In reply to Goucho:
> That could mean they're good enough to climb at their grade without constantly falling off?
Or that "their grade" could be even higher if they were doing a bit of falling off?
> If you deliberately take 20 falls onto dodgy placements, I guarantee at least one of them will rip, and then what?
Then you'll have a better idea which are the dodgy ones.
> Bones unfortunately not as easy to replace.
Indeed. Which is why I think it's worth doing falling practice in a controlled manner, to make sure you're as informed as possible about the gear underneath you when you're facing a more important decision.
> Applying a sport mentality and approach to trad - irrespective of the grade - could result in getting on first name terms with the A&E department.
Of course it could. So could driving to the crag, cycling to work, and going for a skiing holiday. Everyone has to make their own risk assessment, for some the performance benefits of falling practice will be worth it, for some they won't.
> This whole 'practice falling' concept when applied to trad, is full of presumption - what do they say presumption is the mother of?
As i see it, not falling on your gear leaves you working on the presumption that your gear is good. Falling begins to lessen that presumption over time.
> When you're suffering from a bit of a head meltdown on the trad, chucking yourself off routes for the sake of it, could quite possibly exasperate the problem, not cure it.
Quite possibly. Falling practice on gear is a terrifying ordeal to begin with.