What it takes

Before we dive into today's brainwave, a few housekeeping items:

1) Our next Parkour 101 course (formerly known as Parkour Fundamentals) starts on Saturday, July 21st. This is the best way to introduce yourself to the big wide world of Parkour. You can find out more here!

2) We've been taking a hiatus from Parkour Office Hours due to some scheduling issues and a general need to rest and retool. We're off for one more week and then we'll be back at it on 7/24.  While the format will be largely the same we're hoping to spend more time answering viewer submitted questions... so submit some questions! If you have any question about Parkour training, related strength/conditioning, food/diet, or anything else, send it our way via email: info(at)fifth-ape(dot)com or you can use twitter hashtag "pkofficehours". Please contribute and encourage your friends to do so as well - otherwise I'll have to fill up the time by playing lots of Go on air!

***

An interesting question was asked during our weekend classes. To paraphrase, "What is the single biggest determining factor for improving one's raw technique power?" (e.g. jump distance, catpass exit distance, wallpass height, etc.)

There isn't really a perfect answer. Obviously, practicing the particular technique will improve your power/distance, as well as your control, efficiency, etc. At the same time, dedicating some time to a serious strength program will yield some pretty spectacular results. (IMHO any kind of linear progression protocol will work wonders... I like Wendler 5-3-1 due to its idiot-proof simplicity) The advantage of strength training is that the fruits of your labor will apply to every technique across the board. Working supplemental power/ speed-strength drills also lends universal benefits - this is where I think kettlebell training really shines.

Ideally, all are a part of your training program. They're all important. But I think there's a better answer to the original question. Put simply, Experience is what will allow for the most progress.

Let's take the example of a catpass. If we are performing this catpass in the middle of a giant empty room with nice high ceiling and beautiful ambient lighting over a perfectly level 3ft. wall then I'd argue that the elements we discussed above would allow you to reach your maximum catpass-distance-potential.

But the real world is nothing like this hypothetical "perfect" obstacle. There's always a context and context is everything. Maybe the approach is more complicated. Maybe the exit requires a precision landing, or an immediate level transition. Maybe the obstacle itself is a little higher... or lower... or slanted.  And so on and so on. As you are reading this I bet you can think of a thousand different contextual variations that can make our little catpass more complex - and there are millions more you can't think of.

Once we start taking context into account, physical conditioning alone is not enough. You must be confident and comfortable enough to deal with all the added complexity. You must have the judgement to know what is possible for you and what is not. In short, you need Experience.

I love this quote:

"The experience of others adds to our knowledge, but not to our wisdom; that is dearer bought." ~Hosea Ballou

As a coach, I can give you knowledge of how to perform a particular technique. I'm a pretty good teacher so I can take a technique that took me 3 months to figure out and teach it to you in a day. That's great - that's the whole value proposition of coaching. However, I cannot give you the Experience that those 3 months of experimentation, trial, error (oh, the errors!) and ultimate success gave me. When it comes to developing experience, there are no shortcuts. You have to get it for yourself.

This makes things interesting for those of us in the nascent profession of Parkour Coaching. Most of us are products of the first wave of Parkour in the USA and as such we are largely self-taught. This means our knowledge and experience increased in lock-step with the other. Aspiring traceurs these days have some great opportunities to take classes and receive coaching. Their knowledge increases quickly, but their experience and judgement can lag behind - which can be dangerous. As a teacher, sometimes the best I can do is share guidelines and best practices and hope it sinks in.

What to do? Remember that experience cannot be given, it must be earned. So go out and get some! Experiment with movement in a wide variety of locations. Try something new, but keep the complexity low - focus on applying fundamental skills. Then maybe start to improvise some contextual challenges. Rather than thinking "where can I go practice my catpass?" take a look around you and come up with some sort of locomotive game/challenge that forces you to use your environment in interesting ways. An old classic is "get from here to there without touching the ground - because the ground is LAVA" Make some time for your own practice outside of any coaching/class context and develop some self-coaching ability.

Experience feeds judgement which feeds confidence. Confidence allows you to look at catpass opportunity, context and all, and say, "Yes, I can do that." (Or, "No, not today." and still feel good about it) It is both the easiest and the hardest element to acquire. Ultimately, it will keep you safe and help you grow as a traceur and as a human being.

Monday afternoon action theater

Let's take a break from all the deep philosophizing for a bit and engage in some good old fashioned work procrastination - sound good?

Here's a quick playlist of some random videos we've made but not shared on the website yet. Enjoy!

Quiet, pure, and masterful.

This blog post was originally going to be about this article on the rise of "adult playgrounds" which has been making the rounds and generating some interesting discussion. Here are my thoughts, conveniently bullet-pointed:

• Outdoor exercise facilities that are accessible to everyone = good
• Focus on "standard" exercises rather than play and natural movement = not ideal
• What's with the prison yard aesthetic?
• Overall, a positive development

 ***

I was actually more interested in some of the conversations that developed around the article - Parkour came up as an example of adult play, but then was criticized as being largely a solo "look at me" pursuit - a criticism I largely agree with. Jokes were made about how little money/recognition there is in advocating truly effective health/fitness solutions, like taking personal responsibility, living a deeply meaningful life, and eating vegetables (Yes, it's that "easy" folks. You never have to buy another health product ever again!)

I am spending the weekend visiting my mother up in New England. My sister is here too - the first time it's been just the three of us in years. To say my mom has a green thumb is like saying Einstein dabbled in physics. Get a load of her kale. Gardening for my mom is an act of pure love - and it's reminded me of an important truth, best stated in the following quote:

"Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery."

 

If you are interested in finding happiness, I think this is the key. I am routinely saddened by the vitriolic rhetoric that emerges from the fitness/health community. It seems like the most popular/successful people are often the ones who shout the loudest. Everyone claims to have the secret. Everyone claims to be the best. Everyone claims to be right. All too often we devote our time and energy into tearing down a perceived rival.

It's good marketing, and I suppose there are people out there who actually enjoy yelling at people but I don't think it's a path to a harmonious existence.  Better, I think, to quietly do good work and let that work speak for itself. I don't mean to suggest that success and integrity are mutually exclusive - just don't define yourself through what others think.

To my young traceurs/traceuses: It doesn't matter how many hits your videos get on Youtube. It doesn't matter what your Parkour looks like. What matters is that your Parkour is your Parkour - it flows from you and is an honest expression of you. Don't rush things or skip steps and don't worry about "how long it's going to take to get good." It's going to take the rest of your life and there is no destination. That's a good thing - you'll know you're making progress when you start to understand why.

To everyone: Beware of superlatives. There is no "best" anything. Don't fall victim to the superiority/inferiority trap, especially when it's tied to antagonism. There is no "vegan menace." There are just vegans. They're fine - leave them alone. Stop making fun of Zumba - a lot of people love it and that's great. Your chosen exercise program isn't superior, it's just different. Remember that the best fitness regimen is the one that people will actually do.

There is an old Chinese curse that says "May you find what you are looking for." Everyone wants to achieve success. We squander our time chasing it. And then, when we finally achieve it, we realize that what we really wanted was happiness. Happiness is not the same as popularity. It's not about web traffic, twitter followers, sponsorships, or book sales. Happiness is getting destroyed in a game of Clue by your mom and sister. Happiness is eating food you've grown yourself. Happiness is reading on the couch. Happiness is cooking overly elaborate meals with your wonderful girlfriend.

Let's all try to spend less time shouting about how great we are and more time working on actually being great. True greatness is subtle, simple, and quiet. It speaks for itself.