Sunday, July 24, 2011

thoughts from arco 2011

i write this as if i was actually in trentino. but then, thanks to the amazing technology of our times, it makes me forget the fact that Italy is over 10,000 miles away...what with the streaming videos and real-time information that we got! i know i may sound lame, but the technology blows me away.

other than the freaking wonder of the internet, staying tuned to the world championships awakened my dormant emotions to the breathtaking beauty of competitive climbing. (if you don't fancy superlatives, i suggest you stop reading this entry now because there will be more to come). what other sport do you know where competitors are friends and share strategies and tips on how to get to the top? what other sport do you know where athletes with different body types have equal chances of winning? what other sport do you know where you can fail to get to the finish line, but still you go home satisfied?

i know these statements may come off totally biased, and without scientific data to back them up. they may also simply be self-serving and distorted conclusions of a climbing addict such as myself. but i can't help but be proud of the grounded nature of wall-, er, sport climbing.

case in point: watch any observation period of a climbing competition. i also saw it again in arco. when the competitors are reading their routes, they would read in huddles and compare notes. competitors share tactics with each other! yes, one ulterior motive for sharing is also to receive tips in return, but the fact that there is that kind of interaction between competitors shows just how friendly the competition is. admittedly, too, i see this happen more commonly with female competitors, but men definitely practice it too. and even in the lead qualifications of arco, it was my first time to see a lead climbing competiton where competitors were allowed to watch others tackle the routes, which further highlights how the competiton is about finding your own way to the top. it's about finding the way that is best suited for your body, for your strengths, for your style, and most importantly, executing it -- and not about "beating" another person.

as for the results, i couldn't be any more happier that angela eiter and ramonet received the top awards in the lead category. yes, i am biased, because these are two athletes who i've personally seen with my own eyes (may papicture-picture pa). they (we) were much younger then, when i saw them. they were not yet as popular. but over the years they've pushed the standards of the sport, becoming world #1's and climbing celebrities in their own right. but what is also amazing is their body types. angela is so skinny!!!  46kg (101.41lbs) and 154cm (5'1") in height, according to this website. then ramon juliane pigblanque, who stands only 159cm (5'3") -- surely much lower than your average European male, and the shortest of all the lead finalists! and yet, there they were, showing us that it's not about how big or small you are. and, over the years, you would see that climbing's top athletes would vary in body profile. (it would be nice to conduct or read research about this some time). really gives you a boost, knowing that it truly can be anyone's game.

lastly, it was very moving for me to watch angela eiter's lead finals climb because i saw her fight her way to the top. true, she didn't finish the route, which is always the objective of each climb. but what made me emotional was seeing her reaction when she fell. she wasn't frustrated or angry. she was disappointed, yes, but she was smiling. Smiling. and my guess is, she was smiling because she was satisfied that she fought up there; that she made it past a section of the climb that seemed un-passable at first, but she was able to conquer with great strength and willpower -- and even move some more!; that even if she didn't reach the top, at least she knew she gave it a good go, and was able to display what years and years of experience has brought her. 

and that's one of the best things about climbing. even if you don't win, or you don't get external recognition, you can still exit a competition feeling totally psyched about your performance, for as long as you gave it all you've got. 

and winning? it becomes a cherry on top.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Make more mistakes

A repost from Tom Asacker's blog.

Every meaningful success I've ever been involved with has come through a messy, unpredictable process. It usually begins with curiosity, moves quickly to data and information accumulation, then right into trying things and . . . failing (I've made a lot of mistakes).

The good news is that this process invariably creates the actual knowledge required to try again, albeit more intelligently (assuming, of course, that you don't overreact or give up).

Creative people understand this curious dilemma. They accept that failure is the only way to gain the intelligence and wisdom that's needed to move their work forward.

George Bernard Shaw wrote, "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing."

Mistakes are not a sign of indifference; they're evidence of a deeply caring individual. Please make more.