#79
Morzine Parkour Camp 2009 (Blane`s Tag Game)

By Agota | posted on 30 July 2009 | 4 comments

Morzine, a small town in the French Alps left me fascinated by its beautiful scenery. Everything looks so fresh, the mountains, the snow on the top, the trees, the big open space, the river, the fresh water from the well which tastes so delicious, the chalet with its rustic and cosy interior and the pure air that I had to adapt to after spending so much time in a polluted environment.

One week intense but enjoyable training (7 -9 hours with Forrest and Blane) in such an environment is refreshing for body and soul and it changes the perception of the usual urban training. There is no place where parkour can`t be practised, but training in both, the natural and the urban environment makes the training more complete.

We were 21 guys and two girls sharing the same experience, no matter of our level, experience, gender or age. It was a real pleasure to see that we as a "group" became a real "team" in just a few days. Together we went through all aspects of the training (joy, achievement, pain, frustration, disappointment, progression, individual and collective improvement, game etc.) but always ending the day with a smile.

One particular game I really enjoyed was “Blane`s tag game”. I still remember him coming closer and closer trying to catch me but....... :-)

On the last day we experienced something I believed was impossible, Blane instructed us to Monkey walk backwards 500 meters on a very steep hill, it just didn`t seemed right nor possible but congratulations to everybody, we all managed. We were so determined and full of adrenaline that after completing it we even managed to do 23 press ups (one for everybody in the team ;-)

Thank you for everybody involved, it was a great time.

Labels: Training

#78
Where we're going we don't need shoes...

By James | posted on 23 July 2009 | 1 comments

It is early morning in Vauxhall park and the sun has barely risen for the day. I remove my socks and shoes put them in my bag and hide my bag under a large stone seat in eyeshot in the middle of the park. I whip out my mp3 player and start my carefully prepared playlist featuring many tracks from 80's movie montages, the first being Going the Distance from the Rocky Series, and start stretching to loosen up. Rolling up my trackies until they're above my knee and nice & tight I begin my light run staying completely on the balls of the feet. This was the first time I've taken barefoot training seriously and didnt know what to expect.

After 10 minutes of jogging I discovered my new found appreciation of grass and loving the feeling of it between my toes. Unfortuently this feeling didnt last too long when I decided to seek out harder surfaces to toughen up the soles of my feet and pose more of a challenge. I already have calluses on my hands and have befriended them greatly, finding them to be reminders of tough training sessions in the past, so now it was time to see how my feet would react to similar stimuli.

With gentle consideration of my every stride I changed my route in the park so I would run over 20 metres of concrete and 10 metres of gravel. This made the rest of the run very interesting. I was able to have a greater liberty with foot placement when running on grass that I couldn't on concrete. Every stride I took I had to completely absorb the impact of landing on concrete, albeit a very little impact as my pace was slow, due to my unfamiliarity. Gravel was a slightly different challange as I had to land softly and always land on the ball of the foot closest to the heel and rock up towards my toes rather than springing from step to step as I did on the grass.

After another 10 minutes I decided I had sufficiently adjusted my technique to face running at a faster pace and completed another few laps of the park but this time I decided to sprint as fast as I could along the 20 metre stretch of concrete. As I approached I gradually increased my pace but found I couldnt reach top speed or even come close. Some thing was holding me back and after the run I realised it was the soreness in my feet.

Fast forward to two months later and I've modified my first session now including side stepping, sprinting, basic vauls & rolls and moving on to precisions and catleaps but with the same 80's soundtrack. Now I only train barefoot in the main training spot in vauxhall which features small shards of glass, uneven paving stones, small twigs and berries everything one could hope for to tough up the soles of your feet. I find it extremely uncomfortable to train in my normal trainers and now feel very pleased when I walk away from a day at Vauxhall with blackened soles.

Labels: Training

#77
It does look like rain..

By Chris 'Blane' Rowat | posted on 21 July 2009 | 4 comments

It
was wet. Very wet.

I'd had a few ideas for tonight's class but I hadn't been expecting such heavy rain to be joining us and as I sat on the bus to the outdoor class I did wonder, should I change my plans?

The answer came quicker than the question.

I SHOULD change my plans! I could make the most of this weather and use it to my advantage. Sure, they'll hate me, but that's nothing new and I'll be there with them so they can't complain. Too much. Right?

When I arrived and stepped off the bus, the unforgiving barrage of water immediately hit me and I knew this was going to be one of those nights. Visions of the last Rendezvous assaulted my senses and they made me smile.. a smile that only grew as I noticed most of the students seeking shelter under some trees, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

The group was divided, I took three of the more experienced guys with me and as we jogged to a nearby park, we made an effort to avoid the larger puddles.. at this stage.

After some more running and very light routes that gradually became faster, I felt we were all warm enough for what was to come.

I asked the guys to remove their shoes, their socks and their shirts and after the initial surprise all three were only too keen to join me half-naked in the pouring rain. Nobody wanted to be the one to protest and there was an energy in the air that had us all too eager to get colder and wetter to see what we could take.

It was obvious I'd need to keep the tempo high and keep us moving to stop the bitter wind and icy rain from demoralising and beating us down, so we placed our bags and clothes in a rare dry patch and got to work.

First up to get the blood pumping and maintain our body temperature was 50 climb ups on a wall, usually a fairly straightforward task for anyone in this group but the rain had soaked the moss on the top and with no foot protection, the sharp, slippery walls made an example of our feet by the halfway point. Irregardless we all finished the exercise feeling great and the rain was only a minor issue in the backs of our minds now. I silently issued a challenge to the skies to give us all they could and they replied with more of the same. Wind and water. Ha! Is that all you have tonight?

Next up we repeated some simple routes over a wall, through some bars, up on to a garage roof, over the top and down the other side but with one stipulation - we had to complete the route in complete silence.. so no foot slides, misplaced hands, careless limbs or loss of control would be acceptable as this would surely result in at least a squeak or bump or creak in these conditions. After five or so repetitions of the route we had all worked out the best way to overcome the obstacles in silence so I reversed the direction which offered a few interesting variations before we moved on to try a couple of jumps that were suddenly a little trickier in the wet and without any protection for the feet.

By the time we had finished this exercise we realised it had stopped raining. Having long accepted our circumstances and feeling soaked to the bone, it really wasn't an issue any more though. Alongside a brief interval from the rain we were also met with some bewildered looks, smiles and shakes of the heads from passersby.. but all were complimentary and supportive, if not a little curious as to whether we were under the influence of something.

Next I led the guys to another area and we climbed on to a wall that led higher and higher as we eased our way along the top. The moss and barefooted combination made for some very careful steps as the height increased and at the peak we stopped to take a look around and closed our eyes, enjoying the feeling of being at a height in these conditions. Of course this is something you should only do if you're comfortable and experienced enough for this kind of training but I knew these guys and enough about their ability to know they were all safe and capable.

A short traversing route and climbing challenge awaited us next in which we had to travel from one location to another without touching the ground.. an age old game but one made all the more fun and difficult with the addition of some water.
The traverse dug deep in to the hands as metal clashed with mettle and I'm constantly reminded of the exercise as a small cut in my hand keeps skimming the space bar. Again. And again. And again.

Finally we headed back to meet the other group as the rain made a comeback. The walk had done a fair job of cooling us down once more so it was time for something a little more intense to get back to a comfortable temperature! We spent an arduous five or six minutes in press up position constantly mixing push up variations with static holds on the fingertips, knuckles and palms as our body temperature crept back to a decent level for such a night. After some core training and stretching we were all relieved to find our socks, shoes and shirts all dry and ready to slip in to. See? There is a method to my madness! Somewhere..

A challenging night, a great atmosphere and a feeling of unity as we braved the worst of it together.

I do love the rain.

-Blane

Labels: Training

#76
Health and Safety

By Dominic | posted on 15 July 2009 | 4 comments

A particular news story has recently been brought to my attention (http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/Teenager-badly-hurt-in-39freerunning39.5431654.jp) and I felt that it was worth discussing some of the points it raises. According to reports a 14-year old boy in Portsmouth had been attempting to jump from one rooftop to another, fell short smashing his face and falling 30ft to the ground below. While at the time I write this it appears that although suffering a serious head injury and breaking several bones he is indeed in a stable condition. His friend claims they were free-running. Already this has had a variety of responses some claim that boys will be boys and this is just something that happens in one form or another and always will, others feel this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's this parkour activity that is to blame and should be banned everywhere, and some have even commented that this is a result of TV and video games promoting the idea that they are indestructible and able to do anything. However a common theme seems to be that people feel that with health and safety running wild in this country kids are just looking for any kind of outlet which allows them to feel like they're not being treated like an idiot.

It seems strange and yet so simple to me that a lot of these issues can be resolved not with this overbearing nanny state but rather with the simple rule of “being responsible for your own actions”. If you trip and fall then it’s down to you, you should have been more careful. People need to stop automatically looking for someone else to blame and start taking more personal responsibility. There’s only so much you can learn for yourself with someone holding your hand the whole time, telling you not to take any form of risk just go about your life without causing any ripples. The funny thing is that sounds more like a video game to me than anything else, follow this set course doing things within these boundaries that we specify for you because that’s how it should be. Its like sitting in a small room where your perfectly happy but if someone was to tell you that the door is locked and your not allowed to leave you would suddenly begin to feel uncomfortable and then the urge to get out. Humans don’t like being confined.

I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have rules as that would be anarchy but simply that rules should never supersede common sense and reason. Rules should always be open to question or discussion. Now granted its not always the time or the place, for example rules in the army are there to keep order and save lives in situations where a clear chain of command is needed and to be followed without question. But that doesn’t mean that you should be afraid to ask or suggest a different way at a later date or in a time better suited, just so long as you can back it up with reasons why your suggestion is better.

A lot of people seem to be only too happy to give away their decision making process, hiding behind rules or regulations even if they don’t understand it themselves. It seems a waste to me. Regardless of your personal faith or belief system the only certainty we have is that we live now, we exist now; as such why sleepwalk from the cot to the grave? Your life is something that should have value in its experiences not merely its possession. Some seem to focus too heavily on merely getting through life as if it is some kind of video game and as long as they survive one more level they’ll be ok. In sticking with the video game analogy you could fail at the 1st level or you could survive everything thrown at you and make it past the last boss but it still ends. What is of value are the moments you played through not the completion itself. A large part of who I am is a result of not wanting to make it to 75, 80,100 and look back on my life as having "made it through". I want to be able to look at all i achieved whether big or small and know i gave it my all, not that i held something back and didn't aim for more for fear of risking what i already had. Personally i feel that regret and missed opportunity are worse than failing and having to start again. We make of our lives what we will. Sometimes I may not want to compromise on something if I feel strongly about it regardless of the consequences. But its my choice to make and I’d happily live with the outcome (good or bad) knowing I did what I thought was right and true to myself.

I’m not sure if there’s an overall point here or if I managed to accurately get across what’s in my head. But to sum up I guess I just think that you should always be true to yourself and think things through for yourself, that way whatever may be you can look at it and smile!

Labels: Psychology

#75
With apologies to Alan Moore

By Chris | posted on 12 July 2009 | 5 comments

It is September 2003. I am watching Frenchmen doing something I have only witnessed before on a BBC ident.

It is May 2006, I am training with Harrow with friends. I watch them do a precision I can't bring myself to do. We all do a running catleap, across an alleyway, by a pub I haven't been to for a year. We laugh at the idea of doing it standing. I spy an archway across a road, high enough that double decker buses can comfortably drive beneath. I joke about wanting to traverse across it, over the road. I don't mean it.

I'm in Norwich. It is July 2008 and I've been teaching for well over a year now. My foot has twisted on the corner of a flowerbed. I've managed to catch the wall I was trying to precision in an arm-jump, but it's obvious that's the end of my training that day. 10 minutes later after some foolish attempts at quadrapedal on the stairs with only one leg, it becomes obvious that that is probably the end of my training for the next week.

It is July 2006. I am trying to do a handstand on a rail in Barcelona. I flip over and land on the edge of the road, but it's at a bad angle and my ankle hurts. 2 and a half years in my future I hold a handstand for a minute for the first time.

It is spring 2007. I am standing in front of a class. I am telling people to rotate their shoulders to my count. One week previous I was rotating my shoulders to Forrest's count.

It is June 2008. I am in Harrow, training with friends. We do a standing cat leap, across an alleyway, by a pub I haven't been to for years. We laugh at the idea of doing it running. On the way home we pass below an arch, and I make a familiar joke. I'm not so sure I'm joking.

The sun is so hot. I'm inspecting a temporary park made for us to teach and demonstrate on. It is August 2007 and I am going to be here for much of the next 9 days. In 2 days time I will be doing another demo, but my stomach will be filled with butterflies. The reassuring presence of another of “my generation” will be gone, and the prospect of doing a demonstration with two second generation practitioners is filling me with dread. 3 days in my future I no longer care who I will be teaching with. I know we'll be fine.

It's March 20th 2009 and I'm in tears of laughter. Blane is laughing so hard he can barely breathe, and a room full of people are glancing at us with suspicion. When one of us stops, the other will set him off again. I have been doing muscle ups for the last 3 years.

May 2009. I am walking through Victoria station. 2 hours in my past I ate a slice of pizza. 5 minutes in my past I am broken, the 37th slice nestling in my belly, unable to watch Gise put away his 40th of the evening.

It is September 2009 and a surgeon is drilling a hole in my left ankle. 3 years in my past I am landing on the edge of a Spanish road.

It is March 20th 2009. I have spent many hours travelling to Rome, and I meet Gise for the first time. In six hours time I will be crying with laughter so hard I fear I may never stop. In 2 months I will be doing press-ups with my new friend after truly heroic amounts of pizza. Sometime between now and then I will be training at Earlsfield with a friend. Making an unexpected stop in Harrow on the way home I decide to see what the arch feels like. I am halfway up before I realise I have decided to climb across. I do it again to be sure I am confident with it.

2 and a half years after I discover parkour, I am in a park, practising my muscle-ups. One week ago, I was in the same park, at the same climbing frame, and I couldn't muscle-up. 3 years in my future I am making noises and faces that should not be seen or heard by most other human beings. I'm doing my 20th muscle-up in a row and it is killing me. Form broke down some time ago, now it's just about getting over the bar.

I am at a barbecue, surrounded by friends. They are giving me weary looks, and wondering exactly what it is that is making me laugh so much. I am 4 months away from lying unconscious in an operating theatre, and 3 years in my past I am making noises and faces that should not be seen or heard by most other human beings. I'm doing my 2nd muscle-up in a row.

It's Sunday 2004! I have gone to Southbank to train. It could be any Sunday. I have arrived at Waterloo shortly before 11, as I have done, and will do, all year.

It is Autumn 2007. I am meeting Johann to check out a new sports centre we'll be starting a new class at. 4 years in my past I am watching Frenchmen doing something I have only seen once before in my life. Someone called Johann Vigroux is on my television screen, jumping across roofs. 18 months in my future Yo is telling me to keep going, just one more, as I make noises and faces that most other human beings should not have to endure.

Labels: Experiences

#74
Improving through non training

By Johann VIGROUX | posted on 9 July 2009 | 3 comments

Hey
everybody,

This time I would like to talk about non training. I know one we start parkour it takes place in your life, your heart, your time, everywhere !

When I started, 10 years ago, I was training every single day, right after finishing school, and I kept this rythm for years.... There was so many things to discover that I couldn't stop training even 1 day, it would have been a waste of time ! This was the "Fire" period, the incredible energy which keeps you in very good shape and makes you train all day everyday :)

After a little while, I got injured and had to reduce my training ! (it's the case for many of us !). When I got back in shape, as I achevied a lot of things about performance, my goal was to enjoy my practising but also being safe, healthy, I didn't want to feel injured anymore ...

So I started thinking about my training and how to be smart (can be hard !). And finally, with time I understood that I didn't need to train all day like a furious man ! I could do regular average physical trainings to stay fit but for the techniques I improved a lot by not practising. The movement became clearer, my touch became better, my vision became more calm and I got more confidence in what I do....

The thing that I learnt is that I improved more this past 2 years than during my first years of practising. I call it experience. This is not something you can rush, it comes with time and no matter if you training everyday or not, your experience improves by itself.

I feel very grateful for the experience I have now, and I believe that training everyday, all day is not the only solution to become better, I had to train a lot with my mind only, which can me done anywhere, at any time....

Here are my monthly thoughts !

Peace,

Johann

Labels: Experiences, Injuries, Psychology

#73
Remembering 7th July 2005

By Kiell | posted on 7 July 2009 | 2 comments

(Originally posted on metafilter on 7.7.05.)

I've just had quite an interesting day. Nothing compared to some, I grant you, but I hope some find this worth reading.

I heard the news (at my flat in Stepney Green, a 20 minute walk from Aldgate East) when I finally crawled out of bed this morning at about 9.30am. I had just ignored a call from one of my flatmates who is up in York and was ringing to check on my situation. Unfortunately, by the time I learnt what was going on and tried to call back, the phone networks were down.

I sat on irc (ircnet, #london) with the radio next to me and kept track of everything that was going on, periodically trying to check on my flatmates, one of whom was due to take a train from Kings Cross this morning. I finally got through to them both at around midday. (I hate watching breaking news on television - it's a frustrating experience and you can learn a lot more a lot quicker online.)

Shortly after noon I received a text message from a friend who had arrived in London from Birmingham this morning for a job interview. She doesn't know the city at all and sent me a slightly worrying message that simply read "I'm somewhere in central London and really scared. call me as soon as you can." Of course, with the phone networks down I then spent 20 minutes trying to call her.

Eventually I got through and managed to figure out that she was somewhere near Piccadilly and a little confused. She heard one of the blasts go off this morning and didn't have a clue what was going on.

I packed a rucksack and set off into central London on my flatmate's bike. The rain was chucking it down. I passed by Royal London hospital where ambulances were pulling up, being closely tracked by various news crews. Then on, past aldgate east and Liverpool Street, having to continually check my route and cut south to get around the road closures. The police were calm and incredibly helpful.

The roads were empty of cars. Lots of people were walking around the strangely quiet, wet streets, and occasionally a couple of police cars and bikes would fly past me, sirens blaring. The bars and cafes were pretty full with people watching the breaking news. I made my way long the river and cut north at embankment. The usually busy streets around Trafalgar Square were empty, save for the occasional emergency vehicle. The weather was improving and on tracking down the right Cafe Nero at Piccadilly, I caught up with my poor friend, Flick, who was quite relieved to see me. She couldn't get in touch with her Aunt in Greenwich with whom she is staying tonight.

The atmosphere then was a little strange. From what I saw, away from the bomb sites, things seemed to be rapidly returning to normal - en route I had seen tourists piling onto their coaches parked up on Victoria embankment. At Trafalgar Square, where we sat for lunch, people were gradually going back to doing regular weekday stuff, taking photographs, chatting, having lunch. The only difference was the lack of traffic and large numbers of people walking everywhere.

After lunch we wandered down to Charing Cross to see the situation with the trains. Hundreds of people were flooding into the station and it will take some many hours to get home tonight. Continuing east along the river, I put my friend on a ferry to Canary Wharf where hopefully she can get the DLR to Greenwich where she's staying with her family.

One of the strangest moments occurred at around 4pm when suddenly O2 (who appear to have been worst affected) returned to 100% and delivered 7 voicemail messages. Various friends and family had been calling me this morning and had been unable to get through.

The cycle ride back to Stepney Green was surreal. The traffic picked up as I approached Tower Bridge and turned into a mixture of empty and then gridlocked streets as I approached Aldgate. I assume that the police were having to hold off traffic so that emergency services could get access to wherever it was they were going. I have no idea what sort of incidents they were responding to or where they were headed, but a few convoys of emergency vehicles screamed past me in both directions along the empty streets, and squeezed through on the busy ones.

I stopped next to the cordon near Aldgate East and listened to a news reporter talking about the traffic, trying to find out some information as I hadn't heard a news report since leaving the house. He was saying that the roads were empty but traffic was starting to pick up. He was right in that the road he was stood on was empty, but two streets away, the traffic wasn't moving.

A guy handing out religious leaflets was not having much luck.

All the roads around Liverpool St and Aldgate East were cordoned off and there was no view of what was happening from where the police line started. I didn't hang around, preferring to get back and catch up with what was going on. Heading east along the A11, the traffic was being carefully controlled - emergency vehicles were still moving about and I assume that the flow had to be monitored to ensure that police and ambulances were able to move around freely.

The A11 was empty outbound (heading east) as I cycled along. The traffic was stationary in the opposite direction. I have no idea why people were trying to head towards the city centre. I passed people waiting at bus stops and told them that there was very little heading out of the city. People will be standing at bus stops for several hours. The 25 bus to Ilford is overloaded at the best of times, so unless people start walking, I don't know how some of them will get home.

I passed the Royal Hospital again. A few ambulances were pulling up as I passed, and a few news crews were still there. I assume they continued to film those being carried off ambulances.

It's amazing how calm the city was and how quickly it seemed to be getting back to normal - bar the huge number of pedestrians. I've never seen so many people walking across Waterloo Bridge, even during rush hour.

In all likelihood, I will be having beers in the west end tomorrow evening and I will be down at London's South Bank on Sunday, training just like last week. There's no point living in fear or changing what you do. Be vigilant, yes, but don't let the terrorists affect how you live.

Of course I'm no expert on security operations or emergency responses, but the impression that I got from the police was that (as much as they could be) things were under control and there was no cause for alarm. I've heard people praising them for their work today and I would like to express my thanks also.

Labels: Experiences

#72
Retour vers le futur 2: “Stephane Vigroux, une fois...Un athlête bléssé...”

By Forrest | posted on 5 July 2009 | 6 comments

Original image here

Nous sommes en octobre 2003, je passais dans le coin, je décide d’aller dire un p’tit Bonjour à Steph. Je frappe à sa porte avec l’incertitude que quelqu’un ne réponde; je n’ai pas prévenu que je venais. J’ai de la chance, il est là. Il m’invite à entrer, m’offre à boire et nous commencons à discuter de tout et de rien. On en arrive à sa blessure et à sa ré-éducation, un sujet délicat, je le vois sur son visage: il a un air triste, déchiré,déçu et sérieux à la fois:” tu sais Forrest , cela fait maintenant plus d’un an que je me suis fait opéré, mais il ya eu des complications, mon genou ne progresse pas vraiment comme il se devrait. Je ne suis pas sûr que je pourrais un jour refaire du Parkour .” Je le regarde en souriant et lui reponds:” Ne soit pas si pessimiste, je te propose un deal; je ne suis pas docteur, je ne suis pas kiné mais je connais bien le corps humain, je pense que je peux t’aider. Je te propose d’être ton préparateur physique , je m’occupe de toi, tu n’as rien à perdre et en contre parti tu m’en diras et me montreras un peu plus du Parkour.”

“Forrest, c’est sympa mais je n’ai pas les moyens de te payer.” Je lui réponds de nouveau assez fermement: “Qui t’as parlé d’argent? Si je te le propose, c’est que cela me fait plaisir et en plus pour moi, ce sera une bonne expérience, tu seras le premier athlète dont je m’occupe de la ré-éducation. La seule chose,je te donne de mon temps, mon expérience et mes connaissances donc je ne veux pas entendre d’excuses comme quoi tu es fatigué, tu n’es pas en forme, tu n’aimes ce que l’on fait, tu ne peux pas...”Bon ok! On commence quand? Me dit il. Je passe te chercher lundi à 9h...

Pendant près de 9 mois, qu’il pleuve, qu’il neige, qu’il vente, j’etais là à sa porte prêt pour son programme de re-education, entre 9h-9h15 le matin, 3 à 4 fois par semaine pendant 2 à 3 heures pour chaque seance.

Je dois avouer que c’etait un challenge intéressant. Après quelques séances, je pense que je connaissait mieux les aptitudes physiques, les limites et jusqu’ou je pouvais aller avec Steph que Stephane lui même. J’ai été dur physiquement avec lui, je lui ai fait faire des exercices qui n’étaient pas forcément écrits dans un des manuel s de ré-éducation mais cela marchait... Sinon! Nous avons passé beaucoup de temps discuté des choses de la vie, de la méthodologie d’entraînement, de son genou, de son état d’esprit, de ses attentes etc...

Il y a 2 choses dont je dois lui gratifier: premièrement, il n’a pas manqué une seule séance. Ensuite, même si des fois il me fusillait du regard après que je lui ai demandé de continuer un exercice alors qu’il avait déjà dépassé son seuil acceptable de douleur, il ne sais jamais plaint. Et même s’il y a eu 1 fois , 1 épisode où j’étais sur le point de tout arrêter, j’étais furieux avec lui parce qu’il a faillit en une séance détruire tout le dur travail qui avait été fait jusque là, Il a tout de meme fini par entré dans mon estime et a mérité mon respect en tant que “ VRAI ATHLETE.”

Plus les semaines passèrent et plus je pouvais apercevoir un grand sourir s’afficher sur son visage . Je le voyais à chaque séance de plus en plus confiant, de plus en plus fort et solide sur ses jambes, le haut du corps et les abdos :-)

En mai 2004, David Belle lui a proposé un rôle dans le film “Banlieue 13”. Stephane m’a demandé ce que j’en pensais. Je lui ai sourit et dit:” Ton genou est solide maintenant, la seule chose que tu dois éviter pour le moment, ceux sont les grands sauts de fond tout simplement parce que nous n’avons pas encore fait de travail spécifique pour , donc je ne veux pas que tu prennes de risque. Pour le reste, tu es prèt...”

Encore une fois, j’ai été témoin du fait que l’on ne reconnait pas forcément un VRAI ATHLETE par ses performances physiques mais vraiment par ce qu’il dégage de l’intérieur.

”Notre plus grande gloire, ce n’est pas de ne jamais tomber mais de se relever à chaque fois que l’on tombe”( Confucius, Philosophe )

“L ‘Homme qui peut se pousser à en faire un de plus alors que l’effort devient vraiment douloureux est l’homme qui vainquera”( Roger Bannister,le premier à avoir fait moins de 4 minutes au mile )

Tu l’as fait, “Le singe est de retour”:-)

BACK TO THE FUTURE 2: “Stephane Vigroux, once an injured athlete...”

It was October 2003 when I was passing Steph’s house and decided to go to say hello. I knocked at his door without actually knowing if he’s there or not, but I was lucky, he was. He invited me to come in, offered me a drink and we started talking about everything and nothing. We talked as well about his injury and his rehabilitation, really upsetting topic I can see on his face: he looks sad, tore, disappointed and serious at the same time:” You know Forrest, it has been more than 1 year that I had my operation, but I had some issues with it, my knee didn’t improve the way it should have since and I’m not sure that I will be able to do Parkour again.” I looked at him and smiled. ”Don’t be so negative, I suggest you a deal: I’m not a doctor, I’m not a physio but I know the human body quite well, I think I can help you. I offer you to become your physical coach, I will take care of you, you have nothing to loose and you will tell and show me more about Parkour”.

“Forrest, it is very kind from you but I cannot afford it”. I answered quite strongly: ”who talked about money? If I offer you this, it’s because I’m happy to do it. Additionally, it will be a good experience for me as you will be the first athlete I will take care of the rehabilitation. The only thing: I will give you my time, my experience and my knowledge but I do not want to hear from you any excuses such as: you are tired, you’re not in form, you don’t like what we do, you cannot etc...”Fine! When can we start? “I come to pick you up on Monday at 9am...”

For nearly 9 months, whatever the weather, rain, snow, wind, I was there at his door ready to deliver his rehabilitation program, between 9-9.15 am, 2-3 hours, 3-4 times a week.

I have to say it was an interesting challenge. After a few sessions, I think I knew more about his potential, his limits and until where I could push Steph than Stephane himself. I pushed him physically very hard, I did with him some exercises which were not necessarily written in any rehabilitation program manual but they worked. Otherwise, we spent a lot of time talking about life, methodology of training, his knee, the way he feels psychologically, his expectations...

There are 2 things I have to give him a credit for: first of all, he hasn’t missed one single session. Secondly, even though sometimes he looked at me with killer eyes after I had told him to carry on an exercise although he had already reached the peak of pain he could handle, he’s never complained. And even though once I was close to stop completely taking care of his rehabilitation and I was very angry with him because in 1 session he could have destroyed all our hard work over the past few months, at the end he did manage to earn my respect as a “TRUE ATHLETE”.

As the weeks passed by I could see smile and happiness, at each session he was more and more confident, more solid and stronger on his legs, upper body and core muscles :-)

In May 2004, David Belle asked him to play a role in the movie “District 13”. Steph asked me what would be my advice on this. I smiled and said:” your knee is strong now, the only thing that you have to avoid at the moment are big drops. And just because we haven’t done some specific training for this yet, I don’t want you to take any risk. For everything else, you’re ready now...”

Once again, I witnessed that a TRUE ATHLETE is not always recognised through his performance but through his inner strength.”

”Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall...”(Confucius, philosopher)

“The man who can drive himself, further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win" (Roger Bannister, the first person to break the four-minute mile)

You did it, the monkey is back :-)

Labels: Challenges, Psychology

#71
Excerpt 2...

By Dan | posted on 3 July 2009 | 0 comments

Following the recent pubication of our Handbook of Parkour and Freerunning, here is an extended version of one of the early sections of the book for those who can't access a copy.

Transformative Practice

The art of displacement is an art based on the refinement of one’s movement, in all areas. This ranges from gross movements such as jumps, drops, and passing obstacles, down to the fine movements within one’s anatomy, such as joint mobility, muscle-chain connections and even to training the neuromuscular pathways that underpin all motion. It is an art that aims to enhance one’s natural abilities and gifts, helping us to return to our more primal talents, to the essence of what are bodies have evolved to be able to do. It is a true transformative practice, which is loosely defined as the regular practice of particular physical movements with the intent to improve them and, concurrently, to improve the self as well.

However, while these abilities are latent and stored within all of us, it is clear that a disciplined approach to developing them is what enables us to unlock our potential fully: parkour offers methods and approaches to this practice that have been pressure-tested and refined over many years to create an optimal way of training both body and mind for the improvement of one’s movement.

It is a truth that in modern industrialized societies rarely do we need to push our bodies to their limits, which in turn precludes most of us from ever coming anywhere near to our full potential. Our bodies are therefore usually not ready for the strains and pressures of practicing such explosive movement, especially on the concrete and metal surfaces of the urban jungle, and to attempt to copy the high-powered actions performed by seasoned practitioners without the necessary training and physical preparation is to invite almost certain injury and damage. Good parkour training will remove that risk, and in fact reveal to the practitioner that his or her limits are far beyond what they could ever have imagined.

Conditioning: Forging the Body

A large proportion of training in parkour is what is loosely termed ‘conditioning’ - this is the process of preparing the muscles, joints, connective tissue and bones of the body for the demands of practicing the art. To be able to practice this and indeed any physical discipline safely and for as long as one wishes it is absolutely vital that one first develops the necessary physical attributes that underlie the movements.

The physical aim of parkour is to be as functionally fit and strong and capable for as long as possible in life - to become the best version of yourself that you can - not to explode out of the blocks, have a few years of energetic practice and then stop because of injury or overstraining of the body. Parkour is an art of living, a way of approaching not only your environment but also your life - for as long as you are living it.

This conditioning process is a way of forging your body to prepare it for the rigours of training. It creates a kind of ‘body armour’ of muscle and toughened tissue that not only protects your whole anatomy from harm through repeated impacts but also shields you if and when you fall or strike a surface unintentionally. This armour protects you not only in your parkour practice but also of course in any other activity, making you less susceptible to injury from everyday accidents and strains.

It is vital to understand that even in conditioning one must not rush or push too hard, too fast. Connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments take much longer to strengthen than muscles and to over-develop muscles without giving thought to the increased strain on the connective tissues will invariably lead to repetitive strain injuries such as tendonitis. Always seek proper instruction from experienced and qualified teachers before embarking on a physical conditioning regime, to ensure optimal development.

The Physical Benefits of Parkour

“The joy of surpassing the limits of the body is open to all.” Mihaly Csikszentmihaly

Practitioners have long been aware that good parkour training brings about incredibly positive physical changes as it requires us to use our bodies as they were meant to be used; functionally and holistically. This training is far removed from linear isolations of muscles on a weights machine - freerunning tests all of the body all of the time, and almost every movement requires most of the major muscle groups to work together and coordinate their efforts. As we have seen, however, attempting these movements without proper understanding of the art can lead to negative results for the body and less functionality - the reverse of our intention!

This fine line between positive development and pushing the body too far is best walked under guidance from those who have navigated it before, until one becomes sensitive enough to one’s own body to be able to manage this balancing act alone.

While practicing the freerunner is never attempting to work any part of his body in isolation, nor is he ever developing anything other than the most functional attributes and skills. A practitioner of parkour rarely brings weights or specialised equipment to his sessions: his body is his one and only tool. The principal practice for parkour is to repeat and refine the movements of parkour, improving tensile strength, flexibility, and coordination as you go, creating kinetic chains between the muscle groups while increasing neuromuscular efficiency. The importance of proprioception (the constant, accurate assessment of the body’s position in space, facilitated by the contraction of numerous small stabiliser muscles) cannot be overstated, and is constantly improved through balance exercises, night-training, and spatial awareness drills.

This ‘natural’ approach to training in some ways parallels the lifestyles of ancient tribal cultures, perhaps first properly researched from a fitness perspective by Frenchman Georges Hebert (1875-1957), a pivotal figure in the history of physical education in the West who was struck by the natural attributes of the indigenous peoples of Africa – Hebert noted that merely leading their natural lives of physicality and dynamism produced incredible specimens possessed of exceptional functional strength and agility. His ‘Natural Method’, which many regard as one of the forerunners of parkour, was a means by which to reproduce these effects in industrialised societies by “promoting the qualities of organic resistance, muscularity and speed, towards being able to walk, run, jump, move quadrupedally, to climb, to walk in balance, to throw, lift, defend yourself and to swim.”

Just as with Hebert’s method, the art of displacement focuses on enhancing one’s natural movement capabilities, which means every individual who practices it will see physical improvements perfectly in line with how his or her body is designed to work. These benefits can last a lifetime.

Extraordinary Living

The art of displacement encourages a gradual sophistication of attributes, through detailed specification as the practitioner goes deeply into the intricacy of his movement, towards an unconscious mastery of his own abilities. To achieve ‘flow’ in movement is one of the holy grails of parkour: to link skills together into a seamless, dynamic whole facilitating instinctual movement over any terrain. Acquiring this sense of fluidity in movement carries over positively into all one’s activities, and aligns us with the enormous potential that is latent within us all. We will look into this ‘flow’ phenomenon in more detail in Part Three of this book.

When practiced correctly and safely parkour will transform the individual in a radical fashion: taking one’s functional strength, fitness, endurance, confidence, agility and balance to incredible new heights. You will feel more wholly ‘yourself’ in a very visceral sense, with a new and fuller picture of how you connect with your environment and also a new understanding of what you can achieve in that environment.

We all contain immense potential for amazing activity. We all possess the innate ability to move with the seemingly superhuman attributes that parkour develops. The truth is, of course, that there is nothing superhuman about these activities – and there are no secrets either. Diligent, intelligent practise and focused, regular training will bring about the realisation of this potential. Let this training take you to the peak of your abilities and you may discover that rare but undeniable sense that all humans harbour vast capacities for extraordinary living.

Labels: Book Excerpts