to think of it, the kind of exercise you do in climbing is a *bit* like the kind of exercise you do in stance work, in the respect that it utilises long twitch fibres rather than short twitch ones. On the other hand, most climbers have really hard muscles, which makes me think it mightn't be ideal for internal arts. You can also do some fairly unhealthy strains (akin to rsi) if you climb too much.

Actually I don't have much to say about your question, since I've pretty much stopped climbing now and prefer to put that time into more bagua. I guess I was just excited to see the topic up ;)

If you don't mind digressing, Nexus, what sort of climbing are you into?

[Crimson Phoenix]

I'd say it's great, it naturally strenghtens your arms and shoulders and fingers...It will surely be very beneficial for arts like White Crane for example (white crane relies heavily on shoulder power, grips, qinna), and a little less for internal arts I guess, but I'm sure it cannot hurt to have such a good workout! :p

[Nexus]

Well it would seem odd if you were kept from doing something as fun as rock climbing due to internal arts training, although I would certainly put my taijiquan before my rock climbing no doubt.

As for the type of climbing I do, I am a very novice climber, so I just stick to the rock gyms. There are some excellent climbing spots here in Alaska though that run all along the Turnagain Arm from Anchorage to Portage Glacier as well as some other better known spots by those who are more active in the rock climbing communities here. I was just interested in the topic as a friend of mine enjoys climbing very much and I was planning on going perhaps once a week with him.

- Nexus

[bamboo_ leaf]

If you like it do it.

Try climbing in a TC way. That is relaxing as much as possible, allowing your center to drop to the lowest point. Push with your legs and just use your arms and hands to aid in balance not so much as in hanging on.

Remember if there is front then there is a back, if there is up then there is down. The best climbers that I’ve seen really seem very light and fluid while climbing.

The point about it messing with your TC training. I would say the main point would be the application of force. Weather you lift wts. or lift your self TC depends on the use of the mind, understanding the body and its relationship to itself. Then understanding the relationship to others.

I don’t recommend wt. to help you understand TC but that doesn’t mean that wt. training can not be useful or anything else for that matter. It only means that in the developmental stages and idea of TC this might lead or prevent a person from really learning the inner art.

In my own training I haven’t met any one who suggested using this to improve my own understanding and usage of TC.

As for rock climbing I would say try it, if it turns out that it’s not useful you have learned something, and if it turns out that it works for you will still have learned something.

The problem is that if you have no one with good skill and understanding you can easily fool your self into following the wrong path. We are all searching for the real skill and understanding. Finding the steel under the cotton. This is not easily done even for those with the luck of a good teacher.

There comes a time in you’re training where the TC form is no longer important or needed. But until you reach that point it’s very easy to ”seek the far and miss the near”


luck in your training,
try not to fall in climbing,
that would really mess up your training. ;)

bamboo leaf

[Nexus]

Actually I landed right on my head yesterday and my entire neck compressed downward making a crunching noise. I stood up and my entire back realigned and shifted back into its proper spot but my neck was really sore. After I left the gym, I went home and practices my qi gong for an hour and a half, then did some sitting meditation and went to sleep. Next morning I woke up (6hrs sleep) and felt fine besides some back aches from the rock climbing. Guess I owe being able to use the lower half of my body to my taiji :)

Anyone have similar stories? :]

My friend who had been doing taijiquan for 4 years every day got in a snowboarding accident where at the very bottom of the hill there was a warehouse and he didn't see it from the top (these things happen). He lost control right before the warehouse and smacked into the side of it head first without a helmet! He had the same sort of experience when he stood up, but he told me his entire spinal cord felt like it moved over 2-3 inches back into place and he said had he not been doing taiji every day he would have probably been hurt badly.

Anyone care to share a story?

- Nexus

[prana]

The type of climbing described here is great stuff, just the right intensity and sounds like great fun.

Some forms of climbing really does push you to the limit. Such as when working a route for a red-point attempt 5 grades above your on-sight. I think I end up many a times sick with a cold and flu from over-training.

The best 3 explanations I have come up with is
1. I really suck - I already knew this one :D
2. Working at over 100% really drains vital energies
3. Over-training is great for getting sick - from Physical Education 101