Topic: Social pressure

[RhayneD]

Hi everyone!

I've been away from the APK boards for a while, but seeing this topic on my return has definitely put a smile on my face.

For me, though I'm not yet 30, I am in what I would like to call the "too old for PK" limbo age range. I wouldn't call what I feel embarassment, but I have take actions to train at strange times like 4am and just before dawn. This is a time when I know no one will be about. It sucks to see that look of "Aren't you too old for that?" settle onto someone's feature when you tell them about PK. It's the main reason I won't go to jams or meet-ups, because I know I'll be the "geezer" with the kids. 

I hate it, and the feelings that come with it, but I love PK SO, SO, SO much. And though I've been doing PK for almost 2 years now, and have progressed greatly, I don't know that I'll be able to "part of the PK community." Sigh. I guess I'll love PK in secret, lol.

However, you are all a definite inspiration!

Rhayne

[dwellens]

RhayneD

Please refer to my response to your "geezer tee shirt" idea.

With love,
David Wellens

[zorroh451]

I'm 44 and not ready to stop being a kid.  While my body has aged, my brain got stuck somewhere about age 15.  Give me a paperclip, a glass, and a handful of peanuts, and in 5 minutes I've developed a game to keep me and whoever is with me occupied for an hour.

I work with alot of very well-mannered office people who sit in meetings and sit in cubicles and sit in their cars and sit... well, you get the drift.  One of the best things about being 40+ is that I'm not as hung up as I used to be about what people think about me.  Life is way too short to live according to others expectations about who I should be or how I should act.

I "discovered" parkour about 6 months ago, and was intrigued with the way that it uses ordinary objects to foster play, (before you slam me, I know all about the definition of parkour, it's noble history, and all that).  You could never classify what I do as smooth, flowing motion, anyway.  It reminded me of the things that we used to do when we were kids to have fun; run, climb, and jump.

I just wanted to thank everyone in this forum, (and the online parkour community in general), for giving me the tools and encouragement to unlease the inner child in new way. 

Play hard, play safe.

Dave

[Gregg]

I twisted my ankle 2 weeks ago and it still hasn't fully healed. My wife said "No more of that free base running for you."

It feels like another week or so before I can jump comfortably. I'm supposed to find some gym where I can "do it safely". Which is pretty pathetic, since nothing like that exists out here [HI]. And ironic, since I was jumping onto safety pads when I hurt myself.

Biking, swimming, walking... oh well. It's just another obstacle to overcome.

[Marcos]

Well, I'm sincerely impressed with you guys.

I'm so new to parkour that I don't have many stories. I only found out about it about a week ago.

Don't know if I can legally post here since it is in the 30+ category. I'll be 58 this fall.

I have been doing Aikido for the last 29 years so I have been able to maintain a lot of my flexibility. Someone told me today that my one big trick so far just blows people away. That trick is getting up from the floor or sitting down on the floor with no hands. Big deal. But, most of the under 20's can't seem to master it.

As far as what people think, I stopped caring about 50 years ago. Besides, the people that know me expect me to be eccentric 

I'm taking a slow-but-steady approach but don't see anything to prevent me from enjoying the experience. Falls and rolls no problem. I will lose a little weight to be able to do some of the vaults, etc. I don't think the gymnastics will be too much of a problem; I have done all of that before and still do the jumps and falls required by my art.

I do believe that proper training and preparation are necessary and I look forward to the challenge.

The only people in my life that have valid opinions regarding parkour are the people that practice it, that is, you guys.

Hope you don't kick me outta here for not fitting the 30+ profile.

Sorry, gotta go. I have to practice precisions now.

Marcos

[Gregg]

Hi, Marco

This is the over 40, over 30, sometimes over 20 forum. So you qualify, no problems. Welcome to Parkour and APK. It's good to have you here.

I'm working on a new section for beginners. Are there any questions you haven't found answers for, yet? Any way we can make things easier, friendlier, or both?

Let me know...

[dwellens]

Welcome Marcos,

I think you are now the "eldest" elder-statesman on APK.  At 55, I think I USED to be.  (This particular forum topic was a result of me ordering the videos a year ago and M2 discovering how old I was.)  Your perspective will be much valued, not only from your age, but from your background.  Good to have you on board.

[Marcos]

Hi, btay

I figured you all would let me in, thanks.

I look forward to seeing your "beginner's" section.

Right now, I am working on some pre-conditioning so I can get into the flow a little better.

I think that the main problem most of us face when we begin Parkour is precisely where to begin. Obviously, this does not lend itself to a blanket answer since we all enter the flow in various conditions of physical and mental readiness.

In my case, some information on wrist conditioning would be great. They are a little sensitive from years of martial arts practice and from doing back-handsprings on concrete.

Also, how to strengthen the muscles around the knees. I never had much problem with my knees but because of excess weight and doing too many leg-extensions (machine) without some compensatory exercise about 5 years ago, my knees hurt right now.

You see? There's the problem asking a geezer about his health. He'll tell you!

As for easy and friendly, no complaints.

Marcos

[Gregg]

Hi Marcos:

Joey Marion had this about wrist conditioning:
I take a trampoline class and they have us stretch our wrist the most, which at first surprised me, but now i know why. We started by sitting and putting our hand on the ground making a 90 degree angle with arm and hand, then hitting our hand with our other one. Than put our hands together and loosely did the arm wave thing. Then we get into a crabwalk and pressure our weight slowly onto our wrist ( this will stretch a lot of your arms too). We do this 2-3 times a day and i dont feel any pain anymore from all the handstands and other excersises that we do.

Faelcind had this:
I use  the following excercises for my wrists. Clenching and unclenching the hand, circling the wrist in both directions. Wrist push ups. In a push up position push up onto your fingers lower down etc. Then put the back of your hands on the ground fingers point to each other and push up onto your fingers etc. These are difficult you can start on your knees, doing them one hand at time(with the other hand just holding support) or variations allong those lines just try to make sure you applying appopriate level of force using your weight against the wrist.

Chinese knee circles I forget who mentioned this.

Kettlebellcrazy suggested squats and 1 legged squats [pistols].

This is what I was doing for 1/2 hour or so last night:
Put your legs maybe a little more than shoulder width apart. Bend at the ankles, knees and hips as if you're dancing hula. Now, pretend your butt is a pencil. Write the alphabet. Do it horizontally, like hula, then vertically. Definitely start off small and slow. Then as you warm up, you can make the letters bigger.

The security guards at work were looking at me pretty strange. What helped me feel a little less self-conscious was holding my arms in various fighting/ blocking positions, and changing it every few letters.

[Marcos]

Thanks btay!

I'll incorporate these into my routine.

I think it is sort of presumtious to call it a routine yet. I'm approaching all of this as if I were 15 and beginning gymnastics all over again. It promises to be fun.

Marcos

[Marcos]

Welcome Marcos,

I think you are now the "eldest" elder-statesman on APK.  At 55, I think I USED to be.  (This particular forum topic was a result of me ordering the videos a year ago and M2 discovering how old I was.)  Your perspective will be much valued, not only from your age, but from your background.  Good to have you on board.

Wow Dave!

I just answered your e-mail and came back to the site. 55! Sorry to steal your thunder. Blame my mom.

When I talk to students who are in their mid-twenties or even younger and try to teach them something and they launch into a long discourse about how, "I can't do that because . . .", I feel frustrated.

I'll admit, I'm sort of out of shape right now. But, that's my fault. I have hurt myself many times. Still, I feel too ashamed to use that as an excuse to stay on the couch.

So what if I can't do a back flip off a roof? And I'm not convinced that it is impossibility. The practice of PK is still the coolest, most practical use of our ultimate resource (the body) that I can imagine. It can be used in real life.

As I mentioned, I train police. We have many independent groups of police here. But, what bothers me is that they receive no additional training after the Academy. We've got guys that are F-A-T. We have young guys that can't even touch their toes, and these are the "fit" ones in their 20's.

The average guy (or gal) wants to get a desk job and vegetate for the rest of his or her life. Me, I'm no Schwartzenegger or Dave Draper but, I can still bend over to tie my shoes.

All of they guys that love Parkour and want to practice it should do it (safely) and expect support from people who have influence in their lives. Everything will work better

I'd like to come as close as possible to doing what the kids are doing on video. No one to tell me no. Baby-steps and caution. As I do this, I want to set the pace for some of the younger people here in my city. I would like to introduce Parkour here as a respectable art. (Emphasis on art.)

The kids fascinate me. But, as in my art of Aikido, I think that it is something should be a life-long pursuit and not just something to do until you incapacitate yourself permanently.

Just so those who are not in this age group don't get me wrong, you young guys absolutely inspire me. I just want to encourage you to take necessary precautions and the time necessary to master your art. Mastery is a level above just being able to do something. It implies something near total control.

My art is physical as well as mental/spiritual. I'm still practicing and teaching after almost 30 years. I've seen others burn out after a short run and never take up another physical activity. Just imagine the possibilities if you can keep on improving your art for 30 - 50 - 60 years!

I'm a (practicing) fan.

Marcos

[Cliff Boz]

Hi everyone!

I've been away from the APK boards for a while, but seeing this topic on my return has definitely put a smile on my face.

For me, though I'm not yet 30, I am in what I would like to call the "too old for PK" limbo age range. I wouldn't call what I feel embarassment, but I have take actions to train at strange times like 4am and just before dawn. This is a time when I know no one will be about. It sucks to see that look of "Aren't you too old for that?" settle onto someone's feature when you tell them about PK. It's the main reason I won't go to jams or meet-ups, because I know I'll be the "geezer" with the kids. 

I hate it, and the feelings that come with it, but I love PK SO, SO, SO much. And though I've been doing PK for almost 2 years now, and have progressed greatly, I don't know that I'll be able to "part of the PK community." Sigh. I guess I'll love PK in secret, lol.

However, you are all a definite inspiration!

Rhayne

Ain't NO shame in being ~28 and calling yourself a traceur. Like ALL of my PK friends (which are most of my closest friends) are ~20 avg, and it isn't a Thing whatsoever. I'll second David Wellens: you're only as old as you allow yourself to feel.

The only setbacks as I see it is that injuries happen easier, and can take longer to recover from, tho. But as far as social pressures... ain't there if you don't want 'em.

[DCF]

"We do not stop playing because we grow old: we grow old because we stop playing." A quote from one famous American, and I've never heard a truer word said.

I am thirty-two now but have led a charmed life with regards to remaining (fairly) injury-free and active. I sometimes get the feeling that if I decide to slow down, then my fitness will drop and I will soon be content just to sit down and watch other people play. Then I will be old. The kid in me will never let this happen and, so long as I can out-run/jump/climb the majority of people ten or fifteen years my junior, you can be sure I'll not stop parkour.

I don't give a stuff if people give me funny looks: I stare right back at them and smile until they can't help but return it and shake their heads. In a perverse way, I get a kick out of this just as much as doing a good drill. 

[Jim "Monkey" Parker]

"We do not stop playing because we grow old: we grow old because we stop playing." A quote from one famous American, and I've never heard a truer word said.

Awesome quote DCF!!

And that's exactly why I got into and keep doing Parkour!! I love it because its fun, it gets me into a really good mood (even on those days when my knees are swollen) and it keeps me young. (My older cousin once told me that around 30 the "mysterious" aches and pains would start in..I thought he was joking...alas I was wrong!)

One of my favorite things to do as a kid was play don't-touch-the-ground tag with friends. For years now I have been walking by playgrounds and reminiscing about those games. Now that I'm a Traceur...I'm back on those playgrounds, running and jumping and grinning my head off!

I get funny looks, but I am having too much fun to worry about them.