Under-wall work

Under-wall work

This collection develops the practitioner's foundational experience in wall-communication, shifting from static strength contexts into more dynamic patterns of displacement, coordination, and structural organisation beneath the surface line of support. It builds on foundational wall strength by applying those capacities in more complex, continuously changing configurations.

At its core, ‘Under-Wall Work’ explores hanging-based locomotion and traversal beneath or along wall structures, where the body operates in suspended positions such as hanging supports and ‘Cat-Hang’ based transitions. These contexts introduce movement that is no longer purely about holding positions, but about maintaining structure while progressing through space under load.

As the practice develops, additional hanging configurations are introduced, including fundamental hooking strategies such as toe hooks and heel hooks, which allow the practitioner to create new points of contact and leverage on the wall. These elements expand the available movement vocabulary, enabling more varied and adaptable interaction with the environment.

A key feature of this collection is the development of transitioning between hanging states, where the practitioner moves between different configurations of support in an often unsteady or evolving manner. This introduces a higher degree of coordinative demand, requiring continuous adjustment of body position, grip strategy, and spatial orientation while maintaining control under load.

Over time, these patterns progress into more open-ended and exploratory contexts, where structured sequences begin to give way to free association within hanging and traversal environments. Here, the practitioner learns to link positions dynamically, responding to available structures rather than relying on fixed sequences.

While strength development remains a central component, the emphasis shifts toward applied coordination and environmental proficiency, using foundational capacity in more complex, variable, and expressive ways. This develops not only physical resilience under load, but also the ability to interpret and respond to wall environments with greater adaptability and control.

In application, ‘Under-Wall Work’ expands the practitioner’s ability to move, adapt, and organise the body while suspended from environmental structures, forming a key progression from static wall strength into dynamic environmental interaction.

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Under-wall work
  • Straight-arm (SA) 'cat' wall-traverse (ipsilateral)

    THE WHAT:
    Fundamental patterning and conditioning-development in the context of traversing across the wall in a 'cat-hang' position. As with all locomotion contexts, whether in communication with the floor or a wall, the objective is ultimately developing optimal EFFICIENCY to make the pattern ea...

  • SA 'cat' wall traverse (contralateral)

    THE WHAT:
    A fundamental straight-arm (SA) wall-traverse from the 'cat-hang' executed with a contralateral step, the hands & feet alternating between a wide/together position to locomote across the wall. The notable similarity n pattern is to the quadrupedal 'Bear-crawl' expressed laterally left &...

  • Fundamental wall-hanging 2: Toe-hooks & Heel-hooks

    THE WHAT:
    An introduction to two foundational concepts for using the legs whilst climbing: the 'Heel-hook' and 'Toe-hook'. Far from being specifical to wall-work, these are most general principles which lead toward an understanding of how to climb with the WHOLE body, not just the upper-body/arms...

  • Fundamental wall-hanging 3: Wall-facing ipsi & 3-point 'side-bridge'

    THE WHAT:
    Creating two and three-point supported 'bridge' forms in a wall-hanging position, working with both toe & heel-hooks. Whilst the initial wall-facing bridge variations are distinctly ipsilateral in structure, the '3-point' variations have the potential to shift between ipsi & contralater...

  • Fundamental wall-hanging 4: 2-point contra 'side-bridge' & B2W ipsi hangs

    THE WHAT:
    Increasing the vocabulary of wall-hangs with further 2-point support variations in contralateral, as well as ipsilateral in a back-to-wall (BTW) context.

    Resource contents:
    0:05 - Contra 2-point side-bridge (heel-hook)
    0:47 - Contra 2-point side-bridge (toe-hook)
    1:27 - Ipsi 2-point B2...

  • Wall bridge-hangs free-association (FA)

    THE WHAT:
    Bringing together wall-facing and back-to-wall ipsi, and 2-point & 3-point contra bridges into a seamless free-association, expressing both toe-hook & heel-hook variations. As with all FA contexts, brought into the foreground are now the TRANSITIONS between the various forms which are f...

  • 'Spider' wall-hang entrance

    THE WHAT:
    A dynamic entrance jumping into a wall-facing ipsi-bridge with both 'toe-hook' and 'heel-hook' permutations. It relies on complete embodiment of the hanging ipsi-bridge as a "zero-point" for it to be met immediately and securely against the wall.

    Resource contents:
    0:05 - 'Spider-jump'...