PKFlowcast Episode 2

this is the PKFlowcast Episode 2. on this show I have John Reynolds, a free runner from Denver, Colorado. I asked him a few questions about how and why he trains.

Johns links:

http://www.facebook.com/babyjohn1

http://www.youtube.com/babyjohnpk

http://www.twitter.com/johnreynoldss

I got to interview Crowdrock aka Jason Roth. He spoke with me about his love of music and even brought a track for us to play...........Sweet!!!!!!

Jasons links:

http://www.basslabmusic.com

http://www.facebook.com/crowdrock

http://www.myspace.com/crowdrock

Nujabes Article:

http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/goodbye/dj-nujabes-dead-rip/ 

link to more nujabes:

http://www.myspace.com/nujabes

my links:

http://www.wfpf.com

http://www.theviciousgrip.com

This was my warm up session before I went to train in an awesome play ground. I love warming up with my style. it really gives me a chance to put my head in the right place. It take the fear away from my training because my style is so complex that when I do the more linear stuff it all just seems easier. enjoy.

So I am not gonna waste your time writing a long drawn out Blog. So, I'll just say this:

below is the video and audiop version of this podcast.

you can download the audio one and the video is just there for those that like video.

Enjoy

Brian Taylor

We all have stress. It is part of life. A bit of stress is helpful for the body and soul. It exercises parts of us that can only be exercised in that way. But its important to expel that stress once we are done with it. If we contain it, it begins to fester like an infection.

As tracuers and free runners we have a very unique way to remove that stress. Through focused action we can block out everything else. Once we center our attention on the task at hand everything else seems to melt away. There are no thoughts about our jobs or our personal drama. All we have is the moment. The action. That one sliver of time where nothing is more important than which muscle should fire at which time, or, when our foot plants which way should our toe point. These simple  calculations can be the ultimate form of meditation.

There are those that can sit in one spot and empty their mind, but for those of us that need to be in motion, sitting still is out of the question. This form of meditation can elevate its self for the serious and well experienced practitioner as the concept of flow begins to manifest in their personal style. The advanced runner is open to more of a blank like form of thought. A way of thinking without thinking. This does not mean that because you can do a back double full off a wall that you will achieve this bliss. Quite the contrary. Finding connectivity between multiple moves in order to produce fluidity seems to bring on this blank sensation while the larger tricks appear to bring out a sense of exhilaration and excitement.

Quick example. Find a very long rail. Balance on that rail. Walk that rail. At the end look back at the rail and recall your thoughts. My guess is the only thought you had was about maintaining you balance and not falling down. Everything else just seemed to disappear.

Creativity and originality. Those are the 2 foundations of making something new and innovative. If we truly desire to break away from the pack we need to be dynamic. Seriously, how many times can we really stand to watch the same move being done by different people. After a certain point people just get tired of watching.

Now I understand that  some things are staples of what we do as Tracuers and Free Runners. The Kong and the Kash and the slew of other basic moves. Those should naturally be in almost every video. But I personally feel its all about the connections between those moves. Everybody and their brother has a corkscrew to a crazy tumbling combo. But did you ever notice that it is the innovative videos that skyrocket to the top. Stuff that we haven’t seen  a million times.

Lets take Oleg for example. He doesn’t blow his load on a video every couple of weeks. But when he drops a video, everybody watches. Why? Because he is doing stuff that makes people say WTF??? Then they spend the next 6 months trying to catch up when they should stop trying to follow and find a way to lead. If you just try to catch up you’ll always be one step behind.

If we stopped trying to produce the next huge video on the tube, and focus on more precise and controlled movement, we would see an explosion of innovative styles, instead of a remix of the videos that are already out there.

Now I understand that the video is a statement. A declaration of “look what I have accomplished”. I am guilty of producing them myself. But think about this for your next video. Do you want to say “look what I have accomplished” or “look what I have created”. Another example is this……what do you remember the most? The original, or the knock off? And for the love of god please stop being so serious in these videos. Show us some humor, or some stupid sh*t.  Make us laugh.  Parkour is supposed to be an activity that frees the soul. It puts us in touch with our inner primate and lightens the heart.

Do you remember what it was like when you stood on top of that roof after you first really long run? When you stood on the ledge after a hard day of training, looking out over the city as the sun set. That feeling that came over you. That overwhelming sensation of accomplishment, mixed with that feeling you are seeing something that most will never see in their entire life. Show us that.

Be creative. Don’t just push to reach the limits of what others have done. Destroy those limits and FIND YOUR OWN PATH!!!!

So I have been trying to find my own path lately. I have always wanted to be set apart from all those around me in everything I do. But I was finding it a bit hard to really distinguish myself against all of these badass’s with these huge power moves. They could drop a video and have ½ million hits in a week. I didn’t really want to be a youtube star but there is that one little part of me that did want some recognition.

When I saw the Cionn video with all the creative movement it kinda clicked. I had been working on a new style for a few months prior to that video but was really unsure how people would take to it. Then I said screw it. I really don’t care what folks think….I am gonna develop this style for me. But the biggest challenge was what to do.

It all started with one thing. A circle. Too often in this community people tend to think in a very linear fashion. It makes sense though. A to B and all that jazz. But since free running is about self expression, there are no rules. I started thinking in circles for every training session. Below is what I came up with.

It’s still a bit rough and this is by no means all of it…..I am keeping the best stuff top secret for a minute.

Let me know what you think. 

So I had a very interesting interaction with a Free Runner in my local community. This poor guy was under the major disillusion that he was naturally the best. My first reaction was to find a few choice words and put this guy in his place. I mean seriously, who makes such a bold claim.

Even the guys that are considered the best by our global community don't walk around advertising it. But after much thought on the subject I decided to let this guy sink his own ship. He has already alienated himself from his friends, training partners, and anyone else that ever extended a hand of friendship to him. His arrogance has gotten him booted from so many gyms it is ridiculous. all so that he can live inside this fantasy that he is "Naturally the Best".

But that one statement by itself is pure ignorance. The concept of "the Best" should not even exist in what we do. Because of the ever growing knowledge base and varying styles that have begun to pop up world wide.......can there really be a Best?

Each person that enters into this discipline is charged with the same mission. That one little sentence that defines us as free runners, practitioners and tracuers. A statement that keeps us a discipline and not a sport. a saying so profound that it can completely change a persons life.

Find your own path.

maybe he has found his own path. maybe his is a path of inward and outward deceit. If that’s what he wants to believe, who are we to judge him. But I caution others from following such a path for it is truly a lonely path indeed. If you have been in this game for any amount of time you have no doubt realized that Parkour and Free running has a certain humbling effect on serious practitioners. It can really show you what you are and are not made of. It can give you a feeling of complete exhilaration, and one of utter aggravation. It can make you a star, and its little bitch, all in the same day. It is when we grow too confident that injury will remind us of how human we are.

When one refuses to accept the fact that there are others that have strengths in our weakest areas, that is when we reach the peak of our ability. This community is just that, a community. It takes an entire village to raise a child, and when it comes to movement, we are all just children. We must allow ourselves to be open to input from others. We need to listen to our elders, as well as, those that are newbees. You never know where the most enlightening statement will come from. But the illusion that no one knows more than you is the equivalent to putting your hands over your ears and screaming really loud.

Some of the greatest knowledge about movement I ever got came from an 83 year old trapeze artist. Had I have just blown him off as some senile old man….I would not be to the level I am today. Had I not listened to the insane questions my students asked, I would not have such a powerful understanding of the basics.

“If I never fell I wouldn’t know how a fall felt, wouldn’t know what it was like to need help. Most of think that we can help ourselves, but when we look into a mirror it’s too hard to tell.”

By being arrogant, you are broadcasting to the community that you see Parkour and Free Running as nothing more than a set of moves. The true nature of it will forever remain just beyond your reach.

Just something to think about.

You know.......I have been at this Parkour stuff for a while now. I was completely prepared to just fall off the radar. I thought nobody wanted to watch videos about style or technique. I thought everybody wanted BIG TRICKS!!!!!! And I was right to some degree. So, I just kept working on my style, teaching my classes, and making my video blogs. I figured the only way to be anybody in this game was to have a 720 something or another, or a 20 foot roof gap with a gainer full.

Then something amazing happened. I started to teach classes. Through teaching I started to see purity and function of technique were far more useful than flips and big roof gaps. I found that I was getting injured less and could train longer if I stopped working on those insanely hairy tricks and focused on my tech work. And when I went to jam with those guys that were doing those huge moves….I found that they were turning to me and saying “how did you do that?”

Now that I have accepted this way of training I am beginning to understand the philosophical side more. I realize that it really is all just movement. I see how tracuers and free runners will go through phases as they train. Over the years I see people start with this amazing power and lots of huge moves that their bodies are not prepared for. Then they want to be sponsored and make a few videos that are just balls to the walls with a mega amped up techno track that has this really epic sound and feel to it. Next they get a major injury, that will shut them down for about 6 months or so. After that they make a recovery video to announce to the world that they are still at it. They actually recover and start doing the same thing all over again.

Then something magical happens. They get to a certain point and all of that goes away. Something clicks in their brains and things like balance and control become the most important part of their training. I believe it is at this point that they begin to mature as runners. Once this happens, huge tricks give way to proper technique. From that proper use of technique, all the tricks they every wanted to do become far easier because their training methods and bodies are more in tune with what they are trying to accomplish.

So in closing….I am happy that I never had a ½ million hits on youtube, or became famous for a 1080 corkscrew of a 10 foot ledge. I am just happy teaching people that its OK to be yourself and to have your own style. Not everybody can be the next Oleg or Danny. But everyone can be the best them that has ever been.

-Brian-