Rock Climbing Technique Tips
Technique is not about climbing a certain way, it is about adapting your climbing style to make use of your strengths. The French move slowly because they all have enough stamina to hang on while they work out the best possible sequence of moves. If you, on the other hand, are best at sheer explosive strength it's probably better for you to power through your routes than take the slow approach.
Don't do this forever though, because improving is about strengthening your weaknesses!
The best way to learn is to watch somebody good while you belay them. Notice how they approach the climb and try to imitate any clever moves they do. Or ask them to guide you through a particular sequence, such as rocking over.
Practise them yourself, repeatedly. At first, any new techniques will feel uncomfortable and you'll probably think they are not worth the effort but after a while you will get used to them and find more and more places where they are useful, and eventually some places where you couldn't have managed without.
For general training, climb when you are tired, too tired to simply power through a sequence of moves. Force yourself to move slowly and use your technique to conserve what's left of your energy (being tired helps as brute force is just not an option). Plan your moves in advance.
I've been trying to find/think of ways to climb without spending money or time in the car: Chimneys. There are a few folks around my town who have huge boulder/rock chimneys that are 25-40 feet (9.5-13m) tall. It's just like an indoor gym with lots of extra holds on a route. Most of time the top of the chimney is at least two foot by four foot. using all of the rocks it is easy to climb to the top and secure a top rope anchor or even just boulder the thing. People don't like tape (to mark routes) on their chimneys so use coloured sidewalk chalk to mark what rocks are on and what aren't (or what parts of what rocks etc.). It may sound hokey but it works for the most part.
I know that my weakest is chimneys and my strongest faces. Just be aware that on any day climbing, you have a choice to make: work on the weak points, which can be trying, or just stick to your best type of route and cruise through it. It's up to you which one to work on first.
