New Term, New Spots.

This evening I adressed yesterday's challenge with a hour walk scouting out potential training areas. Ideally for my level and preferred training methods I was looking for
-round and flat railings for a quadrepedie and upright balancing session preferably of a suitable distance for a good old womble,
-some small interesting precisons that could be drilled,
-some decent height walls for wall runs, traversing (thing of hideous impossibility) hopefully progressing to very cool pop vaults which so far are not a part of my repetoire (current repertoire currently headed up by the much overused step vault)and also
-some trees!.
Most ideally all all these archetectural events should be in a reasonably secluded area e.g not on a main road, not overlooked by 500+ estate residents on all four sides, not the favourite haunt of bmx kids, drunks,anyone likely to say "are ya going to do a somersault?" (no), "have you seen Man on Wire?" (sadly not yet but maybe Wednesday night),or "you should be careful you might break something doing that kind of thing" (been there, done that still plagued by the psychological legacy).

An hour or so mooch 'casing' the estates of Deptford and then finally various parks yielded happy findings, many with good potential to invent simple exercises that could be challenging drilling with high numbers. Particularly good finds that i'm keen to get head back and have a play on (which is always a good sign) are;

-a very erratic, dense and unique rail jumble. Its positioned by a mound of unmentionable rubbish that The Rat King of Deptford could use to hold state banquets but its also walled of on 3 sides so get involved I say.
-a tree in a very quiet pleasant spot which i can just about tag the bottom branch with a tic tac of the trunk and has lots of sturdy branches upwards of that. Good project.
-a park which is also quiet, nice railings, wobbly toys to balance on, monkey bars etc
but most beautifully of all
-THE RAIL OF INFINITY!! it goes on uninterrupted for a staggering 400meters or so. I had a visions of meditatively walking the whole thing on a frosty morning, mist in the trees, London still eating cereal and listening to traffic reports,just me and the rail,onward and onward, misty breath, tactile footsteps.... me wearing a nice scarf in flattering autuminal colours perhaps in a mohair or lambswool weave ?. I digress. I think i can definately get some womble action on that.:.)

So in terms of challenges:
I still have a rail hanging challenge from Thomas that I got whilst in Italy that I will do tommorrow. Another challenge I am going to set for myself is to get up at 5 (bleughh) to be out and about whilst its quiet and have some alone time with the new finds. That must be completed within a fortnight (quite a loose time frame i know but it has to fit around going back to teaching, I like to feel I have laying strong foundations for the new term, be on good form, able to be energetic and generous with the students etc).
Also think of a task that could be interesting for how do women move differently issue.Or think of a task for how do I move? and reflect upon whether the results are gender specific or not.

Shadow session.

Had a hard class tonight. The actual movement wasn't particularly hard compared to other things I have done in the past but my attitude sucked. Everything felt like a struggle or a problem rather than an rewarding challenge and I felt really over anxious, off centre and discombobulated. It wasn't confined to Parkour as class (contemporary) in the morning was deeply weird, (couldn't initate clearly, couldn't sequence, couldn't let go of weight and couldn't get the hell out of my kinesphere excuse the waffly dance lingo). In fact I don't even want to write about it or think about either class. bleugh, bleurrgh, bluuu.

However Outdoor class deserves a few sentences in case there is something to be learnt so in future I need to;
1/focus much more on what I can do and focus on doing it well (quietly, quickly, fluidly) and not the trail of 'could of should have would of' movements that lay like ghosts behind me.
2/find something to block out the voice saying this is too far/ to hard/ to many repitions like saying 'hang on hang on'! over and over ad infinitum :.)
3/do a bit of warm up balancing stuff on my own before class if possible knowing that i'm not good going into balances straight away...although maybe this is an adaptability issue?. Actually SCRAP THAT ..thats RUBBISH!!!. It doesn't matter that I didn't manage to replicate walking the length of the rail as I had done yesterday as if it were some model behaviour. It's not the same task, the same circumstances, the same me or in some ways even the same rail. Its another chance to learn mastery of your physicality and mentality and another chance to commit and focus which I certainly did!!!.

To be fair I did the whole class in one way or another and expended a lot of energy. But that's not the same as giving everything. If your hearts not in it, for whatever reason, then you damn well get it involved otherwise its a bit of a shadow session. Sorry Gods of Parkour. I will sort my s*@t out! :.).

ITALY CHALLENGE
-climb a tree! seemed like a good one as I haven't climbed a tree since I was young and after I tore a flap of skin off my hand I remember deciding "never to do that again" meaning climb a tree. What would have been a better decision would have been "never climb a tree that badly again"!.

Off to the airport in 20mins without having even attempted sleep but i know I'm going to have an amazing time and i'm super excitable. Back blogging in a week. Hope to find some lovely messages from you folks and maybe a few challenges.

Don't quit while you are ahead

I have had a good few days of progression, focus and gradual achievement. At times like these I am begginning to notice a little voice saying...."o.k shows over! you have had your fun, lets call it quits while you are ahead, so far you haven't got hurt but thats just luck!....so come on now lets call it a day before things get out of hand". It is a very insidious little voice and one that is scared of sucsess. So now more than ever I need to keep stepping up. Tommorrow is another opportunity for this so double classes again it is.

Today's focus was more on playing than training but it was definately another cool day.

Headed up to Kilburn Park for a few hours with my training partner who earnt the name Dolphin today:.)Before warming up she took me to the area where 'Visions' was shot. 'Visions' is the Julie Angel film that follows a group of traceurs (Forrest, Stephane, Yann, Kaz and Thomas)exploring this very cool and diverse spot. The movement content is as impressive as much of the other good Utube edits(if not more so). However, its the unpolished, behind the scenes feel that totally made me fall for the video. Through it we see their thoughts played out across their faces, the first, second, third attempts at ideas, the endless permutations of a route, each traceurs personal flow, their decisions to go, even their decisions to not go. It seems there is such a level of confidence in their technique that we see them really play and this leads us to also see their individual intention and personality. You can't help but want to know what it felt to live a day like that. I think it would be like a second childhood, like becoming a little sentient creature again free to roam around with a sense of time and possibilities being boundless.

Seeing the spot in the flesh was so exciting, (more exciting than the Dam du Lac!), in the same kind of way as when you go to New York and feel like your in a film 24/7. It's my absolute hands down favourite Parkour film EVER and is stored in my memory banks in an almost mythic category. So mythisized in fact that I assumed that it was in some remote part of a Parisian suburb despite it quite clearly being Kilburn!.
I reckon when these traceurs move through spaces in such ways they change the space itself and give it an otherworldlyness. Maybe I couldn't recognise the location as this otherness had captured my imagination so much that I lost touch that this ever happened in a 'real' space in the first place. I could even hear the music from the film....'life is beauuutifaal, life is beeautifaal!'and at that moment I really believed it.......... i'm am very tired so i'm rhapsodising however I really mean it.

TODAY'S CHALLENGES

-Walk the length of the long round railing at Kilburn. DONE
I have to admit I was utterly frightened as it feels high (but isn't!) but I had total focus and determination to stay, to stay, to stay.
Einmal ist keinmal so I did it twice.
-Underbar practise. Loads and loads for fluidity and economy. Very fun.DONE
-We did other small precisions, balances, quadripedie practices and vaults to keep embedding the movement bit by bit.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
Watched Dolphin hunt out a cat leap, decide on it, psych herself up for it, wrangle with it mentality and eventually bail. Observing the whole process from the outside whilst knowing very well what it must have felt inside was fascinating. However it seemed a bit cruel at moments looking on silently as someone struggled and I wanted to be able to help her out with a pearl of wisdom or a confidence boost. I guess you always jump (or don't jump!) alone or "just me, myself and I" as Dolphin put it.

To Dolphin, you may have bailed but you are at least much closer to achieving it than I was just sitting there so good for you!. You will do it soon and the triumph will be all yours!. Or you can take up that guys incredibly generous offer to impart his infinite wisdom for just 10 quid an hour...because I'm sure watching other people while he smokes dope from his window makes him an expert.:.)

Italy trip suggestions plus CHALLENGE ONE UPDATE.

Thanks Shi for the first offical challenge. I will keep my eyes peeled. ......
UPDATE! 23.48pm SHI' S CHALLENGE ONE ! SUCSESS:.):.):.) SEE BELOW!

Off to Italy in a few days (another wedding). Restricted to just carry on luggage means I can only take possessions of roughly similar dimensions to my torso. Maybe I could eat my stuff?.

This means no trainers or sports stuff in the luggage. (Unless I wear trainers all week in Florence which raises a Girl vs Parkour dilemma of priorities. Should I a/Walk the Parkour Path every day or b/ occasionally integrate with other human beans looking like a lady.)I need creative solutions, like riding side saddle but a Parkour equivalent. Barefoot training?

Had a cool rail experience!: with it being so dark on my balancing practises, the visual part that supports proprioception was quite challenged. I had this awesome 'perception snap' moment when my brain switched from visual to kineasthetic in an instant. It was like......pictures, pictures, pictures...offline and then really loudly touch! touch! touch! feet twice as big! fingertips tingling!. It was delicious. I read on Blane's blog some discussion about rail work bringing energy/aligning energy/opening healing energy which sounds awesome. I do notice that cats tend to stop and stare in a really weird way while i'm there...maybe i could try and reiki heal one?.

Training Blog thoughts so far.
-I am starting to develop the type of behaviour that could get me sectioned.
-Holding your actions up to constant scrutiny has made me stricter on time wasting behaviour I would normally let slide. An hour looking at Ipods (mine broke) in Canary Wharf. Move along!.
-Done and learnt more this week than I would have done because of the blog.
-Not done nearly enough!
-Challenges need to be more specific as they are drifting into 'focuses' rather than 'challenges'.

TODAYS CHALLENGE
Its to late to fit in anything else so i'm going to Outdoor class an hour early to get some practise in. Want to try that very cool Butterfly thing that Dan's does in the training videos (though not the falling off the wall bit from the outtakes. He can keep that.)DONE

Must go!!!

UPDATE! 23.48pm SHI' S CHALLENGE ONE ! SUCSESS:.):.):.)
.....had a wall in mind on the way home that was almost wide enough to stand on with both feet if they were next to each other and had a gap between the walls half a foot bigger than my longest precision so far. I couldn't walk on by even though I had just come from Outdoor and was quite tired after 500 squats etc. Unfortunately after I had started sizing it up practising jumping it I had offically 'started'. Which meant I needed to finish.

It took nearly an hour and a half to complete (more cats staring at me like yesterday....what can i say? i'm down with the animals.) So did I short cut of the usual should I? shouldn't I debate -yes you should because it is an OFFICIAL BLOG CHALLENGE (or as close as I could find). Also did a quick logic assessment Thomas style.....have the distance, minimal risk if I mess up etc. But despite this my sub concious dug its heel in like a stubborn old horse. It had no intention of letting me jump as every time I crouched and swung my arms back I just lost all inertia in an instant.

WHAT I LEARNT
-I thought the battle would be with leap of faith 'just do it' mentality prevailing over stubborn old horse subconcious. Turns out when I tried just jumping along the top of wall rather than between it was the narrow landing freaking me out. I did tons of cumulative drills of various details, precision being the key to a precision lets not forget, and when it came to it it was a breeze. So maybe my subconcious knew best. I did 10 then 1 for the legend.:.)
-An hour plus is toooooooo long for this task. In future i'm going to put a time limit on it which if exceeded counts as failure.
-Also learnt loads in outdoor but I will reflect more on that when its not midnight.
Particularly loved Dan's "repitition leads to reaction" idea or something similarly put. A training gem I believe that holds a key to progress.

Goodnight readers. You don't add comments but i know you are out there.xxx

I had a dream!

Read other Parkour blogs. There are some serious conditioners out there and I need to become one of them. Please add a challenge folks.

More Freudian dream action.

I was dared to go to House no. 28 and tell a screaming blood soaked ghost woman that I was going to give her 1000 pounds, even though i wasn't. I got to 'intimidating terraced house no. 26' confident that I was up for the challenge. House 27 was set apart from the row and House 28 was a long way out of sight via dark, tangled brambles, uncertainty and isolation. I reasoned that telling someone I was going to give them money then not was unfair and dishonest, even if they were a screaming bloodsoaked ghost, so I turned back....

I take this to be a dream about fear and Parkour. There is a gap of experience always doing new things and if there is no strong similarity to a previous experience, no clear route or map I'm often not willing to risk the uncertainity.

My mental block lies just outside of House 27. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other I reckon.

TODAYS CHALLENGES
Staying 'up' all day i.e in the mood that produces a turn vault and not in the mood that produces arranging twigs on railings. DONE

Walking around London with my eyes closed. After a few steps that invisible wall paralyses me to the spot. I reckon trying to walk through it is helpful for breaking bits of the instinctual freeze response. DONE + 20 more mins of midnight rail balancing and a short run.

Also doing class twice today (dance and parkour classes-felt sooo good to dance again. I reckon its taken me 8 years to get to the point where I have ownership of my technique and I can work and play confidently around it. As im in my first year of Parkour in which I generally just struggle 95% of the time it felt great to breeze of something where the hard work was already in the bank)

On the right path? Ultimate questions answered!

This blog is embarrassing. Not only does it document my weaknesses for anyone (although currently no one but my mum who misses me) to read, there is also something disquietingly exhibitionist about it. Is it the right way to do things?*


Are you on the right path?! Another ultimate question!.... and its only day 3:.).

In general the actual question is often is there a quicker way to do things, or maybe is there a less painful way to do things or even is there a more appropriate, more beautiful, more intelligent way to do things. By things I mean anything; get over railing, give advice, pack up stuff to go to Italy, do tax return, realise your dreams.

But Parkour is about moving forwards, moving onwards, getting over obstacles in the most efficient and fluid way possible. The key thing being 'possible'. My current loud, clumsy and slightly theatrical personal style may not be efficient or fluid.

But its a hell of a lot more efficient than standing on the spot analysing the pro's and con's of various courses of action.

So I will stick with it, moving forward, the best way I know how.

TODAYS CHALLENGE
Stephane's 5 types of monkey walks warm up. (For Shi: I say Stephane because that what we sometimes do with him. I called it 5 types of monkey walk but I guess they are more accurately described as monkey walk forward and back, bunny hop forward and back, bunny hop straight arms and legs forward and back, sideways monkey straight legs and crab shuffle (hips up forward and back. Its over a set distance which is hard to visualise so I did between 2 trees that where 70 of my feet apart.)
20 min skip around Greenwich Park. (much better than running, less impact, raises more eyebrows)
45mins of round rail balancing. DONE

*'Things' more specifically meaning ensure I live up to the commitment to Parkour which I love by training hard, challenging myself everyday, achieving a level of skill and finding a way for it to occupy an increasingly proportion of my life in a fun way that documents and encourages my progress and that puts me outside of my comfort zone.

Dare me to do something, witnesses needed!!!

I realise that part of the point of yesterdays missive was to 'go public'. In which case I need witnesses ( in the form of readers!). So if you read the previous blog you could help out me out by posting a comment of acknowledgment, however brief.

Why should anyone care about my blog? I have no expectation that anyone should:.). My intention is to work on a Betham's Panopticon principle that the pressure of external surveillance will serve to discipline the subject internally which in my case means sticking to my training commitments, doing what I say and finishing what I start. All Parkour mantras that are easier said than done.



It might also be fun if someone could post a challenge that I must complete once I consent to it (and I must have a very good reason not to consent, no matter how off the wall it is). It doesn't have to be physical either.:.)


Todays training.
Aspect - Mental Weakness - Turn vaults.


Working on mental blocks is a key issue for me; understanding them, learning ways to deal with them and reducing the time it takes to overcome them. I was hesitant to say today I MUST TURN VAULT BOB THE RAILING. (Its necessary to name them to keep track) as I understood what it would take to do this as it was up to my tummy button. I freak at railings much lower so I left with the intention to do 3 turn vaults on a rail that scared me (with Bob in mind).



N.B dear readers this was not ever going to be a epic blog of death defying leaps... I am openly and easily terrified of physical challenges that other people would breeze over.



Nearly 3 hours later I returned back from the series of railing (Bob, slightly lower Betty and twin brother Billy and the smallest railing Bertie). It was quite a hideous 2 + hrs.



Here is an abbreviated version of what happened, and what I learnt.


Warm up, look at rail, "no way, no way, not possible" etc.



Psych self up for it.



Freak out, feel a invisible brick wall of improbability freezing you to the spot.



Get interrupted by dog walkers, pretend to stretch.



Get interrupted by cars passing, pretend to stretch.



Start getting angry. "Do it, do it do it" ...



Start swearing at Bob. Get interrupted by joggers. Pretend to be sane. Smile.



Tell yourself to stay focused. Count down from 10. Get to 1 and shout arrgggggggggh.



Drape self dejectedly over railing. Spot lichen. Start picking at lichen. Smile at family out for a walk.



Tell yourself to get serious. Think of what is at stake. Failure is not an option.



Try Betty instead. No better. Try Bertie. Immobilised. Swear.



Why can't you do it? whats wrong with you? you're useless.



Get moving, motion creates emotion, stillness is the fast track to nowhere.



Run jump, wriggle etc. Get a twig lay it on Bob so it hangs over the edge. If I jump and the twig breaks my legs aren't high enough so i won't make.



Get interrupted arranging twigs on a railing by a passing dog walker. My finest hour. You deserve to be judged, your behaviour is irrational and surely bruises or cuts are less trouble than this.



Jump.Twig snaps. I snap. Decide to give up, reach for my water bottle realise what this means.



Cry (yes really ). Crouch down and cry.



I'm not feeling Bob at all. Bob is a bitch. I can visualise Betty. 3 turn vaults each side on Betty or I'm not allowed to go home. I'm starving and need a wee.







Change your state. Don't beat yourself up. You are very good at that. An expert. You are also a drama queen. Don't cry hoping the world will take pity on you "poor me I'm suffering this is SOOOO harrrrddd". Get resourceful. Take a walk. Breath. Chill. Focus. Visualise it. Feel light. Walk like you had done it. Ask my body to take over as my mind is clearly out of its depth. Imagine enjoying it. Think of the buzz etc.





Return to Betty. Get that sinking feeling. Pull woolly hat over eyes rest head on railing. Listen to a bicycle passing. Listen to their silent judgement. Decide to stop caring about what people in passing cars or walking their dogs think. You are not that important. They probably don't notice or care. Don't use them as an excuse. It starts to rain. Don't use that as an excuse. Return to state. Stick with it. Remember you aren't going home until its done.



SUCCSESS. I kept returning to this process until it was done. It took another hour and the family that passed me one way came back the other way to see me in the exact same spot. But Betty was conquered.



WHAT I LEARNT.



Arguing with your doubts is a slippery slope. Don't even give them the time of day because they are persistent little F**kers.



What you focus on grows. Focus on your failure and things go downhill. Focus on the good stuff and things look up.


Eat more breakfast before mental training.

Mental training is about training your mind through positive repition. Not actually being mental.

OTHER TRAINING
30+ silent fluid step vaults on a railing on each side. Done.