Inside Edge, Outside Edge, Toe: A Forced-Footwork Traverse

A traverse where every marked rung calls for a specific part of the foot: inside edge, outside edge or toe. Students find out that turning the foot changes hip position and saves arm strength.

How to play

1. Floor demo: stand on a low rung with the inside edge, outside edge and toe, and feel how the knee and hip turn (4 min).
2. Color-coded traverse: blue inside edge, red outside edge, yellow toe; in pairs, one climbs and the other calls the foot (6 min).
3. The observer marks each correct or incorrect foot placement on the sheet over two passes (6 min).
4. Challenge: same traverse, but the climber picks the foot placement and explains afterwards why (6 min).
5. Debrief: which placement brought your hips closest to the wall? (3 min).

Rules

• Feet no higher than 1 m.
• Climb down; no jumping.
• The observer stands off the mat, hands ready but not pushing.
• Shoes tied with clean soles.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with visual impairments: the observer names the placement and taps the rung before each step.
• One leg injured: work placements with the healthy leg and observe with the sheet the rest of the time.
• Nervous students: keep one hand on a high rung as a "handle" the whole way.

Learning goals

• Tell apart three ways to place the foot.
• Connect foot rotation to hip position.
• Observe and record someone else's technique with clear criteria.

Equipment for a class of 25

• wall bars: 10
• gym mats: 8
• colored tape: 3
• observation sheets: 14

Teacher tip

Wall-bar rungs are round, so the outside edge is tricky; if you have a climbing wall, use small footholds. The usual mistake is standing on the middle of the foot: keep cueing the front of the shoe.

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