Jedi Mind Tricks...

I was appalled to hear about friend A's recent climbing trip. Apparantly one of his companions, friend B, who had planned on projecting some really hard but classic lines, became really 'humble'/'shy' (i'm not to sure if that's the right term to use) when they met fellow climbers at the crag and started making small talk. B will apparantly claim to be working on or checking out a much easier line. There were a couple of issues that struck me:

1) B used to be someone with a mind of steel. No matter how unfit he was, he could still manage to pull the rabbit out of the hat and get routes done. This was evidently due to his strong mental mindset, which i consider to be the creme de la creme of the climbing circle in Singapore.

2) Why do you pay so much money and fly so far only to go there and claim to work on or check out routes that are well within your capabilities? Shouldn't you be checking out the lines which you have been watching countless videos of, prior to the trip, so as to psyche yourself up for the pathetic training conditions we have in Singapore?

I think the issue here is not about being 'humble' or 'shy' but rather B's self belief which has somewhat waned.

On my recent trip to Yangshuo, i had the opportunity to observe some SMU students climbing at the same crag, some of whom were really strong indoors. Most of them would have no qualms about crimping a foothold in the gym but i realise through my observations that some tend to get shut down when they encounter something similar outdoors. This is probably due to the lack of experience outdoors which will change with more exposure to natural rock and more importantly the lack of self belief that the route is within their capabilities.

Allow me to leave you a quote which i read somewhere(can't remember where it was from):

"The mentality of difficult climbing can be the challenge sometimes and seeing through this difficulty is a very important ability. When you are exposed to another level, you rise up and you learn to believe"

Rock On 2010

It's been a busy few months. On top of coaching sessions, i've had to conduct a number of Level 1 courses. In between squeezing in some time for my own climbing, i told part in this year's Rock On as well. Plus i just came back from Yangshuo, China. Will write more about that in my next posting.

Just a brief history about Rock On. This National Competition, primarily started out focusing on Lead Climbing, actually began many years ago, way before i started climbing. I'm not too sure about the exact year but its definately before year 2000. It was really huge back when it first started. For a couple of years, it was held at the Expo Gateway in World Trade Centre as well as Ngee Ann City. YES, our Ngee Ann City. The organisers actually build a 15m high pyramid wall right outside Takashimaya shopping centre and mind you, the wall sure ain't small. In addition, we had competitiors from all over asia coming to compete. Even Go Mi Sun, who was once Asia's top female climber flew in from Korea to compete in Rock On.

yes that's me when i was in JC1!!!

Anyway for reasons unknown, Rock On took a short haitus for a couple of years before it restarted last year in 2009. Due to rising costs, the last 4-5 Rock Ons have been held at Safra Yishun. Gone are the crowds you get at the World Trade Centre or Ngee Ann City. Nowadays it will be quite a feat if the number of spectators is more than the organising commitee. Perhaps it would be good to bring the sport to the masses rather than the other way round especially now that Sport Climbing is growing by leaps and bounds every year.

Like any other competitor, i have had my fair share of ups and downs in Rock On. Not many people know that i once waited more than 4 hours in isolation to compete, only to fall off at the 1st quickdraw!!! That was more than 8 years ago when the competition was held at WTC.

The last few competitions have been particularly frustrating. I was placed 3rd for 2 consecutive years, 2nd in 2004 and finally last year when the competition restarted, i thought finally this was my chance. But alas i peeled off on the last move in the finals after reading the sequence wrongly. An Indonesian completed the route and was crowned Champion. It seemed like i was doomed to be the perrenial bridesmaid for this competition.

This year however, was a little different. A World Cup route setter by the name of Jan Zbranek was invited to come down to route set for the competition. Instead of the usual onsight format for the preliminaries, the Open's participants had 2 routes to tackle, flash format. Qualification for the finals will be based on the ranking for each individual route. It was a refreshing change and i believe most of the competitors had great fun, watching one another climb. Though i did not climb too well for the 1st route, i did enough on my 2nd to guarantee myself a spot in the finals - which will be held the following day. The difficulty of the climbs should be about 7c and 8a respectively and they were both pretty good routes i must say.

The following morning threatened to be a wash out, with the skies overcast along with a slight drizzle. Luckily the rain stopped and we quickly commenced with the Open Categories. The final Men's Open route was HARD. Graded 8b, non of us made it to the crux which was right at the last 3 metres of the high wall, consisting of decent but small handholds (i tried the route and fell off the crux a couple of times before sending it last weekend after about 5 goes). During the competition itself, many of us were so pumped that we were falling off reasonably good holds 3/4 up the wall. To cut the long story short, i climbed 4 moves further than the 1st runner up and was crowned Champ! Some pictures along with a video of my climb in the Finals.

the results !!!

2nd, 3rd and 4th were Indonesians!

Rock On 2010. Men's Open Finals from Jay Koh on Vimeo.

Back Home and still Missing RockLands !!!

Creaking heights 6C, super highball with only 3 pads !!!

It has been slightly over a week since i return from South Africa and i have been pondering on what to write. It has been really hard to update priodically in Rocklands. Somehow, trying to get online can sometimes be even harder than climbing V12s. The only WiFi connection is within the campsite and some of the cottages. On top of that, the connection fluctuates so much so that i gave up on uploading any videos whilst i was there.

me on Pinotage 7C+, another amazing rocklands classic

This bouldering trip has been an eye opener and a great learning experience for me. Even though i spent 2 weeks in Fontainbleau 5 years ago, most of the boulders i did and tried were 7C and below which barely scratched the suface of what font had to offer. As such i do not even consider that 2 weeks as a valid bouldering trip.

flashing The Rhino 7B+

It was initially very hard to climb very little during each climbing day. On a road trip doing sport climbing, i'm used to climbing the whole day, 2-3 days in a row. It is almost impossible to do that in bouldering especially when you are working on projects. As a result of over climbing with too little rests, my body simply broke down after 2 weeks and i was burnt out. On top of that i took a bad fall, injured my neck which also contributed to my lower back injury. Thank goodness the doctor back home diagnose it as a bad strain and should recover. Anyhow, here's a list of things i would like to talk about before it slips my mind....

Taking 5 on Black Shadow 8B

1. You climb very little and rest alot

Unlike in sport climbing where you feel the lactic acid building up in your forearms, bouldering consists of much fewer moves that are pure, requiring your maximal effort and hence no build up of lactic acid. This gives the false impression that you are still fresh and can jump back onto the boulder without a proper rest. Thus a bouldering session for me is typically short, between 3-4 hrs a day. I have to force myself to take a rest of at least 20 minutes between each redpoint burn. It is EXTREMELY difficult to just sit around and do nothing especially if no one else is working the boulder with you. On top of that i usually have up to 4 good attempts before each subsequent attempt gets worse than the last.

RESTDAYS: I can't remember the last time i took so many 2 days off in a row on a climbing trip. This time around, for sure i had much more rest days than climbing.

2. Skin is a precious commodity
You learn how to take really good care of your skin. Applying oil, cream or other ointments at the end of the day to promote the growth of your fingertips so that you can crank again soon. Skin wears out much much faster in bouldering than on a sport route. It is common to have really thin and raw tips after just 4 attempts on a boulder.

3. The importance of good temperatures, low humidity and of course..... BRUSHING
When the weather is cold(10-15degrees), dry with a slight breeze, everyone gets on the send train. When its warm, climbing is a chore. Crimping feels impossible and your skin wears out way faster. It has been a weird winter according to the locals. We've had many 26 degree days which was virtually impossible to get onto anything hard as you would just grease off the rock. I've come to appreciate and enjoy climbing in the cold whereby you don't perspire much and leave wet patches on the rock with your fingers.

I've resorted to climbing at night with a headlamp on certain days to escape the afternoon heat.

Bouldering with people of different nationalities for 2 continuous months have lead me to conclude that Singapore boulderers in general are extremely inconsiderate when it comes to the brushing of holds. It is common to see different groups of people working on the same boulder spending a few minutes just to meticulously brush each handhold for one another. Perhaps we are so used to climbing on holds that are so caked up in chalk that we don't even bother. Perhaps we are just plain lazy. Whatever the case is, this practice obviously has to CHANGE. The condition of the handhold be it on plastic or rock can make the difference between whether one sends the route or not.

4. Grades are WAYYY more subjective in bouldering than in sport climbing
It is important to remember that every climber is different, be it their height or arm span etc. In addition, every climber is unique with regards to their own capabilities. Having said that, a route with small holds and far moves can be very easy for a taller person as compared to a shorter one. A climber who specialises in compression moves will find such boulders a lot easier than one with primarily crimps. Take for example Tea with Elmarie and Nutsa, both V12. It took me just 2 goes to send TWE which consists of lock offs on bad crimps and many tries on Nutsa(compression moves at the start with a long move right at the end) which i was still falling off the last move on my last day. According to 8a.nu, many people find Nutsa 'soft' and not TWE. I on the other hand felt the opposite is true. Needless to say i did relatively well on boulders with crimps at RockLands.

It was a good idea to list down what boulders to check out prior to the trip. This enabled me to plan and decide which problems i would like to work on. There were lines which looked rad on video but turned out to be far less than appealing in real life. Some were simply way too hard with the limited amount of time i have there. I would rather spend my time finishing many climbs in the v10-12 range as compared to working on only one v13 or 14 for a couple of weeks.

5. I need more PADS !!!

this one needs no explanations...

It would have been a sweet ending to the trip if i had sent Green Mamba and Nutsa, both 8a+/V12 on my last day. Sadly i fell of the last moves on both of them before fatique and the lack of skin told me my trip was all but over. I was also close on another 8b, Armed Response which i did not have a chance to get onto during the later part of the trip because there was just too many classics to try. Nonetheless i had great fun and took plenty of videos. Am still in the midst of compiling them. In the meantime here's some snippets of our climbs which Peter has put up.

I will definitely head back to RockLands, thats for sure. Meanwhile stay tuned for the full video coming soon!!!!

updates!

its been quite a while since i posted anything. Climbing in Rocklands is like riding a roller coaster...with its ups and downs. To cut things short, i kinda pushed myself too hard during the 1st 2 weeks of my trip and my body just broke down. Had to take lots of rest and on top of that i suffered a back injury which put me out for the next 2 weeks. Pumped myself with medication and got better gradually and now i'm finally starting to see some progress on some routes i've been working on recently.

Fell off the last move of Black Shadow 8a+/8b twice. Also i've not been back onto Armed Response 8b, which i fell off also on the last move early in the trip. Conditions are getting better (COLDER), and it'll be good to go back and finish these problems including Green Mamba 8a+/8b and Nutsa 8a+ which i also fell off from the last moves. Kinda sucky eh. More pics and videos when i get home! Here's a picture of me on Green Mamba...

RoCkLands, South Africa !!!

I can't wait to start pulling down hard on rock again. Been couped up in the gym for the last 6 months. The euthusiasm is also partly due to the fact that this is probably one of the few times i'm fairly fit, injury free and ready to rock and roll. Plus Peter and Weida will be joining me in the beginning of July. YEAHHHHHH !!!!!!!!

Looking back, i realise that this is only my 2nd bouldering trip(last one was 2 weeks in fontainbleu during the summer of 2005) though i would like to explore some nearby climbing crags such as Oudtshoorn.

here are some videos to get psyched !!

Rocklands.... part 1 from Grimpeabloc on Vimeo.

Here's a list of some climbs which i really want to check out and get onto:
1) Caroline
2) Ulan Batar
3) John Denver
4) Pinotage
5) Barracuda
6) Splash of Red
7) Green Mamba
8) Shoshaloza
9) Ray of light
10) Black Shadow/Brown Shadow
11) The hatchling
12) Derailed
13) Panama
14) Paula Abdul
15) Sky

By the way i'm on the frontpage of the 4th edition of Dyno !!! Shameless self advertisement.....thats what it is. Hah!

Here's a link to the full interview http://sgclimb.com/dyno?p=1004#comments

Mental Wings...

It took me some time to dig out these 2 really old sheets of 'worthless' papers which i compiled about 8 years ago. This is basically a condensation of what i thought would be useful for me having read Eric J. Horst's book "TRAINING FOR CLIMBING". At one point or another, i am sure any serious climber would have read or even bought his books in their own personal quest to evolve and grow as a climber.

When i first started competing long time ago, i knew i had to work on my mental aspect on top of training very hard physically. It was clear to me from the very start that being strong mentally is as important if not more than being physically strong itself. As such having read the book, i began to systematically identify and write down the things which can help me improve mentally. This resulted in these two 'worthless' papers which i pinned up on my board but have since taken down a long time ago.

The first paper basically identifies my step-by-step approach to climbing a route/boulder. Of course subtle changes should be made in accordance with what you are doing. eg competition, onsighting on rock, doing a hard redpoint etc. Do not underestimate the power of visualization. It helps to hardwire your motor skills (moves and sequences), increasing memory and fortify confidence. Studies have shown that the brain is not always capable of distinguishing between something that actually happened and something that was vividly imagined(Kubistant 1986). Therefore, repeated visualization can trick the mind into thinking that you have been there and done that before. It is important also to ensure that visualization should be as detailed and as accurate as possible (i even count the number of shakes i give each hand at a rest point during a hard redpoint) as uncertain sequences can result in failure during your climb.

The importance of visualization was highlighted once again to me during my recent climbing trip back to Krabi. I blew past my previous high point on Greed easily on my first redpoint attempt. I could never do the particular move no matter how hard i try during the 2 weeks i was there a couple of years back. This was a result of me constantly fiddling around with 2 sequences at that section as i was unsure what to do (both felt equally hard) and did not believe that i could link it from ground up. Thus i had subconciously ingrained the belief that i will fall everytime at that section. In climbing terms, rather than engramming the move, i was engramming the fall.

Looking back, i don't think i was a lot stronger physically this time round. It was simply a result of me being prepared to do the move even before i touched down in Thailand. Let me explain how this came about. I did a self analysis of why i kept falling at that section on Greed after my trip in 2006 and came up with a simple answer.

I did not visualise my success in doing that move from ground up which came about as a result of me not believing that it was possible for someone of my height. This was proven wrong during my last few days there when a HK friend of mine did that move easily and he is of the same height as me. The days leading up to this 2009/2010 krabi trip was occasionally spent visualizing my success in doing that move, so much so that i never fell of that section again on this trip in EVERY of my redpoint burn. Amazing ain't it?

The above answer i stated brings me to my second 'worthless' sheet of paper, in particular point number 4, "STOP NEGATIVE THOUGHTS. THE BODY WILL NOT GO WHERE THE MIND HAS NOT GONE FIRST". This point holds true for me and i believe for many people out there as well. This is evident in my encounter with other climbers in the gym. More often than not, i find that most will choose not to believe that a route is possible(they will usually whine that a move is too hard or too far) and within their capabilities until someone else of the same height or physical strength does it first.

These 2 documents work hand in hand and have done wonders for my progression in climbing. Here's a picture of me on Baa Baa black sheep 8c/+ at Ceuse, a route made famous by Dave Graham in 2001 when he did the FA. A route i felt i was capable of doing physically but not mentally last year, having fallen off the last hard move numerous times. I'll be back for it someday, thats for sure.

Manado

Here are some photos from my recent dive trip to Buanaken, Manado during the CNY period. Had my first taste of underwater photography and i'm glad to say it was fun! One experience that really put me off was the occasion when almost 15 divers literally waited motionlessly at 1 location less than the area of 4m by 4m for 45min just to take pictures of mandarin fishes mating. I was like 'oh man.....guys GET A LIFE!'

In my next post, i'll like to share abit on how mental training can be more important than being physically strong itself during a climbing competition and how it can also relate to climbing on natural rock. So stay tuned...

Sneak Preview !!!

Here are some awesome shots i got from Q. Can't wait to see the rest !!!

his works can be found here http://www.jamesqmartin.com/

After thoughts on climbing in Krabi...

All in all it was a pretty good trip to Tonsai. On top of finishing Greed, i went around climbing and repeating loads of easier stuff from 7a - 8a+. Most of the climbs in krabi were polished beyond belief but i was glad that there were a few crags notably Cat Wall that are still ok for now.

Repeating many of the routes on tonsai roof and falling off the new Tidal Wave on my first go was another memorable experience!!! Its hard for its grade now, requiring quite a bit of body tension after the huge jug located right in the middle of the route broke off. Tantrum 8a+, which was my first climb in the 8th grade also felt harder and requires a completely different sequence at the slopey shelf as Yi Chuan had broken off a crucial jug the year before. Thankfully i didn't fall off this climb =D

I also had the good fortune of meeting up with Bjorn and his wife on this trip who generously offered me the chance to snag the FA on his new line to the right of gaengsompla. Athough there are still some loose rock, this should clear up as more people get onto it. This awesome line goes at 7b+ and is more technical than it looks due to the severe overhanging nature of the line akin to tidal wave. Here's a pic of Bjorn working hard(bolting!!!) and his wife on the line (Speak No Evil, 7b+) a couple of days later...

Plus i was obliged to take some photos of Kenneth since he belayed me a couple of days ago for 2 hours under the scorching afternoon sun on Greed as Q wanted some good photos of me climbing. You can find his works here http://www.jamesqmartin.com/. Will post up pictures as soon as he sends them to me. Meanwhile here are some shots of Kenneth on Gaengsompla, 7c+. In addition, he send Phaet Mak 7c+ in a few goes. Big Ups to him !

Now that Greed is in the bag, many people have asked me if i would still be coming back to Krabi to climb. The answer is a big YES! There are still so many routes left undone plus Ao Nang is starting to see new development and has the potential for many beautiful lines. Plus its way cheaper to stay and travel around Krabi and Ao Nang than at Tonsai/Rai Lay.

Anyway here's a couple of climbs which i really wanna do

Definitely Makes You Whinge, 7C (rebolted end 2008)

This beautiful line is located between the 2 climbers on the wall. And yes, the photo was taken donkey years ago with Han Ping on Strider 7a+ with Assad belaying.

Sissyfuss 8b/+

This superb line by TJ features excellant rock with minimal hand and footholds. Anyone attempting it will required EVERY single part of his body to work his butt into the crux and out of it. I had a go on it and will be back for this 5 star route!!!

GREED 8c/+

It's been a long time coming but finally on the 7th of Jan 2010, i send my first 8c/+ in Thailand. Here's a little history of the route itself - Greed was the hardest route in Thailand for 5 years until 2002 when another 8c was bolted to the right of it(Hot Spring). However due to the numerous broken holds on the route itself, it was rendered impossible until someone told me the bolter glued the holds back towards the end of 2008.

I first tried the bottom moves on Greed back in 2004 after sending Jai Dum 3 days after the terrible tsunami and was immediately hooked onto the bouldery moves at the lower section. There were numerous pockets, a couple of monos (for rest points !!!) right up to the 6th quickdraw. The upper half of the route gets even better and consist of sustained climbing all the way to the anchors, with tufas lining up the last 4 metres. Returning in 2006 with much better fitness having worked my ass off on campus rungs and finger boards, i spent the 1st 4 days of the trip just putting up all the quickdraws onto the route, highlighting the fact that i'm still a long way to go. (i did not suss out all the holds on the entire route in 2004). During the 2 1/2 weeks, i did not climb higher than the 4th quickdraw, constantly falling off a dyno move to a slopey handhold.

It was a completely different story this time round. After putting up the draws and cleaning the holds on my first day, i gave it a go and surprised myself by climbing past my previous high point easily. Although i was really happy, i was still unsure if the route would go as that was only 1/3 of the entire climb. The subsequent 2 weeks were spent trying to climb the rest of the route as efficiently as possible, tweaking my sequence especially towards the top. In the process i managed to reach my next high point, which was a metre away from the last quickdraw. The last 10 days were a series of heartbreaks after heartbreaks as i kept falling way low right after the 6th quickdraw, off this reachy move from a pocket to a slopey sidepull which is the only decent rest in the middle of the route. I fell there more than 10 times and was resigned to going home without sending it even though i was literally running laps on the upper half.

I gave it another redpoint burn the day before leaving for home and fell at the same spot yet again. Thankfully a friend who had tried the route and seen a video on it suggested there and then to try a different way of holding the pocket. Even though i felt drained, i gave it a 2nd go and fought all the way to the anchors, almost falling off the LAST move, just as the sun was setting. (Thanks to Gaz for the beta and Som for belaying !!!)

Ironically before this trip, i did not train much but was consistantly bouldering and climbing hard indoors. I guessed this helped tremendously plus the fact that i had spent 3 months climbing in europe did wonders to my mental state, having fallen off the last hard move (stupid dyno) on Bah Bah Black Sheep 8c/+ at Ceuse, France countless times and not sending it before going home. I'll go back for that climb someday for sure...

Anyway here's a video of my climb. This isn't my redpoint attempt but one of the best i've got and has been painstakingly stitched together by Kelly Woo. Many thanks !!!

Greed 8c from Jay Koh on Vimeo.