What the Heck is a Drop Knee?

The drop knee is one of the most mesmerizing and unforgettable climbing techniques. It’s hard not to look at it and wonder, “how is that possible?” For some, you might take it a step further and think “what does that actually do?”

In this video, I’ll go over the 3 main effects using a drop knee accomplishes. We’ll look at different scenarios for applying this technique and even compare it with other techniques. First let’s see how to do a drop knee.
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Intro: (0:00)
How to Drop Knee: (0:56)
Effects of a Drop Knee - 1. Hip In: (1:38)
2. Lateral Force: (2:58)
3. Creating Torque: (4:40)
Why Drop Knees are "Bad": (5:51)
In Closing: (7:29)
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[travisjamesmajor]

Just last night I was showing someone my drop-knee solution for a problem at the gym. He was super skeptical, asking "yeah but how does that help?" I struggled to put it into words, even though I know it can be super helpful. Anyways, now I know how to answer that question! Thanks for another great video.

[gary]

Your ability to demonstrate with clarity is to be applauded. Great video as usual. Neil's Series is excellent too.

[bluechamp]

Three other important things that are not mentioned in this video:
1) During the rotation, always keep the foot and knee aligned,
2) Start the rotation using your hips and heel. I have the impression that you start the movement from your knee (I could be wrong, it's hard to see). It might work for people with strong knees. But in general it's better to think about "rotating the hip and rotating the heel simultaneously", and simply let the knee follow. This is often overlooked and will avoid pain long term. + you have less of that internal rotation which makes your leg less strong, as you explain. :)
3) To maximize the lateral force, you want to have the heel of the dropping leg as "far from you" as possible (it will depend on your heel flexibility and the strength of your leg), and the other leg as straight as possible. This will avoid your feet cutting loose on harder problems.

[krymore]

Have you read my mind? I was looking through your channel's tutorials yesterday and wondering where the drop knee one is... and BAM here it is.
Great vid!

[Nold]

Nice video! (I don't think the explanation with the torque makes a lot of sense the way you present it, but clearly the position you get into seems very useful for some situations!)

[jimmy]

This is the best drop knee explanation video I've seen.

[franciscofranyutti]

I consider your videos instructional art. Keep ‘em coming!

[shoqed]

Hey in general I think this is a good explanation but I think the torque part is bs. You apply torque but it dissipates by making your foot turn. You can still apply some torque isometrically to kinda press your hip into the wall (back hip rotate internally, front hip rotate externally).
One more major advantage of drop knee is that you eliminate flexibility problem - you'd have to pretty much be able to do splits in order to keep your hips square and close to the wall, plus you'd need to have a lot of abductor strength and footholds that provide enough resistance to pull on them outwards.

[summercityzach]

I've also found because of the twisting action of drop knees my 'primary' arm also wraps around my body (moves closer to my chest) and allows more assistance from my pecs and biceps.... it sort of feels like im just hanging off of my scapula without any effort.... great video!

[ggrouchyllamma]

Thanks for making this video! I like how clear it is in explaining the effects of using drop knee! Awesome work

[NWRinehart]

Another awesome video! I never fully realized that the drop knee pulls the hip in closer to the wall.

[PeterSodhi]

Your teaching and movement are exceptional

[ejl]

You are a genius! Faras is an amazing coach. GSP the goat!

[grahamemacmullen]

Great video - clear, calm and uplifting!!!

[mathiasjl]

I'm a bit anxious about this move as I have a torn acl and never got the surgery for it. I haven't felt anything yet and it's great move to have in my repertoire so I'll continue trying them for now. Great video!

[Tuuubeshw]

I just found your channel it's truly a treasure trove. These instructional videos are really the best. I hear you say in this video that the end position of a drop knee is the back step but to me, it really should be the other way around. Just turning your feet and hips wouldn't normally be called a drop knee, from any place I've heard of, so I'd say that's a back step. But, if the back step is high enough compared to your hips, then the knee will end up at a 90-degree angle or smaller, sometimes pointing downwards. Seems to me that that would be the drop knee, which in that case would be the end position of the back step. You'd first turn your foot or feet, then, if the situation is right, you'd end up with a drop knee. In any case, love your videos!

[Aashishkebab]

I'm a V6 climber and I've never touched a drop knee because it has always scared me and confused me.

But maybe it's been holding me back and I will try it when called for. But i also don't have the intuition of when to use it.

[tonioleeps]

Could you do a video on rock rings and how to properly train with them?

[begeistrat]

Great demonstration, easy to follow! I'm curious what the red/black shoe used throughout the video is.

[piethein]

maybe include some pockets and cracks as example for using torque in climbing, you almost did so already anyway