Factors Deciding Boulder Comps - the Art of Akiyo Noguchi udini 2026-09-21 | Factors Deciding Boulder Comps - the Art of Akiyo Noguchi
What Alannah says - udini 2024-05-15 | Thinking of handholds first and foremost is a trap! Why do you think we fall into this trap so often?
Balls are an easy way to inject unpredictability into your practice. udini 2024-05-14 | We climb on solid, static surfaces. If climbing is all you ever did and all your training is controlled and static too, this could lead to a rigid mindset and robotic movements. A ball flying at you is not so different from you flying towards a climbing hold. (Both actions for instance challenge your Eye-Hand-coordination.) If you are uneasy with balls flying at you (as I’ve seen it with some young climbers because of lack of exposure), that will cut down on your ability to swiftly grab a complex hold you’ve been dynoing for.So, play with balls from to time to time, while warming-up seems to be a good opportunity.Balls are the universal symbol of play and movement. Their simple yet versatile nature captivates everybody. They're easy to grasp and manipulate, making them satisfying to hold and play with. The unpredictability of their movement adds an element of excitement and challenge, stimulating our coordination and motor skills. You don’t have to perform circus tricks to get the full benefit from playing with balls in your warm-up and practice.
Dexterity= taking advantage of abundance to solve movement problems udini 2024-05-06 | Movements are never truly identical. We cannot even pick up a glass of water in the exact same way twice. Competitors try to find a reproducible coordination solution, not a coordination pattern. This distinction is important, as a successful solution can be accomplished with varying coordination patterns. The best athletes find consistent solutions for varying climbing problems and do so in flexible, adaptable ways.This is what Nikolai Bernstein called „Repetition without Repetition“M1 from the finals of the recent Boulder World Cup in Salt Lake City.
Next Generation: Analise van Hoang & Geila Macià Martín udini 2024-05-02 | Analise van Hoang & Geila Macià Martín in the Boulder finals of the Youth Worlds 2023, Analise winning and Geila second place in the U16 category. 2024 is the first year they can compete internationally in the open category and they are both already making an impact. Last weekend Analise won the first Continental cup in Salt Lake City while Geila got second place at its European equivalent in Klagenfurt. It will be interesting to watch their career!
Chongqing, China, ten years ago - Jan Hojer wins the first Boulder World Cup of the 2014 season udini 2024-04-26 | ...
Chongqing, China, ten years ago - Jule Wurm wins the first Boulder World Cup of the 2014 season udini 2024-04-26 | ...
Chongqing, China - ten years ago udini 2024-04-22 | I always tried to arrive early enough at an overseas comp so that my athletes could get over their jet lag (one day per hour of time change is the common rule of thumb).Problem was, there were no gyms in Chongqing back then, so we had to improvise the necessary activation sessions at playgrounds or sports facilities. This is what we did, stay tuned for when I show you how well our practice worked at the Boulder World Cup 2014!
Boulder World Cup finals - how to make them in 2024 udini 2024-04-21 | The women needed one Top and three Zones to make the finals of the first @sportclimbing Boulder World Cup of the 2024 season in Keqiao, China. That is a pretty common outcome as semis are often the hardest round.Last qualified was Camilla Moroni, who hadn't had the greatest round till she flashed the last boulder problem, a slab. The lesson here is to never give up in a boulder round.
What Janja does differently udini 2024-04-14 | Janja Garnbret is the most pro-active and smart climber there is. This includes identifying the most ideal clipping and resting positions.
Start with the End #dualipamusic udini 2024-04-10 | Start from the End. When facing boulder problems like this one, identify the position you need to be in at the end of the movement. In this case the foot needs to be on the hold to support the hand hold. Now the question is - how do you get there? Only after identifying your end position, your attempts can be fruitful.
Alex Megos getting a boost from his teammate Yannik Flohé in #80 of the 2024 Studio Bloc Masters udini 2024-03-27 | @alexandermegos8129 @StudioBlocBouldering
Wicked number 67 at the Studio Bloc Masters 2024 qualifiers @StudioBlocBouldering udini 2024-03-26 | ...
Proprioception udini 2024-03-21 | Proprioception is the sense of self-movement and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense".Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons located within muscles, tendons, and joints.There are multiple types of proprioceptors which are activated during distinct behaviors and encode distinct types of information: limb velocity and movement, load on a limb, and limb limits.When 𝐈𝐳𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐳 finds the right toe-hook, she relies on Proprioception - the sensory registration of the ongoing spatial configuration of the body.
Natalia Grossman and Jessy Pilz brachiation Master Class udini 2024-03-15 | While brachiating, the lift of the center of gravity is not a consequence of a pulling action of the trailing arm, but an inertia effect, because the vertical center of gravity velocity is still relatively high at the beginning of double hand contact. The parabolic transition could be seen as a flight phase, though with two hands in contact with the handholds. With the leading hand already on the handhold, though without exerting any significant force, modern climbers can easily optimize their timing of grabbing the next handhold and initiating the next swing from the highest point possible.When at least one hand is in contact with the hold, we talk of continuous contact brachiation. We distinguish these as ‘point’, ‘loop’, ‘backward pendulum’ and ‘parabolic’ transitions. The different transitions form a continuum rather than distinct types.Avoidance of energy-dissipating inelastic collisions is a key behavioral feature of brachiation. Smoothness of force transition is a way of avoiding collision losses.From the recent @StudioBlocBouldering Bloc Masters finals.
Marvelous route setting by the first all-female setting team at an international climbing comp udini 2024-03-12 | Studio Bloc Masters 2024, female finals @StudioBlocBouldering
Climbing Talent Development Show - Oona Frawley, Ireland Climbing udini 2024-02-27 | Oona is the co-founder of Ireland Climbing (club), which aims to support and develop high performance climbing on the island of Ireland. She is an academic and writer undertaking research on talent development in sport climbing with the support of Sport Ireland and the IFSC @sportclimbing As a coach who is involved in competitive Sport Climbing for Youth categories at a high level, you are invited to participate in her study. dcusciencehealth.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3EJUqWRcEexpYVg Participation in this project involves answering a survey known as the TDEQ-5 (Five Factor Talent Development Environment Questionnaire). The survey takes approximately 5-10 minutes to complete and is anonymous.Also, Mountaineering Ireland is now recruiting for the position of a High Performance Coordinator in Sport Climbing. This significant new position will be based in Irish Sport HQ. https://www.mountaineering.ie/news/?id=487@MountaineeringIreland
Consider Skill Continuums before planning any practice or training udini 2024-02-20 | There is a large range of sporting activities each requiring a set of skills. Finding balance for clipping protection is difficult if you only fluidly climb in boulder gyms. Skills have many characteristics that can change in different situations, which makes classifying them difficult. Accepting that skills cannot be neatly labelled, we place them on a continuum.# The Open and Closed Continuumis concerned with the effects of the environment on skills. Open skills require that movements have to be continually adapted. There is lots of ambiguity or uncertainty in these activities.Competitors don't know what the setters have been setting for them, so comp climbing involves predominantly perceptual movement that often requires fluid adjustments and variation of skill. Adapting quickly is key for comp climbers and needs to be practiced.Rock climbing projects on the other hand take place in a more stable, predictable environment. The climber decides when to climb for example. If you search for skill continuums you will find lots of inspiration for your practice, please leave comments below.Excerpt from vimeo.com/ondemand/ideas2improveurclimbing
*When your body organizes movement, it doesn’t care what your coach has to say about it!* udini 2024-02-07 | Watch the segment about the Constraints-led Approach we did for the Climbing Talent Development Show here: youtu.be/5VyW5_1WtCIFollowing up my last post, consider better approaches to skill development like the Constraints-led-Approach (CLA):#1 The CLA is not a theoretical frameworkThe CLA is the approach to implementing Non-Linear Pedagogy (NLP) .The CLA allows the practitioner to design tasks in a way that takes into account the non-linear nature of learning. To implement the CLA effectively the coach needs to understand the key principles of NLP#2 You can't study a constraint in isolationBehaviour emerges from the "confluence of constraints under the boundary conditions of a particular task or activity context" (Araújo & Davids 2011). The confluence of constraints means the interaction of the task, environmental & organismic constraints. We can't study one without taking into account the other constraints#3 Constraints are only boundaries. Don't use them to force an actionConstraints are boundaries or features which guide the emergent behaviour. In the CLA we manipulate key constraints to guide the players search or actions. We can deliberately make certain options more appealing. If we use them to force an action it's known as over-constraining.#4 Intention is the most important constraintSetting the intention before the task is crucial. The 'intention' of the person is the most important constraint as it influences what information the person will be primed to look for. It also gives the movement a goal and allows the person to 'coordinate' their actions to achieve that specific goal#5 Instructions are constraintsFrom a CLA perspective verbal instructions and visual demonstrations are instructional'constraints' that guide the learners search. We need to be very careful when giving instructions to our players. We can use what we say to guide their exploration but we don't want to 'over-constrain' them with what we tell them.
Unlike in closed-skill activities (like figure skating or gymnastics), open-skill activities like… udini 2024-01-31 | ... climbing don't have a so called perfect model of how a move should be done. Still, to this day, the belief of some coaches, parents and other climbers (including mansplainers ;-) seems to be that there is a model to follow and they guide the athletes towards that model correcting errors and providing feedback along the way. Some coaches spent a lot of time judging “technique” of their athletes as “good” or “bad” based on an image of “perfect technique” that only exist in their head, not in reality. They provide specific corrections to climbers about how to place the arm, feet or hand, which brings no long lasting improvement, but quite the opposite: it causes “paralysis by analysis” making the climber feel unable to make a decision due to overthinking.The truth is that “Technique” does not exist outside of the context it is applied in. Who dictates whether a technique is “good” or “bad” is not the coaches and their beliefs, but the functionality of a move of THIS climber in THIS climb, in THIS moment. So, as a coach, look for functionality. As a climber, if someone wants to explicitly explain a climbing move to you, you better Run!Three different perfect solutions (for the respective climber, in this moment, on this climb) form the recent Dockmasters comp. @boulderhalenergiehaven-DM
Time flies when you are having fun! Thanks for having me @bergenklatreklubb6693 udini 2024-01-29 | ...
The joy of having a symmetrical setup for coordination training (with @bergenklatreklubb6693 ) udini 2024-01-25 | Omnidextrous - Able to use all limbs with equal precision; both hands and both feet.For becoming an omnidextrous climber, training on symmetrical, mirrored arrangements of potential contact points are ideal.Unfortunately, there are not yet a whole lot of symmetrical hold- or volume sets on the market. The Train2climb coordination wall is the most advanced option in this regard right now. It is not perfect but it is still amazing what discoveries you can make with this wall.Even if you don’t have access to a strictly symmetrical set-up, you should start to practice challenging climbing moves in both directions, left to right and right to left. You might discover, that one side or direction feels easier and that you struggle moving in the opposite direction. Cool session with a tier 6 group from @bergenklatreklubb6693
How can i assess the physical literacy of thirty young climbers? udini 2024-01-23 | How can we assess physical literacy and movement competence of 30 kids and teenagers in an engaging, fun and efficient way? I like to pose contextual challenges that require divergent thinking, problem solving and risk management. @bergenklatreklubb6693 runs a massive program with 1000 kids on their waiting list alone. It will take some more sessions to wrap my mind around their program but with the mock comp today and what you see in video from yesterday, I gained a better understanding of where they are.Should you wonder about the term Physical Literacy - According to Whitehead (2013), physical literacy can be described as a disposition to capitalize on the human embodied capability wherein the individual has the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for maintaining purposeful physical pursuits/activities throughout the life course. (Whitehead & Capel, 2013)
Monday Morning @stuntwerkkoln2701 udini 2024-01-16 | playing with Hannah Meul, her coach Fritze Kops and Boulder World Cup serial winer Jan Hojer
I love to put those little clips of our practice sessions together and share them on social media. udini 2024-01-12 | Bear in mind though that they are just a small part of my bigger workflow.So when I come back from a session I copy the files and s I’m Kim through the footage. If I have time, I will also tag the footage to facilitate retrieval. Over my decades of coaching, I have a deep archive of the athletes I worked with. Retrieving footage of their development only takes me a couple of minutes, in fact this archive is one of the few aspects of my life where I’m organized.Should I find something nice, I will put it together and post it here. From a coaches perspective, It’s important to keep in mind though, that a spectacular session is not necessarily the one where they athletes learned the most - and vice versa - a visually dull session can be still a fantastic learning experience for the athletes and me, even when I never post anything of it.If you want to learn more about the method behind the madness, please leave a comment.Thanks for watching - cheers!
Explaining sensory integration while warming up with Ksenia udini 2024-01-09 | Sensory integration refers to the process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information from the environment and from within the body. Our sensory system includes touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and proprioception (awareness of the body's position and movement). Sensory integration is crucial for various functions, including perception, motor skills, emotional regulation, and overall cognitive development.
Olympic Sport Climbing qualifiers in Laval / France udini 2023-11-14 | A mobility issue disguising as a strength problem?Notice how nicely Sam Avezou leans into his extended left arm and how close his arm is to his upper body. He was the only climber to make this move work, some competitors resorted to trying to reach up with left hand, which doesn’t look promising to my eyes and was not successful. Shauna called this problem *old school* (arguably before the round started), but it surely wasn’t lacking finesse. Difficult climbing always was and always will be about finding positions and connecting the dots, regardless what label is put on it. The route-setting I found really good in Laval, both boulder and lead, and it feels as if our sport matured quite a bit over the last year. Imagine how it is to grow up listening to Shauna’s insight and the performances of the new generation of comp climbers - way to go, comp climbing!
IFSC CORS course level 4 - Motor control and Motor learning last weekend in Kraków, Poland udini 2023-10-16 | ...
Motor Control and Skill development will be the main subjects I will be presenting at the IFSC... udini 2023-10-08 | coaches development course in Kraków next weekend.Motor control is a relatively young field of research. It may be defined as an area of natural science exploring how the central nervous system (CNS) produces purposeful, coordinated movements in its interaction with the rest of the body and with the environment. Hence, the main goal of motor control research is to create a formal description, operating with exactly defined variables, of the physical and physiological processes that make such movements possible. Motor Control Theories and Their Applications will be discussed.Motor learning is a blanket term that encompasses a huge diversity of phenomena, approaches, and disciplines.It ranges from relatively low-level mechanisms for maintaining calibration of our movements, to making high-level cognitive decisions about how to act in a novel situation. The essence of motor learning is about producing more effective movements.In this course, I portray the major existing approaches to characterizing motor learning at both the behavioral and neural level. Long-standing paradigms used in motor learning research — for instance adaptation and sequence learning will be critically reviewed. @sportclimbing
Learning to Fly udini 2023-10-05 | Learning to Fly, as explained in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy read by Douglas Adams himself. Fun session from earlier this year that we did for a serious reason and that here I edited for your viewing pleasure. Let me know if you are interested in the "WHY?" of this session!
Jumping out of compromised positions is a crucial skill for modern bouldering. Janja Garnbret Flash udini 2023-10-03 | ...
What do see as the crucial element of successful execution of this move? #climbingcoacheseye udini 2023-09-22 | ...
Janja Garnbret with the only top of this problem in the qualis of the 2018 Climbing Worlds udini 2023-09-17 | From my "ideas to improve your climbing" series vimeo.com/ondemand/ideas2improveurclimbing where I used this example in a "Trust the Process" context. Recently, John Cleese's quote "Creative people are much better at tolerating the vague sense of worry that we all get when we leave something unresolved."reminded my of it.
Interesting and physical moves and positions to the zone of W2 in the finals of the Brixen BWC 2023 udini 2023-09-11 | #shorts
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to…” udini 2023-08-30 | “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Airman's OdysseyTwo of the three successful competitors proofed this quote right by skipping the middle hold. OR – you are Janja Garnbret and you can achieve perfection however you want!W3 of the 2023 Prague Boulder World Cup finals. #shorts
Schubert vs Ondra, Villars 2023 The classic duel! udini 2023-08-16 | Since 2012, only these two have been World Champions, Adam Ondra in 2014, 2016 and 2019. Jakob Schubert in 2012, 2018, 2021 and just recently in Bern 2023.After the World Championships 2016 in Paris I analyzed the finals and presented my finding to the Austrian Kletterverband at a coaching education seminar. Adam Ondra was superior in every aspect I looked into back then.The next morning I was asked if I would share my insights with Jakob which of course I did. Long story short - everything I found questionable in Jakob's climbing in 2016 is now vastly improved!Let me know if you are interested in lead climbing analysis, for now, here is one of the 2018 season: youtu.be/RTZCWw6EKVQ
Are you improving?Jakob Schubert certainly is, especially in timing, pacing and managing the speed- udini 2023-08-14 | accuracy trade-off.When Adam Ondra became world champion in 2016, he was superior to Jakob Schubert (vice world champion back then) in this regard. (upper panel)By 2018, Jakob had vastly improved and could climb the "where it counts-" sections almost as fast as Adam.(middle panel)In the recent combined finals in Bern, both competitors arrive at the same time at the last clip that Adam makes. He then takes a 11'' rest before attempting his final move. Put drastically, Jakob makes this move 11'' fresher (lower panel)Of course there is more to consider, let me know if you are interested in more insigd into timing, pacing and managing the speed -accuracy trade-off.
It’s not only about WHAT, it’s also about WHEN #bouldering udini 2023-08-01 | Movements possess spatio-temporal characteristics: they happen in space and evolve in time. However, spatial and temporal aspects can be dissociated and controlled separately. Naturally, a movement is made as a whole with apparently indivisible blends of spatio-temporal characteristics, depending on the demands of the particular task.Here, the time (tinted) for changing the foot position while managing this situation varies wildly.
What are differentiating factors for this move? udini 2023-07-28 | Even experienced coaches told me that the top four women did the same thing with two of them were „just“ stronger. I think in 2023 we have to do better and look for differences in alignment and timing etc. What do you observe? - lead finals Innsbruck 2023
