So the weekly blog ideo sort of got lost over summer...
I had a very very busy time over summer with constant coaching, training and working pretty much nonstop.
I did get a little holiday for a week in italy which was great and my other coaches did a fantastic job of covering classes for me.
I've been sort of plagued with minor injuries all summer which has been a bit annoying for my technical progress but ive accepted that injury is part of training and found ways round it.
I think a little round up of my training and progression over summer is a good way to look at where I got next with my training.
Technical Training.
Over Summer I've been working loads on touch and light movement. I've had pretty much constant injuries around my feet/ankles so it's been low impact all the way.
Ive learned loads about being very precise and controlled in my movement which is at the core of all of training, even conditioning excercises.
When ive been free of injury, I've seen my jump getting bigger and more confident which is great, but i wish I could have progressed more. Injuries make me sad...
I think ive started to move a lot stronger and faster also, big routes are feeling very seamless and fast which is nice.
Overall my technical progress has been ok but I hope to progress a lot more during winte when my foor completely heals.
Strength Training.
After experimenting with a month of no conditioning and ending up with aches and pains, and also really missing it, ive been working very very hard physically.
Big conditioning sessions, loads of quadrupedie and even on my 'play' days ive been slipping in some good hard work.
Strength work is a very big part of Parkour - it's not all about the movement and it's something that can always be worked on no matter what injuries or aches you have. In a way i think conditioning and strength work encapsulates the spirit of Parkour more than any other aspects. It requires discipline, focus, serious work and a strive to improve and push one's limits.
I wish that more traceurs would see this. I tend to think that without conditioning/quadrupedie you arent really practicing parkour at all. If you just move you are only training one aspect of the discipline.
so i'm feeling very good about my strength but have some new targets set for the next few months, particularly working my legs while my foor is injured.
Coaching.
My summer of coaching has been a massive massive learning experience with loads of workshops over many different environments and people.
Im also coaching at Rendezvous IV next week. It's a massive honour to be asked to help out there, and it's also going to be a really interesting challenge to work with practitioners who are miles ahead of me in terms of experience.
Im reallylooking forward to it and feeling the buzz about all my coaching and classes at the moment.
It's been a good summer overall, just need to keep working and keep my head down.
Friday 21 August 2009
Glasgow Parkour Coaching Year 1
What a summer.
As everyone probably knows im trying really hard to grow Glasgow Parkour Coaching as an organisation. I try to improve on my coaching and GPC's standards and reputation every day.
It's important to me that Parkour is passed on in the right way and I think have access to the right resources and a growing number of contacts and channels to make this happen. It's important that Parkour gives people a positive and healthy attitude towards leading their lives and I try to convey that through my coaching and through GPC.
It's really exciting and busy times - sorry I've not been out much.
This time last year I had 2 adult classes a week which were pretty dead and I was coaching myself.
Fast forward to this summer and we have 3 Adult Classes which are almost full, a permanent youth academy and at least one workshop happening pretty much every day. This included a week-long residency in Dundee as well as classes in North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, Iverclyde, Stirling, Larkhall, Bellshill and all over Glasgow. On one day we had 4 classes and 6 coaches working at once!
As Summer ends we have a few weeks rest before another busy school season this winter.
My other coaches and upcoming coaches push so so hard and work very very hard to try and maintain the impossible standards I expect of them and I appreciate it no end. You will get what you deserve from this.
From a personal point of view, my trips to London are more exciting everytime. I've had the chance to teach classes all over London for as many as 70 people at once which is crazy, and I've been trusted by ParkourGenerations to do this. That means a lot to me - these guys have been around since the beginning and I have no doubt in the sincerity of their intentions and that the path they are taking is the correct one. On top of that I had the absolutely gruelling chance to sit ADAPT and become the only qualified coach in this country for the moment which has opened so many doors.
I can't wait until this grows and more people have the qualification.
Our team training is the highlight of my week, and seeing the newer and younger guys step up and run a class is amazing. I feel very privileged to be part of this group I've created and with millions of prospects on the horizon I think it's going to reach a whole new level. The pressure is on and I plan to rise to it.
I want everyone, especially young people who dont have many priviledges, to have free access to what we're doing and I want my guys to get the excitement I do with every new project.
If any of you have given me the 'oh id love to try your class' chat then i assure you now is the time to do it.
It's looking like good times for GPC, but i'm never forgetting to look back at the work it took to get here and look forward to the constant and growing work ahead. The day I start counting on this always working is the day I quit.
Bring it on.
Tuesday 26 May 2009
The quiet week and this week (18-31/05)
So I almost completely rested up last week, hence the fact that I never posted.
I had some coaching and meetings, and the week before my ankle rehabilitation was going really well, so i decided to rest from pretty much all movement and just focus on doing ankle excercises every day.
On top of that, i've been working on my muscle up progression to build strength - Im doing 110 muscle-ups during a session, and I'm increasing the number of reps in each set - first time i did sets of 3(with dead hang between each one) up to 110 and last week i did it in 5's.
Im going to try and do one of these sessions every week until I can do it in sets of 10. muscle ups are a pretty complete upper body and core exercise, as well as a really essential and useful movement. On top of that I can see the difference in my Climbups.
I would recommend anyone to learn them, and then use them for conditioning.
I had some really magical coaching sessions last week and have been working my warm ups so those feelings of being stuck' are now gone which is great.
This week
I went out today with Omercan adn Zeno and had a play session to see how I felt. My jump is almost 100% back and I think I've got lighter, faster and more powerful with all the focused leg conditioning during my ankle recovery.
I broke a few new jumps today, and got some back that used to be on my limit. They now feel a lot easier which is great.
The session today developed into focusing on routes which use these bigger jumps and powerful movements - all that small route and 'touch' training has really paid off and this week I'm going to focus on transferring that into much longer, bigger and more physically demanding routes.
I'm trying to focus on routes which use my techniques to their capacity distance and powerwise, and try to keep moving without hesitation. This should also be a good test of wether my Cardio has improved.
We shall see...........
I had some coaching and meetings, and the week before my ankle rehabilitation was going really well, so i decided to rest from pretty much all movement and just focus on doing ankle excercises every day.
On top of that, i've been working on my muscle up progression to build strength - Im doing 110 muscle-ups during a session, and I'm increasing the number of reps in each set - first time i did sets of 3(with dead hang between each one) up to 110 and last week i did it in 5's.
Im going to try and do one of these sessions every week until I can do it in sets of 10. muscle ups are a pretty complete upper body and core exercise, as well as a really essential and useful movement. On top of that I can see the difference in my Climbups.
I would recommend anyone to learn them, and then use them for conditioning.
I had some really magical coaching sessions last week and have been working my warm ups so those feelings of being stuck' are now gone which is great.
This week
I went out today with Omercan adn Zeno and had a play session to see how I felt. My jump is almost 100% back and I think I've got lighter, faster and more powerful with all the focused leg conditioning during my ankle recovery.
I broke a few new jumps today, and got some back that used to be on my limit. They now feel a lot easier which is great.
The session today developed into focusing on routes which use these bigger jumps and powerful movements - all that small route and 'touch' training has really paid off and this week I'm going to focus on transferring that into much longer, bigger and more physically demanding routes.
I'm trying to focus on routes which use my techniques to their capacity distance and powerwise, and try to keep moving without hesitation. This should also be a good test of wether my Cardio has improved.
We shall see...........
Monday 11 May 2009
This week - 11/05 to 18/05
Last week's training went relatively close to what i'd planned -
two sessions of training in on most days, a light and a heavy one.
Ed was down visiting from Forres so it was nice to have some company on some of my training sessions which would usually be solo.
This was one of the wettest weeks of training in a long, long time to that affected things a little, but I stuck at it through the torrential rain.
I started the week with some heavy upper body sessions - the wall at charing x, dynos and quadrupedie. i didn't really work on handstands or traversing as I had planned so ill add that in this week.
My focus ended up swaying more towards doing more touch exercises and some little precisions - i almost stuck to my promise of not jumping - i did a few but not too many.
Another good week.
This week
Im starting to get quite stressd about the inflexibility of my injured ankle, so im really going to focus this week on rehabilitation. Im going to go back down to one session a day for most of the week and try to stay off my ankle a lot more as far as doing running, routes, jumps etc. Just have a lighter week overall but really focus on low-impact ankle exercises.
My training is going to consist of balance, quadrupedie and strength and flexibilty excercises. Im going to try and end every session with at least 20 minutes of flexiblity and isometric strength excercises to really really start working the ankle back to where it should be.
It should be better than it is by now, and although I've been strengthening it, I've also been using a lot and that could be detrimental.
On top of that, I'm going to do some more upper work - mainly traversing and handstands as I had intended to last week - it will be good to improve in these areas and also maintain my strength.
I'm also feeling a little bit out of touch with my coaching at the moment - since im not teaching as much just now I feel like I've lost a bit of the natural rhythm and natural feeling of my warm ups - it just doesnt feel easy at the moment and at times im having to thinka bout the next exercise for my class instead of everything shifting smoothly from one to the next.
I'm going to make sure that when I warm up every day I do a solid half hour of what I would do with a class.
I'm going to try and do a different 'style' every day and make sure i push it.I plan to identify the warm-up exercises I've fallen behind on and make sure I get them back to being comfortable and easy.
As a coach I have to feel really comfortable with all my exercises and it's really easy to lose that. I need to make sure i mantain it when i'm not coaching as much as it could effect my work and my students.
It's interesting having this whole other thing to train for and be conscious of other than my own progression.
I'm heading to the uni right now to get started :)
two sessions of training in on most days, a light and a heavy one.
Ed was down visiting from Forres so it was nice to have some company on some of my training sessions which would usually be solo.
This was one of the wettest weeks of training in a long, long time to that affected things a little, but I stuck at it through the torrential rain.
I started the week with some heavy upper body sessions - the wall at charing x, dynos and quadrupedie. i didn't really work on handstands or traversing as I had planned so ill add that in this week.
My focus ended up swaying more towards doing more touch exercises and some little precisions - i almost stuck to my promise of not jumping - i did a few but not too many.
Another good week.
This week
Im starting to get quite stressd about the inflexibility of my injured ankle, so im really going to focus this week on rehabilitation. Im going to go back down to one session a day for most of the week and try to stay off my ankle a lot more as far as doing running, routes, jumps etc. Just have a lighter week overall but really focus on low-impact ankle exercises.
My training is going to consist of balance, quadrupedie and strength and flexibilty excercises. Im going to try and end every session with at least 20 minutes of flexiblity and isometric strength excercises to really really start working the ankle back to where it should be.
It should be better than it is by now, and although I've been strengthening it, I've also been using a lot and that could be detrimental.
On top of that, I'm going to do some more upper work - mainly traversing and handstands as I had intended to last week - it will be good to improve in these areas and also maintain my strength.
I'm also feeling a little bit out of touch with my coaching at the moment - since im not teaching as much just now I feel like I've lost a bit of the natural rhythm and natural feeling of my warm ups - it just doesnt feel easy at the moment and at times im having to thinka bout the next exercise for my class instead of everything shifting smoothly from one to the next.
I'm going to make sure that when I warm up every day I do a solid half hour of what I would do with a class.
I'm going to try and do a different 'style' every day and make sure i push it.I plan to identify the warm-up exercises I've fallen behind on and make sure I get them back to being comfortable and easy.
As a coach I have to feel really comfortable with all my exercises and it's really easy to lose that. I need to make sure i mantain it when i'm not coaching as much as it could effect my work and my students.
It's interesting having this whole other thing to train for and be conscious of other than my own progression.
I'm heading to the uni right now to get started :)
Monday 4 May 2009
Training - last week and this week
So last week's plan went quite well - I managed to get two training sessions in on most days, the lonely sessions mainly consisting of running and touch exercises.
Within a fgew days my touch really improved and has started to become quite natural. it feels good to perform a route and realise that you didnt hear anything during it.
I would liked to have done a little more and there was two days where i felt a bit lazy - it's important for me to be honest with myself about this I think.
Had a great session at some old ruins on Wednesday with Omercan - I think my jump distance has actually increased even though ive not been able to take any big jumps or impacts. I've been running and doing loads of squats and isometric strength exercises for my ankles for weeks - hopefully when my confidence comes back and my injuries heal ill be able to really see the benefit.
My bad ankle got a bit of a twinge on thursday, so I'm sticking mainly to Upper body this week, as I did towards the end of last week after it happened.
I'm trying so hard to let these injuries heal and still find ways to improve, work and play every day. it's nae easy!
We also had the first Glasgow Parkour Coaching Team Training session this week. It's going to be a weekly occurance from now - it's great for us all to train together as a group and for each other - our busy and different lifestyles dont permit much time for us all to hang out.
This week's training - 4/5 to 10/5
My first session today went from a quick play into a pretty heavy upper body session - we found this great place to do some lombar traversing and did a few sets. It was sore.....My shoulders are screaming as I type..!
Im going to try and stick to the same rough format as last week - first session of the week is to play, see how my body feels and do some rough planning for my week once i see how I feel.(which went out the window a little today..)
After feeling how my foot feels today today, I think im going to have to go totally cold turkey on the ankle and foot just to let them settle - I got a bit ahead of myself last week I think as it started to feel better, and then jarred my ankle.
Im going to work on upper body conditioning and movements - traversing(all kinds..), muscle-ups, handstands and anything else I can think of. Hopefully i'll get creative with parts of the uni I've not used for upper conditioning before. I can feel that my traps are a bit of a 'weak link' in my muscle chain so loads of handstands and lombar traversing should clean that up.
I'll keep sticking to finishing my sessions with big sets of squats and calf raises(it's all i can do safely!) to maintain and build leg strength and maybe try some running later in the week. Nothing too hard, just enough to keep my level and slowly build it as I wait for my injuries to heal.
and for this whole week - I MUST NOT JUMP.
we shall see how it all goes.
Within a fgew days my touch really improved and has started to become quite natural. it feels good to perform a route and realise that you didnt hear anything during it.
I would liked to have done a little more and there was two days where i felt a bit lazy - it's important for me to be honest with myself about this I think.
Had a great session at some old ruins on Wednesday with Omercan - I think my jump distance has actually increased even though ive not been able to take any big jumps or impacts. I've been running and doing loads of squats and isometric strength exercises for my ankles for weeks - hopefully when my confidence comes back and my injuries heal ill be able to really see the benefit.
My bad ankle got a bit of a twinge on thursday, so I'm sticking mainly to Upper body this week, as I did towards the end of last week after it happened.
I'm trying so hard to let these injuries heal and still find ways to improve, work and play every day. it's nae easy!
We also had the first Glasgow Parkour Coaching Team Training session this week. It's going to be a weekly occurance from now - it's great for us all to train together as a group and for each other - our busy and different lifestyles dont permit much time for us all to hang out.
This week's training - 4/5 to 10/5
My first session today went from a quick play into a pretty heavy upper body session - we found this great place to do some lombar traversing and did a few sets. It was sore.....My shoulders are screaming as I type..!
Im going to try and stick to the same rough format as last week - first session of the week is to play, see how my body feels and do some rough planning for my week once i see how I feel.(which went out the window a little today..)
After feeling how my foot feels today today, I think im going to have to go totally cold turkey on the ankle and foot just to let them settle - I got a bit ahead of myself last week I think as it started to feel better, and then jarred my ankle.
Im going to work on upper body conditioning and movements - traversing(all kinds..), muscle-ups, handstands and anything else I can think of. Hopefully i'll get creative with parts of the uni I've not used for upper conditioning before. I can feel that my traps are a bit of a 'weak link' in my muscle chain so loads of handstands and lombar traversing should clean that up.
I'll keep sticking to finishing my sessions with big sets of squats and calf raises(it's all i can do safely!) to maintain and build leg strength and maybe try some running later in the week. Nothing too hard, just enough to keep my level and slowly build it as I wait for my injuries to heal.
and for this whole week - I MUST NOT JUMP.
we shall see how it all goes.
Tuesday 28 April 2009
This weeks training.
Following the fact that i have a couple of niggling foot/ankle injuries i've had to restrain myself from working on jump distance and 'big' and 'scary' stuff which is disappointing as i feel i've let this slip a little the last few months.
i'll need to get back to it, but injury recovery must take priority.
As I started my weeks training yesterday I felt fresh all over my whole body which was nice. I've decided this week to focus on training touch stealth and silence over different routes of varying difficulty. This low-impact approach lends itself well to my injury recovery and is also a massive asspect of movement.
To try and train instinct, I'm also going to always train a whole route - if there's a certain aspect or movement in a route which i can't get right i'm not going to stop and focus on that one part - I must work it out as I go over the whole route.
As the week goes on I'm going to increase the intensity and difficulty of the routes, and also add some conditioning elements into training to make sure that I am maintaining and improving my strength.]
I think this approach is going to be beneficial this week - obviously ill have to listen to my body and see how it works out.....
i'll need to get back to it, but injury recovery must take priority.
As I started my weeks training yesterday I felt fresh all over my whole body which was nice. I've decided this week to focus on training touch stealth and silence over different routes of varying difficulty. This low-impact approach lends itself well to my injury recovery and is also a massive asspect of movement.
To try and train instinct, I'm also going to always train a whole route - if there's a certain aspect or movement in a route which i can't get right i'm not going to stop and focus on that one part - I must work it out as I go over the whole route.
As the week goes on I'm going to increase the intensity and difficulty of the routes, and also add some conditioning elements into training to make sure that I am maintaining and improving my strength.]
I think this approach is going to be beneficial this week - obviously ill have to listen to my body and see how it works out.....
Lifestyle and Routine Changes
The past week in London has allowed me to get into a routine to improve my training, diet and sleeping habits which i think have been detrimental to my training in the last few months.
With loads of coaching and training, it's easy to get into the habit of naps, coffees,snacks and and energy drinks as the daily routine. I've slowly felt myself get more lethargic and demotivated over the last few months as I've obviously been working very hard and let this sporadic diet and sleeping become my routine.
Every day in London last week was pretty much the same - up early, good breakfast, training, light lunch and a break, then teach afternoon and train night or vice versa.
This allowed me to fit in two training sessions a day, get some business work done, teach and still be done by 9 or 10 at night so I could get a big meal and catch up with friends if i like for a dance.
I decided to totally kill the caffeine during the London week and have had no Starbucks or energy drinks at all, favouring natural bars or fruit/fruit juice for snacks as well as having a light but nutritious lunch such as some sushi or some chicken piences and a vitamin shake. I've also been very consciously drinking 2-3 litres of water everyday.
I feel so much better.
Now my lifestyle in Glasgow is slightly different - I like to go out at least one night a week(although have curbed the drinking!) and have to spend at least a couple of hours a day on emails/paperwork and webstuff.
I'm going to try and mantain a similar routine - times arent exact obviously but they give me a rough way to weigh up my day.
9/10am - up earlyish for breakfast and business work/emails/calls etc.
12pm - light training(probably solo most days)
2pm - lunch and another bit of business work
4pm - either afternoon teaching or training session
7pm - either evening teaching or training session
9pm - finish trainig for the day, eat and possibly go socialise or have a night in.
It's likely that because of my training mates' other commitments that I'll be training solo at some point every day. this is something I want to get more used to and it allows me to fit some really focused training in. i find when training alone it helps me to set very specific targets to finish so that i dont get bored or distracted.
If I can roughly keep this routine most days, I think my training, sleep and general mood will lift as it has in London the past week.
With loads of coaching and training, it's easy to get into the habit of naps, coffees,snacks and and energy drinks as the daily routine. I've slowly felt myself get more lethargic and demotivated over the last few months as I've obviously been working very hard and let this sporadic diet and sleeping become my routine.
Every day in London last week was pretty much the same - up early, good breakfast, training, light lunch and a break, then teach afternoon and train night or vice versa.
This allowed me to fit in two training sessions a day, get some business work done, teach and still be done by 9 or 10 at night so I could get a big meal and catch up with friends if i like for a dance.
I decided to totally kill the caffeine during the London week and have had no Starbucks or energy drinks at all, favouring natural bars or fruit/fruit juice for snacks as well as having a light but nutritious lunch such as some sushi or some chicken piences and a vitamin shake. I've also been very consciously drinking 2-3 litres of water everyday.
I feel so much better.
Now my lifestyle in Glasgow is slightly different - I like to go out at least one night a week(although have curbed the drinking!) and have to spend at least a couple of hours a day on emails/paperwork and webstuff.
I'm going to try and mantain a similar routine - times arent exact obviously but they give me a rough way to weigh up my day.
9/10am - up earlyish for breakfast and business work/emails/calls etc.
12pm - light training(probably solo most days)
2pm - lunch and another bit of business work
4pm - either afternoon teaching or training session
7pm - either evening teaching or training session
9pm - finish trainig for the day, eat and possibly go socialise or have a night in.
It's likely that because of my training mates' other commitments that I'll be training solo at some point every day. this is something I want to get more used to and it allows me to fit some really focused training in. i find when training alone it helps me to set very specific targets to finish so that i dont get bored or distracted.
If I can roughly keep this routine most days, I think my training, sleep and general mood will lift as it has in London the past week.
Monday 27 April 2009
ADAPT
I've spent this past week in London training and teaching with the Parkour Generations team and going through the ADAPT assessment.
It's been an absolutely amazing week and the insight and experience of these guys has really enhanced my approach to training and refreshed everything about what i do and why I do it.
I want to talk about ADAPT. As one of the first 'outsiders' to take the qualification I thought I would try and give a little bit of what I thought of the process, training and assessment. There's been a lot of questions over ADAPT which is great - it's important to question things. Hopefully my experience will answer some of these questions and help people to make up their own minds about what they think of it.
In short - my week went something like this:
Day 1, Monday - Team Training with Parkour Generations - preparation day for ADAPT.
The first day consisted of some light training - going over a few of the exercises for the coming physical test and doing some light training and 'play.'
Working as a group, pushing some limits and getting a feel for the 'level' of physicality needed for the test later that week. Scary.
Day 2 - more light training with Stephane and Johann leading the group.
Today ended with a discussion session about the assessment where Steph and Jo did their best to answer any questions we had about the tests and talk a bit about their motives for creating the qualification and our personal motives for coaching.
It's great to be surrounded by people who are so sincere and dedicated to their art and although I would already consider myself to be 'living' parkour these days, it was somewhat inspiring.
At night, I was given the task of running an indoor adult class for around 60-70 people. With 10 minutes preparation time. This was very tough, but a great test of coaching ability and in my opinion probably the most important part of the acreditation - when given the task of teaching way outside of the usual comfort zone - how will the coach cope?
I killed it in the warm up and put everything into the class, fully aware that I would have to be fresh the next morning for the physical test......
Day 3 - Wednesday - ADAPT physical test
The atmosphere was very different this morning when the group met. Everyone was very quiet and there was definite tension in the air. We had been told the day before by Johann, Stephane, Forrest and Dan that for the test days they were not there to help but simply to assess, which is somewhat intimidating.
Nonetheless the group got together and settled into a very very long day of physical testing.
A 6K run in 25 minutes, various quadrupedie and press-up variations, pull up and traversing exercises,hanging, rope climbs,stair drills, squats, drop jumps,ab workouts. Each individual exercise had some element of challenge, but the real difficulty was doing the whole thing in one day.
I think the Level 1 physical test is at about the right difficulty for new coaches - it's challenging enough that it requires good fitness, commitment and spirit and not so ridiculously soul destroying that only Arnie and Stallone could get through it.
After the physical a few of the guys went straight to teaching. mental.
Day 4 - Technical Test
Today was a much more relaxed day and everyone turned up with achy bodies from the previous days' physical but still raring to go and do their absolute best.
The Technical test requires demonstration and explanation of the elementary techniques of Parkour - jumping, rolling, balance, wall climbing, simple vaults.
Each of us were taken from the group one at a time and asked to explain particular techniques and demonstrate that we were capable of executing these techniques in a manner which would set a good example for potential students.
We had to be skilled and complete in our techniques and be able to understand how to analyse, assess and explain their uses and dangers.
I found it quite a surreal experience explaining techniques to guys who trained with the people responsible for 'creating' them.
I think the technical test was thorough enough to cover all aspects of basic technique and explanation but not so specific that it turned into a performance test, which would be ridiculous.
After the technical test, we sat with Stephane and Johann and had a sort of 'feedback' session about the test days. They were very keen to make sure that they took on board any criticism we had of the tests and clearly want it to be as perfect as possible in all aspects.
Day 5 - Friday - Supervised coaching.
Over the week, the various members of the group were assessed at their various classes to log supervised coaching hours. With Dan visiting Glasgow earlier in the year I had a bit of a head start on the coaching hours, and so did a few classes this week to complete my hours, finishing with the pleasure of teaching an outdoor class at Vauxhall on this warm sunny Friday night before I left for the Megabus back to Glasgow.
Day 6 - 8 hours on a bus and now home.
Having now been through the Level 1 Assessment I can say confidently that I believe this qualification is very complete - it covers all aspects of attitude, physicality, technicality, discipline, commitment and spirit required to be a true ambassador and teacher of Parkour.
It is very challenging and you are expected to step up in all aspects of coaching and training quite often under pressure or when your body is not at it's best.
This is the way it should be - coaching is not about the coach - it's about the students and as a coach you must always give of yourself regardless of how many classes you have done that week or how tired your body and mind feels.
The level of the assessment is high enough that it will take serious commitment to complete it - ensuring that only real, sincere dedicated coaches will come through it. It is very hard and very very thorough.
At the same time, it's not so stupidly difficult that it will exclude people with the correct attitude but a little less experience. What's clear to me is that if a potential coach has the correct attitude and spirit, that will be recognised by the assessors.
I have no doubt that the Parkour Generations guys have the most sincere and humble atittude towards creating this qualification. They care so much for their art and they want people to learn in the proper way by people who are capable, sincere and talented.
They wanted to hear our thoughts on it and there's no doubt they feel a great responsibility to make ADAPT accessible to the right people while protecting Parkour's integrity and purity.
And as traceurs who train directly and started with the founders of the discipline, there is no doubt that their experience gives them the right to deliver and assess this course.
To ensure that ADAPT is exactly what it should be, the assessments have been 'closed' up until now.
I'm really excited for when it's opened up and the first batch of coaches from all over the world take the assessment and get to enjoy the same crazy week I have had, and at the end of it know that the founders of their discipline have got to know them and seen that they are passing on the correct message.
From a personal point of view, it's an honour to be involved in this right at the beginning and has only given me more motivation to break down barriers, open doors and make sure that as many people as possible can get access to learning the Spirit of Parkour.
It's been an absolutely amazing week and the insight and experience of these guys has really enhanced my approach to training and refreshed everything about what i do and why I do it.
I want to talk about ADAPT. As one of the first 'outsiders' to take the qualification I thought I would try and give a little bit of what I thought of the process, training and assessment. There's been a lot of questions over ADAPT which is great - it's important to question things. Hopefully my experience will answer some of these questions and help people to make up their own minds about what they think of it.
In short - my week went something like this:
Day 1, Monday - Team Training with Parkour Generations - preparation day for ADAPT.
The first day consisted of some light training - going over a few of the exercises for the coming physical test and doing some light training and 'play.'
Working as a group, pushing some limits and getting a feel for the 'level' of physicality needed for the test later that week. Scary.
Day 2 - more light training with Stephane and Johann leading the group.
Today ended with a discussion session about the assessment where Steph and Jo did their best to answer any questions we had about the tests and talk a bit about their motives for creating the qualification and our personal motives for coaching.
It's great to be surrounded by people who are so sincere and dedicated to their art and although I would already consider myself to be 'living' parkour these days, it was somewhat inspiring.
At night, I was given the task of running an indoor adult class for around 60-70 people. With 10 minutes preparation time. This was very tough, but a great test of coaching ability and in my opinion probably the most important part of the acreditation - when given the task of teaching way outside of the usual comfort zone - how will the coach cope?
I killed it in the warm up and put everything into the class, fully aware that I would have to be fresh the next morning for the physical test......
Day 3 - Wednesday - ADAPT physical test
The atmosphere was very different this morning when the group met. Everyone was very quiet and there was definite tension in the air. We had been told the day before by Johann, Stephane, Forrest and Dan that for the test days they were not there to help but simply to assess, which is somewhat intimidating.
Nonetheless the group got together and settled into a very very long day of physical testing.
A 6K run in 25 minutes, various quadrupedie and press-up variations, pull up and traversing exercises,hanging, rope climbs,stair drills, squats, drop jumps,ab workouts. Each individual exercise had some element of challenge, but the real difficulty was doing the whole thing in one day.
I think the Level 1 physical test is at about the right difficulty for new coaches - it's challenging enough that it requires good fitness, commitment and spirit and not so ridiculously soul destroying that only Arnie and Stallone could get through it.
After the physical a few of the guys went straight to teaching. mental.
Day 4 - Technical Test
Today was a much more relaxed day and everyone turned up with achy bodies from the previous days' physical but still raring to go and do their absolute best.
The Technical test requires demonstration and explanation of the elementary techniques of Parkour - jumping, rolling, balance, wall climbing, simple vaults.
Each of us were taken from the group one at a time and asked to explain particular techniques and demonstrate that we were capable of executing these techniques in a manner which would set a good example for potential students.
We had to be skilled and complete in our techniques and be able to understand how to analyse, assess and explain their uses and dangers.
I found it quite a surreal experience explaining techniques to guys who trained with the people responsible for 'creating' them.
I think the technical test was thorough enough to cover all aspects of basic technique and explanation but not so specific that it turned into a performance test, which would be ridiculous.
After the technical test, we sat with Stephane and Johann and had a sort of 'feedback' session about the test days. They were very keen to make sure that they took on board any criticism we had of the tests and clearly want it to be as perfect as possible in all aspects.
Day 5 - Friday - Supervised coaching.
Over the week, the various members of the group were assessed at their various classes to log supervised coaching hours. With Dan visiting Glasgow earlier in the year I had a bit of a head start on the coaching hours, and so did a few classes this week to complete my hours, finishing with the pleasure of teaching an outdoor class at Vauxhall on this warm sunny Friday night before I left for the Megabus back to Glasgow.
Day 6 - 8 hours on a bus and now home.
Having now been through the Level 1 Assessment I can say confidently that I believe this qualification is very complete - it covers all aspects of attitude, physicality, technicality, discipline, commitment and spirit required to be a true ambassador and teacher of Parkour.
It is very challenging and you are expected to step up in all aspects of coaching and training quite often under pressure or when your body is not at it's best.
This is the way it should be - coaching is not about the coach - it's about the students and as a coach you must always give of yourself regardless of how many classes you have done that week or how tired your body and mind feels.
The level of the assessment is high enough that it will take serious commitment to complete it - ensuring that only real, sincere dedicated coaches will come through it. It is very hard and very very thorough.
At the same time, it's not so stupidly difficult that it will exclude people with the correct attitude but a little less experience. What's clear to me is that if a potential coach has the correct attitude and spirit, that will be recognised by the assessors.
I have no doubt that the Parkour Generations guys have the most sincere and humble atittude towards creating this qualification. They care so much for their art and they want people to learn in the proper way by people who are capable, sincere and talented.
They wanted to hear our thoughts on it and there's no doubt they feel a great responsibility to make ADAPT accessible to the right people while protecting Parkour's integrity and purity.
And as traceurs who train directly and started with the founders of the discipline, there is no doubt that their experience gives them the right to deliver and assess this course.
To ensure that ADAPT is exactly what it should be, the assessments have been 'closed' up until now.
I'm really excited for when it's opened up and the first batch of coaches from all over the world take the assessment and get to enjoy the same crazy week I have had, and at the end of it know that the founders of their discipline have got to know them and seen that they are passing on the correct message.
From a personal point of view, it's an honour to be involved in this right at the beginning and has only given me more motivation to break down barriers, open doors and make sure that as many people as possible can get access to learning the Spirit of Parkour.
Monday 6 April 2009
Glasgow had the heaviest snow in years today so i seized the opportunity for some good training - here's the video, and it would be awesome if you could take the time to read my thoughts on the day.
My quest for today was to return to my familiar spots and movements - ones that i knew very well - and attempt them in fresh snow. I know the surfaces very well, so this meant I could make certain assumptions, and wouldnt have to check everything first.
By checking and feeling surfaces first I would have unsettled and shifted the snow, and missed out on a chance to move on it.
Now obviously I had to find a balance between making assumptions about surfaces and my safety, but for the most part i tried to use my instinct and experience to determine wether I could make a jump without checking.
I started off with a run to warm up, then some quadrupedie on quite wide surfaces just go get my body,movement,touch and sensitivity accustomed to this new obstacle of cold,slippery, icey snow.
I moved around on some familiar surfaces around the Uni - my regular training ground - and realised I could move just as well on them in the snow.
What training in the rain has also taught me is to anticipate and deal with slips - if i dont land perfectly i must deal with it so that i balance and can continue on my route without hesitation.
So after this warm up I began. I went to a few familiar jumps, and that's when the focus really begins. I started off with a big running jump between 2 concrete benches covered in snow. usually I could do this jump without hesitation, but the fear of these new conditions kicked in.
I know I can do this jump.
So i knuckled down, put 100% focus into my vision, technique and movement and went for it. I completed the jump and repeated a few times just to make sure.
I then carried on with the same method and idea, and tried to push myself to do some quite difficult movements and jumps, for example vault combinations on slippery snowy rails, cat balance and balance on rails and even right up to some rail precisions.
One particular jump I came to(at the wellington church) was across a 6ft gap at about 8ft up. On my landing, i slipped forward but manadged to focus and recover quickly. (you can see this in the video towards the end).
It's a jump I would do quite casually in normal circumstances but i was 100% focused due to the snow, and it paid off when I slipped.
This training was completely invaluable - movements which are no longer challenging,suddenly require focus, overcoming of fear and absolutely perfect technique, as well as heightened response time to recover mistakes. It's a reminder that I should ALWAYS have this level of precision technique and focus and it gave me the opportunity to refine this and learn how to call it up and use it very quickly.
The other aspect to training in the snow was the strength required for more slow and demanding movements like balance, quadrupedie, traversing and cat leaps. On top of this, these movements tend to require your bare hand to be in contact with these surfaces which are covered in snow. ITS derogatory-swear-word-of-your-choiceING COLD.
These movements suddenly become a massive test of strength, endurance and mental fortitude.
I worked very very hard on these movements today - quadrupedie and rolls in the snow to condition my body to the cold, followed by traversing and cat leaps, which require so much more strength in fingers and forearms.
Once I was a bit tired, I tried to work on some cat balancing on rails to train my strength and endurance ever further. It's amazing how much harder it is to hold on in the cold, and on top of that the grip of the hands has to be tighter to compensate for the slidy icy surfaces, especially rails.
The snow gives a unique opportunity to take movements that you now take for granted and make them extremely challenging again. This is useful when the weather is bad, and is also great for increasing confidence when conditions are good.
You also have to learn to have an increased and thorough awareness of risk. It's so so important to be safe, and still push your limits at the same time.
Today has been amazing. If it snows - please train in it.
It's a blessing for your training, not a barrier.
Grant
My quest for today was to return to my familiar spots and movements - ones that i knew very well - and attempt them in fresh snow. I know the surfaces very well, so this meant I could make certain assumptions, and wouldnt have to check everything first.
By checking and feeling surfaces first I would have unsettled and shifted the snow, and missed out on a chance to move on it.
Now obviously I had to find a balance between making assumptions about surfaces and my safety, but for the most part i tried to use my instinct and experience to determine wether I could make a jump without checking.
I started off with a run to warm up, then some quadrupedie on quite wide surfaces just go get my body,movement,touch and sensitivity accustomed to this new obstacle of cold,slippery, icey snow.
I moved around on some familiar surfaces around the Uni - my regular training ground - and realised I could move just as well on them in the snow.
What training in the rain has also taught me is to anticipate and deal with slips - if i dont land perfectly i must deal with it so that i balance and can continue on my route without hesitation.
So after this warm up I began. I went to a few familiar jumps, and that's when the focus really begins. I started off with a big running jump between 2 concrete benches covered in snow. usually I could do this jump without hesitation, but the fear of these new conditions kicked in.
I know I can do this jump.
So i knuckled down, put 100% focus into my vision, technique and movement and went for it. I completed the jump and repeated a few times just to make sure.
I then carried on with the same method and idea, and tried to push myself to do some quite difficult movements and jumps, for example vault combinations on slippery snowy rails, cat balance and balance on rails and even right up to some rail precisions.
One particular jump I came to(at the wellington church) was across a 6ft gap at about 8ft up. On my landing, i slipped forward but manadged to focus and recover quickly. (you can see this in the video towards the end).
It's a jump I would do quite casually in normal circumstances but i was 100% focused due to the snow, and it paid off when I slipped.
This training was completely invaluable - movements which are no longer challenging,suddenly require focus, overcoming of fear and absolutely perfect technique, as well as heightened response time to recover mistakes. It's a reminder that I should ALWAYS have this level of precision technique and focus and it gave me the opportunity to refine this and learn how to call it up and use it very quickly.
The other aspect to training in the snow was the strength required for more slow and demanding movements like balance, quadrupedie, traversing and cat leaps. On top of this, these movements tend to require your bare hand to be in contact with these surfaces which are covered in snow. ITS derogatory-swear-word-of-your-choiceING COLD.
These movements suddenly become a massive test of strength, endurance and mental fortitude.
I worked very very hard on these movements today - quadrupedie and rolls in the snow to condition my body to the cold, followed by traversing and cat leaps, which require so much more strength in fingers and forearms.
Once I was a bit tired, I tried to work on some cat balancing on rails to train my strength and endurance ever further. It's amazing how much harder it is to hold on in the cold, and on top of that the grip of the hands has to be tighter to compensate for the slidy icy surfaces, especially rails.
The snow gives a unique opportunity to take movements that you now take for granted and make them extremely challenging again. This is useful when the weather is bad, and is also great for increasing confidence when conditions are good.
You also have to learn to have an increased and thorough awareness of risk. It's so so important to be safe, and still push your limits at the same time.
Today has been amazing. If it snows - please train in it.
It's a blessing for your training, not a barrier.
Grant
2009. Start as you mean to go on.
This is slightly dated but it should be posted here!
January 01 2009
2009. Start as you mean to go on.
I saw in my new year last night with some old and some new friends. Today I went for a very very long run, on my own. I came home and worked on some paperwork and business stuff for an hour, then hung out with a mate in my shiny new flat.
I think that's going to be my year this year.
I've met some great people this year, but i've been a bit mad stressed and not quite been myself but that's all settled now. I've moved into my new flat, I have my own space and it's calmed me down no-end. So i plan to really get to know some of the crazy people i've been introduced to this year - im going to be spending a night with a certain one this saturday i've not even met in person yet. and im well excited.
I went training on my own today. My focus in 2008 has been so much on improving for my coaching, for my business and for the people who have been kind enough to give me their time in London to help me improve on these things.
This year I'm going to train for myself, and due to the times im coaching I will probably be training on my own a lot. But that's a silver lining i think - every year is a different journey in Parkour. 2008 has been very much about physically improving and understanding and trusting my capabilities and using that to overcome fear.
The end of 08 and this year is going to be about self-discovery. I'm really starting to see that it takes years and years to discover my Parkour. Train for myself, learn to question everything i've learned and look at it all with fresh eyes, so that i can constantly be testing myself. I think this will improve my physicality, my mental fortitude and my discipline. And I think i will truly begin to understand how this art has really become the way i live my life - that should ultimately enrich everything I do.
Then there's my business. Those of you who know me well enough will know it's taken me all year to get my head around the fact that if i dont put time into my work I literally cant afford to live. I answer to no-one which is great, but that also means that there's no-one to pick up the slack when I dont want to spend the day making calls or writing the same risk assessments over and over and convincing another narrowminded P.E teacher that Parkour is safe and beneficial.
I have a hold on all that now, and this year i want to make a conscious effort to separate this from the rest of my life, and not let it consume it. I think the fact that i havent been able to escape my Parkour Coaching has been massively detrimental for my social life, my stress levels and even contributed massively to the end of a relationship that meant the world to me.
I don't regret any of it, this relentless dedication has got me to the stage where im booked up months in advance now, and have about 7 or 8 classes a week for the next 3 months. But now i need to enjoy that in itself and learn to separate it from the rest of my life so that i can enjoy some me-time and also enjoy spending time with others.
Then there's the flat, having a home. It's a pleasure to have my own space after 8 months of living on floors and sofas. For everyone that has accomodated me this year - particularly McNutt and Maz - I am eternally grateful. You guys have looked after me so well this year and I appreciate it so so much.
But now, i can have my own space to invite my own friends round for some chilled nights in and just enjoy my space(and myspace) and my time.
I'm hoping that these simple things can be the basis of my year. I don't want to predict too much. If I plan things out i wont get to enjoy all the surprises and obstacles that life will throw at me.
Bring it on.
January 01 2009
2009. Start as you mean to go on.
I saw in my new year last night with some old and some new friends. Today I went for a very very long run, on my own. I came home and worked on some paperwork and business stuff for an hour, then hung out with a mate in my shiny new flat.
I think that's going to be my year this year.
I've met some great people this year, but i've been a bit mad stressed and not quite been myself but that's all settled now. I've moved into my new flat, I have my own space and it's calmed me down no-end. So i plan to really get to know some of the crazy people i've been introduced to this year - im going to be spending a night with a certain one this saturday i've not even met in person yet. and im well excited.
I went training on my own today. My focus in 2008 has been so much on improving for my coaching, for my business and for the people who have been kind enough to give me their time in London to help me improve on these things.
This year I'm going to train for myself, and due to the times im coaching I will probably be training on my own a lot. But that's a silver lining i think - every year is a different journey in Parkour. 2008 has been very much about physically improving and understanding and trusting my capabilities and using that to overcome fear.
The end of 08 and this year is going to be about self-discovery. I'm really starting to see that it takes years and years to discover my Parkour. Train for myself, learn to question everything i've learned and look at it all with fresh eyes, so that i can constantly be testing myself. I think this will improve my physicality, my mental fortitude and my discipline. And I think i will truly begin to understand how this art has really become the way i live my life - that should ultimately enrich everything I do.
Then there's my business. Those of you who know me well enough will know it's taken me all year to get my head around the fact that if i dont put time into my work I literally cant afford to live. I answer to no-one which is great, but that also means that there's no-one to pick up the slack when I dont want to spend the day making calls or writing the same risk assessments over and over and convincing another narrowminded P.E teacher that Parkour is safe and beneficial.
I have a hold on all that now, and this year i want to make a conscious effort to separate this from the rest of my life, and not let it consume it. I think the fact that i havent been able to escape my Parkour Coaching has been massively detrimental for my social life, my stress levels and even contributed massively to the end of a relationship that meant the world to me.
I don't regret any of it, this relentless dedication has got me to the stage where im booked up months in advance now, and have about 7 or 8 classes a week for the next 3 months. But now i need to enjoy that in itself and learn to separate it from the rest of my life so that i can enjoy some me-time and also enjoy spending time with others.
Then there's the flat, having a home. It's a pleasure to have my own space after 8 months of living on floors and sofas. For everyone that has accomodated me this year - particularly McNutt and Maz - I am eternally grateful. You guys have looked after me so well this year and I appreciate it so so much.
But now, i can have my own space to invite my own friends round for some chilled nights in and just enjoy my space(and myspace) and my time.
I'm hoping that these simple things can be the basis of my year. I don't want to predict too much. If I plan things out i wont get to enjoy all the surprises and obstacles that life will throw at me.
Bring it on.
the blur of 2008.
For some reason I started off so well with this blog, with some big articles and thoughts, and then i've somehow arrived 15 months later with no new posts.
2008 till now has been the craziest time. I'm going to try and sum it up quickly so that I can get on with posting new stuff, not catching up on old stuff.
So 08 started with me launching Glasgow Parkour Coaching. Very very long and arduous times.
Long story short, my organisation is now established, ive been teaching 7 classes a week sometimes and i can now make a living from teaching parkour.
I could never have done this without the help of my fellow coaches - BJ,Zeno,Mick and all the other guys and gals who have shown their support over the last year. All the adults who slaved the adult class in the worst of weather and forked out their £8 so i could eat. cheers guys.
It's been so, so hard but now that it's starting to work its been totally worth it.
Lots of new people are getting to learn Parkour from good people, and from a personal point of view it feels good to become a 'self-made' man.
I get to do my thing, in my way and work doing what i love. It's extremely stressful but so exciting and worth every minute.
I've also done some pretty cool travelling over the last year or so, numerous trips to london and evry and lisses which has been life changing to say the least. I've met some amazing people who have influenced my training in so many positive ways.
The Parkour Generations guys have been integral to my training and coaching in the last year - it's great to have support from guys with such solid and diverse experience and it's help me to find my own path in my own training and for GPC.
I look ahead to this year not riding on the fact that it's starting to work, but striving to take it to the next level - more coaching, more training, more people, more learning - more Parkour for everyone!
This blog WILL be updated regularly now.
thanks for taking the time to read :)
2008 till now has been the craziest time. I'm going to try and sum it up quickly so that I can get on with posting new stuff, not catching up on old stuff.
So 08 started with me launching Glasgow Parkour Coaching. Very very long and arduous times.
Long story short, my organisation is now established, ive been teaching 7 classes a week sometimes and i can now make a living from teaching parkour.
I could never have done this without the help of my fellow coaches - BJ,Zeno,Mick and all the other guys and gals who have shown their support over the last year. All the adults who slaved the adult class in the worst of weather and forked out their £8 so i could eat. cheers guys.
It's been so, so hard but now that it's starting to work its been totally worth it.
Lots of new people are getting to learn Parkour from good people, and from a personal point of view it feels good to become a 'self-made' man.
I get to do my thing, in my way and work doing what i love. It's extremely stressful but so exciting and worth every minute.
I've also done some pretty cool travelling over the last year or so, numerous trips to london and evry and lisses which has been life changing to say the least. I've met some amazing people who have influenced my training in so many positive ways.
The Parkour Generations guys have been integral to my training and coaching in the last year - it's great to have support from guys with such solid and diverse experience and it's help me to find my own path in my own training and for GPC.
I look ahead to this year not riding on the fact that it's starting to work, but striving to take it to the next level - more coaching, more training, more people, more learning - more Parkour for everyone!
This blog WILL be updated regularly now.
thanks for taking the time to read :)
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