[old man yells at highball] if your aim is to keep climbing into old age, downclimb when possible. Don:t fall for survivor bias, people who get badly injured sometimes have to leave the scene and their experiences are lost.
This is so important not only for new climbers, but for those who are primarily rope climbers that are transitioning to bouldering. Many of my friends who've been rope climbers for years are too scared to finish v4 because they're so worried about falling the whole time. I'll have to have them watch this video!
It’s amazing how much familiarity helps with fear! As a boulderer, the idea that sport climbers have fear of falling on the bouldering wall when I have such a fear of falling long distances on a rope always shifts my perspective!
@@hannahmorrisbouldering Bouldering is notoriously more dangarous than top roping and even lead climbing! But it's really not about the effective risk but perceived risk and perceived control (dependent on exposure) that drive our emotional reactions! ;)
@@hannahmorrisbouldering I can climb a slab quite good on the top-rope, but on a boulder I cannot trust the feet so much. Because slipping on a slab boulder always is very scary and often you get scrapes or fall more uncontrolled. .
I just do not boulder with lead or top rope climbers anymore. Their fear of falling is contagious for me and not fun which sucks because my partner is a sport climber.
At commercial gyms usually more injuries result from bouldering than roped climbing. Falling from boulders is an under appreciated technical skill and even then uncontrolled falls (and injuries) are hard to avoid if you're pushing your limits.
"you go to the top and downclimb". Yes, yes I do. Because jumping off tore my meniscus, on both knees. So if I do have to jump down, I will do that tumble down and continue momentum. The heavier you are, the more force you are putting on your knees etc when you jump down. And they can only take so much :(
The worst falls are from foot slips on slab. Especially when there are some big holds just underneath you. I bruised and cut my lip a few times this way. But I still love slabs, despite the sketchy falls
1000% - the amount of times I’ve shinned myself or grazed my chin on slab haha. Slabs are an acquired taste, but I love how delicate and techy they can be! 🥰
I definitely have the fear of falling in bouldering . The fear of being that high up with no harness on and the danger of falling of really puts me off and I struggle with making any progress in bouldering because of that. This video was very useful, thank you Hannah and Hazel - hopefully this will help me! 😊
I guess it is important to realize and to know that there is no shame in working from where you are, not from other people's expectations. Everyone has their own struggles. The first thing I had to learn when I began bouldering was: embrace the cringe. I constantly experienced the feeling to be absolutely crap at what I was doing. But without any training, that is normal. As soon as I relaxed and started to trust the process, I had great fun!
6B boulderer here, about two years in (and started late in life at 40 years old). Yours is the best bouldering channel on YT, hands down. I learn so much more than anywhere else. Thank you!
I agree, it's very informative and helpful! (Also, cool to see another late starter. I started at around 40 too (few months before my birthday) about a year ago, recently broke into my first 6Bs!)
Actually rolling while falling (falling like a teddy bear) decreases the force of impact on the knees of one half! Definitely #10 "be kind" is my favorite ❤ Also, in bouldering there are certain moves in which it is important that we try to minimize uncontrolled falling. For example when you have sideways dynos or big moves. You want to control the momentum by the level of engagement of your shoulder/arm. A streight elbow when reaching the hold is the easiest path to a bad fall! Risk management is part of fear of falling training, too 🙌 Another good tip for slab is that you really learn to push away with the hands from the wall. To the point of making it automatic. This is great when mixed with the exercise of rotating the heel of the foot until it pops. This simulats a footslip, which is what most people are afraid of when on slabs and allows them to get more control and minimaze cheesegrating 🧀
Exactly! Risk management is so important. I see some people just throw themselves at the wall like crazy as if they have something to prove and they often end up with injuries. Build up your strength, build up your skills and learn how to fall safely. Be aware of what the risks are to you on a certain boulder and don't do moves you aren't ready for. When I first started my arms and shoulders were weak, so I avoided certain dynamic moves on overhang because I didn't have the strength to catch myself and I didn't have the reflexes/ skills to let go and fall properly. You don't have to race through the grades and prove anything to anyone. Climbing is fun and if you want to be able to keep doing it being safe about it can really help 😅
I just call it the "goat fall" as I tend to aim my limbs towards the sky as the death feigning goats 😅 But very important as acting tough and jumping down felt cool, it also tore my meniscus. The scariest thing to avoid is anything where you're body is tilting towards your bell as that really puts your knees and ankles into the danger zone as opposed to aiming to tumble so you can fall on your back. Sometimes also stiffening your body can be bad, coming down with straight legs. My legs have survived but one time legs were straight, arms were straight up and my right one slammed hard enough on the side of my knee to dislocate my thumb 😅
I’m a really new climber (V2ish), with a height phobia. I just recently started having sessions with falling practice in there- this video was so well timed!
Haven't watched just yet, but this is a great video to see in my feed. I've been recovering from surgery after a bad bouldering fall, and I could point out my mistakes from a thousand miles away in hindsight! I've found that I'm truly terrible at gauging how far I am from the ground while falling and need to practice this way more.
Terrific tips. Thanks for the relevant content. Reminds me of Emil's recent video as well. "If you aren't falling, you aren't climbing at your limit." Learn to fall safely, and climbing hard is so much easier because it becomes muscle and body memory rather than a reaction, so practice jumping and falling. Also one tip, if needed, push off the wall to avoid large holds/volumes too. And as Louis says, it's more about knowing what to do with fear, practicing even though you are scared, but managing that level of being afraid until it becomes controllable, expected and then "normal" to work with and through.
Great take! I think it is the same with the shame of being incapable of something. I experienced it myself and I see way to many beginners walking away from unsuccessful attempts, because they feel seen. It is normal to have to practice first. It is not normal to shame others for being bad at something, and tbh. I have never experienced someone in a bouldering gym talking badly about someones abilities. Building realistic expectations is so important, regarding fear and regarding expectations of success!
This is part of my warmup before bouldering: Warmup the ankles and practice squatting, whilst warming up on the wall downclimb first but jump down from a bit higher each time. After a couple boulders I"m warmed up enough to fall down and land on my feet from 4.5m without any problem. If you don't have the best squat mobility, do the ''teddy bear'' back roll instead. Until you've increased your mobility sufficiently to land on your feet that is.
This was such a well-timed video! I had an accident not long ago and it has made me really really scared. But this definitely helps! It would also be nice to see maybe someone who’s afraid of falling trying falls or that you try falls on slab or other walls where you may be scared. It would just be nice to like see the falls. Thank you so much for a great vid!
This video is really helpful! As a rope climber, bouldering falls really sacre me! I find myself holding back on moves that I'd be cruising if I was on a rope. Definitely going to practice falling more!
Great video. I'm still getting my head straight on falls after snapping my shin in half at a bouldering wall a few years ago. I'm always on the lookout for tips on building confidence and falling safely!
Sorry to hear about your injury, I can be really rough to get back to full confidence after a bad experience - hope your leg is healed up nicely and you’re enjoying climbing again!!☺️
Shoutout to the cat in the background at 11:30 who legit slips and cracks his knee on the way down which succinctly illustrates why the whole slabby bit of this video felt like unrealistic nonsense to me coz all their 'falling' drills still looked 100% like nice cosy safe 'jumping'!
It’s tough to simulate an authentic foot slip for demo purposes. The slab section is encouraging climbers, if they’re nervous of falling, to break down moves (and get a sense of what a fall from that move might feel like) in a controlled environment- not encouraging you to force uncontrolled and unnecessary falls and slips as a drill. I think that would probably have the opposite effect from building confidence. You’re right, the falls from the slab weren’t uncontrolled, but they serve the same purpose in principle. Thanks for sharing your input though ☺️
@@hannahmorrisbouldering yeah I'm struggling to see how one can do anything much to prepare for falling off slabs, or get past the fear. Seems like you mostly just need luck on your side to come away completely unscathed, and the courage is just directly proportional to how much you care about sending.
This is a great video. I’m getting better at falling when bouldering. Falling is a real fear of me. I’ve hit the deck twice both my belayers had poor technique.
When I notice I'm scared for a move I like to break it down in my head. What are the things that could go wrong? How big are the chances of that happening? How can I prevent them from happening and is there a way I can practice the prevention method so my body does it automatically (push myself aways from the wall if my foot slips on a slab for example). It really helps me see it from a different, realistic perspective and sometime the conclusion is "I don't want to risk it" Whether that has to do with my own skill level, an injury I'm recovering from or even just not wanting to tear the skin on my hand. Fear can be justified at times as well! And yeah, if you haven't learned how to fall in certain situations yet it's best to learn that first and not risk injury.
Great video, love Hazel's advice ❤ I would add that you don't always need to be pushing yourself, it's ok to back-off and/or down-climb. Unexpected falls when project bouldering are unavoidable and objectively risky, so judiciously choosing when to go for it and when to leave a bit in the tank reduces risk of injury and mitigates repeated joint stress from falling.
I think if you are practicing falling on slabs you should fall by giving a push from the hands/arms. With y urning and jumping off your momentum doesn’t let you tuck and roll on your bum. Also, I think most people are afraid of slab because of scraping the wall on the way down. Practicing a little push as you fall you realize it’s pretty easy to get clear of the wall.
I downclimb as much as possible now that I am over 40. I save landings for when I am really falling. I'd be in physical therapy with straight knee falls she is showing in parts.
I'm a general manager at a bouldergym and each year we have a how to Fall week. Everyone, especially experienced climbers have to do a mini (refresh) workshop about falling. And every clinic we do, we incorporate."falling" from the start.
That’s interesting! I definitely feel like incorporating falling practice from the start is a really useful way to build a good foundation in climbing.
Very new climber here. The best way i've found to get over my fear so far is to tell myself i just have to do one more move. I take out even thinking about finishing the whole climb when i syart getting scared of a fall or the moves coming up. I just try and do one new move each time i try the route and then i am confident in the moves below and 'know' i can tap out without 'failing' after one extra move and thats a win not a fail. It really helps
This video has lots of great ideas for how to overcome the psychological barriers of falling while bouldering, but it doesn't cover how to fall safely. I was very motivated after watching this video, so I went to the gym yesterday and started jumping from the top instead of down climbing on my warm up problems, and then I fell while going for a reachy sloper at the top of an overhang problem. I fell onto my knees and my head snapped forward. I heard something snap. Not sure what but now I'm in bed and my head weighs 50 kg. After doing some reading online about falling, apparently there is technique to falling (like keeping your chin tucked) that this video doesn't cover. I think it's a bit irresponsible to encourage people to fall without mentioning the risks or that they should study falling technique if they haven't already.
Respectfully, the video is titled “How to overcome the fear of falling”. I think it’s really important to note here that 1) Hazel is a climbing professional and giving her tips in overcoming mental blocs, not the safe methods to fall or how to remove risk of injury. 2) Hazel didn’t suggest that jumping from the top of the wall is without risk and your own risk analysis should always be present. I’m really sorry to hear about your injury, that sounds rough. I’d pretty seriously counter that Hazels advice was responsible for you getting hurt - and I don’t think it’s fair to suggest it was.
@@hannahmorrisbouldering I like your videos, and I'm not suggesting that it was her fault. I'm simply making it clear to viewers that they should not take this video as their only gym-falling resource as it could be dangerous to do so. I think it WOULD BE NICE AND RESPONSIBLE if you AT MINIMUM make it clear to people that they should also study how to fall safely if this video motivates them to start taking falls at the gym.
Yuuup, I felt that at 11:30 my dude, done exactly that a dosen of times!... ouch. Great video as always and thanks for pushing the climbing community forward :)
9:02 I have the same fear of slabs. A friend of mine had a terrible injury where his foot slip while applying pressure, and he hit a hold below with all of his weight while his leg was fully stretched. One month without walking + rehabilitation. So I think a falling simulation (9:50) is very different from falling when you don't expect.
Yeah falling by losing a foot with pressure on is very different from the falls show here. That's not just limited to slabs. Slabs add the risk of hitting other holds on the way down, but in general, losing feet makes it very difficult to control rotation and you might just end up landing on a limb that you don't want to land on.
Clearly she doesnt deal with glasses flying off her face! I down climb so my glasses dont break AND because im old, fat, and have foot problems. But glasses are reason #1. Those are expensive.
I just started climbing a month ago and on my 4th session took a fall from the top, didn't land correctly and sprained my ankle (gutted because it was my best climb so far). Two weeks in and I'm still healing, I already can't wait to get back climbing but it's created a whole new world of fear for me which, in this current moment, I'm not sure how I'm going to get over. Thank you both for this video, it's a brilliant first step to my rehabilitation - wish me luck!
I am very lucky that I never had a severe fear of falling and never injured myself from a fall. At one time I jumped off almost all of the easy climbs in my home gym. I did the full circuit of easy stuff to build some endurance. The next days I had really bad pain in my knees. So on the other end of the spectrum it can be important to realize that downclimbing protects your body in the long term. Also, I made the experience that falling down on the mat is not the dangerous part for me. It is bonking into things when I miss a hold, swing uncontrolledly, or slip. I messed up my elbows so many times already and it never mattered if there were twenty centimeters below my feet or two meters. It is not about falling or the height, it is about hitting things in the process / landing. Given that I also hit my toe lots of times within my lifespan, I would have to walk through my apartment in fear if I really cared about that. What I do, though, to protect myself, is warming up. Especially when there are climbs that require mobility, I take a minute or so to slowly warm up my neck until I can roll my head smoothly and without pain. I learned that the hard way and I think it is good to have some fear of making a bad move and being in pain, so you warm up before and not after it happens.
Perfect timing 😊. Next week I want to help a beginner with falling/landing because she actually had a close call the other day and even hurt herself a bit (nothing serious). Still, she's uncomfortable landing now and I'll try my best to incorporate these tips. Really good video and the "be kind to yourself" tip is really good!
Loved to see this! Hazel's tips were great and it was nice to see them all laid out with examples. I think this is just such a universal experience for anyone who boulders. We don't think about it, but so much of climbing is falling - so it makes sense to practice that alongside our climbing skills. Injury can still happen, but some preparation is better than none!
I don't know if it was well explained the difference between a little jump vs a controlled fall or why it is bad to jump off. But I think I have a new intermediate to teaching people to fall by explaining to jump a little. Love taking coworkers and friends climbing
Thanks for this super video, Hannah and Hazel. I'm afraid of falling, in case of a bad injury. Or hitting off a volume, my big fear. So, in my session yesterday, I started practising jumping down from a couple of feet up to get used to the sensation of dropping. 👍❤️
Had my best climbing session in a few months after watching your video and realising not taking a fall in a while brought back the fear! Thank you for the great advice 😁
Hmm I'm not so sure this is good advice across the board although its hard to argue with Hazles experience. I had a prolapse disc a few years back. I really don't want that again. I down climb
Thanks for this video!! I just recovered from an injury bc of a clumsy fall just bc i am not used to falling and I am really scared of it. So i will practice now that I am back on it
Great video. I can relate. I just started bouldering 2 weeks ago. As a complete newbie, I have a constant feeling of falling backwards even on straight walls. And it takes a few moments to mentally overcome it and dare to straighten your legs and go for that final hold that if you miss, you will fall. It is not a comfortable feeling. And it's odd. Because I've taken a 2m fall straight on to my back from an overhang - and it did not hurt at all. So I know I'll probably be alright. I think it's a feeling of not being in control more than anything. Because I also paraglide - and i can fly, sitting in a small harness at 500 meters and be completely relaxed. But if I get 2 meters above the ground on a bouldering wall, I start feeling really uncomfortable.
I once slipped off a very slippery little step with my right foot and crashed onto a volume underneath with that very foot. I was then unable to do any sport for six months. I've avoided such routes ever since. What could I have done in this case? Or was it the screwdriver's fault?
I'm the down climber now 😅 I'm afraid of going the difficult move. Only doing climbs I have a lot of control over. I would like to move past that though. I usually feel stuck doing the final move, knowing that going for it may result in unintentional falling and awkward landing if I didn't stick the hold, or if I'd slipped off. I always thought I knew how to fall until I broke my left ankle and sprained my right when my left hand slipped off a sloper on an overhanging terrain. My body spun off the wall, and and when I landed, I saw the left foot flopping side to side. 🤕 I just started up my gym membership again and been bouldering for 2 months now, and I know I need to practice falling and not just jumping off. It's not easy... but asking people to spot me has helped me with my confidence a bit.
I'm hypermobile and really struggled with my joints dislocating, especially my knees, when I was younger (although it's getting less frequent as I age). I've had lots of surgeries to fix it, but it's still such a psychological block for me. I don't even like people going anywhere near my knees when my legs are straight. I love top rope climbing, but my fear of falling strangely and dislocating something has held me back from bouldering every time I've tried. Thanks for sharing these tips!
I am that person who climbs up the wall and then climbs all the way down because I have a huge fear of falling, thanks to my previous experience of slipping and falling onto my left arm and snapping it. Gotta relearn how to fall and overcome my fear of falling bit by bit now! x
My shins can attest to how much I fall on slabs 😂 For me it's not the being scared, more the how to prevent damage from those volumes after having committed 😅
This a particular issue I have because I have knees issues I cannot actually fall on them from very high: so if i know I would fall then sometimes I do not go for it 😅
I find falling off slab bouldering scarier than falling from lead. I just always seem to hurt myself (not badly) when my foot goes and I slide down the wall. Hate it.
@@hannahmorrisbouldering I think there are good reasons not to try to whip when climbing outside, you crack an ankle and usually you are like 3 hours from civilisation. But indoors it's great to practice lead falling over and over. Best of luck.
Dad edit: yeah looks likes it's Ben held or removed by RU-vid. Possibly said something that made them withhold it. Often they end up in the creator area as held comments for some reason! Not to worry she loves watching your videos 🙂
Did you play around with the title mentioning it is about fear of falling practice? Content wise I think this should be one of your best performing videos if you'd just get it going aye
I jumped off a 10' boulder problem and tore one of my Peronial tendons. After a 6 month recovery, I decided to stop trying to Boulder and stick to roped climbing. Saw a young lady at my usual gym who broke her ankle dropping off a Problem too.
The cave in my gym is 10ft off the mats, it’s my favorite place to take a good fall. Awesome video, more people need to take more falls, builds confidence like crazy.
