#64Look its spider-man!
By Dominic | posted on 13 June 2009 | 21 comments
At various times when I have been out training and generally doing that crazy parkour thing we all know and love I’ve been in the middle of something and I hear a comment thrown my way. I’d like to start this post by sharing a few of the most common ones and my responses (sometimes only in my mind) to them.
(This is easily the comment I hear the most from all age groups in all areas. To be honest if I had half the climbing and athleticism associated with that wall crawling super hero I don’t think I’d be training here out of costume I mean I’d really suck as a superhero if I went out during the day with no disguise and practiced my moves. Secret identity would be blown out of the water!)
This is but a grain of sand in a desert of what I hear sometimes but at the end of the day its cool, they share, I share, occasionally im amazed at the cognitive processes of some people and other times I’m pleasantly surprised when I find out the guy im talking to used to be a mountain climber, or a break dancer or even just someone with a story to tell. It’s that approachability gained from doing this that I don’t generally have walking down the street normally. Especially in a city where people do their best to avoid eye contact, or conversation worried that they may talk to a crazy person or be looked upon as a crazy person themselves.
The problem comes when certain people use this as an opportunity to try and force their negative views upon me. “Why don’t you go and join a gym” when I hear this I must admit it still winds me up to a degree. I wonder if you seriously think its better to go and pay hundreds and hundreds of £ on membership and equipment to run inside on a treadmill while watching TV? Rather than pay nothing to run outside and get to see more of the city I live in. Or when I’m told that I’m damaging the area or breaking the walls. I remember a time when I was training with James and a local council members or some such approached us and told us we needed to stop cause we had caused damage. I asked him how and he showed me a slightly cracked bollard, take a second to realise that this was literally a couple of steel rods covered and reinforced by concrete. I couldn’t break it if I tried; I could actually drive a car into it and still would come off worse. Yet somehow this logic was not enough for the man. If told we are damaging the walls I highlight the fact that this is the environment we need and use. I have more respect for those walls then any of the “commentators” I use them on a daily basis, I know how they feel if I touch or land on them, I know if one part is a bit weaker than the rest, etc.
I’ve found that often these people are just horrible human beings; the only joy they get in their life is from the lowering of others. Sometimes its just people afraid of anything different, something that stands out or doesn’t move with the crowd scares them far more than it has any right to. Psychology would suggest that perhaps its them recognizing their own shortcomings, restrictions or missed opportunities in your happiness or success that angers them so much. Often it’s like talking to a brick wall when you try and engage with these types of people they’ve made up their mind and logic or evidence be damned. Yet that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try and its these sort that I’m most interested in talking to and trying to convince. If you get angry, abusive or even rude you’re just lowering yourself to their level and as the saying goes “never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and beat you with experience” real change can only come if you put in the effort on your end. Each time all you can do is offer the explanations or opportunity to talk and if they listen good you’ve made one person think, if they don’t fine you’ve lost nothing as your still where you started.
So the next time someone gets on your nerves with stupid or negative comments don’t allow yourself to be baited by them, simply mention what your doing and leave them to continue their day. Its always an idea to try and spread the real reasoning and structure of what your doing even if they don’t take it on board maybe the next person will, its up to us to do that…remember “with great power comes gre….wait uh never mind” Lol :)
Oh and feel free to add any of the wacky comments people have said to you or similar stories you've had in the box below people, you know how this works....
Labels: Psychology
About the Author : Dominic21 Comments:
Dude, your posts always make me laugh. Great article...
I'll add in my own one:
"Hey mister, can you jump from there (points to a 6-storey building) to there... (points to a 2-story building about 50 foot away.)"
Errr... Yeah, sure. I can do that. Ahem. Only the once though.
By 
Andy, at
12:14 pm, June 13, 2009
hahuahauhau
"it was a RAIL!" hauhauaa really good!
well, I think that the most common sentence from young kids is: "look! ninjas!"
and from the older people, specially in parks and presentations: "its that french sport right? You know, there's a movie..." trying to look cool and informed lol
By 
, at
2:49 pm, June 13, 2009
'That's not a toy son.'
'Good, I'm not playing on it.'
By , at
5:03 pm, June 13, 2009
I get the are you trying to be spiderman question alot too :P But really made me laugh And gave across a good point mate =]
By Sonny, at
7:18 pm, June 13, 2009
man-''Hey you'll break the (7 inch thick) wall! get off''
me-''Didnt break when you reversed your car into it''
man-''Yea, but your hitting it faster'' lol lol lol
By , at
10:12 pm, June 13, 2009
Whilst walking on a hand rail
"I hope you've got insurance"
What?
By , at
7:34 am, June 14, 2009
at qk load of people say it easy but there afraid to do them selve
ryker
By , at
1:58 pm, June 14, 2009
"If told we are damaging the walls I highlight the fact that this is the environment we need and use. I have more respect for those walls then any of the “commentators” I use them on a daily basis, I know how they feel if I touch or land on them, I know if one part is a bit weaker than the rest, etc."
OMG I loved that part, now I'm totally saying that to people when they approach gruntly to kick me off (well, except if it's their wall).
By Finrandi, at
7:30 pm, June 14, 2009
While balancing along a length of rail someone once started making circus music in an attempt to put me off. I made it :-)
A security guard once told us to stop what we were doing as it damaged the structures. He then asked us where our skateboards were!
Sam
By Sam Hight, at
12:21 am, June 15, 2009
Well, the funniest one I've heard so far was from a very, very angry policeman. *As someone does a running precision* "GET OFF THERE!" (In mid precision, between two brick walls, then lectures us about "criminal damage")
"...IT'S CALLED CRIMINAL DAMAGE. LOOK IT UP ON EBAY!"
...Ebay? :D
We've also been told we're going to break walls, as in, the side of a car park. Haha.
By , at
9:41 pm, June 15, 2009
haha We were training in a wonderful place. Then a woman began to yell at us, telling that we were making damage to the walls (solid-huge concrete walls, then she asked us if we lived in that place, we say "we don´t" then she said "well then you have to leave this place".
The funny part is that in front of the street there was a group of young guys, who live in that place, and they were drinking alcohol (at 3 pm) and bombing (with spray) the walls... but the lady decided to yell at us xD
By , at
1:52 am, June 18, 2009
I think most of the negativity relates to the fact that traceurs usually seem harmless and approachable. It takes a lot of guts to go yell at someone scary, but it takes none to yell at someone who seems generally like a nice, happy person who wouldn't hurt a fly. I've never met a scary traceur, though I haven't met all of us. What most people consider childlike behaviour isn't really scary to anyone.
Some random guy called once called me Spiderman, and I was just walking normally on the ground :D
By Lihis-, at
4:24 pm, June 25, 2009
I get tired of explaining what parkour is to people - But like you said we need to keep telling people about it so they know we mean no harm, and just so they basically know what parkour is.
During my parkour trainings there are always random people asking what I am doing and then I'd say "parkour" and they wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about so I'd say "freerunning" and then they would go "ohhh.. that's that sport where you jump off buildings ae?" Oh my god, that really gets on my nerves.. But I don't want them to have the wrong image so I explain to them what parkour really is.
"Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story." Max Ehrmann
By Dan, at
2:52 pm, June 30, 2009
I get a lot of the "good" and "bad" comments/questions. The nice people make it a little easier to handle the bad occasions. Whenever I encounter someone with interest, I always thank them in the end for it and say it was nice talking to them.
About 2 weeks ago I had a short conversation with a mother (who was with her child at the wooden playground which is great for training) about Parkour related to over coming your fears while building a better balance between the mind and body. Long story short she was intrigued, especially related to the fact that she realized how people (especially adults) stop trying or don't try to face their fears (physical, mental, social), or push the limits of peoples "mundane modern lives." She also mentioned on how people seem to be aiming to keep things a bit too "safe" for kids, holding them back from what's natural as a growing person.
After speaking with her it was nice to see her understand that what I was doing had a purpose and that it wasn't to be reckless or careless of myself.
Great post Dominic :}
By deXtrezza, at
5:22 am, July 10, 2009
This has been a great source of discussion for my training partners and I (feel free to see the more in-depth discussion on our blog if you wish!). Something I have learnt is that you cannot please everyone, but if you try to be polite and friendly with passers-by, generally you will get positive responses which has a good effect on the community as a whole in the local area as well on a more national scale.
We tested our theory and it worked! By the end of the day I would say 95% of the people that passed us either responded with a friendly, or even engaged in conversation and asked us about what we were doing all because we made the effort to be polite! We had comments like the above including some extras: "Are you training for some sort of olympic gymnast event?", "I would love to be able to do that!" (Guy who said that was about 50s, to which I said, why don't you try?) and one that did wind me up was this conversation between two people: "What are those people doing? Oh they must be copying that freerunning thing on BBC Three!" unfortunately I did not have a chance to correct them.
Just bear in mind, the more friendly and polite you are, and you don't trespass or start arguing with someone, especially members of law enforcement it has a good effect locally because what about future generations who train there? what about the "name" of Parkour, do you really want to tarnish it locally by disobeying the law, being rowdy or having accidents because you attempted something far beyond your current capabilities?
Show respect, even to those that don't show it back! In time, that barrier will be broken down and it all has a positive effect. I do speak from experience on that!
ye good i like cheese bob i do you lik that pop i like tooo that sport goo yes it me gogness o monater o brav o yoyu goood at sprot an prkor no bod lik me i dont no far awath of pett dodie you coll
By , at
5:39 pm, November 03, 2009
I loike yuo yo goood man yes are you gd at stry tell mw lik you to death me no poo poo me fat ass
By , at
5:42 pm, November 03, 2009
a couple days ago I was training in front of bank doing precision jumps and someone came out and said "you can't be stepping on the rails they'll get stained." Today I was training at a Costco and this secuirity guard drove up and turned his sirens on (he was to lazy to even get out of his car) and drove right behind me all the way to the exit lol. Probably the funniest comment i've heard was: little kid: "mommy what is that guy doing" mom: "Trying to hurt himself" lol
By , at
5:26 am, January 29, 2010
This is a well written blog, I tend to normally have my music on so I dont always listen to comments but if someone wants to ask me what parkour is I will gladly tell them. However I do not feel its my personal duty to educate people on what I'm going unless they make communication with me. The only times I have ever been asked to move on is when Ive trained with people under 18. When Im normally out I dont get asked but to be honest I train in big open spaces and also go to the beach to train climb and do general stuff . It might change if I train in build up areas
By , at
12:37 am, February 19, 2010
The most common would be: You'll break your neck! Would you do that at your own house? You'd want to be careful usually followed by either you'll break your neck etc. or you'll damage the rail/wall etc. ! Oh also who will you sue when you fall?
Sigh. . . .To which I reply, (often only in my head) No I won't, I train for this, I know I can do it mentally and physically, if I do it's my own fault. You have a bigger chance of breaking your neck than me as you pay very little attention when walking whereas I put all my focus on this task so am less likely to screw up. And finally if you tell me I'm going to fall etc. that is more likely to make me fall by putting negative thoughts in my head and distracting me!
Yes I wud do that at my own house, if I had an alignment of rails, walls, and gaps to jump! I palm spin my dining room table, kong to precision across the two arm rests of my couches. So yes I wud! There's nothing wrong with it!
Yes I wud want to be careful thus why I am! It's as simple as that!
I will sue no one because unlike most of Earth's now greedy, commercial, power hungry horde I will take responsibility for my own actions unless of course I went to like sit on a bench and the thing completely collapsed and I somehow broke my back but otherwise yes I will not sue someone if I fall on their property I get up and continue training, as simple as that!
One guy about 70 or older once walked up to us as we balanced on a rail next to a church. He wasn't a priest etc. just a nosy bad person and said Stop that bolloxing around! We were like wtf? Then I simply said we're not doing anything! He replied get down off there, stop that, you're just bolloxing! I then stated that the priest's for one have seen us doing stuff and have said to just be careful so we have their permission basically anyway and that we weren't doing anything. He then said that we shouldn't hang around the area because the church had been broken into a few times. In our minds we politely told him to go mind his own fucking business!!!
The amount of old people who bitch at us (we're 16) and curse at us and we never curse back, we politely explain, we don't shout, litter, drink, do drugs, damage property in fact we fixed a rail that someone had broken at the church once. And they think they are in the right, the good ones because they go to church. One woman once said to me Would you do that at your own house? I said well no because I don't have rails at my house. Then she said, "I bet you don't even know the prayers!" I was like no I don't but that has nothing to do with who I am, I'm probably a much better person than you seeing as how you're giving out to me for doing nothing, going to church does not make you a better person at all, why should you have to go to a building and pray like a sheep like all the others there when you can pray to whomever you're God is whenever you like! I even explained that we had permission and she replied with this, "Pff! The hell you do!" She later I think anyway told the priest we were out there and he said he knows, it's fine. When she came out we just waited for her and stared at her and she looked really sorry! Haha :D
When will people learn?
But yeah as I said haven't gotten much of that in ages though many kids in playgrounds etc. go oh that's easy and I'm like no it's not and I don't care I'm not trying to show off as if it's something hard to do I just want to do it! Sheesh!
Leave me alone! Lol!
By , at
3:44 pm, February 22, 2010
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