Understand the coordination move in bouldering: a multi-phase move with timing of hands and feet, often over volumes. Built at jump-down height, honest limits.
A coordination move is a multi-phase move in which the timing of hand and foot contacts decides, often over volumes, the wooden elements on the wall to which holds are sometimes bolted [3]. Hands and feet must make contact in the right order and at the right moment, or there is no second attempt in flight. The honest answer to "Isn't that just a dyno?": no. A dyno is a jump, a coordination move is a choreography.
I found no rulebook or study source that defines "coordination move" as a term. Here I use it the way it is used in the competition scene: hand and foot contacts are coordinated across several phases. Biomechanics provides a frame. It distinguishes "dynamic (1)", where a failed attempt can be corrected, from "dynamic (2)", where there is no margin for error and at least two extremities move at the same time, for example in a run-and-jump [1]. Coordination moves mostly fall in the dynamic (2) range. Also: movements faster than 150–200 milliseconds, about a fifth of a second, allow no correction any more [1].
Expect to learn the single building blocks in a few sessions. The choreography across several phases can take weeks to months (an experience value, not a measurement).
Entry criteria (practice standard):
Break the move into phases: preparation, execution, stabilization [1]. Name which foot and which hand make contact when. In fluid climbing, phases 3 and 1 merge [1], but you have to know them separately first.
Milestone: You can explain the sequence in three sentences.
Practise each block separately and low: the foot contact, the takeoff, the hand grab. Stay at jump-down height and use the mat.
Milestone: You hit each block three times in a row.
Connect the takeoff with the landing on the volume, at first with hand contact for safety. The goal is a fluid transition from phase 2 to phase 3.
Milestone: You land cleanly on the volume in three of five attempts.
Now comes the whole sequence. Since there is nothing to correct after takeoff, the preparation decides. Plan eyes, hips and foot position before you push off. Focus on the first contact, not on the target at the end of the sequence.
Milestone: You manage the whole sequence three out of five times.
Use the move in a boulder where it comes up naturally. Check whether you really need it or whether a calmer solution exists.
Milestone: You use the move deliberately and can explain why it sits at that spot.
In a coordination move you cannot correct during the flight [1], and whoever misses, falls. In a survey of 245 injured climbers, 85% of the falls were involuntary, 62% included a rotation, 74% landed feet first, and 67% of the injuries affected the lower extremity [4]. In a cohort of 507 boulderers, lower extremity injuries were more often severe and more often caused by falls and jumping off [5]. In a hospital series the mean fall height was 2.9 meters and ankle fractures made up 40% of the diagnoses [6]. That is why this guide deliberately describes only the build-up at jump-down height. You increase distance, height and run-up only with a coach. This guide explains and motivates but does not replace supervised training.
Do the landing plan: announce out loud which foot you want to land on and where the hands grab before you push off. A move you cannot announce is not ready. This is practical experience and not proven, but it puts the planning into your head while you can still correct [1].
A coordination move is a multi-phase move in which hand and foot contacts are precisely timed, often over volumes. It is not a simple variant of the dyno but a choreography. I could not find a uniform definition in rulebooks.
In a dyno both feet leave the wall until the target hold is caught [2]. A coordination move adds that several extremities are timed across several phases. Biomechanics often classifies such moves as dynamic (2), with no margin for error [1].
At jump-down height, in single blocks, with a mat and supervision. First name the phases, then link them. You increase distance and height only with a coach, because no correction is possible after takeoff [1].
It has no margin for error, and falls in bouldering are mostly involuntary and often end on the feet [4]. Lower extremity injuries are more often severe [5]. So: build-up at jump-down height, mat, supervision.
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