Topic: Building Confidence

[J Kyle Smith]

I need help building confidence, I find it difficult to practice kong vaults and high jumps because I lack the confidence to fallow through. I have been working out a lot lately, which has built up my confidence but I still seem to feel inferior to those in my training group (composed of 1 guy who's been doing parkour since spring break '09 and the other the exact same time as I did, roughly 6 weeks ago).

Are there any confidence building exercises you might know of, or any suggestions?


(haha, I notice I seem post a lot of topics looking for help here, but hey isn't that what this place is for?)

[Andy Keller]

I need help building confidence, I find it difficult to practice kong vaults and high jumps because I lack the confidence to fallow through. I have been working out a lot lately, which has built up my confidence but I still seem to feel inferior to those in my training group (composed of 1 guy who's been doing parkour since spring break '09 and the other the exact same time as I did, roughly 6 weeks ago).

Are there any confidence building exercises you might know of, or any suggestions?


(haha, I notice I seem post a lot of topics looking for help here, but hey isn't that what this place is for?)

We're glad to help out.

For kongs, check out tutorial videos for progression tips that allow you to break it down into smaller movements.

What do you mean by "high jumps?"

[J Kyle Smith]

We're glad to help out.

For kongs, check out tutorial videos for progression tips that allow you to break it down into smaller movements.

What do you mean by "high jumps?"

Let me rephrase that, I mean jumping off high objects. haha

[Hazim Salem]

Jumping off high objects require you to condition before, like Squats and Deadlifts. If you do it without proper conditioning, your knees and other joints will deteriorate and will waste up your legs at early age. You do NOT want to do that. I'm talking about living on a wheelchair when you're 30. Condition for impact.

[J Kyle Smith]

Jumping off high objects require you to condition before, like Squats and Deadlifts. If you do it without proper conditioning, your knees and other joints will deteriorate and will waste up your legs at early age. You do NOT want to do that. I'm talking about living on a wheelchair when you're 30. Condition for impact.

I have been practicing landings and rolls, what would be your suggestion to building up the strength to do it?

[Hazim Salem]

Weight training. Since when you fall from height, you put exert more force on your legs, simulate the same force on ground level. Weighted squats and Deadlifts are mainly used for that. And MASTER your roll. Other people will flame you for jumping off heights that you shouldn't be jumping off.
For more advice and tips, search the forums up and down. This subject has been brought up a lot. Know the thing before you attempt, and train safe.

[Andy Keller]

Along with what Hazim has said,

Don't take high drops. Parkour is NOT about jumping off of things.

Train on ground level for a while.

[Andy Animus Tran]

A good rule of measure is to not drop from any higher than waist height for about your first year (just high enough to get the technique down).

Everyone who's been training for more than 3 years will have experienced some kind of knee or joint pain.  Everyone who says that they haven't is lying.  Even those of us who stayed away from big drops and strength-trained/conditioned properly.. there's still aches here and there.  Be as safe as possible, and you minimize it.. but you NEVER get rid of it entirely.  So be as safe as possible.  I don't even want to imagine what kind of shape I'd be in if I had ruthlessly jumped off of high things and never weight-lifted.

[Jeremy Osborn]

But back to building confidence, it all comes with time, believing yourself is the same thing as confidence. You just have to commit to a movement and go for it. Thats all you can really do

[Gabe Arnold]

A good rule of measure is to not drop from any higher than waist height for about your first year (just high enough to get the technique down).

Everyone who's been training for more than 3 years will have experienced some kind of knee or joint pain.  Everyone who says that they haven't is lying.  Even those of us who stayed away from big drops and strength-trained/conditioned properly.. there's still aches here and there.  Be as safe as possible, and you minimize it.. but you NEVER get rid of it entirely.  So be as safe as possible.  I don't even want to imagine what kind of shape I'd be in if I had ruthlessly jumped off of high things and never weight-lifted.

Do shin splints count?

[Brandan Mendenhall]

Could you elaborate on your lack of confidence? Meaning, are you afraid of following through on the vault because you don't want to hurt yourself, or are you feeling intimidated by your training group?

[David Jones]

[...]Everyone who's been training for more than 3 years will have experienced some kind of knee or joint pain.  Everyone who says that they haven't is lying.  Even those of us who stayed away from big drops and strength-trained/conditioned properly.. there's still aches here and there.  [...]

Thank god someone has said this.

[J Kyle Smith]

Could you elaborate on your lack of confidence? Meaning, are you afraid of following through on the vault because you don't want to hurt yourself, or are you feeling intimidated by your training group?

I am more afraid of hurting myself while vaulting, and I only do the new vaults when my training group is present. But as soon as non-traucers come and watch us train, and expect a show, I really lose my confedince (this happened last night actaully). I feel intemindated by the by-standers.

Edit: I am feeling a bit intemindated that my training group might grow. The two people I'm training with right now are two of my longest friends, and now two people that I don't know that well are going to join. I always get intemindated by people I don't know that well.

[Mitch Hamilton]

Hey halo. I use to have a similar problem.  On both issues. I use to do terrible when bystanders would watch. And even worse when I bailed. But i got past that stage focused more on actually TRAINING than worrying about the others around me. Yes it can be a little unnerving at first when you have new people to come and train with you, A: because they might be better, B: because they might degrade you and humiliate you. But in all honesty they never really are. Maybe A but hardly EVER b.

[Brett Robert]

I encourage you to get to know very well this discomfort and fear you're experiencing.  It's part of the process of being a traceur, and one of the biggest benefits of being one is the chance to frequently confront situations that instruct us about exactly who we are.  It's only natural to compare yourself to those around you, I know I have.  However, what's important isn't what you notice in those comparisons, but how you respond to what you find. 

If you see that they can jump farther or higher, or are more fearless, what's a better response:
1) Deciding you want to improve yourself and finding the best specific information on how to do that.  Setting a goal, doing research, training hard and measuring yourself against yourself.
2) Getting discouraged and quitting because you're not good enough.
3) Deciding that you're not going to let fear rule you and going out constantly and trying to match or beat them, often attempting things beyond your abilities.

There are of course many other paths before you than these three.  I hope you find one that will help you learn as much about yourself as possible while improving as a traceur in a safe manner.

I've faced essentially the same situation.  My progress has been much slower than the people I started with.  I don't have the genetic leaping ability of one of my friends, or the years of gymnastics of another.  What I do have is the willingness to work my ass off, and the support of this amazing community.  Nothing else has ever mattered to me in the same way parkour has, probably because nothing else has allowed me to so consistently face myself in healthy and positive ways.  haloshade2, I hope you find the journey as rewarding as I have.

P.S.  Read the stickies in the General Fitness Forum, get access to a gym and start lifting.  For me lifting is just as satisfying a spiritual and mental journey as parkour.

[Brandan Mendenhall]

The thing I notice with a lot of the people I've trained with or met over the years is how poorly they react to intimidation. They will look at something they can't do, then set a very obtainable goal: "I'm going to learn to do that.",  or "I will accomplish that."

But when they set out on their journey to complete that goal, they focus really heavily on what they CAN'T do during their training. They'll think about how awesome it would be to land that backtuck, but then constantly remind themselves that they can't even do a back handspring yet. Instead of looking at their goal as as source of positive motivation, they react to it as they would to any negative reinforcement, and get discouraged.

Do what Brett said and read the stickies. Set yourself some short term goals, and some long term ones. Learn to celebrate every single success, and literally feel good about it. People will often set short term goals, but even when they complete them, they still feel like crap because they haven't yet achieved that backtuck. The saying "success breeds success" is absolutely true, in my experience. Which is also why you need to stick around with your training group, and learn from them. Don't let their skill discourage you; it should be a motivation factor to get you moving to where you want to be. Model them; do what they do; set aside some extra hours where you can take what you're learning and apply it in a quiet environment if that helps you.

"You can either become someone who will be stopped, or someone who won't. You decide." (T. Harv Eker). I'd say become someone who won't.

[Spencer B]

Everyone who's been training for more than 3 years will have experienced some kind of knee or joint pain.  Everyone who says that they haven't is lying.  Even those of us who stayed away from big drops and strength-trained/conditioned properly.. there's still aches here and there. 

My ankles and knees have been 100% fine, even with the occasional drop above head height. (I know, I know. I minimize height always, but it's still a bit high sometimes.)

However, my wrists for the past couple of weeks have been bad. My left is all healed now and my right is well on it's way I hope. Does that count as simply joint pain?

[Andy Keller]

My ankles and knees have been 100% fine, even with the occasional drop above head height. (I know, I know. I minimize height always, but it's still a bit high sometimes.)

However, my wrists for the past couple of weeks have been bad. My left is all healed now and my right is well on it's way I hope. Does that count as simply joint pain?

But you've been pretty responsible, too.

[Spencer B]

But you've been pretty responsible, too.

I try, but apparently I wasn't careful enough cause I jacked up my wrists. Ah well, almost healed. Another week off my right and I should be good.

[J Kyle Smith]

@Brett

I'm trying to take option 3 right now. I already feel victim to option 2 when I first tried out parkour, and then I realized how stupid I was for doing that.

I have already been showed up by some people who have been doing parkour less than I, and now the only things I can focus on is getting better than them, but not training in public areas. I'm even so hesitant now to train with my normal training group until I get better. But I cannot let this take the best of me, I have already quit so many things because people are better than I am, and I have had enough of it! I plan on becoming a successful engineer, and I want to use parkour as a tool to improve my life to reach that goal through physical and mental conditioning.

I just want to get over my embarrassment leading to discouragement problem, it's a terrible thing to have.