Parkour Generations

#62
Gambatte Naoki!!!!!

By Dominic | posted on 28 September 2009 | 2 comments

I originally had a different post for this month and may end up putting that one up in a few days also but for now I just wanted to make a big shout out for a friend of mine who was recently injured, Naoki Ishiyama.

For those of you who are not aware Naoki is a Japanese practioner who has spent a great deal of time training both here in London with pk gen and also in France with majestic force as well as everywhere and anywhere else he finds himself. As I�m sure most of you reading this will already be aware of the situation he faces himself in I won�t go into too much detail here suffice to say he faces some challenging times ahead but I am completely confident that he will more than rise to surpass them as that is the kind of person he is. Without a doubt one of the friendliest and nicest guys I have had the pleasure of meeting as well as a great tracuer.

But for anyone who does not know I ask that you check out (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=125726156594) and lend you support. It means so much to him and is a great comfort to know that he is in the thoughts of so many people who wish him a speedy recovery. Even if you don�t know him personally or have never met him before I ask that you show him your support during this time! Already the response from the community has been brilliant and it�s a real comfort to know and be a part of such a good and strong spirit, which is not just here for him but here for us all!

Labels: Experiences, Injuries

#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

#62
Motivation.

By Chris | posted on 8 June 2009 | 4 comments

I was in the middle of probably the hardest training I have ever done in my life. It's amazing what the prospect of some time away does for you.

For those who don't know, I was supposed an operation on my left ankle on the third of June. The injury came from messing around on holiday back in 2006 and has been a source of virtually constant irritation ever since. Annoying because of its longevity, irritating because though not a parkour injury originally, it has recurred through training and made many movements difficult at one time or another; and frustrating because I really should have been more careful! Hindsight is a wonderful thing but I can't wait to properly develop some foresight...

Regardless, hopefully the injury will be in the past soon. And hopefully few, if any, of you will have to endure the same.

But the point is, from the time I discovered I was going to have the operation, I attacked my training, and especially my strength conditioning with a renewed vigour. I'd like to think that I hadn't exactly been slacking off before, but I'd definitely found a little extra energy from somewhere.

Which got me thinking: have I only been giving 80% up until now? Have I been short-changing myself in training for the last couple of years?

And these begat more questions: was being strong or good at parkour not that important to me? Or, and I've come to believe this to be the case, was I not really aware of JUST HOW important it is to me? And in this I realised I was guilty of taking things for granted. How strong I've become, how much stronger I want to be, and how lucky I am to have found this discipline and be able to practice it.

All of which, in my usual meandering manner, brings me back to motivation and my operation. Because surely, my movement, health and fitness can't only be important to me when they are taken away temporarily. Likewise, they can't be more important when I don't have them.

So in a funny way I find myself giving thanks for my injury, and even the need for surgery. True, it shouldn't take something so serious to make you appreciate what you have. And I certainly hope no-one else has to make the revelation in the same circumstances. But I think a lot of us at some point or another may "coast" a little. And you know what? If parkour isn't such an important part of your life, that's fine! I don't suppose (or wish) that everyone has the same motivation, or even the same level of motivation as others. But if it is, think why. And try to remember this and keep it with you.

And then try a little bit harder ;)

Labels: Injuries

#61
One Month In

By James | posted on 7 June 2009 | 3 comments

My last blog post described how I've wanted to do a one arm chin for some time and how I'll be going about it training for it.

You can read it here.

So my progression and observations so far:

At the moment when fresh I'm able to start a negative, stop at 90 degrees and pull back up to the top on my right arm. On my left no such luck making me realise me right arm is a lot stronger than my left. A Possible way to work on this is to start with the weaker side first.

On the assited pull ups front I was able do 8 reps with my assisting arm at the very bottom of the belt. The first problem with this is that the there isnt enough resistance to keep the number of repititions below 5. Strength gains can still be made in the 5-10 range but instead of training for maximum strength the focus shifts to hypertrophy, and considering I'd like to achieve the OAC as quickly as feasibly possible it's not in my best interests.

The second problem that arose was that once my assisting arm was at the bottom of the belt the position that my body was moving through thoughout the movement was not close enough to an OAC, as I was twisting out changing my hand position on the bar to a neutral grip.

To solve both these problems I wore a 10kg weighted vest and adjusted the height of my assiting arm so I could keep the reps to 5 or less.

A big issue I've noticed many people face is elbow tendonitis. To avoid this I've really tried to listen to my body for any aches and pains I've found out of turn elbows or otherwise and resting until they've gone and begin training again. I've also been using this to gauge how my much I've recovered muscularly and judge how many days to rest to get the best results from my training. Although I am on a program and consistensy is a key to success, the human body isn't a machine and should be listened to.

From the past months training I've changed the regime to:

1 to 3 sets of 5 reps of negatives depending on how controlled they are

3 to 5 sets of 5 reps assissted OAC's depeding on how successfully I'm able to complete each repitition without kipping.

I'll keep training and hopefully I'll get the skill down in the next couple of months.

Labels: Injuries, Training

#35
Body Armour.

By Andy | posted on 17 April 2009 | 5 comments

If you are one of our academy students I'm sure you will agree with me when I say that we heavily supplement our classes with a large dose of conditioning. I still remember my first class at moberley and being completely horrified at how absolutely unfit I was... Barely able to do a situp or last a minute without doubling over and gasping for breath. Alas, I stuck with it and started off (very) slowly and eventually built up my strength and fitness bit-by-bit. Apart from this obvious benefit, why else do we do conditioning?

Last month I learnt a new reason... body armour.

Yes, conditioning will give you bigger jumps, faster speed vaults, get you doing those muscle-ups easier, but it will also help protect you for those moments when you to slip, fall and trip. I'm not talking about flesh wounds that we all get, i'm refering to those (hopefully) rare times when the universe is plotting against you and it all goes horribly wrong. Sometimes there is absolutely nothing you could have done to protect yourself from that injury, but in other cases maybe there was something to reduce your injury... I for one am thankful for all the push-ups, sit-ups and quadrupedie (to name a few) we do because I feel like it saved me from something that could have been much, much worse.

"I for one am thankful for all the push-ups, sit-ups and quadrupedie (to name a few) we do..."

Obviously all injuries and situations are different, but its a simple choice that doesn't take a genius to understand... Do I protect myself as much as I can while I train, or don't I? This doesn't mean conditioning gives you an invisible kevlar vest that allows you to be reckless, but it may be the one thing that stands in the way of that oncoming floor and you...

Labels: Injuries

#30
Dealing with serious injury

By James | posted on 7 April 2009 | 3 comments

Injury. Something we all may face at some point or another while training, whether it be small grazes, cuts, bruises or perhaps something more serious. We prepare our mind & body for the worst of outcomes through conditioning and repitition, perfecting a jump.

The reason I bring attention to this is because a while ago I seriously injured my left knee on a running cat leap and have had to change my approach to training completely. People often ask me how can I still train if I can't jump and in this article I'll give you some ideas on how to continue progression while injured.

The biggest key of all is to stay happy and enjoy what you're doing.

Injury isn't the end of training. There are many aspects to consider while training in general, so when an injury comes along focus should be moved onto the areas it doesnt effect. A very simple example is if you sprain you left wrist doing a vault you can try a vault that only requires use of your good hand. In a broader sense this approach to training with an injury will allow you to continue progression even if there is a lengthy recovery period.

The first thing I do when injured is list every thing I'm capable of doing without slowing down recovery. This may range from basic movement to physical and mental training. Rather than seeing it as a step back see it as a chance to work on your weaknesses for example if your lower body is injured focus on muscle ups or rail balance at height outside your comfort zone to challenge you mentally, if your upper body is injured focus on perfecting your touch and strength. Your outlook on training should always be positive and you should leave each session feeling you've achieved atleast one thing and forget you even have an injury. With this mind set in no time recovery will fly by.

The last thing I'll touch on is the mental approach to training. One thing I've learnt from sustaining a lengthy injury is that your mind still develops and sees new jumps that you didn't realise previsously, even when you're injured. Your mind will still progress even if your body needs to catch up meaning you will still have constant progression. If you experience this, keep the jump in mind and visualise your self performing it perfectly over and over. With the right attitude when you come back to the jump 100% it should be vastly easier to do.

The biggest key of all is to stay happy and enjoy what you're doing. Look at the bigger picture. In terms of how long you will be practicing parkour in your life and the amount of time the injury will encompass. In comparison this will be a very short amount of this time and is an another experience to learn from.

Labels: Injuries

#28
LA MACHINE DE FORCE

By Forrest | posted on 3 April 2009 | 7 comments

(Original Picture here)

Cela fait maintenant 4 mois et 1 semaine que je me suis fait op�r� du genou. Aujourd�hui nous sommes le mardi 17 mars 2009 et comme toujours, mon rendez-vous chez le kin� s�est bien pass�.

Après 5 minutes de v�lo pour m� �chauffer, elle m�a demand� de m�installer sur cette chaise: La Machine de Force. Elle mesure la force qu�un individu d�veloppe au niveau du quadriceps et de l�ischio-jambier dans la flexion et l�extension. 1 mois auparavant, j�avais d�j� fait le test pour comparer la diff�rence entre mes deux jambes. J�avais r�ussi � l�impressioner par mes r�sultats. �ce matin, cela devrait �tre une parti de plaisir, plus facile� je me disait, et bien que je me soit impos� une longue et �puisante s�ance de marches la veille, je me sentais frais. Elle me dit:�Aujourd�hui, tu le feras que de jambe gauche mais j�aimerais que tu fasses 6 s�ries cette fois.�

C�est parti, je souffle, je pousse, je me cramponne et j�enchaine les s�ries sans vraiment transpirer, je me sens bien. Voila, c�est fini! Elle s�approche avec les r�sultats et me dit:�on peut voir une l�gère am�lioration avec le pr�c�dent test, vos r�sultats sont bons voir m�me excellents et vous �tes largement au dessus de la moyenne. Mais parce que vous tes beaucoup plus fort que cette moyenne, je dois avouer que je m�attendais qu�ils soient meilleurs.� Pour etre honn�te, j� �tais moi aussi un peu d��u, j�avais l�impression d� �tre nettement plus fort que la dernière fois. La machine ne trompe pas...

�Dans 2 mois on remet �a�, me dit elle en souriant. Je lui r�ponds gentiment:� � dans 2 mois en meilleure forme.� Avec un l�ger sourir, j� �cris la date sur cette carte de visite de mon prochain rendez vous. Je rentre dans l�acsenceur, je mets mes �couteurs, je s�lectionne ma musique et des que la porte s�ouvre , je commence � courir pour aller � la maison et je me dit:�dur, dur mais accroche toi, c�est Presque fini.� Eh oui! A nouveau je me sens bien et prèt � l�action...

Labels: Injuries

#23
A lil Scratch... pt.II

By Mr.Bounce | posted on 22 January 2009 | 3 comments

(Continued from Part One!)

...this lil scratch! Now... this had to be one of the strangest moments in my life. As you can see from looking at the scratch, you could say its not exactly a papercut, yet at the time, there was absolutely no unusual sensation on my shin where the scratch was, pain or otherwise. In fact, if anything it was my left thigh that was still aching, so as I stared at my shin in a mixture of disbelief and wonder: the disbelief from the fact that if this was as bad as it looked, then why did it not hurt more?... and the wonder as to how a wound this deep is not bleeding, and in addition just trying to rationalise to myself that I may just be staring at a combination of bone and sinew... MY bone and sinew! Either way, there was a definite alarm bell of concern that was ringing that told me that this... was... not... good!

I immediately dropped my trouser leg to cover it again, put on a nice lil poker face, moved to a quiet corner away from the others, and called Dan over. When he arrived, I knew wanted both a second opinion, as well as wanting to see the look on his face (Dan being man that is always composed in the midst of any situation)... as soon as I showed it to him, he took one look and nodded once (and I think maybe raised an eyebrow) and pointed straight at my leg saying "You need to go to hospital!". I think I remember chuckling.

First of all we called over our resident Mystical Medic, Doctor J (I'll keep his name out of this, but suffice to say he studies Ninjitsu Medicine amongst other things, and always carries some type of kit with him to treat people). Obviously, on seeing the scratch, Doctor J was off and back in a flash with his bag of tricks. I sat down on a wall and elevated my leg, and Doc told me to brace myself as he prepared to sprinkle in some magical substance into the wound that would stem the bleeding (apparently used by the Chinese military for use by field medics on wounds like these)... I braced myself, but oddly enough, no pain!! Now to me, that wasn't as reassuring as you may think, as, with a wound like this one, you are SUPPOSED to feel pain!! Still, i remained calm, and let Doc strap me up, as Andy sorted out a ride for me to the hospital. Now, to me this was all fun, what with being painless and all, but the expressions... no.. the grimaces on the faces of anyone that saw my leg would make you think otherwise!

Still, I got up, limped over to Mr.Blinky and his motorbike, tossed on a helmet and hopped on the back!

I have to say, the ride to the hospital was an interesting experience, as obviously I didn't want to bend my right leg at all! This meant that with my leg hanging straight, for every right turn we took on the road, I'd have to elevate my leg up slightly as the bike leant the ground closer and closer towards my foot! Still, it was a short trip and we arrived at the hospital within around 5 minutes (not because Blinky's a maniac on the road or anything... no... he was much more controlled than I thought), but because thankfully, St.Thomas' was fairly a close distance by road!

Now... I'll skip most of the details of waiting in Casualty to be seen, but lets just say that there were some interesting characters in that waiting room...

"Now, to me this was all fun, what with being painless and all, but the expressions... no.. the grimaces on the faces of anyone that saw my leg would make you think otherwise!"

...there was the nice lady that had been locked out of her house by closing the door and locking her keys inside, and so had decided to break back in by climbing over her garden fence - the very same garden fence that was covered in end to end in Barbed wire! Lets just say that her bandages that she'd dressed herself with were now soaked a pretty shade of crimson, which matched the shade of her embarrassed face as she told me her tale...

...then there was Old Man Tony... a VERY loud, and very friendly old fella who told me that from time to time would succumb to dizzy spells and faint, often knocking his head, which was a shame... but then, the fact that also admitted that he'd consumed copious amounts of alcohol before some of these spells might have had something to do with the falls? Maybe...?

...and then there was this one very attractive girl that walked in not too long after I did, but unlike everyone else that looked forlorn, dizzy or bloody, she looked fit as a fiddle, and just a little peeved at having to wait around rather than be off living it up. Her story sounded relatively benign: she'd felt some pain in her Achilles while walking around, but being a Sunday, her GP wasn't open, and because she was working the next day wanted to get a sick-note to cover her shift... (turns out she was a student of fashion as well as director of short films... if fact, she later showed me a short Mafia movie she'd directed which makes me think she's out to be the next Martin Scorsese) ...to cut a long story short, after seeing the doctors at the hospital and being examined, it turned out that she'd had a strain on her Achilles over time, and

was advised to rest her feet as much as possible, take some pain-killers, and for the moment to only walk around in high-heels! Thinking logically, I think the position of the feet in heels would cause less pressure on her Achilles Tendon... and from the smile on her face, I don't think she minded one bit! Of course, if in my life I ever have a pain my MY Achilles, I will not be heading to St.Thomas' for treatment ;)

...but I digress...

Labels: Injuries

#16
A lil Scratch... pt.I

By Mr.Bounce | posted on 22 October 2008 | 3 comments

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