Saturday 10th May

Today started out like every other saturday.
Woke up at 8, got ready for 9.
Went to shop at 9:20.
Went for the 118 bus into town at 9:40.

My bus came at 9:46, as usual, i got on the bus, and got to the end of faifley ( my part of Clydebank ) and realised i had the wrong trainers on...

I was wearing my Adidas Goodyear`s.

I got off the bus and walked all the way back home, changed my shoes, and i was out again waiting on the bus.

This second bus came at around 10:14, it was a roasting hot bus with no legroom - great.

I was listening to music on my phone when all of a sudden it got quiet as it had been doing for a while, so i done what i usually do and turn it off, and then back on. But this time it never turned on, it just flashed black and white...

Great start to the day.
^ My beautifully broken phone.

So without any music i began to think about why i do parkour, and why it is so appealing to me personally, and where i see myself and parkour in 5 years.

I was thinking for a long time about why i train so hard and put myself through so much for my parkour, and it suddenly dawned on me...

I get a sense of freedom and all round amazing feeling from doing parkour.
Parkour is something that seperates me from the rest of the everyday people you see walking down the street.
I cannot look at anything without thinking about parkour, without mentally going across a movement in my mind and visualising it till i can imagine myself doing it right at that moment..

Parkour takes over your life.
For the better.
It changes your entire view on the whole world and this is why i do parkour.

Because the freedom and the benefits that come are second to none.

At 11:00am i got into Buchanan Bus Station, and walked the 5 minute walk to Rottenrow, where i met some of the regualars.

I warmed up and trained some light stuff like precisions and climb ups and the odd muscle up here and there.

1:00 came and i was fully warmed up and training what i set out to do.

I went around with a few guys including Kx and Bj to a few spots around town.
On the way back to rottenrow we met Zeno in his car as he was on his way to glasgow uni, and he asked if we were all going along.
We decided to go and Kx and 3 others went into Zeno`s car to go to Glasgow uni, while i went up with Bj in his car.

Arriving at Glasgow uni we met the rest of the guys at the adam smith and trained there for a bit.
After around 1 hour the others left and it was just me, bj and zeno left.

We went around the uni training for another hour and finally left at around 4:30.

All in it was a good training day with myself mainly focusing on light stuff and thinking about the mental aspects of parkour, which i hope to do more frequently in the future.

Ian.

Parkour Training - 25/3/08

Just a small video i made of a day training the basics.

Time To Get Serious...

Recently i`ve been neglecting to do things which i am scared of doing, but i know i can do them.

So from this moment on it`s going to be a new era of training for me. I will not give up until i get something PERFECT, in every essence of the word, down to the last millimete of foot placement.

I`ll train with 100% focus, i`ll be doubling my current training time over the next month from 3 days a week to 6.

I will train in any weather, and condition, any enviroment. Anything i know i can do, i will.

I will post again in 2 weeks to let you know how i am getting on with this new outlook on training.


Ian.

The Importance Of Perfection

The Importance Of Perfection :

Some " Traceurs " will do a vault for example, and say " Right well i can do it, i`ve done it once, i don`t need to do it again" - it should be clear why i put " Traceur ".

A real Traceur will learn a new movement and drill it and drill it and drill it, until it is flawless, perfect...

The importance of perfection in Parkour cannot be overlooked, if a movement has not been trained to perfection, then it is not a safe vault, it is not a fast vaut, it is not an efficient vault.

Some " Traceurs " will say, "oh well i`ve done it once, i can do it good every time " - WRONG .

David Belle has trained for around 19 years, and still trains vaults to perfection, in fact, all of the original Lisses Traceurs do.

So i leave you with a quote, to get you thinking...

" I do not fear the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, i fear the man who has practiced one kick 10 thousand times..."

Recent Accomplishments

* Climb Up With Two Hands Switching Simultaneously ( Allthough Still Needs Work )
* Kong Vault Rails
* Diet Improving
* Slightly Increased Confidence

February 2008 Progression

This is my progression video for February 2008.

Specific Targets For 2008

Specific Targets:

For April 2008:

Climb up with two arms switching simultaneously.
Muscle up from a dead hang fluidly with no lowerbody movement.
Kong Vault rails.
Be more confident in Rail to Rail Precisions.
Train more often in the rain.

For August 2008:

Become more explosive and dynamic technique wise.
Larger Precision distance and increased control.
Increase Saut De Chat distance and control.
Be twice as strong as i am the now.

For December 2008:

Come close to or achieve the OAC.
Have greater increased knowledge and general understanding of Parkour.
Have a better understanding of the way my body moves.
Be an all round better Traceur.


I will be making a progression video this month or next to mark the start of my progression this year and will make a new video on each of these months to show if i have or have not completed these goals.

Ian.

A Year Down The Line ...

Well , i`ve almost been doing Parkour for a year now , and what a year it`s been.



It started of as something i did because my friends were doing it and it looked cool on Youtube , and now , a year down the line , i cannot imagine myself ever not doing Parkour.

I would have never imagined myself a year and a half ago , sitting in a car or bus , staring out the window for possible spots and getting up at 6 am to get the 118 bus to buchanan street station to then head to Rottenrow to train with Gpk , and that amazing feeling i now get from training in minus degrees conditions and trying to do perfect muscle up in the pissing rain , with hailsones flying at me.

That long ago i would have considered this mad , and maybe now , on occasion , i still do.

In July of 2007 , i joined the Glasgow Parkour forum and it was by far , one of the best decisions i have ever made, without their great community and supportive advice , i would still be running about like a twat , saying to people i was doing Parkour , when really i was just jumping around.

So to the Glasgow Parkour community , i thank each and every Traceur that has helped me or gave me advice through my journey, without them , i probably would not still be doing Parkour.

So now , a year on , and i believe i have a good understanding of Parkour , and something to continue for , from here on the only way is up.

I must give a special thanks to these few people , who i feel deserve a real thank you , for helping me and giving me that extra bit of motivation i needed , so in no particular order...

Thank you for everything you have helped me with....

Traceur Ross Short
Traceur Rhys McAllister
Traceur Zeno
Traceur Jamie Young
and
Traceur John Doyle.

Ian .

Realisation

I have recently realised just what it is that makes a true Traceur , and a non Traceur.

It was after a conversation i was having with a few of my friends about when the next time we were going out to train , and my mate Ross suggested we just do light conditioning and balance circuits.

I was in no problem at all about the idea , but another one of my friends ( now ex-friend ) had said he may be going to the orthodontist before it and may not be able to go .

After Ross giving the idea my other friend said " Thank god i might not be able to come , the basics and conditioning are boring " , and i said but one phrase , " Boring is the word that seperates non Traceurs from true Traceurs " - which i think is true.

The point i`m trying to make is , that i`ve finally come to realise what it means and what is needed to be a true Traceur , the word boring should not come into it at all , ok conditioning may become a bit repetitive , but is needed to advance and progress in Parkour.

I have learned from this and now know that i cannot skip any of my training because it is " boring " ( even though i never find any of it boring ) , because if i do i will never be a true Traceur, but rather a , " Part-Time Traceur "...

2008 Targets

2008 Targets

Well since it`s a new year i have decided to take my training even more seriously and i will be doing the following to try and enforce that...

1. I will be moving on to a new diet and cutting out all things that are obviously bad for me

2. Training every day, wether it be , conditioning , stretching or technique practice.

3. I will be conditioning at least 5 times a week varying between upper and lowerbody exercises.

My targets for 2008 are as follows...

To double or more my current level of strength
To become more fluid in movement
To become more flexible
To move to a healthy diet
To cut out ALL junk food
To achieve the Double Kong vault
Increase precision distance and control
Smoother muscle ups


I hope to achieve these goals by the end of 2008 and i am confident that if i discipline myself , i will suceed in doing that.

Ian.