Will McEvoy Interviews Emma Twyford

White Spider Masterclass 2016/7 Winter Series

 

Last month, Emma Twyford gave a great Masterclass to kick off the White Spider Masterclass Winter Series. Will McEvoy, head of coaching, made sure to interview Emma.  Here’s what she told us:   How long have you been climbing?  23 years! I was 7 when I started.   How did you start? My dad started climbing and doing lots of outdoor stuff. He tried to drag me, my brother and sister into it but it only stuck for me. Really my dad and his friends taught me how to climb.   Where are you from?  The Lakes- a proper northerner!

Any tips for those who have been climbing indoors for a year or two? Something that can make a massive improvement.   

• Footwork and movement are the key ones. if you start climbing inside you have all these positive holds so people don’t look at the basics of how to use their feet and move properly. Eg you can try taking out the hand hold so you only climb on [arrest] and grooves.
• Have a play time on a problem. Try once and do it one way, then try again and do it differently. See which works better and why.
• Watch other climbers – see how and why they climb well.
• People think they need to train to get stronger but, in fact, most people would see greatest improvement by focusing on their technique.

 

How about coaching? Says Will (our head of coaching)!  Yeah! have some coaching! Everyone thinks they use their feet but coaching and video is useful way to see what really happens.  Accuracy matters. If you haven’t placed that first foot hold well, chances are when you go for the next move you’ll hesitate. If that first foot hold is accurate, your moves will be more fluid.

 

Do you have a favourite climbing moment? A favourite route? Obviously, you like in North Wales which is the best playground ever! Probably one of the earliest moments I had was “Statement of Youth”. I didn’t I appreciate just how hard the route was until afterwards. It came together so easily – for an 8A that is. It was my first 8A flash in the UK. Then, of course, there is “Lord of the Flies” the E6 6A at “The Cromlech”.

 

Well that is such a classic route, a piece of climbing history, a route you dream about! How did you find it?  It suited my style. The first moves were bold and serious and you needed to keep calm. But the holds were better than I thought they would be.

 

If you could live anywhere in the world? North Wales! Or if I had a choice of two places then North Wales in the summer and Spain in the Winter.     What’s your favourite climbing discipline?  Trad- always trad. There’s a bit of everything in trad and it’s got all the great history around it. It can be humbling to think someone climbed a route back in the 1930s in hobnail boots.     Thank you Emma for joining us!       Will

 

Check out Emma on her website www.emmatwyford.co.uk

as well as on twitter @EmmaTwyford and Facebook