Rock Warriors Way, The
Mental Training for Climbers

Format	Book	Category	Instructional
Title	Rock Warriors Way, The	Pages
Author	Arno Ilgner	RRP	$32.95 AUD
Publisher	Desiderata Institute	Reviews	2
Edition	1st Edition 2003	Ave Rating	(3.50 of 5)

User	Comments
jkane 6/13/2007	Here's the review I originally did for Argus - also available as a PDF download on the VCC website. There have been many books written on the physical aspects of training for rock climbing but the subject of mental training has been largely ignored. Ilgner goes some way to filling the gap with his "Rock Warrior's Way". The book has been developed over 10 years from the course that Ilgner teaches and there is an impressive amount of research and reading behind it. Ilgner invites you to delve deep into your psyche (if you have the stomach for it) and discover that there are things lurking there that are limiting your performance. Once you have learnt to observe these inner workings in an objective way, you can use the practical advice and exercises to help you break your old habits and to focus your attention impeccably on the task at hand. To get maximum benefit from "The Rock Warrior's Way" will, like any form of training, take effort and commitment. If you decide to tread the warrior's path, you will definitely want to own a copy. That being said, anyone could gain valuable insight and probably some kind of a performance boost just by reading this book once. "The Rock Warrior's Way" will be useful to anyone looking to climb better, climb harder or just to enjoy their climbing more.
technogeekery 9/1/2016	I really battled with the whole warrior metaphor (sorry!). It seemed so stereo-typically American, glorifying the way of the warrior, holding up the steely-eyed soldier, calm of heart and ready to exe-cute as the ideal to aspire to. So the philosophical underpinnings seemed suspect, and I struggled with that throughout. But I persevered, as the methodology seemed sound, and increasingly relevant / workable as I went through the book. Core mental framing issues made a lot of sense, I recognise myself in many of the case studies or questions, and certainly I fall into many of the traps and self-limiting behavior he identifies. Ultimately I came around to the book, and think it will be very useful in helping me learn more about myself, learn more and grow more personally from my climbing, and (almost incidentally) will probably result in me climbing harder grades as well. I'll come back and revisit that in a year or so - but for now I'm already benefiting in my mental attitude. So - the book succeeds in its primary aim. I'd probably rate it much higher if it wasn't all expressed in such militaristic terms.