2011-07-02 ========== Things that now feel pretty good: * cat balances * cranes (well, low ones) * pop vaults * precisions with drops > 4 feet (but <=, say, 6 or 7) * precisions with gaps about six feet * speed vaults Things that are getting better: * front flips (only on a spring mat, but still...) * handstands * kong vaults (I'm actually not double-punching some of the time) * running cat leaps * wall runs Things I know I am physically capable of but need the nerve to do: * cranes high up * dash vaults * precisions to rails * running on thin obstacles (say, roadblocks) * running precisions * turn vaults (I know, WTF?) * wall flips * wall spins * ...lots else Things I'm not sure I'm physically capable of and/or need serious technique work: * wall runs >= 10' * ...lots of stuff I don't even know about Okay, so I'm still pretty green, but to look at that list vs. my previous entries, I do like the fact that I'm _making progress_. Not stopping! 2011-06-19 ========== I shall now designate traçeurs _shoetaku_. In my training experience, I have yet to meet a traçeur or traçeuse who does _not_ pay close attention to the shoes of the traçeurs around him or her. I guess it's just one of those things that happens when you're progressively amping up the impact on your feet. I still find it funny, though. 2011-06-17 ========== Went to Chicago Colossal, had a lot of fun, and so forth. I don't know if anything particularly landmark-ish happened there, though, so I'll hold off on that for further reflection. However, today I had my first run-in with being thrown out. Solo. There's a bunch of scaffolding on Northwestern University's Chicago campus on which I was practicing underbar manuevers. Being affiliated with NU I figured that if anyone asked me for an ID, I could produce one and then be left to my own devices, provided I wasn't doing anything ridiculous like kicking or denting the scaffolding. (Which, if you're doing underbars right, doesn't happen.) I get about thirty minutes into a training session and then a university policeman waves me off, telling me: 1. "Not a gym" 2. "The University doesn't want anyone to get hurt" I left after that: escalation is pointless. But: 1. Yes, it's not a gym. That's the point. That scaffolding will support my weight just fine, though, so there's zero chance of my practice harming any of it. 2. What business does NU have if I hurt myself? If I hurt myself, it's _my_ problem, not theirs. I know the university has an image to uphold. They might also be worried about litigation, even though the idea of suing someone for actions _of one's own volition_ is ridiculous. But what image damage could they suffer? If someone seems some guy swinging around on bars and gets hurt, then the likely conclusion is "that guy hurt himself", not "the university has stuff around that hurt that guy". I'm well aware that NU's campus is private property, and I am also well aware that my affiliation with NU does not mean that NU authorities can't tell me to _not_ do something for whatever reason they want. But it's still silly, and I think it's a reflection of the coddled state of society. 2011-06-08 ========== American Rendezvous 2 (herein referred to as ARDV2, since that's what its organizers abbreviate it as) was about two weeks ago, and I think I've taken away quite a bit from the experience. A month passed since last entry. Since then, I've: 1. broken two very scary jumps 2. begun regularly training twice a week instead of once 3. started to get the hang of kong vaults, which isn't really something huge but it *is* a movement that -- if you read my past entries -- I've had trouble with 4. started stealth training, as per ARDV2 instructors' experience 5. learned to take notice of when I'm tensing up 6. increased the number of pullups I can do before my muscles give out to four sets of 10 Okay, I guess, but can always do more. Enough of that, though; I want to write a bit about ARDV2. Wow. _Inspirational_. One problem I have with writing about my experience with parkour is my scant vocabulary. I don't really have the words to properly convey the sort of vibe that I got while training with those people. But I'll try. It's said that one positive social effect of parkour is the camaraderie and positive mindset that it instills in its practitioners. I can report that it's _real_. Everyone I met was helpful and friendly even when I struggled, and they pushed me to do things that I didn't know I could do, such as balancing eight feet off the ground on a rail (actually not as hard as it seems, by the way -- just don't think about falling), silently landing jumps in the night, or actually being creative in my movements for once. (Which indirectly led me to successfully executing a gate vault for the first time.) Some examples of conversations that just _happened_ to me: * Signal processing with a traçeur from California * Chemical processing with a practitioner from Toronto * An extraordinarily hilarious thread of randomness at a Buca di Beppo restaurant with two traçeurs from Hawaii and a traçeuse from North Carolina (and while I do have images from this, they're really "you had to be there" things) I'm sure there's jerks in the global parkour and freerunning communities, but so far I've not met one out of the nearly two hundred people I've met. The people in those communities seem to respect you for pushing yourself to your limits, regardless of what those limits might be. So it's not about whether you can execute websters or how smooth your bar work is, though impressive achievement is of course congratulated. It's all about how strong you're willing to push yourself. And that's just *awesome*. I haven't seen that sort of behavior in any other endeavor I've been in. (I'll admit to not promoting that sort of behavior in the past, and I'm starting to feel pretty crappy about that.) Huge thanks to Parkour Horizons, Parkour Generations, Yamakasi, Majestic Force, and the ADD Academy for putting on that show. I definitely plan to go again. 2011-05-02 ========== Long gap. Left ankle is a bit weak, so I'm going to take it easy this week until I'm confident that I can fully use both legs again. Going to be good to go by the 7th. The Field Museum has some really awesome spots for wallruns, climb-ups, and drop -> rolls. Going to head there more often. I feel like I'm becoming more confident with kong and dash vaults, though I haven't yet mastered either technique. Raising my legs over a target no longer feels awkward; leaning back does. After last Saturday's jam, I hung out with a small group of traçeurs in what they called the Rock Garden. I'm not sure if that's the location's real name, but it does aptly describe the location. There was something magical (yeah, I know it sounds corny, but it's the best word I have) about the hangout. It was a warm night, and there was a party of well-to-do people below us. (I'm sure they were pretty drunk.) They likely didn't know and/or didn't care that we were up above them. 2011-04-22 ========== More injuries! No, that's not a good thing. I bruised and scraped my side pretty badly while practicing front flips. Front flips really have nothing to do with my parkour training. Well, they _do_ help me become more agile, and that's good, but insofar as fundamental movement goes they don't have much to do with parkour. But they're still fun, and they're something I can work on in a safe environment. I'm starting to realize a few things: 1. I rush into things too quickly. Gotta take time. 2. Practicing while injured doesn't really improve anything except tolerance to pain, and that's not really that useful when trying to learn fundamental techniques. 3. Practicing while frustrated: also doesn't get you anywhere. My left wrist is doing a lot better. Going to try konging again at Grant Park tomorrow. It's going to take time, but I'm going to get that vault down. I've _got_ to. 2011-04-18 ========== Got my speed vaults going again at Loyola Park, with a little more speed thrown in. Making some progress on kongs -- I can land on the obstacle from a moving start now, and then jump off of it. Wrist has a bit less pain, though I'm still going to get it looked at. For fun, I tried some låches. To my surprise, they were easier than I remember them being. First time I tried them was at a playground near Grant Park, going from one bar to another; not sure if I can yet do that, but I wan to give it another shot. 2011-04-14 ========== Decided to take a couple of days off from doing anything except necessary walking from here to there. Current pain points: * left wrist * some flexor muscle in the left calf (only hurts when I stretch it, though) * left foot ball There appears to be a pattern here. Hopefully, rest will help out. I'd still like to go to this week's stego jam and take it easy, but I think the week after that I'm going to have to take some extended time off -- hopefully nothing more than a week or two. Also going to see my doctor on Monday for an expert assessment and opinion. 2011-04-13 ========== Slow day today. Attempted speed and kong vaults over benches, practiced split-foot takeoffs over small rocks. We did this in Berwyn with the intention of hooking up with the Berwyn crew to jam, but that didn't happen. Ah well. I discovered that my left wrist is in _really_ bad shape. It hurts to get my hands into position for either a speed or kong vault, it hurts when I grip for turn vaults, and I expect the increased impact of a dash vault (still need to start integrating those into my practice repertoire) wouldn't hurt any less. Going to see my doctor about it to see just what my speed-vault-fall did to me, and how I should treat it. Recently adopted a new stretching routine: ten minutes of static stretches of arms, legs, and back * after training, * at night, and * the following morning. It seems to do wonders for reducing stiffness. 2011-04-12 ========== First rolls on concrete today; beginning to break that mental barrier. Only jumped off a few inches onto the ground, but it's a start. Certainly obvious progress from jumping off eight feet or so onto sticks. Still working on my vaults. Speed vault is doable but very messy; still haven't become comfortable with the kong or dash. I've not yet figured out when I need to lift off -- need to become more familiar with my stride. # vim:tw=78