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Yes, this is for August, we're a bit behind! Last spring, I did a Demon’s Drill on topping out of a wall climb. This month’s drill is for the other half of the technical and teeth gritting movement of climbing up a wall efficiently. So you just did a cat leap or a wall run and you find yourself hanging to the top of the wall, now what do you do? Nearly everyone in the parkour community hasn’t put enough time into training this movement to be as efficient as it can. This is a shame because to me, a slow climb up shows either inexperience or laziness. Just like everything else in parkour, this movement is something that can vastly improve through hard training. Looking back on my first footage from two and a half years ago, my wall climbs are now probably two to four times faster. Strength and technique are both important in this movement, so don’t neglect either one!
Step One – Basic Technical Tips Be sure to get as much of your hand over the wall as possible while in the hanging position. It is much harder to pull up with your finger tips! Also, the transition to a dip requires you to push through the palm of your hand, not your finger tips. Upon landing in the hanging position on the wall, stagger your feet slightly so that you can set yourself up for a more efficient kick up and over the wall. Remember that a climb up also utilizes your legs working together with your arms. Don’t rely on one or the other. Coordinate the arms and legs to work together and more efficiently get you up and over the wall. After doing an explosive pull up, keep your elbows as close to your body as you can. The hands should briefly come off the wall and readjust so they are completely over the wall. Get your chest over the top of the wall as far as you can and then push up to a straight arm position. Kick up and over the wall. For topping out drills, see Demon’s Drill of December 2005. Step Two Once you have learned and performed a climb up with proper technique, you are now ready to perform the climb up drill in order to refine, polish, and further improve your climb up speed and efficiency. Start in a hanging position on the wall. Perform an explosive climb up and end with straight arms on top of the wall. Then lower yourself back down to the hanging position in a smooth and controlled manner. Repeat the movements for repetition and in sets like you would while strength training. Step Three While many of us have practiced our wall climbs, they can still be a pain in the ass to fully integrate into our actual parkour. At first, it takes discipline to stay true to your technique and perform a fast and efficient climb up. Only through practice and application will you have truly mastered this difficult technique. The Video (Please Right-click and save-as) |