To reach a certain level in rock climbing, you must learn to use your legs and feet. The legs have great load-bearing capacity and explosive power, and strong endurance. You must make full use of the strength of the legs and feet during climbing. Rock climbers generally wear special climbing shoes. The soles of these shoes are made of hard rubber, the forefoot is slightly thick, the body of the shoe is made of tough leather, the toe is pointed, and the sole has great friction. Wearing this kind of shoes, the feet can firmly support the weight of the whole body on the fulcrum that is less than one centimeter wide.
When buying this kind of shoes, everyone must pay attention and never buy too big. As long as you can wear it, the big toe is stuck inside and cannot be straightened. The tighter the shoes are, the more stable they are when exerting force. Some athletes even use quick hooks on the back of the shoes to force their feet in during competitions. Newcomers often buy shoes that are too big, and after a while they will feel that their feet are loose and they can't step on them.
One foot can only touch the fulcrum at four places: the front tip of the shoe; the inner side of the toe (big toe); the outer side of the toe (the tip of the four toes) and the heel tip of the shoe (mainly used to hang the foot when turning over the eaves), and it can only step in about one finger width, not too much, such as putting the whole sole on it, so that the foot can rotate left and right under the load, and perform actions such as changing feet and turning.
Changing feet is a basic technical action, often used in climbing. It is common to see some beginners change their feet by pushing hard with the front foot, jumping up, and landing the back foot accurately on the fulcrum where the front foot was originally. It looks very neat, but it is actually wrong, because on the one hand, it makes the fingers more strained, and on the other hand, it causes the body to be unbalanced. More importantly, this method cannot be used to change feet when the foothold is high.
The correct method is to ensure stability and not increase the burden on the hands. Take the change from the right foot to the left foot as an example. First, lift the left foot above the right foot, and rotate the right foot counterclockwise (looking down) with the rightmost foot on the fulcrum as the axis, leaving the left side of the fulcrum empty. The weight is still on the right foot. The left foot cuts in from the top, steps on the point, and the right foot must be pulled out, and the weight is transferred to the left foot. The movements are used to it, just like the soles of the feet are greased. The right foot slides out of the fulcrum and the left foot slides in at the same time. The weight is always borne by both feet, and the hands are only used to adjust the balance.
In addition to supporting the weight, the feet are often used to maintain body balance during climbing. The foot does not always need to be on the fulcrum. Sometimes one leg should be extended in the air to adjust the position of the body's center of gravity so that the weight can be stably transferred to the other foot.
1. Tight grip. When the fingers grasp a certain convex or concave edge of the fulcrum, they will generally hold it tightly. But in many cases, some fulcrums can be grasped by the palm of the hand without relying solely on the strength of the fingers, and the grip of the entire palm can also increase the stability of the grip.
2. Open grip. If the edge of the fulcrum or the small hole at some points can support the second joint of the finger, the hand can be flat on the rock surface. In this way, the hand can be opened, the fingers can be close together, and the fingers can be fully in contact with the fulcrum without the whole palm holding the fulcrum tightly. In this action, the role of the thumb is generally small, but if the fulcrum is tilted, the thumb can pinch the point with other fingers. Generally speaking, if the fulcrum is round, the open grip method is the best choice.
3. Grab grip. When the hand encounters a relatively small fulcrum, and the four fingers of the hand can wrap around the fulcrum after being put together, the thumb can be used to press the index finger to wrap around the fulcrum to do the grab grip. When doing the grab grip, avoid unnecessary pressure and tension on the fingers to avoid finger injuries. When the palm is facing up and grasping the ground, the reverse grab action is needed. This grabbing action is often used to maintain balance. It is achieved through the reaction force between hands or hands and feet.
4. Bend grip is to bend the palm, put the four fingers together, press the thumb on the index finger, and grasp the fulcrum with the outer edge of the palm. Because the thumb has a strong force joint and can control the hand shape well, this grip is not only powerful, but also gives the other fingers a good opportunity to relax. In fact, the forearm can be relaxed by bending the wrist to hold the fulcrum, so this wrist bending grip action is a good resting posture. Generally, this action is more used on small spherical protruding fulcrums and dots.
5. Pinch grip. When a fulcrum has no edge to hold and can only rely on the friction of the fingers, you need to use the pinch grip. Generally speaking, the direction of the thumb pinch is opposite to the direction of the finger grab, but sometimes, there are some pinchable points that allow your thumb to press on the edge of the fulcrum, and the direction of the pressure is always the same as the force of the four fingers.