The IFSC Bouldering season is over

It's been a while since I came home from the IFSC World Championships in Munich.

I have been thinking a lot about what to write after this competition. It feels like I have to explain my results.

Instead I have decided to give you my thoughts on this bouldering season and explain why I'm still motivated to try hard next season.

This season I was really motivated to participate in as many IFSC bouldering comps as possible. I wanted to learn and progress.

I decided to only participate in the european comps because I did not have any permanent financial support. So first off were Grindelwald and Innsbruck back-to-back. I knew that I had to get in the game again. It would take at least one competition to get used to the whole atmosphere and mental pressure. I felt in really god shape at the competition, but nothing really clicked.
The same happened in Innsbruck. It felt like you were a climber from Earth, but had to climb moves from Mars..

Then I had 2 months during the summer where I could evaluate my climbing. I thought about every little detail and tried to train my weaknesses.
I did a lot of jumps and coordination and I started to feel comfortable in that style. I tried to get stronger by doing harder strength exercises, but I know that I still have a long way to go, so it was not my main focus.

Then next competition came close: the IFSC Bouldering World Cup in Laval. I felt like I was stronger than I had been in a long time. I felt in balance, and most important; I felt super motivated to try to climb as good as possible.

The competition in Laval is special. It is held on Entre Prises big prism walls. They are placed on a big stage in the venue with spotlights all over. So it gets really hot and there is absolutely no friction left at the end of the day. Therefore I hoped that I would be one of the first (bip-nr. 20-40). But instead I started as the second last climber.

I already knew what would happen: I would have to try to climb 5 boulder problems that would feel like 8B.

I still felt motivated, I tried to think positive and gave it my best shot.
It was super greasy, but I fell close to the top on every boulder problem! I was frustrated because I got spanked again, but what the result on the paper didn't tell was that I had just taken a huge step forward. I was doing the moves even though it felt impossible.

Then the season was over leaving only one competition left: the IFSC Bouldering World Championship in Munich.

The last world championship for me was in 2012 in Paris. I did 2 tops and almost flashed the 3rd one. That would have given me the top-19 ticket and a spot in the semifinals. Instead I ended up nr 49.

So this year I had great confidence when I came to Munich.
I was surprised that nothing went wrong in the last 3 days before the competition. I felt super good right until I had to climb. And then I don't exactly know what I did wrong. I could not even get to the bonus holds. I was just totally lost in my own climbing.
I ended up as nr 93. Of course I was disappointed, but at the same time I knew that this competition was just another lesson.

This season really made me think about what I am doing when I am on the wall. I have thought a lot about how to start executing a move and where to end in order to be in the perfect bodyposition for the next move. Its all about where you focus when you do the move.
I have also spend a lot of time trying to work out how to get the biggest momentum when executing a move. For instance now I can do moves almost as far as I can reach, where as before I was limited because I didn't start the moves with straight arms.

It is funny small details that changes the whole picture, and I think that this season made me look for those details much more.

These boulder competitions are more like gambling. You have to be lucky that the routesetting suites you and that you have a perfect day.
I have learned that more than anything this game is mental. I have to really want to do the moves in order to get to the top. I can't just try 80% and hope that it will be enough to do the next move. And when you find out that you are not pulling hard enough, or that you are not twisting your body far enough, you let go.

I need to practice climbing with 100% power in every move and in every decision on the wall. It is not like a training session where you try the move over and over again. In the comps climbing with 100% confidence, that I will do the next move, also makes it easier to do the boulderproblem in less tries.

Now the season is over and I can concentrate on outdoor climbing again. I am looking forward to climb as much rock as possible.
I will participate in the boulder cup again next year and I think that it will be interesting to see if these things, that I find hard now, will get easier by time.

One last thing to close this steady stream of self studies I have to keep it simple. Even though there are 1 thousand small details I still have to do only one move at a time. I have to keep it simple, it's just climbing.

B.