pushing standards since 2000

POST SEA Games Report

2011-12-17T15:05:00.008+08:00

The Singapore Sport Climbing Contingent

I have been neglecting my blogging duties since returning about a month ago from the SEA Games in Palembang, Indonesia. Its been super busy for the past 2-3 months with me route-setting at the gym, managing the business, coaching my students at TPJC and CCSS plus doing ad-hoc courses at Kinetics. On top of of these, i have had to build up my fitness level for the SEA Games itself. It hasn't been smooth sailing but i am glad everything turned out reasonably well. Plus i shouldn't be complaining as i got a Silver from the bouldering event!

Singapore's only Silver Medal !!!!

One month prior to the event itself, i was actually progressing very well in my build-up for both the bouldering and the leading event but due to an unfortunate incident, i tore something in my middle finger. It was probably due to the lack of a proper warm-up which resulted in the injury. It still hasn't fully recover up till today.

Anyway, you can imagine how disappointed i felt when i had the finger checked and found out that i told something. Took a week off climbing and found that the training effect that i painstakingly achieved from my training sessions was totally GONE. As such, i decided that in order for me not to make a fool out of myself at the Games, i would have to continue training and tread the fine line between not over stressing my finger but at the same time maintaining a high level of fitness.

The interval trainings i did at Kinetics were DEFINITELY helpful in maintaining my fitness. However i took the training to a different level completely when i implement weights into the intervals. Without weights, i could comfortably finish all the Greens and Yellows in the gym with limited rest times between each climb. With an addition of 5kg on the weight vest, everything changes. The training really breaks you BUT it helps in bringing your fitness up a notch as you see yourself progressing with each session. Intervals are excellent because it simulates the conditions in the competitions itself. The rule of specificity is extremely important as many sports trainer will tell you.

As i have mentioned before, i don't usually train specifically for competitions. I prefer climbing and working on routes as this naturally gets you strong. This time around i chose to do otherwise as this is the first and probably the only time Sport climbing is included in the SEA Games. It might not be as big as the World Cups but i think it carries more prestige as Singaporeans can relate to it easier.

The girls with their medals from the Speed Relay

All of the gold medals were swept by the Indonesians except for the Womens Bouldering event which was won by Ina from the Philipines. She was definitely not the strongest or the most powerful female at the event but she definitely was one of the best female climbers in SEA. I guess all of us shouldn't be complaining too much. Afterall, other than the Indonesians who train FULL-TIME, most of us or should i say ALL of us have full time jobs or studies to deal with on top of having to train for the SEA Games.

In addition, you will be surprised to know that the Indonesians receive very good support from their Sports Council and federation. They do not have to worry about the lack of facilities to train on nor was there any lack of monetary support. It sucks when your Chef-de-Mission expects a Gold from Sport Climbing when they themselves don't give us the support. Perhaps he should consider purchasing some Austrians to represent Singapore instead.

It is heart-breaking especially if you have had to travel across the causeway to KL numerous times to train at Camp 5 or Putrajaya - which was what Suzanna and Sue-Ann did, put in so much effort and at the end, falling short at competitions. Then again, i have long learned that competitions are like that. You can be the best climber out there but a foot slip or a bad day can render you last place. That is the nature of comps and one will do well not to take it too seriously. Afterall, competitions are only a very small part of what climbing is all about!

All our Medals!

There were however many takeaways from this SEA Games. We have in our midst a world class Speed climber, Adriel, who managed to achieve a personal best timing that would have placed him in the top 16 speed climbers in the World. Even the Chinese umpire was extremely impressed with his performance and called him a GENIUS when comparing Adriel to the World's No.1 speed climber, Zhong Qixin who took 3-4 years of training to get to where he was.

Anyway i have had too much plastic for the past 3 months and i really need to get outdoors to climb. I can feel the motivation waning already.... Yangshou in March 2012 anyone?

OR Show and American Fork Canyon

2011-09-05T20:35:00.016+08:00

The plan was to head up to Salt Lake City for the OR Show a week or so after my return from Italy and i was seriously not looking forward to the 21 hr flight with 2 stopovers. On top of that, i was down with a bad cold and was seriously jet lagged such that i had a miserable time route setting in the gym 3 days prior to my flight up to SLC. Thank goodness i recovered in time and the flight did not turn out to be so bad.

To save money, i had to crash in at Spy's and Tanleng's apartment for the entire trip! On top of visiting the OR show, i wanted to visit some of the local gyms and of course try to squeeze in a few climbing days at their local crags.

Both Spy and Tanleng are currently living right beside the University of Utah in SLC, focusing hard on trying to attain their PHD within the next couple of years whilst at the same time earn some money teaching and of course climb till their arms drop. Looking at how often they get to go outdoors (at least 2-3 times a week), i'll say it beats getting couped up in Singapore anytime.

They will complain about getting stuck in the gym when the snow literally dumps on them for at least 6-8 months every year, but hey, i won't mind getting stuck in those good gyms getting myself sick strong for the season outdoors! Afterall, there are TONNES of rock in Utah. Within a 3 hr drive, there's Little Cottonwood Canyon, American Fork Canyon, Logan Canyon, Joe's Valley, Maple Canyon etc.........

I was their best man during their wedding back in 2007 (i hope i got the year right!). Spy and i were also known as the JD brothers, after being the first 2 Singaporeans to send Jai dum. This was a bench mark 8b climb in Krabi but having both done a couple more 8bs elsewhere since then, we think that it might be a little bit on the soft side. Anyway here's a picture of us at American Fork Canyon!

Team Singapore @ American Fork Canyon!

Though i was way more keen on bouldering, it was summer and probably a million degrees at Joe's Valley. As such the only crag i managed to visit was American Fork Canyon, which is about an hr's drive from their apartment.

For the uninitiated, AF is a place where many Americans such as Boone Speed and Scott Franklin have left their mark here. JC Hunter also recently did the FA of a potential 5.14b, Fantasy Island here. At first glance, the rock is chossy and honestly looks like CRAP. The wall itself at El Diablo and Hell Cave is about 10m in height so basically its bouldering on a rope. BUT most of the routes climb well and i throughly enjoyed myself even with the limited amount of time spent there.

Though i am always apprehensive about getting onto harder climbs on short trips, i hopped onto Dead Souls 5.13d/14a and did a quick 2 day ascent of this beautiful line. This was by far the least amount of time i have spent on a climb of that grade and i was initially sceptically about the difficulty of the route. Tanleng reassured me that nobody downgrades the climbs in American Fork and to just accept it as it is. Plus with the type of climbing done in Singapore (mostly bouldering), i have come to realise that i excel better in short and bouldery routes. Here is a video of a SLC local, Amy Cockerham on the route.

http://www.momentumvm2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=61:dead-souls-amy-cockerham&catid=13:video&Itemid=3

Tanleng managed to get a video of me attempting another 5.13d/14a, Cop Killer, falling off at the crux. Though most of the moves are relatively easier as compared to Dead Souls, it houses a single move, rated at V9 that felt almost impossible in the conditions of SLC's summer afternoon. According to Spy, this was also the move that stopped a certain Ethan Pringle from flashing everything in American Fork when he was here! (other than I Scream, a 14C). This climb will have to wait till my next visit though in the meantime, Spy is really close to sending this line!

Cop Killer 5.13d/14a from Jay Koh on Vimeo.

I also had the opportunity to visit and climb in a couple of gyms, two of which was The Front @ Odgen and @ SLC. Both were bouldering centric and had tonnes of routes that were properly documented and marked out. Great place to train and get strong.

Bouldering at The Front @ Ogden

Check out the height of the bouldering walls!

Visiting Momentum climbing gym was also on the list, though it would have been better if i had enough time to get some climbing done there. Anyway i must admit they probably have one of the best, if not the best route management system i have ever seen. Plus, they have TONNES and TONNES of routes for all abilities. Check out some of the pictures here!

16m - 18m high walls!

Route under Review!

Tonnes of routes....

Anyway BIG UP to Tanleng on sending her first 8a, Girl Power at Logan Canyon! For sure you are cranking much harder after the nasty incident earlier this year!

ARCO World Championships 2011

2011-08-10T01:54:00.022+08:00

The IFSC World Championships took place last month from 15th - 24th of July at Arco, Trentino, Italy and i was lucky to be part of the spectacular event that the organizers had taken pains to put up. The World Championships is a separate event from the annual Climbing World Cup Circuit and takes place once every 2 years. ALL the top climbers from every part of the world will descend upon the selected venue to battle it out and be crowned the World Champion in the Lead, Boulder and Speed categories.

Arco is the center of climbing and mountaineering in Italy and is extremely famous for the RockMaster event that is held every year. Participation for this event, however, is by INVITATION only, thus only the creame de la creame of Sport Climbing will get to attend this prestigious event. This year though, it is held in conjunction with the World Championships, thus i jumped at the opportunity to represent Singapore in this event.

I managed to get on my flight and got to Arco the day before the qualifying round for bouldering and checked into the same hotel room as Hafzanizam from Malaysia and Miel Pahati from the Philippines. Rooms cost a premium at this time of the year due to the summer holidays thus i was not too surprise with this arrangement by IFSC.

View from the top of our hotel room

Like all official sporting events, there was an opening ceremony which all athletes had to attend. All countries and climbers were introduced and 'paraded' through the little town of Arco, along with the mascot-a fox, which ended at the climbing stadium some distance away. All in all, there were more than 100+ countries participating in the entire event with a similar number in each individual event itself.

View from the road en route to the climbing stadium

My flag bearer - Thomas from Italy!

Miel and his representative!

The bouldering event was the 1st category to be held and boy were the routes HARD. This was my first time in a field of world class athletes as i have not had the opportunity to take part in any bouldering events in the IFSC World Cup Circuit. Though i knew that the routes were going to be hard, i honestly wasn't expecting it to be THAT hard. Other than Hsukuru Hori from Japan, the rest of the Asians were topping out a maximum of 1 route out of 5. Everyone were getting their asses handed to them on a plate. For me, it was a difficulty getting off the ground for many of the routes and i managed to obtain only 1 bonus out of the 5 routes with zero top outs. 1 BONUS !!!! When was the last time i got 1 bonus in ANY bouldering competition in Singapore ?!?!?!?

In retrospect, the easiest route was probably a V9 with the rest being in the V10-12/13 range. Handholds were SMALL, FAR and BAD with more than 60% being screwed-ons. Seldom will you find crimps as most people can crimp reasonably well. In place of crimps, slopers the size of a 50 cent coin will be on most of the volumes, with some being slightly bigger for you to 'crimp' on. Even the footholds on most of the hardest routes in Kinetics are better than the handholds on these routes. There is also no need to sling a chalk bag around your waist as it is unlikely that you have the time or strength to release 1 hand to chalk-up.

Miel and Zam managed only slightly better, with 2 bonus each. Anyway the general consensus on the ground from most participants was that the qualifying routes were WAY too hard. This coming even from the Austrian climbers. Zam also mentioned that during the Imst WC earlier this year, he had managed to top-out 2-3 routes during the qualifying round.

The Semi-final boulders for the Men's Category

One thing is for sure though, bouldering in the World Cup is truly the realm of the impossible dynos, the smallest crimps and improbably body positioning. It is hard to comprehend how STRONG the top climbers are until you see them flashing routes when you can't even get off the 1st move or holding onto handholds which you won't even consider using for your feet in your local gym.

Videos for all categories can be viewed here.

the 18m 'high' wall

The lead category took place a couple of days later with the qualifying being 2 routes flashed format. With the routes being graded at about 8a+/b (similar difficulty for the women's category), only a handful of climbers managed to top both with Julian Ramon being one of them. This 1.54m tall 'beast' looked extremely comfortable and solid on ALL his climbs, right up to the last day. My result was pretty decent, climbing up to at least the halfway mark on both routes, considering the last time i was on the tying end of the rope was at the SEACF Circuit in Putrajaya. A fellow climber from SA describes it best about the handholds for the Leading Category: "Its funny how the holds are serious not so bad that you can't climb on them but at the same time not fantastic thus resting and recovering is practically impossible."

A trip to Arco is definitely not completed without visiting the local crag - Massone. This world renowned location is easily accessible by car with the hike being less than 5 minutes from the parking lot itself. Due to the proximity of the various sections and range of climbs(from 6s to 9a), many routes are polished beyond belief. It is however, not uncommon to see people cranking down hard and fellow World Cup participants throwing themselves on the test pieces here.

Underground 9a, roof climbing that goes on forever
(this is only 1/3 of the entire route)

We were busy climbing on one of the sectors when Yuji, Obi and Akito showed up (Obi-san dropped by a couple of months ago to route set for the NUS-TNF boulderactive). Looks like we were not the only people who were eager to crank on rock after the competition. Routes here were mostly long, 25m-30m ranging from gentle overhanging walls to severely inclined ones.

Yuji Hirayama, me and Masatoshi Sugita aka Obi - Team The North Face

Although we did not get onto anything hard, i had a couple of good days, with onsights of up to 7Cs. It was really nice to be able to go outdoors and explore as i ain't traveling halfway around the world to climb 2 weeks solely on plastic.

Buffet consisting of bread, cheese, wine, cured meat, meat and more meat!

More food!!

South East Asia Climbing Federation(SEACF) Circuit

2011-06-07T12:55:00.028+08:00

The Advanced Lead wall - MASSIVE!

Headed up to KL over the last weekend of May for the SEACF Circuit(Msia Leg) which was held in conjunction with the IFSC route setting and judging course. It has been quite a while since i got into a harness as i was pretty busy with work at Kinetics and coaching my students. As such, the main goal of the trip was not to malu myself and catch up on sleep!

We traveled up as a huge Singapore contingent consisting of about 30+ climbers and had a good time on the routes which were set by Kim Dong Hyun and his team of Route Setters. Big Ups to them for the amazing work they did there.

The walls at Putrajaya Challange Park are seriously massive and anyone can get a good workout there. The only problem that most people will encounter is the heat and humidity as the place is non air-conditioned.

There was a total of 3 rounds for the Lead category - qualifying, semi and finals. Pretty awesome considering the fact that usually the Lead Competitions in Singapore consists of 2 rounds.

Although the qualifying route was pretty easy(7b), i got pumped and almost did not make it to the final hold. The semi finals was to be held on the same day itself and i nearly got DQ for not clipping. Had to down-climbed the route, and almost fell off as it sapped a lot of energy. To my surprise, i qualified for the finals in first placing due to my timing - which should not be the case as Leading is not about speed! (anyway a couple of Indonesians fell off at the same hold as i did)

The 'beginner' Lead wall

The final round was held the next day. Both Andrew and Hazlee who also qualified for the finals climbed before me. I managed to squeeze out a first placing by making 1 additional move so all in all everything didn't turn out as bad as i had expected.

I have come to realise that i do not perform well under stress and it is at my most relaxed state that i can think rationally and climb to the best of my capabilities. Not expecting a good performance probably helped a great deal as i had minimal climbing done prior to the competition. I only had two 1-hour session of climbing whereby i repeated all the Yellow taped routes(with minimal rest time between each route) at Kinetics Climbing. That was all the climbing i did for 2 weeks prior to this event. Plus knowing that the routes were long and i lacked endurance forced me to climb faster than usual to make up for the pathetic endurance i had. Will be uploading the rest of the videos soon. Enjoy!

The Singapore Team

Qualifying Round from Jay Koh on Vimeo.

Semi Finals from Jay Koh on Vimeo.

Kinetics Climbing is born!

2011-05-08T18:04:00.010+08:00

It has been a crazy month for me helping to design and build from scratch a bouldering centric facility. I can tell you that it is seriously NO JOKE building climbing walls. Although it has been a slow and arduous process, my team and i have learned a lot of things by trial and error along the way and i truly believe the design and construction of our future climbing walls can only get better.

Now that i have gone through the entire process, i truly appreciate those who are in the same industry, slogging their asses off to build decent climbing surfaces for people to climb on and enjoy themselves. Big Ups to all of them!

Meanwhile, click on the company logo above to view pictures of the building process on the website under the SnapShots tab. We have also been receiving rave reviews for the layout and design of the website since it was launched about 2-3 weeks ago. We must be doing something right when our pages are being copied right down to the finest detail. We are truly flattered.

There will be a lot of things coming up for me in the next few months so stay tuned.

Petzl Rock Trip September 2011

2011-03-21T11:26:00.006+08:00

Just turned down the invitation to head up to China this coming September for the annual Petzl Rock Trip(all expensese paid) due to work commitments. Sigh..........

Anyway here's a nice video of the 2007 Petzl rock trip at the Red River Gorge in USA. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpOtCc-wvDY

Chalk + dew/humidity = SOAP !!!!!

2011-03-20T10:43:00.014+08:00

Just got back a couple of days ago from Yangshuo, China. This was a whirlwind trip which i almost had to forgo as a result of last minute work commitments. All in all i had 3 days of climbing. Well, its better than nothing and beats climbing in Singapore anytime.

Even though it was really short, this has been one of my best outdoor trip ever!!! It was probably my worse as well. Let me explain.....

I initially plan for 4 days of climbing before heading home and had my sights on either Thunder (8b+), 9 Deep 1 Shallow (hard 8b) or Blue Magic (8b). These 3 climbs are located in 3 different crags and the decision to work on which route will be determined by weather conditions when i arrive. Unfortunately it was raining almost every other day when i arrive so it was a pretty straight forward decision to head to Lei Pi Shan 雷劈山 and work on the monstrous 38m Thunder.

Thunder consists of 2 pitches, right up to the 1st anchor is an excellent crimpy endurance 7b+ that doesn't let up followed by a huge rest point in the middle of the route. You can pretty much stand on the tufa to get a 5-10min rest before embarking on the 2nd pitch, which is a bouldery 8a/+ consisting of big moves littered with the occasional good rest. For this 2nd pitch, it helps A LOT if you're tall. The picture below shows me on Lighting 8b/+ which i had completed a couple of years ago. Thunder is just to the left of it and is about 5m longer...

I first tried Thunder during my trip in December last year and gave it 2-3 burns on my last few days. This time around it was all business. Having only 4 climbing days, i basically have to come to the crag and be ready to SEND. No fooling around or trying to build up my endurance slowly as i do not have the luxury of time. Though it was raining, the crag was slightly overhanging and thus relatively sheltered. We (阿牛, Paul and i) had 2 decents days at this crag even though humidity was relatively high. It was cold yes but a slight breeze would have been excellent.

After our rest day, we headed back to the same crag. Conditions were CRAP. There was a fog/mist around the crag and most of the routes look unfamilar, chalk-less, ready for a new FA. Some of the jugs were filled with water! Nevertheless i set off on another redpoint burn after warming up (4th go on this trip). Although it was a little damp, the 1st pitch was O-K. As i climbed into the main crux of the 2nd pitch, i realised the holds were getting worse. As such, i was pleasantly surprised when i blitzed through the crux (1st time i had done that section from ground up) only to fall 2 clips higher. It ain't over as there are 2 more mini cruxes before the chains. Nevertheless, i gave the rest of the holds a good brush and took a long rest.

On my 5th go, even though the holds were wetter than before, i managed to fight all the way up to the last quickdraw and was trying to squeeze out a rest before attempting the last 3m to the anchors when i ALMOST slipped off a ledge. Not only was it wet, it was like climbing with soap on your hands. Yes....the combination of chalk and water has made it almost impossible to climb. I struggled to hang on and told myself that i am going to make THIS attempt count (I don't want to repeat the entire 30m plus lower section again!!!). The last 3m is not difficult but can be tough when you are tired or when conditions are not good. As i crank down hard with my left hand on a good crimp (it was WET!!!), i positioned my foot carefully and reached out slowly for a good hold right before the anchors, my left hand slipped and i was off immediately. SHIT!!!!!! @#$%^&*&^%$#@#$%^&*&^%$# !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was pretty much the end of my trip. The weather forecast for the next day was equally terrible. On top of that, i caught a cold that night and was down with fever which pretty much put me in bed on my 4th climbing day. Even though i came back empty handed, i was extremely satisfied with my climbs and realised that my weekend sessions at Safra Yishun prior to this trip has kept me in a relatively fit condition. I'll be back to send Thunder, thats for sure.

THE NORTH FACE

2011-01-17T15:13:00.052+08:00

As of 1st Feb 2011, i am in a sponsorship agreement with The North Face!!! I'm very pleased and look forward to representing them in Singapore this year. The North Face, Inc. is an outdoor products company specializing in outerwear, fleece, footwear and equipment such as backpacks, tents and sleeping bags. The clothing and equipment lines are catered towards wilderness chic, climbers, mountaineers, skiers, snowboarders, hikers and endurance atheletes.

I've used some of their products over the last couple of years but the one thing which i absolutely cannot do without when i travel overseas is the Men's Nuptse Jacket.

This is a classic puffy 700 goose down fill jacket that thrives in cold weather conditions. It features an emergency hood, velcro adjustable cuff tabs and 2 hand pockets.

How does a down jacket keep you warm? Basically the jacket works by preventing heat loss from your body into the surroundings. Heat generated by the body is kept within the jacket itself, thereby insulating you against the cold weather.

Why i love this jacket? A couple of reasons:

1) Super light and super warm. The jacket weighs in at 782grams as compared to most synthetic jackets which weigh more then twice as much. I've been to crags where its between 0-10 degrees celsius and all i needed to wear underneath this jacket was a short/long sleeve t-shirt. No additional layers required. It also keeps the wind at bay and resists against a high wind chill, keeping you nice and warm.

2) Convenient. As this jacket eliminates the hassle of having to wear multiple layers of clothing, all i need to do at the crag is to take this jacket off and start cranking.

3) Water resistant. Keeps you dry in light showers.

4) Packs down small. Jacket can be stowed away into one of it's pockets. Useful when packing for a trip overseas.

I've had this jacket for 5 years now and absolutely love it. For the uninitiated, it really sucks big time to be cold and shivering at the crag. I can assure you that you will remember it for life.....after personally having my arse frozen off at the top of ceuse a couple of years ago.

Jedi Mind Tricks...

2010-12-29T11:48:00.023+08:00

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

2010-12-20T20:55:00.019+08:00

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 !!!

2010-09-05T14:53:00.029+08:00

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!

2010-08-10T16:40:00.003+08:00

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 !!!

2010-06-22T13:37:00.004+08:00

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...

2010-04-18T23:41:00.016+08:00

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

2010-03-16T00:32:00.020+08:00

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 !!!

2010-02-02T19:50:00.020+08:00

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...

2010-01-12T16:42:00.000+08:00

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

2010-01-12T14:19:00.002+08:00

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.