Every climbing hold works only under certain force directions.
Technique becomes efficient when your body creates exactly the vector that the hold’s geometry can support — not the vector you want to pull.
Most technique errors come from wrong force direction, not lack of strength.
This article explains how holds actually generate usable force and how your body must position itself to match their geometry.
1. Holds Don’t Hold You — Geometry + Friction Does
A hold is simply:
a surface with a specific angle + texture + edge radius.
Whether you can stay on it depends on:
- your force direction
- the micro-slope of the surface
- the friction coefficient
- the angle between your fingers and the hold
- the torque applied to the joint chain
If your force vector does not match the geometry, friction drops and the hold becomes unusable.
A “bad” hold is usually just a mismatched force vector.
2. The Golden Rule: Pull Perpendicular to the Surface (Not Downward)
Climbers are taught to “pull down.”
This is mechanically false.
The correct rule:
Maximum friction happens when you apply force perpendicular to the hold surface.
Examples:
- On a sloper, horizontal force is stronger than downward force.
- On an undercut, you pull up and out, not down.
- On a sidepull, you pull sideways into the wall, not down.
- On an incut, downward force works because the incut points up.
When climbers “suddenly get grip” on a sloper, what changed is:
their force vector aligned with the surface orientation.
3. Hold Geometry Determines Your Body Position
A hold forces your body into the position where the perpendicular vector becomes accessible.
This means:
- Sidepull → rotate your hips so your chest faces the hold
- Gaston → open your torso to push outward
- Undercut → drop your hips to allow an upward force angle
- Sloper → bring the CoM under the hold to create inward pressure
- Crimp → align your elbow under the edge to reduce twisting torque
Poor technique = fighting against the hold’s geometry.
Good technique = shaping your body so the hold “accepts” your force.
4. The Body Is a Vector Machine
Your shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finger positions combine to produce a global force direction.
These joints create the vector through:
- scapular angle
- elbow flare
- wrist rotation
- finger curvature
- CoM positioning
- hip orientation
- foot loading
A small change in any of these shifts the global force by 5–15 degrees — often the difference between slipping and staying.
Elite climbers constantly micro-adjust these angles to maintain the correct vector.
5. The Stability Problem: Wrong Direction Creates Extra Load
When your force vector mismatches the hold:
- friction drops
- your body compensates by squeezing harder
- your grip collapses
- your shoulders overwork
- your CoM drifts
- you burn more energy
- joints take unpredictable torques
Most “pump” during bad technique is not metabolic.
It is compensatory tension caused by poor force direction.
Fix the vector, and the pump drops dramatically.
6. Geometry Explains Why Some Moves “Open You Up”
When a hold’s geometry demands inward pressure, but your CoM shifts outward:
- your shoulder rotates open
- your hips disengage
- your feet lose friction
- the force vector is lost
- you feel instantly “weak”
This is not a strength issue.
It is vector failure caused by CoM misplacement + wrong torso orientation.
You cannot “fight” geometry with more strength.
You must align with it.
7. Micro-Technique: Finger Angle and Wrist Rotation
Finger angle changes the effective direction of applied force.
- Slightly curling the fingers changes lateral friction.
- Rotating the wrist inward increases sloper contact.
- Rotating outward increases crimp leverage.
- Tilting the wrist up increases tension on sidepulls.
These adjustments determine whether your fingers can direct force in the correct line.
Elite climbers do this instinctively — but it’s pure mechanics.
8. The Rule That Governs All Technique
You don’t pull in the direction you want to move.
You pull in the direction the hold allows.
Movement direction and force direction are two different things.
The correct sequence:
- align the force vector
- stabilize
- then move in another direction
Trying to move before the vector is aligned leads to slipping, overgripping, swing, and unnecessary effort.