"Trust your feet!": Helpful?

Advice that is given is not as good as what is learned and figured out on ones own
they need to figure t out on their own

Interesting thread.

I think "trust your feet" has become an instructional cliché, although it has its place for sure.
When I am instructing, I like to perform a quick footwork demo at some point. The best is a low angle route with a low crux so everyone can see clearly. I'll have a student belay me on TR and I'll use slick footwork through the crux, maybe repeating it a couple times. I've seen noobs style 5.9 slab with this method.

Optimistic wrote:Today I was walking past a group of first-timers and their guide was saying, as guides will, "Trust your feet!" And I was thinking, have people seen their own behavior or other climber's behavior actually changed as a result of being given this advice in a moment of difficulty? Have you heard of a more effective way of helping a beginner (or any climber) to trust their feet?

I'm not sure this is useful advice for first-timers. But a lot of the climbing in my area is, or involves sections of, friction slab. The rock is generally a solid granite with good texture, and very often the crux move is find a small dish, place a foot on it, and trust that it will stick as you move. So, for us, in this climbing -- the reminder to "trust your feet" can be quite helpful as a reminder to the person trying the move that, yes, this is the way to climb this stuff, it has worked for them before, and should work for them again.

And, many of these moves are head-games. Yes there is technique, but there is very much just trusting that the technique will work even if it doesn't feel like it will.

Scott Phil wrote: Query to the OP--was the party you observed at the Gunks?

It was...and because a lot of climbers here are from the NYC area, I think we do see more trust issues than average, if that's what you were getting at.

Ok, just kidding. But yes, the Gunks. I've definitely hear this advice lots of other places though...why do you ask?

Alex Bury wrote:Interesting thread. I think "trust your feet" has become an instructional cliché, although it has its place for sure. When I am instructing, I like to perform a quick footwork demo at some point. The best is a low angle route with a low crux so everyone can see clearly. I'll have a student belay me on TR and I'll use slick footwork through the crux, maybe repeating it a couple times. I've seen noobs style 5.9 slab with this method.

This to me is an example of what I'm driving at: people trust things that experience tells them are trustworthy (ie, they saw you stand on it!), not things that they've been ordered to trust.

Optimistic wrote: yes, the Gunks. I've definitely hear this advice lots of other places though...why do you ask?

From my limited experience climbing in the Gunks footholds appear to be fairly straight forward on the easier climbs. Here on NC slab "keep your butt over your feet" is better advise.

As others have noted, by itself "trust your feet" is problematic. Good teachers should have a few other tips with their students.