Before you see the picture, let me set the scene...

...the date is 31st August 2008, and its coming to the end of another Off The Wall Jam, this time down in Vauxhall - friends were met, training was done, pictures were taken, and fun was had... but tired as I'd felt, it still wasn't time to leave without performing one last set of Precision Jumps, so I headed over to one of my favourites.

Now... I don't know if it was the fatigue of working non-stop for 12 days, or just plain overconfidence that can arise from training in familiar territory, but although the take-off was fine and the movement through the air felt free, as I came to line up for the landing, for some reason at the moment I saw my feet lined up with jagged edge of the wall I was about to land on, I remember switching off early... the thing is, rather than the assured feeling of having my feet land firmly on concrete, I instead... well, have you ever walked up a flight of stairs with your mind elsewhere, and as you reach the top for the final step, as your foot descends and greets nothing but air, and you realise that you'd already completed the trip a step before, and end up taking a short stumble forwards? ... well, this was what I experienced as my 14 Stone frame came crashing down an inch short of my target, my feet shot downwards and backward, which in turn caused my left thigh to whack the wall, and my belly to take most of the impact, at which time the rest of the momentum caused my body to seesaw forwards on the edge of the wall, and which point I caught myself in a handstand on the ground, leaning upside down against the wall.

Now, at any point I've ever taken a spill in my life, I've always paused and taken a quick self-diagnostic to see where the pain is, and if there's any strange sensations I should be concerned about, and at that moment, apart from my bruised left thigh (and my slightly bruised ego), all was fine. I got up, walked around for a while, and rubbed my thigh so that the ache would pass, and I looked back the the jump as I planned to repeat the precision (and if it hadn't entered my mind to do it, both James and Ramon were on hand to remind me that "Brian, you know you have to do that again, right?")...

...so, after aching stopped, I walked back over to the Precision, and stood on the same take-off spot I was on before... and that's when I noticed it... when I looked over to where I was going to land, I could see a spot of blood there... now at this moment, thoughts flooded into my head, from the certain knowledge that there was no previous blood there before, to the sure knowledge that I hadn't brusied my left thigh badly enough to cause a break in the skin... and then I felt a sensation that I'd missed before, but this time it was coming from my right shin, not too far below the knee, it was a sensation similar to someone trickling a few small drops of water onto your skin... but of course, I knew this was not water! A cautious feeling overcame me, knowing that if I had cut myself somehow, it'd be best to find out away from the stares of anyone around, so I deicded to walk over to a quiet corner and check. I looked down at my tracksuit bottoms, and noticed two tiny holes just below the knee, which must have been where the material snagged on the edge of the wall, but it wasn't bloody, which was a good sign... at least that's what I thought before I lifted up my right pant leg to see...

(Photograph (c) 2008 Carol White-Griffiths)

Labels: Injuries

Sunday 12th October saw the most recent of the London Girl Jams taking place in one of the prettier corners of the city. And for a more beautiful day, we could not have asked! Autumn is now in full swing here in the UK, with its amazing colours and wonderful crunchy sounds underfoot - but it seems someone forgot to tell that to the weather!!! On one of the hottest October days on record here (22°C+), we journeyed down to the green and peaceful haven of the Greenwich training grounds to see what challenges we could find…

We started the session, as is common, with a warm-up leading into some body conditioning work. We were lucky enough to be graced with the presence of Thomas Couetdic, who led the girls (and beasted us!) - and went on to make sure we were all pushing our limits in all that we did. Amongst the many challenges were distraction balancing, upper body strength double-tap drills, turn-vaults at height, route repetitions and climbing. But by far the hardest was the mental challenge of height training and fear control.

The human body is well programmed to warn us when we are in danger - but it is possible to adjust your level of tuning. To be aware of the risk, but to control the fear is what we constantly strive for in Parkour. At a two-storey height, a brick-width wall does not feel nearly as safe to stand on as it does a few feet from the ground! Add to that a few simple drills such as walking forwards, backwards, turning, squatting, leaning, closing the eyes and looking up to the blue, blue skies and it makes for some serious leg-shaking action! This is where the control really begins. To endure this fear and return your body to a comfortable level without giving in to the instinct that screams ‘GET BACK TO SAFE GROUND!!’ is the aim.

We ended the jam with a wonderful long stretching session in the sun, courtesy of Naomi Honey. Big thanks to Thomas, Naomi and all the girls for coming down - and my utmost respect and congratulations go to all of Sunday’s ladies-of-the-parkour for getting stuck in to everything, pushing boundaries, and all having a go at the height training despite the healthy levels of fear..! You guys are hardcore.

Labels: Jam Reviews