5 mistakes people make with fall practice
There is a lot out there about the benefits of fall practice in climbing when dealing with a fear of falling. The reality is that, for it to be of benefit, you need to do it in the right way, there are a number of things that need to be in place first and while it may work for some people, it may not work for others. It should always be treated with care and consideration and not necessarily treated as the default way to deal with a fear of falling. It does however have its place. If you feel that you could benefit from fall practice and it’s not quite working as you’d like, here are my thoughts on where you might be going wrong and what to do about it.
1 - You are doing fall practice. Yes! But your nervous system is saying ‘no’
This is a biggie. Maybe even THE biggie. When any aspect of your ‘system’ is saying no (even if there are no objective consequences), fall practice is uncomfortable, not enjoyable, possibly even counter-productive and worst of all traumatic. When it comes to falling off we need to be in the right nervous system state. Easier said than done and there is a lot going on here, but this is the process. Are you aware what a ‘no’ means for you as an individual or only when it’s too late, when it’s all tipped over and you’ve gone to fight or flight. Perhaps we start falling when we’re close to the edge already or keep the practice going too long? Creating awareness around the subtle messages of our mind/body needs patience, attention and intention.
2 - You are only using controlled fall practice on the same bit of wall
You’re doing fall practice, taking care to be in the right nervous system state. That is brilliant and a huge step forward, but you are only falling in one controlled environment – repeatedly off the same bit of wall over and over again. And yet when you go outside or to another wall, the fear returns. Yes of course it will. No one fall is the identical – different types of falls require different practice.
3 - You’re not paying enough attention to your belayship!
Not all belayers and climbing partners come equal! It’s the unfortunate truth – the reality is that no matter how much successful fall practice you do, there will be some people you simply trust more than others. Belaying is a skill and belaying falls is a particular expertise, especially when there is a weight difference. A climbing partnership requires open, honest conversation. Hold your favourite, most trusted climbers close and accept that with some people you’ll have a great, fun climbing session, but you may just not be willing to fall with them belaying.
4 - You’ve not practised landing
All the attention is on the falling, but how to land is just as important. It’s not a case of just falling through the air and hoping the rest goes ok. You’ve got to predict your landing and get your body in the right position through the air and when you do land. Often there are hazards in the way for our feet – but with the right falling and landing position along with a soft, dynamic belay there is time to minimise the hazards. Have you practised your landing?
5 - Fall practice isn’t the right way for you to deal with your fear of falling
Fall practice just isn’t the answer for everyone and even if it’s the right thing at some points in your climbing journey, other times it isn’t. There is as much value (I would argue more) in learning to connect with what makes you feel good when you’re climbing as much as what doesn’t: such as how to reduce tension in your physical body, creating the right environment around you and connecting to your intrinsic motivation with climbing.
One thing is for sure, you can meet your fear, stress and anxiety - there is a process. It doesn’t have to be that way in your climbing. You can meet your tricky emotions and if you do, it’ll open up your climbing so much and you’ll probably love it even more.
If you have a fear of falling or experience stress and anxiety in your climbing my Climb Free online course could be just what you need. Take a look and please get in touch if you’re wondering how the course or coaching could support you.