Today was a rest day for me with no real training commitments, so I decided to prepare a sampler video. This is another thing I have been putting off...I would film a little bit, play it back, not like it, and then delete the video altogether. I kept on telling myself that I should train more until I film and put a video up on the Internet, but I am now forcing myself to put a video up. I noticed that some people on YouTube who are now considerably skilled Traceurs had “noob” videos. In those videos, there was criticism and people saying how much better they were than the person in the video. But the Traceur kept on posting videos, and became really skilled. We all have to start somewhere, right? How can I make progress if I don't even know where I stand or how I look when I practice? So this time I'm posting a video, no "buts".
Each time I film, I notice more and more how difficult it can be to get the right shot. Unfortunately, I was starting to run low on film and it was getting dark, so I had to speed things up a little bit.
Here is the sampler:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFyweQbyuRYThe goal of the sampler was "short and simple", just practicing Parkour how I naturally do, rather than trying to impress. My first thought is WOW...I see bad habits. My body is hunched in parts of the video, I am going a lot slower than I think I am, and I am not putting enough power and speed into most of the movements. It's funny because when I practice, it seems like I am going much faster, but looking at it in 3rd person, it isn't. Most of the movements also look very lazy, and "held back". The rail scenes in the beginning were a little slow because that rail is a tad too low for me, but I should be able to fix that. I need more "pop" on my table vaults. I need to speed up my Wall "Kick-Overs". I need to lengthen out my running strides and run more naturally. I'll probably touch up on this later. Constructive criticism appreciated!
Now, my own opinion on what makes a "good" Traceur. There are two basic ways that I break it down to: Skill and Spirit. By skill, a practitioner needs to be co-ordinated, strong, fast, light, quiet, adaptable, and quick/nimble. But, I think just about everyone thinks that. By “spirit”, I mean mentality and personality. The practitioner needs to be humble, calm, and helpful. The person also needs to know and focus on the Parkour philosophy. With Parkour being based on a “moral” of Altruism, the person should be willing to help any other practitioner without any prejudice or bias. The person should never boast about their skills by demeaning others, even if it is discreetly. Calm, by never getting angry at themselves or others, or pressuring someone to do something. I think the saying “goes with the flow” applies here! Sometimes you can't always get the perfect shot, get a beginner to do a new vault, or have a perfect training session. But by letting these things be, and accepting them for what they are, much more desirable results can follow. Allowing the beginner to take a break, for example, can help them focus and see the technique differently, or maybe even perform it. I believe that a beginner can be “good” if they give a good effort and work hard to achieve their goal. If a beginner works very hard on a simple Kong vault, just as hard as an advanced practitioner would try for a gainer-full off a wall, I would say that they are both equally “good” because they tried and put their effort into the technique. Experience is different though...
“Good” seems to be more time consuming to explain, because there are a lot of different views about what “good” is: mindset, skill, experience...and unfortunately, many people seem to only be interested in the “big” things like jumping buildings, etc. I just wish that outsiders to Parkour could understand the efforts of the people that aren't able to jump buildings, and instead evaluate them on their mindset rather than “how big” their moves are.
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Question: What did your first Parkour/Freerunning video look like? Were you happy? Disappointed? How much did you practice before you filmed it? How are you now? Did your techniques feel fast and flowing in person, but look slow and choppy on film? How did you solve this?
Summary of this week:
Monday: Methode Naturelle inspired workout
Tuesday: Hybrid Parkour & Conditioning day
Wednesday: Tricking/Freerunning day – Tricking class
Thursday: Taught a friend
Friday: Quick late-afternoon run with focus on flow
Saturday: Filming
Sunday: Rest and editing
