Basic climb

From Silkworms

basic climb

(basic wrap climb)

this is the basic climb that we learned first. some people prefer the french climb for the same purpose. this one keeps the fabric between your legs and twined around one calf, which can be convenient; conversely the basic stand takes slightly more work to get really solid, in my experience, than the french climb's equivalent foothold.

i think of this as a stand climb: the essence of it is that you learn a way to grab the fabric with your two feet (the basic stand) that's as solid as grabbing it with your two hands. then you alternate hanging by your arms while lifting your knees, grab the fabric with your feet, stand up and slide your hands up, repeat.

there's a common styling, "the undulation," (shown below) in which after putting on the foothold (with knees raised) you straighten your legs (making the fabric stick out from you in a sort of triangle), then arch your back to bring your body to the fabric from the feet up.

in the image at left, i'm hanging by my arms and lifting my legs, about to clamp my feet together and then stand up and slide my hands up the fabric. i tend to to "muscle" through this climb somewhat, which is why my upper arms are nearly parallel with the floor; the arm hang would be slightly easier if my arms were either lower and tighter to my chest or completely extended; it's possible by that means to do almost all of the work of the climb with legs. conversely, the climb goes a lot faster, if you have the strength, if you pull yourself up by the arms while lifting the knees to find a higher stand position.

uses/builds on: basic stand

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