I'm fresh back from Wedding Two in Italy, I caught the bouquet!. I have also moved flats and I now live on the 20th floor of a high rise council block complete with a stupendous view but the soul crushing noise of the neighbouring scrap yard. The move is partly the reason why I'm 2 days late with posting the blog (the other reasons being illness and unreliable internet connections). After lunch and much discussion with Julie Angel and Mr Bourne yesterday I came to realise something interesting for this blog.
The common theme uniting my thoughts whilst in Italy and since returning is Doing Parkour and Being A Women!. Here are my current 4 tangents of thought, please feel to add yours.
However, before I continue I would first like to say thankyou to girlparkour.com as I recieved a heads up that have added me as one of their blog links to which I was super pleased (thankyou very much!).Amongst other useful information the site also features updates of Parkour events one of which being the introduction of Sydney Girls Jam organised by Shi. Good for you Shi for being proactive and if you are in that area and have never tried one then get involved!. Girls Jam have always been very supportive, enjoyable and valuable in my experience:.)
Issues
1. Am I designed for Parkour training?.
I was glad for the opportunity for a break in Italy to give some healing time to some ripped shoulder muscles, achey wrist, elbow tendonitus, a collection of knee bruises that look like a flowerbed of pansies, and quadriceps so tight my kneecaps are permenantly in my lap. To recount such poor condition sounds like someone who either doesn't know either how to work, or how to look after themselves or both. However, after 4 years of intensive dance training I feel sure this isn't true.I never work push an injury and pop to the physio rather than popping ibuprofen. I warm up and cool down properly and have a good sensitivity to when pain is joint pain or muscular pain, good pain or bad pain, pain that needs ice, pain that needs warmth and when something is out of alignment etc. Parkour is clearly not dance training, they both have very differents aims and so very different methods. The main divergence is the mental intensity of conditioning, and something more difficult to pinpoint about the spirit of the conditioning.I will try and deal with defining this later but basically again and again I have forced myself to stick with conditioning drills to the bitter groan enducing end and again and again I have walked away with muscles so tight by sports physio wonders how I function (and I stretch for at least 20 mins), with strength gains that are not that significant, and with tendonitis from tendons that can't keep up with the muscle growth and occasionally sprains and tears. And so i ask myself, have I missed something?, is it unatural to train this way? am I not made for this?, is it because i'm a girl?
2.Pain is good but so is pleasure!
After a week night swimming, feeling sun on your skin, eating ripe figs off trees,dancing outdoors and walking along winding Tuscan hillsides I remembered what pleasure was. Pleasure and comfort are not the same thing which I often confuse when I am trying to decide between going out into the dark/cold/rain to train or staying at home, watching a film, drinking a class of wine. My reasoning is the more challenging one will take you somewhere new, the comfortable one will keep you where you are. However endless teeth gritting, risk taking, conditioning, and muscleup attempts has left me feeling a ying/yang type of imbalance of testosterone fuelled vs softness, gentleness,subtlety, skin on skin rather than skin on concrete ;.)!
In general I feel like I want to know how I can move with this feminine energy within parkour3. Maybe the answer lies in the task?, or maybe its the approach to the task thats important?, maybe its about more focus on breath, quality of touch, fluidity?, maybe its about seeing the route in a less linear direct way and thinking of it in more being more indirect and intricate? either way I want to know and this leads onto a the bigger question of.......
3.What is the identity of Womens Parkour!
This tangent was much aided by Julie Angel who has developed a expert eye on Parkour movement through the course of her filmaking and general immersion in the daily workings of PKGen. The key questions seemed to me to come down to
-if we model only the techniques of a man do we end up as lesser versions of men as our potential to amass strength is less?
-has the natural advantages that women tend towards to e.g better balance and fluidity and grace really been exploited?
The current period in Womens Parkour where the community is rapidly growing and is undoubtedly benefitting from support and attention to their specific training and representation from practioners like those within PK Gen is very exciting. It seems there is so much untapped potential for a different way of movement, a whole vision that hasn't been explored nearly enough. Of course, answers won't come about overnight as there surely must be a period of openminded investigation and exploration of these issues. As it is an area that really interest me one of my new goals to take it upon myself to give more attention to addressing these tangents both discursively and physically. There are many women out there who have valuable experiences and insights regarding a female parkour and so a visit to the video archives will be an interesting jumping off point to get better aquainted with Girls with Flow.!!! Keep you posted.
CHALLENGE 2 UPDATE - Tree climbing- failure!!
.....genuinely found no trees that had any branches under feet except olive trees or that were not on someones land and had big dogs…however the challenge is to be evolved and reformed into a more exploratative nature challenge whereby I try to more organic parkour in general. Might be illumninating on some of the womens parkour issues above.
I did only a miniscual amount of Parkour related activity in Italy some rail balancing in the village and a cat balancing along a girder that held up ceiling in our apartment in Florence. I’m quite scared of height and although it was almost a foot wide it was about 10ft+ high and it took me lots of trips along and back to get my confidence up. Mistakes would have meant broken bones but the chance of mistakes was extremely unlikely.
WHAT I LEARNT
I have noticed that my first reaction to imagining a move is to imagine the doomsday scenario after..... slip, land, crack, embarrassing calling own ambulance scenario (again) and then me with plaster cast;
MY STUDENTS/CONCERNED O.A.P ON THE 188 BUS/GREEK CHORUS
How did you do that?
ME
I fell off a ceiling girder.
MY STUDENTS/CONCERNED O.A.P ON THE 188 BUS/GREEK CHORUS
What the ding were you doing up there?!
ME
I was doing a parkour thing,
That’ supposed to be quite dangerous isn’t it?
ME
.... apparently so.
MY STUDENTS/CONCERNED O.A.P ON THE 188 BUS/GREEK CHORUS
Have you broken anything else?
ME
Yeah, my hand as well.
MY STUDENTS/CONCERNED O.A.P ON THE 188 BUS/GREEK CHORUS
..you aren’t very good at it are you?
This imaginary conversation is a legacy of my broken hand incident in March that continues to haunt me. I became so bored of explaining what had happened that after a while I found it was easier to say I had acquired it streetfighting. I landed badly out of a cat balance on a railing because rather than a/ going to a cat position alongside the rail, b/ putting my foot on the lower rung of the railing or c/ falling the small side, I decided to jump off the tall side. (cringe) I was about 10ft up and after landing on my heels, my back took the rest off the impact followed by the heels of my hands, one of which fractured at the scaphoid. In retrospect, the previous parkour session I had been turn vaulting to drop down over a slightly smaller height and think that had a part to play in conditioning my decision to jump. I also remember been quite cavalier about the risk in a ‘lets find out if its dangerous by doing it’ kind of way and not working out what I would do if I wobbled. Even worse I remember tipping towards the small side and then telling myself to 'think positive' (meaningless irritating phrase ) and stay on the rail and I tipped my weight over onto the other side, thought 'now what?' and bailed. All very poor thought processes.
Afterwards I learnt not to underestimate height which is great but I also embedded a belief in the weeks after, as it throbbed and itched and I only wore sleeveless clothes and had to ask people in the street to do up my shoelaces, that thinking through the worst case scenario is prudent. I still think considering what could go wrong is wise but maybe not as the first thing you think anytime you see, try or imagine a movement. I need to interrupt this default process or I’m not going to progress and I think it accounts for a lot of my mental block issues.
(For the record the calling my own ambulance was an unconnected incident involving an asthma attack in New Cross...."I c c c annnt b b bbreeaathh...please h h help me. Very Dramatic :.))
DAILY TASK
for tommorrow find some new training spots close to your new home!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
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.
-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.
Friday, August 29, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
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.:.)
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.:.)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
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.
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
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
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
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)
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)
Monday, August 25, 2008
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.
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.
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