Climb ups

[SafeNSure]

After three years training I still don't have these down, and I believe it's -mainly- because I'm not training them (duh!). The other reason is that I don't see them done a lot in our community.

People have first class cat leaps or wall runs, but when it comes to climb up from a stationery cat leap position it gets pretty sloppy and slow (<- not parkour... lol!).
So besides the good suggestions on this PKCali thread, I recommend starting to work on this; I for one, would like to have somebody that either is willing to teach them to me (live), or just taking up the personal challenge and try to get them together.
Who's in?

Also, I think I don't have any genetic or mental obstacle to learning them, that's why I'm not showing you another superstar traceur (<-oxymoron), increasing the idolization going on in Parkour ("OMG! Danny! Oleg!") in the process, but our fellow PKCali member David Jones, about a year in his training.
It seems to me that he has it down:

[monk]

ow my fingers!! for me, the problem is in the hands, i think. if i didn't have so much trouble just holding a 90-degree corner/edge without slipping, i might be able to do these better. maybe my silky smooth fingers need to toughen up a bit ;-) but not being able to get my fingers behind something make it very hard. i do want to practice these though! once you get the grip down, hands no closer than shoulders-width apart, keep your chest close to the wall throwing your head up and use your FEET! best seen at 0:04, 0:07,0:22 and 0:28. if you get traction under your feet in the cat hang while getting your face close to the top (and not eating cement) you can hurl yourself up to your palms, so i've seen it done.

it's in the feet.

[Seng]

I'm definitely down to work on this and help others. I think my climb ups (or top out or whatever you want to call it) are pretty good now and I attribute a lot of it to repetition and also fundamental strength training. There are a few spots at UC-Berkeley that are great for working on this movement.

Benny has developed a new timing of the motion that a few of us in the East Bay are working on as well- basically, instead of going to a position where arms are locked out and holding the body totally vertically, one would rotate over without ever being in a locked-arm position. It's not unlike what's in the video in discrete techniques, but the timing makes it flow smoother. Better demo'd than written about.

Also, forcing onesself to complete a climb when a wall run or other dynamic move is stopped by gravity is a good way to build strength as well as reinforce the exercise of overcoming obstacles as opposed to pulling off moves.

In my experience, this is something that for many people is going to be a very gradual process, moreso than many running/dyno techniques. But because of that and it's relatively unflashy nature, it may be something that helps distinguish tracers from tricksters.

[marisa]

i think jodie's climb ups are pretty smooth, but maybe I'm just idolizing... ;)

At the California jam I noticed that a lot of the pkCali guys use the inside leg/knee swing (Rafe Kelley style) for extra height. I'm (slowly) trying to make it work for wall runs, but I think it helps their climb ups too.

[b2c]

dude GIORGIO, I WILL TRAIN YOU TO DO THIS at no cost money back GUARANTEED!!!!! where u wanna meat??

[SafeNSure]

@ J.: holding a dead hang on a square edge w/o slipping is not my problem...I can fall asleep there; but the timing/coordination to transfer to my palms is totally missing, also that crouching-step motion of the legs.

@ S.: I agree, yet many people (me included) force themselves to finish the climb/leap/wall-run only with strength and gutsy "techniques", which slow them down and tire them out... once learned, this seems sufficiently effortless.

@ M.: yeah the kick-up technique is substantially more dynamic, and it's the only one I (sometimes!) feel like trying; yet the possibility of banging my kneecaps on the edge while recovering the legs scares the hell out of me, distracting me and killing the motion, often at substantial heights. Also, this one-step up in the wall would be really useful when considering cat-to-cat transitions.

@ B.: it would just be nice to see you! EVERY Sunday at Noon... lol! But yeah... eager to see what Seng was taking about... film it maybe, no?

[b2c]

how about make a sunday sess at WASH after this week?

[SafeNSure]

...we were thinking CCSF after this; would that work? (you can BART there...)
It's been at GWHS two Sundays ago.

[Fyrel]

Hm, I'm interested in the technique Seng described. I've always thought it was more or less pure strength + feet traction, but I'm really interested to see Seng/Benny's thing. Someone's gonna have to show me next time I come up there. ;)

[David Jones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfFgFkAs_Ns&feature=youtube_gdata
That video and general strength training improved my climb-ups dramatically. I still don't consider my climb-ups as good as I'd like them though. Strength and good coordination of the feet and arms go a long way.

If anyone wants in depth advice, I'd be more than glad to help.

-David

[SafeNSure]

I remember that video!
..."coordination of your feet, more than anything", says Teghead (who is also, like, 100lbs. in that clip...).

But then again, his technique is the more dynamic one Marisa mentioned of the kick-up, while I like your stepping up (quite visible at 0:20/30), a technique more suitable for heavy (and tired) cats, like me.
:D

I like the exercise on the side of the wall though, will try that.

Ha! You can embed, here. ;)

[Ryan Fulmer]

In the the immortals words of Rickety Cricket...

"Its all hips and nips."

Working a one foot takeoff into my kongs when i was first learning these at Sloat(supperstickwallsperfectheight) helped build that blocking swing at the top of my wallrun when most of my momentum has puttered out.

[David Jones]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC7nqOJqVRo

Is this what you guys are talking about? :p