Shadowing Practice: I met Adam Ondra and HE BLEW MY MIND - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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So I would not expect you to remember this, but we've actually met before.
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And it was November 10th, 2018.
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The reason I know that date is because it was the day that you onsited Just Do It.
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And I used to live in Oregon.
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I lived in Oregon for many years and Smith Rock was my home crag for about seven years.
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And when you were in town, I was projecting Badman, that route in the AgroGully.
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And I remember hearing that you were around
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and I didn't want to go out there
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and like try to find you because I was sure you were getting way too much attention already.
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And I just want to let you, you know, like have a good time and enjoy Smith Rock.
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But it was a Saturday.
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So I was out climbing with my friend Paul.
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We warmed up on the front side and went up into the aggro gully.
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And there you were.
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And you were so friendly.
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You had just onsided bad man as your warmup, which I thought was totally amazing.
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And we chatted with you for a bit.
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And I remember you asked us if we knew
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if anyone was back at the monkey
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because you were going to go try just do it
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and you asked us if we could come back to belay just in case you needed a belay.
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Of course, we couldn't say no to that.
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So we followed you back there, and Ian Caldwell was back there, like the sheriff of Smith Rock, so he was already on belay duty, which was perfect.
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So Paul and I just got to sit back and watch as you onsighted Just Do It.
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And I have to say, man, I mean, that was many years ago, and I've witnessed a lot of hard rock climbing in person in my life,
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but that still to this day was the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
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It was so exciting.
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I couldn't believe you were on sighting.
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I kept having to remind myself as you were going up like the start pitch, you know, that like 8B or 8B plus start pitch.
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I was like, he looks like he's red pointing.
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I can't believe he's never climbed this before.
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He's just so confident and smooth.
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It was freezing back there that day.
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It was like 40 degrees Fahrenheit and super windy in the shade.
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and you decided to go for it anyway.
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I think I might have been one of the people that tried to talk you out of it.
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I was like, it's so cold, dude.
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It was so cold.
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But yeah, I mean, again, it was just the most exciting and engaging thing, just the sounds that you were making in the crux,
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the way that the sounds were echoing around that little amphitheater up there with all these people watching, and it was just dead silent.
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And then I remember, and I'm getting to questions, promise but the thing that i most wanted to ask you about when i thought about interviewing you
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i just it was amazing to see your reaction when you clip the chains because
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you know you'd already on sighted like 20 ac pluses
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or something and multiple 9as
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so this wasn't like a cutting edge hardest thing you'd ever done
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but again like i i don't think i've ever seen a human more excited about anything than you were
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when you clip the chains of just do it and you're not American.
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So I was just like, what?
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Obviously, you're a student of climbing and you love climbing history and you'd been talking to Alan Watts and all these things.
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But I just wanted to hear about your history with that route and why it was so special for you.
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Because, yeah, again, you were just so excited.
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It didn't make sense given that that was your 20th or 24th or whatever, you know, 8C plus or harder on-site.
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It was so cool to see.
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I mean, 8C plus on-site is still quite a bit big.
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Yeah, of course.
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It's not going to be boring. Of course.
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Ever, I would say.
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But I don't think there is any other just do it in the world.
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now in terms of like how special and awesome looking line it is
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and also given the history of it and maybe the circumstances of the day
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when I knew it was going to be way too cold
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but I was very deliberate in the choice of the day from the week that we got to spend there
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and that was the warmest day so
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and I knew I really wanted to try that day
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so all of this together I think resulted in me being
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so happy for send and of course also knowing
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that the album was there I don't I don't even think
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it's like it's It's definitely not super difficult for HC Plus either.
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It's just the history, the line, and the climbing, and the presence of AlbumWodz that made it so special.
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If you find videos like this helpful, I put together a free masterclass on how to unlock your full potential in climbing,
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where I share some of the best nuggets I've learned from interviewing the best climbers in the world.
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It's for any climber who wants to improve, and it'll help you take your climbing to the next level.
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link in the description below if you want to check it out.
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I interviewed Alan many years ago.
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He was actually one of my first interviews.
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He was episode four on the podcast.
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Still one of my all-time favorite ones that I've done because I'd climbed a lot of his roots.
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And of course, you know, Smith Rock was my home at the time.
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And we talked about that day.
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We talked about you and he was surprised that you knew who he was.
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And then, you know, he was honored to connect with you.
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And then he ended up in your book
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and you sent him a copy of your book with your signature and all this stuff. So cool.
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Do you remember when you first learned about Just Do It and about Smith Rock?
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Was it in the magazines in the Czech Republic growing up?
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So it was from the book called Rockstars from Austrian photographer Heinz Czak.
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So the book was released in 1995
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and for some reason in our country in those times I think it felt like everybody had it.
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So my parents didn't have it, but my mother's best friend had it.
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And she lent it to me when I was, I think, seven.
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Then I had it for quite many years.
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Wow.
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From before I got my personal copy.
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Because it had been unavailable for years.
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And then they made a reprint.
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So, Rockstars, you have articles,
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not really interviews, but mostly written articles by Heinz about the best climbers in history,
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mostly sport climbers, a bit of a boulder.
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And yeah, Smith Rock was obviously there.
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So was Jibe Troubault in there actually on the line?
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Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course.
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Yeah.
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Wow, that's amazing.
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At seven years old...
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But the Just Do It photo is not included there it there
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but I think the Jibetribu wife is to the Scarface 8B next to it is it called Scarface?
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Oh on Monkeyface?
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Eastface crack.
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Yeah, Eastface monkeyface.
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Yeah, yeah, yeah, Eastface crack.
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Yeah, another amazing line.
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Man, that's so crazy.
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At seven years old I was like collecting Legos
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and i don't know what else i was doing
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but it definitely i wasn't like i think i was still collecting collecting legos as well oh were you okay
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so yeah i was gonna ask
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that like what were your other interests as a kid like
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were you just i mean it seems like climbing consumed you from such an early age
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and it's just i think the thing that really sets you apart is
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that level of passion
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that just seems to be undying it seems like you you're
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never not psyched it's oh you're kind of shaking your head or shrugging?
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No, no, no. I think it's unfortunate from that perspective.
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Yes.
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I'm not saying I'm always 100% motivated, but most of the times I'm very motivated.
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And yeah, sending hard climbs,
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I think a lot of people might actually be disappointed when they finally send their big project that,
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okay, maybe the experience and the level of happiness
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that they are getting out of it is not wasn't really worth it maybe
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but for me it's like it's just really great
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actually question myself oh was it really worth it
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or not well i i maybe i tend to question myself
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while i'm working on a project if it's worth it
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or not whether i should just you know climb something else
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and maybe enjoy myself more through the process but
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when i was a little kid i think i I was always quite focused on one single thing.
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So earlier, I think, so more or less the age of Hugo when I was three,
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I was really into the cars and I was trying to learn every single brand that there was.
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So I was able to recognize it.
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And then I was really involved in geography.
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I really enjoyed memorizing all the capitals and flags and stuff like this.
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So actually when I was seven years old, it was kind of the time when my geography interest turned into climbing interest.
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Yeah, there's nice overlap there.
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From then, it was mostly just climbing.
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Yeah.
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And it was just the time that I was able to read, so I could read magazines and these books rock stars all over again.
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I remember seeing or reading somewhere that when you were a kid, your parents built a little campus wall
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and you had like a campus board in your room
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and then there was like holds connecting the two campus boards across the ceiling and stuff.
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And you would tell me about that.
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Is that like how you moved around your house as a kid?
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Is that the key to becoming Adam Andra?
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I mean, at a certain point, I would start climbing all the time in our apartment on everything that I could see.
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And the fact that I was climbing on some things, my parents were not really happy.
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So first, they set me like a really small section of the wall.
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just like you know let's imagine like big fingerboard around just above the door
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and in one or two years it grow a little bit bigger there's adding more and more holes i wouldn't
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like me a beta was actually training there it more meant that i never took rest days so
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doing something on my on my wall mostly just like resetting it
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so imagine it was sort of like a spray wall
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and it didn't really have that many holes so I think I would like reset it every week or something.
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Wow, how old were you?
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7-8.
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Wow, that's an early introduction to spray wall climbing that's so cool and no shoes were allowed right?
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It was like socks or barefoot?
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The rule by my mother was no shoes because the wall was white
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and she really wanted for it to remain nice and white
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so I was barefoot and choking up was only possible in the bathroom.
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So I didn't really mind.
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I think that climbing barefoot made it even more interesting.
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Man, I wonder if your mom had any inkling that you would become you, you know?
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Like did she see the potential and did she think you'd be the...
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I think maybe when I was eight, I think already maybe yes.
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I think I was quite unique for my age.
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So I think I was on sighting 7B+, which right now is maybe not that special, but back then it was really special.
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I also remember learning that you had stuffed animals and you made little harnesses for them.
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And you would take them climbing in air quotes.
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Absolutely.
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I actually found again the guidebook that I made for my animals.
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It was a little dog and a big.
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So I would like paint like sections of our apartment and I would just you know
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made the lines and come up with the names and give it a certain grade.
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and so I would like reckon you know the little dog is like 170 175 centimeters
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so you know so like a really long route for a dog would be like 30 meters
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and stuff like this and paradoxically the ultimate grade
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that my little dog has ever reached was a 9c oh wow okay what Describe the 9C.
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Was that like...
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A total roof.
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A total roof, okay.
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A 45-meter total roof.
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No knee bars, though.
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About This Lesson
This lesson uses a vivid conversation about a memorable climbing experience to practice English listening and speaking. You’ll focus on understanding conversational flow, natural storytelling, and expressing excitement—all while improving your ability to follow real-world dialogue. By the end, you’ll be better at parsing detailed anecdotes and replicating their tone and pace.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Onsighted: (climbing term) To climb a route successfully on the first try without prior practice. Example: "He onsighted the difficult route."
- Projecting: Working on a challenging route over multiple attempts. Example: "She’s been projecting that climb for months."
- Belay: To secure a climber with a rope. Example: "Can you belay me while I climb?"
- Crux: The most difficult part of a route. Example: "He struggled through the crux but made it."
- Red pointing: Climbing a route without falling after practicing it. Example: "She red pointed the route after three tries."
- Clip the chains: To attach the rope to the final anchor, completing the climb. Example: "The crowd cheered when he clipped the chains."
Practice Tips
Use the shadowing technique to mimic the speaker’s rhythm and pronunciation. The video’s tone is conversational—slightly excited but clear—so start by pausing after each sentence and repeating it aloud. Focus on matching the stress in words like "amazing" and "confident," and the rising intonation when asking questions (e.g., "what?"). For extra practice, use a shadowing app or shadowing site to slow down the audio if needed, then gradually increase the speed. This will help you improve English pronunciation and fluency. To boost English speaking practice, record yourself shadowing and compare it to the original—note areas where your pace or tone differs. Repeat the section about the climber’s reaction ("I don’t think I’ve ever seen a human more excited...") to master expressing enthusiasm naturally. With consistent practice, you’ll notice your ability to follow and replicate real conversations improve significantly.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've actually met · I've witnessed · I've ever seen |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was honored · was released · is not included |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.