Frederick Feldman is a 53 year old traceur who trains primarily with his 9 year old son, Giovanni. Fred comes from an extensive martial arts background, and he loves training with his nine year old son who loves to run around and explore. Mark Toorock interviewed him over email, and Fred gives some really unique perspectives in insights into what parkour means to him. Read More for the interview!

 

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How did you hear about Parkour and what made you actually want to try it?

First, thanks, Mark, for seeing me as worthy of your time for this. Hopefully, maybe it shows that I'm very enthusiastic about Parkour. The first time I heard the word Parkour was in the documentary, "How Bruce Lee Changed The World." Years ago, there used to be French running routes in city parks called Par Course (remember those?). I used to do a five mile one four times a week. That was a long time ago. However, Parkour, as such, is pretty new to me.


What was your first experience with it after you heard about it? Did you go out that day? Did you have your son on your first outing?

My first thought was, I am going to do this. I loved it from the second I saw it on the documentary. I didn't just go out and try to do it, I could see there were concepts that needed to be learned first. My nine year old son (now 10), Giovanni, had just completed his first dan (black belt) in kenpo, which required lots of physical training which we did together. So, I wanted him to stay focused on that. But, we were running mountain trails and doing a lot of PT together, so, in a way, we were both in shape for what was to come. He was not with me on my first month or so of practice, but now that black belt training is over, he comes with me about half the time.


What are your goals for your Parkour practice?

Well, I train mostly alone. If one is into "weird" sports (more on that soon), doing them alone sometimes can be expected. With that being the case for me, I knew that I could make this work by myself. I have tried to stay in shape so that when the opportunity came, I would not have the long fitness prep hindering my ability to get in there and go. Parkour practice, however, has definitely brought me to a new level of fitness, and I know it will keep getting better.


Have you seen changes in yourself and your son that you feel are due to your Parkour training?

Well, my son is so plugged into karate, and is in a school that is so good for kids, that he is still riding the crest there. He trains at Extreme Karate and Fitness in Rocklidge, PA with Dennis Lambert and Keriann McNulty (Keriann McNulty, as you can look up, is an undefeated world champion kick boxer and forms practitioner). So, the biggest changes have been for me. Every week I see changes in my ability to apply moves. I have regained a pretty good vertical jump (I really like jumping straight up onto railings and low fences, like the ones you see in parks and recreation centers). My climbing has improved a lot, I really never did much of it before. Now I see a lot of different ways of tackling high fences and gates. Every part of the body needs to be utilized in Parkour, so I really see improvement in power in my whole body.


How old are you and what's your athletic background?

Now we come to the big question. I'm 53. I have been involved in martial arts for 40 years. I have black belts in tang soo do and hapkido. I have trained in Ed Parker kenpo, and something called Combatant Arts (a modified wing chung school here in Philadelphia, PA). The way we trained in hapkido and Combatant Arts was so intense that some of my friends would tell me about there boot camp experience, I would laugh to myself. I've always like a challenge, so being in tough martial arts schools was great. I don't like what most martial art schools are doing these days, so I haven't been involved in one for a while. What can I say, I'm an old school type: attention to detail; long tough workouts; no disco training music; almost full contact application, that sort of thing (I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about. From what I've seen, you go pretty hard!!!).
Here's an interesting thing. In hapkido, we put as much emphasis on falling and in any other component of training. No other style does that except Aikido--Greg Dunn, a Steven Seagal student said, you might get in a fight, but everybody's going to fall. In Parkour, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on falling, or at least on landing (dive rolls, full bending at the knees), so, there is a lot of similarity between good martial arts and Parkour. The main thing I've learned in martial arts which crosses over to Parkour is that you better BE THERE in the moment. You really have to build on that concept of the here and now. Like Bruce Lee said, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it...and that's something you have to train yourself into.


Are you embarrassed to try new parkour moves (or even ones your confident in) in public? How do you deal with that?

I guess like most people, I don't want to look bad in front of people, so I do most of my "new" moves where no one is near. But, when I get it down, I don't mind if people see it (a part of me wants them to see it). Interestingly, people often don't see it, because they don't expect it. Check out the background on some of the youtube vids and look at people. Are they disinterest? I don't think so. I think they are just not in tune with what's going on. I have found that to be the case with me on excursions. If someone should ever ask me about it, I would be happy to tell them about it..


What do you tell people who look at you like you're crazy?

Well, that happens a lot, but not regarding this topic.


You mentioned that your son's martial arts school didn't seem very interested ion Parkour, can you say why that is? Do you feel that parkour training would be a benefit to people who practice traditional martial arts?

Martial arts "schools" are very territorial. It's like anything else in life. When you mix art with money, it changes things. I think they just see it as an intrusion. It's not what they do, so there is no reason to support it. That, plus no matter what spin is put on Parkour, they main thing is it does not require tons of formal training. I mean, if people get in touch with you and a few other around the country, what else to you need? That's not seen as a good thing for business. But, if the concept holds that Parkour and martial arts are brother and sister, maybe any tension will dissipate.


What is your son's favorite thing about Parkour? What are his fears? What has he gained?

Giovanni loves running around. He, like a lot of 10 year olds, loves to explore. We run through woods and streams, and catch baby game fish for his native fish tanks, and he has turtles and snakes that we've collected during our outings. So, he's a natural from that perspective. Thank goodness, he has a healthy fear of dangerous moves. He approaches them tentatively and considers them before trying. And, most of the time, he goes on to do it, but it might take a while. Again, thank goodness for his common sense..


Are you worried he'll get hurt?

Not really.


Are you worried you'll get hurt?

 A little, but only because of the way healthcare is today. In other words, I'm more worried about what I would do if I really got badly hurt. But that could happen in any sphere of life. The truth is, I think you have to get hurt to advance in any sport. I've broken both my wrists in martial arts, once in a fall and once in a tournament fight. One thing I've gained through painful experiences is this: I'm still standing, so "let's get it on."