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klopik
Jan 5, 2007, 7:39 AM
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Registered: Sep 26, 2006
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OK, ladies and gents, help me out here.
I have this thing about smearing...
I am not sure if it is purely psychological or if I am just doing it all wrong, but I just CAN"T do it!
If I have the smallest of all nubs on the wall, I am fine... but if I have to smear, I have these horrible images of smashing my face into the wall and I just can't do it! Its bugging the hell out of me :(
I know how to do it, theoretically, but practically - I am stuck... Any advice?
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overlord
Jan 5, 2007, 8:45 AM
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Registered: Mar 25, 2002
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drop your heels. this usually helps.
aslo, if youre on a slab, try to stand upright as much as possible, dont lean towards the wall. that way youll actually reduce the probability of your feet slipping.
and learn to trust your shoes.
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wanderlustmd
Jan 5, 2007, 1:41 PM
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Registered: Oct 24, 2006
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Yeah trusting your shoes is the hard part. I'm still working on that part of my technique (still working on all of it, actually.... ), but one thing that I found helps is to practice doing one move up the wall at ground level incorporating a smear. Find a spot with two good hands and one good foot, and move to a higher hold via a smear with the free foot. That way, if you screw up you won't go far, and the proximity to the ground takes the mental part out of the equation. I found I improved a fair amount practicing this at the gym as a kind of warmup before my usual flap-and-flail sessions
(This post was edited by wanderlustmd on Jan 5, 2007, 1:42 PM)
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devonick
Jan 5, 2007, 11:32 PM
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Registered: Aug 24, 2005
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your shoes could be the problem, some shoes are just plain crap at smearing because they are too stiff. softer shoes smear better but are not as good on the micro nubbins you say you are fine on
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clee03m
Jan 6, 2007, 9:51 PM
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Registered: Oct 29, 2004
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I would find a wall that is an easy slab with pretty much no hand holds (if you have one around where you live). Using the anterior 1/3 of the shoe (ball of your foot), start on a foot hold close to the ground. Open handed and palms should be flat on the wall. When you first place your foot, your knee will be bent. Counting 1-2-3 slowly, shift your weight (center of gravity) on that foot while straightening your leg. When your body is completley verticle (center of gravity on your foot) and knee locked, you will be surprised how secure the foot hold feels. Repeat this motion foot to foot taking very small steps. When I first started climbing, my partners thought that I should first learn to climb slabs, and I think this method helped me a lot.
Hope this helps.
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stymingersfink
Jan 7, 2007, 3:12 AM
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Registered: Aug 12, 2003
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keep your ass out there, it'll help put more pressure INTO the rock, rather than ass-in, which will put more pressure DOWNWARD.
Think doodlebug, be doodlebug...
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ma4
Jan 10, 2007, 10:28 PM
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Registered: Sep 20, 2006
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sound like you don't trust your shoes or you don't have the right shoe. when I have trouble with a technique, I practice on a bouldering wall. I have learned many techniques that way and gotten much stronger in the process.
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donbcivil
Jan 11, 2007, 9:19 PM
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Registered: Jul 8, 2006
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A good way to develop trust in your shoes and practice smearing is to find a vertical climbing wall (or one where the wall slopes away from you instead of overhanging), where there are good sized gripping holds. Practice climbing up a few feet using the handholds but only smearing with your feet - no footholds.
When I started last year, I took a series of classes at the gym. There were several exercises in there that showed what excellent climbing assistance good shoes provide!
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go_dyno
Jan 19, 2007, 5:09 AM
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Registered: May 8, 2005
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If you can find a very broad slab that you can smear on just a couple of feet off the ground and move horizontal on it back and forth will help. This way you can play with minute muscle memory in your feet, how your shoes work, realizing where your balance needs to be (exactly over your feet) and how to push off. Eventually you will be able to smear along this area and eat a sandwich while talking on the phone and your shoes and feet will just stick!
If this helps I learned to climb on slabs and when me and my climbing partner started we honestly could not get 2 feet off the ground. We invented what we called the "butt boost" and the spotter would hold the climber under his ass while he smeared along the wall. We had to pick some very remote places to climb around Enchanted Rock near Austin so the rock hotties did not see 2 burly dudes carrying each other around by the backside. All of the sudden one day our asses got over our feet and out of each others hands and we could smear!
If you need a "butt boost" I'm there for you! Good Luck!
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