Emiko: Day 44, Our First Parkour Lesson!

Today Adrian and I had our first lessons in Parkour. There was a beginner's class hosted by members of the SF Parkour community on the UC Berkeley campus. I was pretty nervous, because I felt like I was such a beginner. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. They had set out a list of moves that they planned to go over, but I wasn't sure how many of them we were expected to attempt. But, as we found out, Parkour is all about going through the action rather than just listening to someone explain the moves, so... surprise surprise, we were expected to try them ALL. They just threw us in head first, and it was HARD!

Except for a tiny bit of jumping around, I've never practiced Parkour in any real way. I am pretty okay coordination and flexibility-wise, but I really don't have the same 'bounce' that Adrian does. That guy is bouncy! Adrian can jump really far distances, it's pretty awesome. But my un-bounciness was a big disadvantage while attempting all the different sorts of jumps over a concrete wall. The one female instructor there said that women have a much lower center of gravity, and that the wall we were working on was most definitely difficult because of that. Of course, then she vaulted right over it with no problem. Practice makes Parkour, I suppose!

Early on, my right ankle became sore from all of the rough landings. That went away after a while though. But as we started trying out the 'Kong Vault', I got into trouble. I ran and jumped up with and placed both of my hands on the top of the wall, then tried to bring my legs up and forward between my arms. The tips of my shoes landed on the edge of the wall, but as I put my weight onto my feet I slipped off.

Here are my legs after the session, as we were waiting for the train home. I scraped my shin pretty good. Later I bumped my knee while trying to vault over the wall again, and when we got home it had swollen to the size a little golf ball. Later I scraped my back on a cement divider wall when trying to maneuver under a rail. Many bumps and scratches for the day!

The jumping drills were a little discouraging, because I was unable to complete all of the movements except for one. I was the one who completed the least amount of movements properly. I think my shortness and a lack of confidence played a big part in that. I was a little bummed, but tried to cheer Adrian on, especially when we got the hang of the Kong Vault which is so awesome.

After the drills, we moved to a different part of the campus and tried to use what we had learned in a more free-flowing way. We stopped at a ramp that had hand rails and used those to jump over, under, and to 'Cat Walk' on top of. I excelled in the Cat Walk, which involved crawling on all fours on a rail. Balance was key in that movement, instead of bounciness, so I was happier. It was also just a lot more fun to concentrate our movements in a small area. I could really see how much work it takes to become efficient and quick. And the fact that the moves can be practiced almost anywhere is really cool.

The best part was how supportive everyone was for each other. Complete strangers who had come together to practice Parkour all of a sudden became a group. We all struggled and messed up and cheered people on together. Although I still feel lacking in self-confidence, it will be cool to practice with these people as time goes on.

Today's class really beat me up and made me exhausted, but I look forward to training and improving. I know that we are going to get so much stronger just by practicing.

Adrian and I plan to attend this week's Thursday practice session, which I am excited and nervous about. Tell you about that when the day comes! Adrian suggested that we drive around and find places to practice on our own, and that we could find a shorter wall for me to practice vaults on. I am happy and excited to begin this discipline!