Ok here goes nothing
SHIFFLETT IS SPIDERMAN
"Spiderman" is the name he goes by and the freshman fans are always eager to see his incredible moves. He jumps off ramps at frightful heights, he spins off vertical walls, and he conquers all objects that are in his way. Sophmore Timothy Alex Shifflett doens't have a built-in web slinger, but he does practice parkour, which is also known as free running.
Parkour is a relatively new practice that is misunderstood as a sport. It is more of an art and a way of life. According to shifflett, the philosophy behind parkour is simple "absolute freedom of movement." You use obstacles that are normally in your way fro enjoyment. It can be closely related to skateboarding from what you see, but it is far from the sport.
Like anything in life, everything takes practice to reach perfection. Shifflett trains by himself for the stunts he performs. Because the practice of parkour is not well known in maryland, he had to teach and train himself to master the concepts of this artful philosophy. He continually trains himself to advance his movements.
"I practice by getting on top of my shed and jumping across from the roof to the grassy plain past a barbed wire fence. It helps to overcome fear and enhances my jumping skills." explains Shifflett.
As dangerous as it is, spiderman always puts safety first. "You have to come to terms with what you can and can't do," comments shifflett. Safety equals limits.
Currentley, Shifflett is the only onewho practices free running in carroll county and one of the few in maryland. However, there is a whole society on a worldwide scale that practices this mindful art. Parkour has developed its own society through a developed internet community.
For example
www.VA-parkour.com and
www.americanparkour.com are both parkour communities that embrace its philisophy and those who practice it. Shifflet describes these communities as friendley and laid back.
Identities are important in such communities. If youve ever taken part in a Halo tournament, You know that your code name becomes your new identity. Well the parkour community also uses code names to identify thier parkour members.
Our spiderman is a part of a parkour community and he participates in regional meetins called jams. in the spring he hopes to take part in the four-day free running mega-fest with other parkour members.
This philisophy is not a joke, and like any other belief, parkour has its own history. David Belle and Sebastien Foucan of france founded parkour. They were inspired by skateboarding and theyre unconscious mindful movements developing throught theyre childhood. The concept of freedom of movement captured the minds of these two gentlemen and started a worldwide legendary movement.
However, this society now faces a challenge from within its own ranks. The Seidojin group, whihc consists of approxamitely eleven people, created a twist to parkour, giving it a skateboard-like appearance. They are loose in the philisophical guidelines of parkour and they created "free style parkour". in response to this, original members who strictley follow the philosphy of parkour expressed their opposition to what they have done to the art.
"The seidojin group has lost touch with what parkour really means," comments shifflett. As a result they are not part of the original society.
To share the philosophy and the art of movement with out south carroll community, Shifflett wrote up a proposal to start a club for parkour. but because of liability issues, his proposal failed to pass.
After practicing the art for over a year, Shifflett has gained "PK vision" According to shifflett, after following the philisophy of parkour and practicing the freedom it guarantees, one gains an intuitive vision that acts to imagine the possibilites of movement off every day obstacles.
"You just cant stop yourself," Shifflet adds.
Just recently, Shifflett was kicked out of town mall for the night because he was unable to resist his act of freedom when spotting a perfect obstacle in his way.He said that he performed a "kong", which is a type of leap, like that of superman. this incident reflects the inevitable mindset of PK vision once it is gained.
Moreover, Shifflett is working on filming a five minute long footage on parkour and the freedom of movement it guarantees.
Shifflett plans to practice this philisophical art from his whole life and dreams of using his mindful skills as a police officer.
To those interested in Parkour, Shifflett recommends to "keep it slow and keep it simple." For further questions on Parkour. check out the websites or email Shifflett at
Bmshi@Adelphia.net.
WOW im never typing that again.....
hope you guys enjoy it. i found it to be pretty well written.... and it was all going to so well until I screwed up with the last 3 word of this post!
Edited: Please, let's keep it attitude free.
