Topic: "Be Strong to be Useful" But are we? Article

[Andy Animus Tran]

Oh, the writing thing is just a personal quirk for me.  Doesn't detract from others too much, I hope.

And batman was able to get the BEST training because he had the resources to travel...  but all-in-all, his training is a result of diligence, not wealth.  It's the time he puts into it.. the endless hours.  The fact that every waking moment (and sleeping) of his life is spent on bettering himself for the sake of others.  He could have done it as a poor man, and been just as good, because it isn't necessarily WHO trained him, but how much of himself he put into it.  I'll cite others around him who hadn't his privilege, but can hang with him.. Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing), Jason Todd (Robin/Red Hood), Tim Drake (Robin), Stephanie Brown (Spoiler/Robin), Helena Bertrelli (Huntress), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), Cassandra Cain (Batgirl)...  In the case of the latter, there is a poor girl who grew up with the most severe of training.. and can match Batman easily.  But the thing about all of these people is that they spend EVERY moment training, or thinking about training.  They made their life's mission to help others, and nothing can get in the way of that.

I'm not saying that that should be us...  As Leon said, we aren't superheroes and we aren't vigilantes.  But whenever I get into a slump of my training, I go and read some Batman comics, and I realize what can happen if I'm NOT strong enough, fast enough, etc..  And I realize that I can always devote more of myself.

[Adam McC]

I succumb to your completely superior knowledge of comic heroes. *bow*

[Shadowcat]

If I may.  It is preparation of the mind, the decisiveness of action that may be the most valuable thing that we take away from the practice of parkour.  Just as indecision will cause a vault to fail, failure to act in life can, and often has, had calamitous ramifications.  So prepare yourself for that eventuality, the day where the unexpected will face you and your greatest asset will be your ability to assess danger and your willingness to do what must be done without hesitation.

[David Glass]

We use it, many times without realizing it

A couple of times I realized I had used it:
- Basketball was about to fall on my neighbor's corvette
- My 1y/o kid was about to see how good a steak knife tasted

I din think about how I was going to vault something, I just went for it. Had I 'gone around' who knows what the consequences would have been, if any, but pretty proud moments I don't mind saying

My point is, being "useful" as for the use of Parkour doesn't necessarily mean chasing down a bandit, or saving someone from a fire on the third floor, it might just be catching your kid before he sticks his finger in the electric outlet

[Ronster82]

Loved the concept of the article. Its pretty much been discussed but I would like to say something with the career aspect.

Cyril Raffaelli is a professional stunt man who makes a career by doing stunts that often incorporate parkour. Has he personally come to my door and offer to help me? No, but that doesn't mean he hasn't made a difference in my life. His videos were one of the first that motivated me to starting this discipline. Thats all it was, a video I saw of him. Look where I am now, reading an article on a parkour forum, training everyday to better myself (more fit, disciplined, etc...) and now I do what I can to share what I have learned with people in my local community. I hope one day to be a stunt man and make the same impact on people that Cyril, David, Daniel, Chase, Levi, (the list goes on) have made on me. They didn't come up to me and say "Ronnie you should better your self" and break down a whole philosophy, all I saw was what they have done with their lives and how they share it with other people.

People on these forums do this same thing all the time for people, by posting training videos, articles, friendly discussions (most of the time), etc... Providing information, and knowledge for someone to better themselves. But It's up to someones own free agency whether or not they will take this new information and better themselves.

I don't know where I'm really going with this, I really appreciate the basis of your article. It doesn't take a lot, to do a whole bunch for someone else, is an idea I have always followed. All it takes is a gesture and you can make someones day.

Lastly by bettering yourselves, you will be bettering other people, it may be on a small scale or big scale. But it starts by bettering your self before it betters some one else. Just start with diligent training and you are already making a difference.

[Adam McC]

For sure bro. We can make differences in so many ways, through all the tools in the world, be it the internet, the TV, in person, through word of mouth. We have so much opportunity in this modern world. It's awesome.

[Casey Kandel]

I think the ending to the new Batman movie has a good moral for this topic. I cannot put it into my own words and I can't really remember his words word for word but it is good.

crap post

[Sam Zytka]

how so Casey eastphilly kandal, i dont really remember the words either but weren't they just talking about how Batman would have to endure the shit he got from Gotham's residents because overall he is the only one who can take the criticism and him being in gotham was better for gotham

sorry didnt know how else to word it but im not sure that is what they said at all, i think it is but i honestly dont remember that well

[Casey Kandel]

I took it as, "We can all try to be heros (in our case "useful") but do the people really need an actual hero... or just someone to look up to."

Maybe I took it the wrong way or I am thinking of a different part of the movie.

 

[Sam Zytka]

o i wasnt saying thats how i took what he was saying i was just trying to rephrase what he said not my interpretation of it

[Casey Kandel]

I really cant remember all to well. That movie gave me weird dreams last night.

[Francesco Caban]

I remember when I was in OHIO for the parkour Horizons/Generations workshop.  a young boy there asked a question to Stephane Vigroux "have you ver had to use your Parkour skills to help some one in danger?"  Stephane simply said "no" (keep in mind he does keep his answers short because A: English is a second language to him, and B; that night he was tired.  Quickly after his statement I believe Kaz Uma took the mike and said "When we would train with David or when the Yamakasi would train, we would often create scenerios in our heads to help us overcome our fear of a dangerous physical challenge that we may have been about to do."  "After a certain amount of time that method does not work any more and you have to do task for the sake of doing it for you, because you choose to do it"   in different arts their is always the thing that you practice, soem of those thinsg help you create schemas to aide in other areas of life.  From Aikido I orginally learned how to role away and turn energy into a circle, from break dance I learned how to move in almost all dynamic situations on flat ground, and in parkour i have learned that I need to be full of life and a love for moveing and training hard every day all the time.  If those things can help me save someone when they can't save themselves then so be it.  I have rarely seen a martial artist have to fight outside the Dojo, I have rarely seen a dancer move in a dynamic manner other than for the sake of dancing, But in parkour I have seen it more done mainly because you use it where you practice it "outside and on urban structures"   I think it's just the playing field in which we are comfortable and so we use it most often in that situation because are most often in that situation. 

MURG

[David Glass]

I had another "PK training saves the day" moment this weekend. I posted it here:

http://www.americanparkour.com/smf/index.php?topic=11204.msg133587#msg133587