Elbow Lock

I don't really know what to call this. I'm sure there's some other climbing term that describes it better, but it's a useful technique that I'm just getting to grips with.
Excuse the pun.
Actually no, I won't apologise for it because I found it hilarious.
So yeah, a novice like myself tends to hold close to the wall via bicep strength. If there's a good hold in front of me with a lot of grip, I'll use SO much of my strength to keep myself on the wall and keep my arm bent and tensed up. Imagine walking around a supermarket holding your basket up by your hip instead of letting it hang by your thigh. In a very short amount of time, your arm is going to start to hurt, get weak, and then ultimately just fail on you. When you just let your basket hang and rely on your grip to keep the basket off the floor, you can hold it for a lot longer.
I know this seems like a very simple concept, and in reality it is, but it feels sort of unnatural when you first get on a wall. When you're worried about falling off, your muscles tense and you use more energy. When you're not worried about falling off and you know your grip will hold, you just straighten your arm so you're not using any bicep strength and just let your grip hold you against the wall. Sometimes the hold is high above your head so you can hang on it like a monkey. Sometimes it's a little bit lower so your body sort of hangs away from the wall but you do learn that your hands are stronger than you realise. If the grip is low in your center of gravity, your feet should be taking your weight and your hand/arm should just be there for a little of the support, not a lot of it.
This technique becomes more advanced when you start to use it on the horizontal rather than the vertical. When you're using it horizontal, you need a lot more refined balance and weight management, and also more forethought for the next move. You can't just do a chin-up for the next hold. I've yet to do a climb that requires this, although I have seen it done and it looks pretty cool.

My list of Things I Have Learnt is starting to dwindle now. There is a lot more stuff I'm sure, but I've got to learn them first. Most of this stuff I have written about was learnt by looking and trying out techniques myself, but I reckon I'm coming to a plateau. This means I've got to practice what I've already learnt and hopefully hang around the right people who can show me some cool shit.

Next time: Barn Door (seriously)