To senior Dom Tchun, rock climbing represents resilience; it represents that anything is possible as long as you keep working towards that goal. Tchun began rock climbing less than a year ago when his friend and climbing partner brought him to Planet Rock for the first time.
“I was really excited, since I had wanted to climb for a while,” said Tchun.
Despite his initial excitement, Tchun wasn’t exactly sure what he was looking at. His friend showed him around and the climbs that he could do, and then Tchun began climbing. The rest is almost history. Tchun became hooked, and soon made it his mission to climb two to three times a week.
He loves every aspect of climbing, but most of all its versatility and constant challenge.
“The thing that I love most about rock climbing is that there are endless problems that you can constantly solve, and you don’t have to solve it a specific way,” said Tchun. “You can do it the way it fits you the most, based on your body.”
But it’s not just the fun of climbing that keeps him going — he also has goals that he plans to achieve.
“I just want to become stronger and become better at rock climbing,” said Tchun. “I really enjoy the sport and it also keeps me out of the house, which is good.”
Throughout the half-year he’s been climbing, Tchun has not only grown stronger and improved his climbing skills, but he’s also learned some valuable lessons. Out of them all, rock climbing has taught Tchun determination and resilience.
“It taught me that if you keep on trying to do something, you’ll eventually get it,” said Tchun. “Just like how if you work towards a project in real life, like practicing for an audition or joining a team sport — it’s the same with rock climbing. You just keep on training and you’ll eventually get where you want to be.”
Tchun also personally believes that everyone should try rock climbing once. “It’s a lot of fun, and definitely more so with friends,” he said. “It’s also really beginner-friendly. There’s never a climb that someone can’t do.”
Although he isn’t planning to pursue rock climbing professionally, he does have a goal of joining the University of Michigan climbing team, which he hopes to attend this fall.
Currently, Tchun has his own Instagram account which he dedicates to recording his climbing progress as he tackles new climbs and challenges. You can find his account at @domtchunclimbs.
