No Classes this Sunday the 9th of May

Posted by Sammy on May 3, 2010 in Classes | 0 comments

There will be no class this Sunday the 9th of May as most of the instructors will be Caving to celebrate Richard’s Birthday.

However we do encourage people to take this opportunity to find traceurs in their own local area to train with or organise training sessions. We look forward to seeing you all back on the 16th.

Committing to the Jump

Posted by Sammy on Apr 24, 2010 in Training | 0 comments

We all know that moment before the jump. Those crucial seconds where you have to search deep inside for that reason, that motivation – the courage to jump. The magical mindset where you simply know that you will make it. Some psych themselves up until they are bursting with energy while others find that relaxation into the comfort of the present moment does the trick. Even more justify it by recalling similar jumps they had made in the past.

We all know it’s less dangerous to commit 100% to a jump than to barely stretch out, eyes-closed with limbs flailing in the air hoping to grab onto something solid before landing on our butt and wondering what went wrong. But how do we get to this state where it is best to jump from? There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to commit to a jump but in this article I hope to explore a few ways I have found the courage in the past.

Method #1 – Getting out of your Head

The mind is an excellent slave but a terrible master. If, like me, you have an over-active imagination that enjoys assaulting you with thousands of images of your failure, from various angles and in High-Definition you may find this next technique particularly helpful in steering your conscious attention away from those lethal images and instead out into the environment and into your senses.

This technique relies on noticing certain points in the visual field and trying to hold them in conscious attention for as long as possible. The awareness of these points catapult the jumper out of their head and into their body.

I’ve put together a nifty image to help demonstate these five points.

• Points 1 & 2: The very extremities of your peripheral vision – just above eye line. If you hold your arms outstretched and raise them just above your eyes then move them until you can barely see your hands – those are the two points.
• Point 3: This was difficult to demonstrate but imagine looking straight through the landing point – in my case I would picture the wood chips just behind the plank of wood.
• Points 4 & 5: Two other interesting points anywhere in your visual field – it helps if they are brightly coloured.

The trick is to bring all these five points into awareness simultaneously. You will find that it is difficult to focus on more than one or two points at a time but this technique works because you are trying to hold those points at the same time. This technique will calm you and slow your breathing. This place you find yourself in is a much better place to jump from and it is easier to commit from here because you are relaxed, at ease and far removed from the constant incessant chatter inside your skull.

Method #2 – Modelling

This second method was derived from a technique in Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) where people imagine someone else’s actions in a difficult time. Basically it’s WWJD? The technique relies on the jumper’s imagination to take the first step to simply making the jump appear possible in the their mind’s eye. The jumper calls upon someone they know who could make the jump – be it David Belle or someone inspiring closer to home. The train of thought I follow is:

I Can’t Do This  ->  Who Could?  ->  What Would That Look Like?

From here one begins to play an internal video of the jump being done by someone – usually from 3rd person. The next step you want to take is transferring that 3rd person view into a 1st person one – seeing the entire jump from takeoff to landing through their eyes. Here you begin to jump with them. Once you play that ‘brain.gif’  several times through you want to begin to see yourself doing. Now that you’ve had a simulated experience of jumping it is much easier to see yourself handling the jump and, as before, see it first in 3rd person and then in 1st.

In a few simple steps we’ve gone from visualising only failure to having a very clean simulation of the jump to help fill us with confidence. From this place it’s much easier to ’step into’ our mental video and complete the jump.

These two techniques are by no means limited to helping you commit to a jump. They can be used at any time when you need focus, relax and feel confident. They work even better together and in this order.

If you have your own method of getting to that state then leave a comment, I’d love to hear about it.

No Classes on Easter Sunday

Posted by Sammy on Mar 29, 2010 in Classes | 0 comments

Unfortunately there will be no classes this Sunday the 4th of April however we do encourage people to take this opportunity to find traceurs in their own local area to train with. We look forward to seeing you all back on the 11th.

New Video: Barnz Tour 2010

Posted by Sammy on Feb 23, 2010 in Video | 0 comments

Back to Business

Posted by Sammy on Feb 21, 2010 in Classes | 0 comments

We hope to see plenty of new faces when classes return on Sunday, March 7th. For more details about classes check out the Classes section.

New Year, New Look & New Forums

Posted by Sammy on Feb 21, 2010 in Website | 1 comment

So after several years of trusted use we decided it was time to revamp the Sydney Parkour website to get more inline with current trends and keep up with the demands of our super-connected world. Some of the improvements include a dedicated page for classes including a F.A.Q, an updated services page and improvements on the information about us. You’ll also notice the blog-style homepage in which we hope to keep regularly updated with news, current events, articles, pictures, videos and more. There’s a handy search function and archive on the bottom of the page and a shoutbox on the right for all your venting needs.

Unfortunately we had to switch to new forums because of our new content management system which means you will have to register again and get to work polluting the new Off Topic section. We’ve played around with the forums a bit adding a Fitness, Nutrition, Strength & Conditioning section which shouldn’t be overlooked by the aspiring traceur.

So have a dig around, get acquainted with the new design, introduce yourself on the new forums and check back regularly for the latest on all things Parkour in Sydney. Feel free to tell us what you think of the new site by leaving a reply.