UKC

On a recent trip to Font a companion swore blind that the only correct way to start a circuit problem is to have your hands on either side of and below the painted arrow. 

I like the either side rule and found it made for better problems but the below rule seemed often annoying and occasionally impossible. 

Is there any basis to this theory? Do I just need to suck it up, get stronger and find an invisible hold somewhere in order to send Orange no.16 (4a)? 

On a related note - I spent a long time trying to get the first move of Little Karma (f6C) only to find in the evening that most people online skipped what I thought of as the first move and jumped straight to the 2nd hold from the ground. I can't help but feel like that's cheating when it's possible to do the problem from an 'established' point on the start hold. Am I arbitrarily robbing myself of fun sends? Would you take the jump start? 

No. That's not a thing.

Seems to be the accepted method on that problem. Sitter is 7a+

https://bleau.info/isatis/1544.html

Climb them in whatever way gives you the most pleasure*, and don't worry too much about what anyone else does.

* Within reason, no dry tooling.

Unless it was snowy on the walk in, in which case crack on...

What? To soon??

Oh, is that why people always give me shitty looks?

I thought it was my poor taste in wine not the crampons 

Interesting - the jump start is definitely still fun and makes the problem possible for those with smaller wingspans (it takes all 169cm of mine) so I like that it isn't dismissed as cheating. I feel it would be here in the UK...

The sit start felt very tricky, requiring a couple of hard moves to get into position for the big slap. The half-way point between the two that I was trying, crouching with both feet smeared against the wall felt like a solid 6C and the jump more like 6b but that whole sector seemed softer than the others I visited.  

Fear not - I always do! I must admit to having a fondness for arbitrary rules that force you to try moves that you might otherwise dismiss though so I like to follow the local customs where possible. 

Does it count as dry-tooling if you lather the axes in POF? If so - I sincerely apologise but it was hell sneaking those things on the ferry so I was determined to use them.

Crampons are fine as long as you first skewer a croissant on your front points 

The only reason I don't wear monos, multiple croissants

I've never heard of that circuit rule, but maybe I've been cheating myself the entire time. Just start with whatever holds seem most logical (at least up to blue/red circuits). Occasionnally you might find a painted dot to indicate starting footholds, and even more rarely a dotted line to indicate any holds that are out, but that's very much the exception rather than the rule.

As for Little Karma it is a jump start, after all if you do it statically then the reference to the "other Karma" no longer holds. I'd say the only way to cheat this problem is if, like me, you climb it on a collante day. A few weeks ago conditions were so good I just had to blindly slap the rock and my hands would stick to it no matter where they landed, I felt like I didn't even deserve the tick. Will go back this summer on a 35C day to properly earn it.