Is finger strength everything? An experiment... 

Did Artur do better or worse than you expected? Comment below 👇

Magnus finally found a good disguise.

I hope artur keeps climbing. He is the next magnus ondra

This guy skipped the first year of climbing and started out as an intermediate climber ,insane

Man is using heel hooks like a pro I refuse to believe he’s never done this before

With people that can climb so well on their first try, the joy the next day is hearing them say “everything hurts”.

"I'll be back for this!" That's it! He's hooked!!!

Another factor which I think must play into Artur's astounding natural ability: body awareness from judo. He seems to intuitively understand how the placement of his centre of mass affects his ability to stay on the wall. The way he naturally rocks over into his feet to reach the next hold (something _many_ novice climbers struggle with), the way he naturally tries to keep his hips close to the wall... Super interesting to watch. Hope he enjoyed it and maybe even sticks with it!

bro flashed a V5 in his first session while most people can't ever flash V5s after years of climbing

This is the kind of person that does v7+ in their first year of climbing

This is insane I have never seen someone climb this good on a first go it looks like he toe hooks for the purple finish that is a serious technique....wow

Be careful with injuries Artur! It's common for beginners with a lot of finger strength to full crimp everything and get hurt (and also it contributes the most to pump!). Try the 3 finger drag, open crimp, and half crimp grips.

17:05 The giggling while falling off the wall and the rolling after falling is too much 😂❤

coach here, commenting for the second time on one of your videos: wow! Artur, extremely impressive. highly unusual level to start at, and most of all it was so lovely to see you enjoying yourself looking ahead - i'd predict a sort of plateau after this mad dash to fairly high grades at the beginning. Don't let this dissuade you, I think you have one of the more competition-ready sets of skills (body awareness, rhythm, considerate movement) i've seen from a beginner and if you give some time to developing the finer details of climbing movement we could be seeing the start of an incredible and hopefully long and enjoyable climbing career (regardless of where you decide to take it) Mike - you're doing great too! It's been a delight to see your progress, and as a coach it's wonderful to see everyone's individual journey and their own puzzles to solve. i'm coming to Edinburgh this month (to head further north and ride the Badger Divide), I hope to hop onto a wall there for some fun. you ever climb there?

I’m about to go and try to send my first V4 in ~15 minutes and this guy just flashed one on his first time climbing 😭

As someone who has done judo and climbing for a couple years, I think they are more transferable skills than people would think at first. Grip strength, biomechanics/body positioning, balance, flexibility, explosive power, and endurance are all things essential to both sports

Really impressive. This isn't just pure finger strength. Arthur seemed to intuitively understand how his centre of gravity affects his ability to stay on the wall but also move between holds. On the red one he actually smears, dips in and drives from the smear to create a pendulum to transition to the next hold. Mike relies on static movement, scumming against the wall and doing the move statically. Then at the end he smears on the wall again to form a stable position intuitively, he figured this out faster than Mike. On top of that his ability to gauge, set up and time deadpoints, do rock-overs and his foot placement is remarkable for a first timer.

what a champ, that attitude on the last boulder was amazing, just having fun even though he got constantly spewn off! that's what we love to see!

mike "spotting" him by holding up his hands was the funniest thing

I am in disbelief watching Artur climb things that I spent sessions on trying to get, hope I see him at block10 sending more routes!

Crikey! I was really hoping this was going to be an undercover Magnus style video, at the end "Joke! By the way I've been climbing 3 years!", but no! Get this guy a gym membership!

No surprise to me. Artur works with me all week and he’s a warrior

On the V3 Artur even did a little bit of an instinctive drop knee... absolute natural!

That was so entertaining, Artur is a pure athlete. Thanks Mike!

Great concept for a video Mike, enjoy your climbing content. Its so awesome to see that youve actually discovered a potentially lifelong hobby from your series on your other channel.

Honestly love this climbing content especially cool when you see your local gym

the personality of a labrador got me, everyone has a friend like this! pure heaven

"You are soft, its better"

The only thing I saw "wrong" from him in the lower grades (and that's a bit subjective), he was using his hands before thinking about his feet. Which is typical for everyone, it's also why his feet were silent. It's not a bad thing per se, it's just very inefficient and might be a reason why he was pumped a lot earlier than you were. (Which is absolutely crazy that this was the only thing to need improvement. He's crazy for a first timer) And yes, do more vids with him ! At some point it could be funny to see with the rest of the british climbing youtube space !

Part 2 when!? I was so hyped for Artur

great vid its awesome to see you climbing and making great content for this great sport!

More videos of this guy. He's inspirational

Bloody hell, Artur sure is a natural. You sure he's not been secretly climbing for a year or so? 😁 Super fun to watch. Love the good vibes 👍

Brilliant Artur.

I actually do not believe he's never climbed before. I've never seen any pure beginner with this kind of intuition or technique. The flagging, the quiet feet, the precise toe placement, the shoulder positioning, the hip positioning, the list goes on. I love this channel and I think Mike does believe his friend has never climbed but unless Artur is the next Daniel Woods or Hoseok Lee (both climbed V9 in their first year I think - but with an insane amount of training) I'm calling total BS on Artur.

I think this kinda shows how much it helps being generally athletic before starting climbing. Also, he was climbing very straight on with the overhang routes which is by far the hardest way to climb anything overhang. That's where technique really plays a massive part in reducing the amount of effort needed to do moves

Great content! Interesting to watch, Artur is incredibly strong.

What a nice guy. Looking forward to him climbing with us :)

nice experiment and viceo. more climbing!

Also shows how much the mental game of climbing comes into play. Being positive, "puppy" mindset as you put it is huge. Something I can definitely learn from.

Judoka (shodan) here: precise foot movement with exact shifting of weight is actually an important part of judo, so…

This was amazing! I suspect the reason Artur might have been more tired at the end is because his moves were a little less optimized -- he was replacing feet/hands a bit more often, and doing certain moves with a little less "finesse". I think he was using more energy per climb. He did way better than I expected! Really strong performance, you were both showcasing why climbing is so fun!

Very impressive! would love to see more to see how he progresses

This is super Impressive! Think it shows that grip strength can definitely give you a very good head start! Think with a bit of practice on technique ( since it’s Literally his first time 😮) he can be an absolute SMASHER!

Worth mentioning that footwork is a huge part of Judo, both in placement and pressure, so it's not surprising how good his footwork was!

This man should consider climbing some more ! Would love to see another video of you two challenging each other

Thats super impressive!

Wow. Rarely do I get stunned but I’m stunned

That boulder you set looks so good!!

This was a treat! Really really interesting to see how a skilled athlete in one sport or activity can apply it to another activity, in this case climbing. I think it highlights some really interesting things; * The mental game is a huge deal. Artur has a can-do attitude and is super hyped to try his hardest. I think as climbers, most of us are painfully aware of how much attitude can hold us back - it is my primary struggle, by far. * Sports where precise movement matters a lot, programs you to be precise and confident in your movement in other sports as well. I think this is why his movement - footwork in particular - was so quiet and confident. He has practised this for years in martial arts, and it transfers beautifully. * Mike could do way better on overhangs, because this requires strength AND highly climbing-specific understanding of body positioning and balance, from a position that just doesn't really occur in other sports. This makes a lot of sense! * Mike's V3 boulder is comfortably within the strength limit for Artur, but it also requires a lot of climbing-specific body positioning, and can't really be brute forced with just strength and/or confidence, it also requires "feel" and sensitivity with your feet, and just a reportoire of body positions that are not common in most other sports. Slabs remain the great equalizer, as always! Overall this was super cool to watch. Artus could become a real monster if he wanted to! And I think for the rest of us, it's important to understand that his ability to climb didn't come from nothing, and certainly not purely from strength. He could transfer the mental game and body awareness to a large degree from previous sports. At least, that's what I'm going to tell myself...

I met a dude bouldering, i remember he was climbing some roof 6b's/6b+ and it was his 2nd or 3rd time climbing and I almost didn't believe him, because he was climbing some pretty spicy routes. Then he told me he had been practicing judo for 12 years, and he was only 17-18. Interesting to see that judo really has a great carry over to climbing! But it makes a lot of sense in regards to not just grip strength, but over all strength. As well as fantastic body awareness and general "toughness"

very impressive for the first time. Hope to see him in other videos. To track his progress.👍

His understanding of momentum and balance is great. He saves a ton of energy keeping his arms mostly straight, whereas mine often stays engaged throughout the climbs. Teach this guy about opposition and finding the right hold Angle and he's got v7 for sure

Impressive! Will keep an eye out for Artur at Block10

Wow cool video, gives me more appreciation for the level of difficulty of the line you set!

Wow! This dude blows mind. I climbed for a year and half non stop and was stoked to climb V4

This is so cool! It hadn't occurred to me before, but yeah - judo is probably a great on-ramp to climbing, what with all the gripping, leverage, body position, heel hooking etc

The strength he had..on the v2, it looks like he lock off with only one hand..for a moment..on the v1, the way his hand are so solid when holding the hold..like not budging at all..goes to show that he is really strong!!..not to mention how he naturally uses is toe, and climb dynamically, to generate momentum..are you sure this is his first time?🤣🤣

Hes crazy you hve to make more videos of his progress. That would be awsome!

Flashing a V5 on your first day in the gym man what the hell, Ive been at it casually for 3 years and I've plateaued at V3-4

EYYY, that Orange route you set was a 10/10 climb! Big ups to Artur!

There is absolutely no way he hasn't climbed before... The way he did a toe hook at 13:51 really makes me think that he's climbed before

That's a good gym and good routesetting!

Damn, that's amazing body awareness! Intuitively using his contralateral coordination, toe- and heelhooks. Also very quick at picking up betà! Well done on the video Mike! Curious how his climbing will progress (:

your friend has great body awareness, the way he moves his weight and tenses his hands/legs gives him great tehnique

I'm amazed! It's clear he knows how to use his body and shift weight. Great job! I also started recently and I'm over 30, had never climbed before, but I used to do karate as a teenager, and the body coordination definitely helped me. I considered myself a very fast learner, made good progress in short time, but damn, THIS is fast progress. Hope he keeps at it and tries lead climbing as well 🤜🤛

Interesting how fearless he was! Really impressive first session. Skateboarding and calisthenics helped me to climb fearlessly and muscle through to V5 in a month or two, but after that the progression is much slower and technique/finger strength become so important.

I like how the "can I learn everything" channel has now become a climbing channel :D

That was really interesting to watch, his grip strength and body awareness were outstanding. Would be interesting to know how high a level he competes at Judo and would also be great to track his progress!

His laugh when he topped at 11:15 was such a telltale sign. He loved every second on the wall. Also, his ability to trust his feet on that sketchy undercling at 14:54 is something even an experienced climber would hesitate on.

very interesting video and interesting experiment!

Awesome video, your friend's footwork (but even more so ability to position his body) is quite good for a beginner! He is lacking scapular strength on overhangs. You guys should try some benchmark problems on the moonboard etc to settle the level better :)

First of all: Nice video, as per usual. Also Artur seems to be a real kind person and an incredibly impressive sportsman. Kudos to him. Also - should you ever find yourself in Vienna and need a guide to the local bouldering gyms who's around or slightly above your climbing level, I'm your man. :)

Very interesting video. As a martial arts practitioner who started my climbing inbmy 30's i can confirm that no fear of falling, good grip and general fitness helps a lot. I remember being able to climb v4 in my first session. Something you haven't mention is his ability to implement what he sees when you show the boulder in the first place, his body awareness is amazing and also due to his martial arts experience probably. He is struggling a little bit when it is more technical but no doubt in couple of weeks/months he will crush you

Holy crap!! That's insane, would love to see you guys try bouldering outside together!!

Such a good video, that was impressive! I didnt not expect.him to get purple at all, i thought red or maybe yellow. I havent been able to do a yellow there yet!

Such a nice video in all ways :)

Just a little thing i noticed @mike Boyd: don't spot with straight arms. If they fall, they will "impale" themselves on your arms. Instead have a slightly bent arm, that way you will absorb some energy from their fall and you"ll find it much easier to guide them dynamically to a good landing position But great video! I think i had similar things going for me that set me apart from the other people in my beginners course. Not the grip strength, but no fear to commit or to fall and an intuitive sense on how to use my body tension and center of mass on the wall. I didn't have the grip strength Arthur has, but I made up for it a lot with technique and was able to progress quickly and even more once I started to build the grip strength. I think my missing grip strength is honestly my limiting factor at the moment, so i should probably get on the hangboard a bit, which i mostly ignored so far. But I just did my first 8+ rope climbing (german system, no idea how that translates) after just under 2 years. And now an 8+ with a long roof section that i haven't managed to climb without sitting in the rope, but I'm sure I can full send it fairly soon now that I've figured out the moves. Climbing is just great!

the boy's a natural! find him all the roof problems you can, he'll fall in love with the sport

Really fun video! I guess the combination of grip strength and his strength/knowledge of body movement, leverage, momentum, etc all add up to equal climbing!

Such an interesting Video. I would love to see him project a boulder and see how hard he can climb, because I'd imagine he'd able to project something ridiculously hard

when you run into a a truly talented athlete, it feels unfair how easy everything comes. they really are different than the rest of us. and having the advantage of years of training crimpy gi grips and manipulating not just your own weight but a resisting opponent’s… your predictions had no chance

I started off in the same boat as Arthur where I could do v4-5 within the first 3 months. His background, judo and work, really helped him translate some skills into climbing like dynamic moves, explosiveness, overall power too similarly to me where i did powerlifting for quite a while. His footwork is oddly insane compared though.

This is incredible Mike, really interesting to see how natural he was. Can I ask did you go first every time? As in did he watch you do every route before he got in to try it?

He is a natural climber. With regularity he can do amazing things! I have met a couple of people like him and their downfall was trying to do too much too fast. Climbing is a sport that requires proper rests between climbing sessions, otherwise it's pretty easy to get injured.

He's the best beginner I've ever seen for sure

Great video Mike! were about is that climbing gym it looks sick

This is so impressive. He has incredible intuition. He flagges, heel hooks, foot swaps-the list goes on-and all of it seems to be based on intuition. It's not just his finger strength that is impressive; he also has basic technique down very well. He could be a very strong climber if he decided to pursue it more.

Possible the most talented first time climber I’ve ever seen. Shame he did t find climbing earlier in his life!!

10:58 that ''Oh my god'' from you was the sudden realization that he was doing the route all wrong making it hard on himself and still holding on 😂😂

Wow, not only he's super strong but he has an innate ablity for good footwork, body position, commitment, even using heelhooks! wtf?! I hope you two can climb together more as he seems like a wonderful person to be around, I really envy his energy and positivism. And for you Mike, I'm going to recommend "Ping pong: the animation", is an anime about hard work vs innate skills and it's very, very good.

I did judo for 10 years before climbing and this makes a lot of sense. You really how to pull with feet/heels in different ways and use body tension. If you’ve competed at an even higher level and have the grip strength I can see starting climbing at a really high level

What a fun video!

His endurance isn't bad it's his efficiency. This is to be expected as a first time climber as he will be gripping the shit out of everything instead of relaxing on holds that are comfortable.

11:53 Damn that's such a nice chalk bag!

I think V5 is about the best I’ve seen anyone do their first time, and that was a pro gymnast. The footwork is the thing that blows my mind. Many people are strong, but they usually still try and put the ball of their foot on every hold when they start

Great video! This isn't just finger strength. The core you get from Judo is bomber. One thing I realized coming from a background of Calisthenics is that you can overpower climbs up to V4-5. However, you can only do so many as you are really inefficient. Then the thing that lacks to pass the V5 pit is technique. Great form and attitude from Arthur!

Some of those fingery yellow climbs at Block 10 are hard as nails. Fair play!

Seeing him heel hook effortlessly is def from judo, its practically the same technique for some of the moves. And honestly, being well-versed in diff "sports" is good for in maximizing your full potential.

It’s hard to believe this is his first time. The footwork is just too good!