A drop knee, also called an Egyptian, is a technique where you turn one knee inward and downward while your foot is on a hold, twisting your hips toward the wall to bring your reach closer and take weight off your arms. It is especially useful on steep, overhanging terrain with opposing footholds.
A toe hook is a technique where you pull with the top of your toes and foot against a hold or feature, using the foot like a hand to maintain tension on steep and overhanging climbing. It's often paired with a heel hook on the other foot to stop the body swinging out on roofs.
An undercling is a hold gripped from underneath, palm up, that you pull up and out on while pushing with your feet to create opposing tension. Underclings feel powerful once you get your body above them and are common under flakes, roofs, and bulges where the rock faces downward.
A pinch is a climbing hold you grip by squeezing between your thumb on one side and your fingers on the other, like pinching a block. Pinches demand thumb and grip strength and range from wide, hard-to-span shapes to narrow ones. Body position that keeps the pinch loaded straight down makes it more secure.
A sidepull is a vertically oriented hold that you pull on sideways, toward your body, leaning away from it to create the opposing force that keeps you on. Sidepulls reward good body positioning — getting your weight on the opposite side of the hold — and are the natural counterpart to the outward-pushing gaston.
A gaston is a grip where you push outward (sideways, away from your body) on a hold with the thumb pointing down and the elbow out, as if prying open elevator doors. It lets you use vertically oriented holds that face the wrong way for a normal pull, but is shoulder-intensive.
Flagging is a balance technique where you extend a free leg to act as a counterweight, keeping your body in balance and stopping it from swinging out (barn-dooring) when holds are off to one side. It lets you reach and stay stable without a foothold for the trailing foot.
Mantling is a technique where you press down on a ledge or large hold with your hands — transitioning from pulling to pushing — to lever your body up and over it, much like climbing out of a swimming pool. It's the standard way to top out boulders and gain ledges.
Jamming is the core crack-climbing technique of wedging part of the body — fingers, hands, fists, or feet — into a crack and subtly expanding or torquing it to create a secure hold. Unlike face climbing, jamming uses the crack itself rather than holds on the rock surface.
A sloper is a smooth, rounded hold with no positive edge to grab, gripped instead through friction from an open hand and careful body positioning. Climbers maximise skin contact and keep their weight below the hold, making slopers as much about technique and tension as raw strength.