#36What makes me continue to train, why do I do parkour?
By alli | posted on 19 April 2009 | 5 comments
A question, much like an obstacle that shadows over me, that’s still unconquered. I thought it’d be simple enough to answer, not so complicated, it was just a question. But it was, Like a Parkour roll in a way, so elementary, but so much harder than basic.
About three months ago, I’d started training again after a lengthy absence. During these months of recluse, I had a time to reflect, on where, prior to my disappearance, it had started to spiral out of control.
Training had become dead to me
It was a knock on effect of months of, what seemed to me, as a failure. I was disinterested in trying to succeed, to improve, or to be stronger. I was made to feel depleted by my training, which was uneventful, and lacking in any motivation. So, I wanted to trial a life with out Parkour, to see if I would be more contented, with out having the pressure to constantly improve, or to try and find a reason not to give up. At first it was easy, It was a release. But as I started to drift further away from my familiarity, I felt myself falling into a void, Parkour was all I knew and out here there was nothing for me, I was cold turkey but itching for the bottle once more. It was in this moment where I realised, that the further I tried to distance myself from training, the closer I would land to it. And in the emerging sanity, I was reminded of how much Parkour had become a part of me, that training is what makes me who I am, and having Parkour is what solves all of life’s little problems.
But this reunion had influenced a new perplexity. For, at least, most traceurs Parkour has become a long commitment, and for this we are constantly asked, “why do you still practise?” and out of curiosity, to me, it begs another question, the same in one way, although some what opposite, “why are we so unable to stop?”
I was once told that I must know why I want to train, otherwise there’s no point. And it’s true, we should all know why we do Parkour, because it’s not only the point to all this training, but also the motivation to carry on. But, How many of us actually know the answer to this, excluding the obvious choices; To be fit, it’s fun or I like it.
Amidst the rebirth of my training, I have experimented with the motive, more than the training itself, that is the motive to push myself and to prosper. I’ve found that having, just a simple motive, can have profound effects on not even the Parkour, but your attitude towards it.
Just having some small incentives for myself seems to have given my training a greater sense of longevity, because now I have something to strive towards, but also something to lose.
A good friend of mine asked me recently,
“Why do you still do Parkour?”
I told him that I am uncertain. For me, after everything that happens, in every year with more experience, and after every training session, that answer will be different!
Perhaps the point I’m trying to make is, that maybe we should be influenced to continue training because of the question its self, more than the answer to it.
Labels: Psychology
About the Author : alli5 Comments:
I don't know how many times I've felt the same way. I originally stumbled upon parkour while looking for something to distract me from other realities in my life, but after I dealt with those problems I didn't have the same motivation to do parkour. I need a "why".
I hadn't found that "why" until after reading this post. Parkour has become a part of me just as any other value or principle. I don't steal from people because I don't agree with doing such. I have to practice parkour because I wouldn't be who I am without it.
Thanks for expressing how you felt, it gave me the chance to reflect on my own training. Keep up the training mate!
Cheers
By 
, at
8:53 am, April 19, 2009
Great post mate, very inspirational.
By 
Andy, at
11:09 am, April 19, 2009
Hey Alli,
great text, man.
Sometimes we walk among this cloud of doubt and we ask ourselves why to persist. I know this feeling, it's soul shredding.
But when it happens i push myself way more on the trainings so i find out a answer to it. I feel that the same thought occurred you on this post. The answer doesn't really matter, the question leads you.
[Muito bom ter notícias suas. Nos vemos em breve. Abraço]
Cheers from Brazil.
B.Rachacuca.
why exclude the 'obvious' choices? why is "To be fit, it’s fun or I like it" not enough?
By , at
2:37 am, April 20, 2009
Nothing..... if you're comfortable with having those reasons, nothing at all. I just like having something "unique", it a makes it more personal for me.
By alli, at
4:37 pm, April 20, 2009
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