Starting Out

I noticed something recently when my brother was talking about us going to the gym while he was hurt. He said something like this "Well I don't want to go to the gym, I can't do anything so you'll get ahead of me and I'll have to catch back up." There are a few things wrong with this statement. Number one is that you can get ahead in moves but that's not what's important (especially since it's freerunning). Number two is that everyone should go at their own pace and we seem to have this whole competition thing going on, which helps, but at the same time it is kind of messing up the whole "your own path" thing. This New Year's Eve I am having a get together at the playground I always practice at just to get people into parkour. When I thought about what we were going to do I started thinking about teaching moves. I begun to think "Well he should be good at parkour". This, I think, is a big mistake in the motives. Anyone can do parkour. Isn't there more to parkour than just the moves though? Yes, there is so much more. It is about mindset, physical ability, and then the moves. (That's in no order). These things go hand in hand if you want to become a traceur. What makes a traceur? Anyone can be a traceur. Anyone can be good at parkour if they try and since there is no team or coach to decide who is good. A traceur is much more than a few skillful moves. I remember Will and I were out training and some of our friends showed up. They started trying to do what we do. Will and I laughed at first because they aren't in great physical shape. To my surprise they actually could do some moves. I was impressed, and quite embarassed. Luckily Will could do a backflip so we beat them there. I started thinking, "well if everyone can do these moves, what makes me a traceur and not them?" Well not only do I train everyday I can, I practice overcoming obstacles physically and mentally. I build my strength and if I can't do something I work at it until I can. Persistance is a good word for a traceur. Traceurs don't let the world hold them back, they push themselves to the limit to accomplish great physical ability and in the process they are becoming mentally strong. I know a few guys who started parkour, and their very first practice they filmed themselves and uploaded it. Now, it wasn't that they filmed it that bothered me. It was that they thought it was cool. When another one of my friends did that, he did it to see how much he would improve. I think that's somewhat of a good motive. Filming overall I don't think is good for the traceur. It messes with their head and makes it a competition and everyone starts telling you, you are bad at parkour and then you get depressed and such and it just isn't worth it. I do like filming my experiences and such but I wish I wouldn't have done so many videos. Unless it is a one time thing, like the up and coming New Year mini Jam. That's enough said though. Hope you all see what I am trying to explain. Happy New Year. May your training go well.
God Bless
-Ausitn

Christmas Special Short

Thought I'd give you a little Christmas special. It's mainly flips and such but it is pretty cool. Hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Break just kicked off and I am already getting some great parkour practice in. I didn't have a wrestling tournament this weekend so I hung out with will and we went out and did parkour all day. I have started working on more training and building strength. I don't have any rock walls or anything like that to work on grip, so I settled for trees. There are these trees in my back yard that are good for jumping back and forth and climbing. I tore up my hands and made them really tough. Will says I look like a monkey which is actually how I felt. Well, I didn't feel like a monkey but I was as smooth as one. I also worked on rolling on concrete. It was very painful on my hips. The next day I could barely sit in my desk. But that's a sign that they will get stronger and soon I will be able to roll no problem. Handstands are coming along steadily. The picture at the top was actually one of my better ones. Mainly because I didn't want to fall because when I did I came crashing into bushes. But it was fun. I went back to my old torn up shoes for awhile because when I use them I have to try a lot harder so I won't slip. I am forced to have perfect technique, otherwise I fail miserably. I finally am eating healthier. I went on a bad food streak but it's over now. I am getting better slowly. More progress will be posted later. MERRY CHRISTMAS and God Bless.
-Austin

Slow Down, Think, and Really Train

I recently read an article by Chris "Blane" Rowat that really changed my thought process. So many times I have used parkour as a way to look cool or expand my skills in movement for fun. But in all this I forgot what was important to me and all who train parkour seriously. Parkour isn't about show or being the best. It's not about who can do this move or that move. It's not about how quickly you can get better. I can't explain exactly what parkour is to me but I can give you and idea.

Many times I have pushed my body to hard and I've gotten hurt. Nothing that would stop my training though. But I forgot about long term effects. The injuries I'll have when I'm 40 or older. Right now David Belle is starting to get to the age where he should start hurting, well, he isn't. You want to know why? Because he trained since he was very young just learning the basics and slowly building. When I first started parkour, I did it for myself. I had a pretty boring life. Now I have something to occupy my time. Not only that but I have my escape. Everyone needs somewhere to go when they are down or just when they need time for themselves. That was my place. I would practice for hours. I wasn't very good at anything and my progression was super slow. But I loved it. It took me months to get moves that I now teach my friends in two minutes. I had to learn by myself. Trial and Error. That's how I got good. Both physically and mentally. Now I have friends that come along and are as good physically as I am in a matter of days.

The problem here is that it isn't real training. It drains your creativity. It's like taking an art class and them teaching you how to paint. They teach you how to do everything, what makes your art different from everyone else if you all paint the same? It is about your own style. If you constantly go on youtube (I do quite a bit) and search and study these guys (which is fine to a point) then you start to do it like them. You learn but you look exactly like them. That's one thing that makes the parkour world interesting, everyone is different. Everyone has something new to put out there. But when websites are giving the lists of moves for parkour and such, where is our creativity. Now everyone wants to learn the basics but it restricts them in their mind when they see that "these are all the parkour moves".

Parkour is about becoming like an animal. Smooth in all their moves. You have to be useful in life. If people are in danger, we step out and use what we know to save them. If I am going to save someone in a fire, I need to know where they are, how I am going to get there quickly, and find an efficient way out. Parkour covers a lot of that. Even something like a cat in a tree. Well I can get up there and get it out quickly so the firefighters don't have to come by and waste their time on something dumb like that. Basically what I am saying is, you have to be useful. Parkour trains people to be useful. David Belle said in an interview, when we look at a panther crossing a river we say "how beautiful" and then it jumps. But the panther isn't trying to be pretty, it's just trying to get across the water efficiently. That's how we should be. We shouldn't be all about show and does this look good to you. Well to be honest I don't care if it looks good to you. It's all about my progress, my journey. Do you think that Panther started out jumping across that river? No, he had to walk first, then run, then jump, then jump smoothly, and finally jump quickly and smoothly. It took awhile for him to get that good. He didn't walk out and do it. Even though we say he had animal instincts, he still had to learn. Humans walk, but we had to learn how to walk.

Have you ever lost a move because you got scared of that move? I have. A lot of times. I think this is a result of moving to quickly. How do we get comfortable with a move? Well to learn a kong vault I didn't just go out and do it. I took a table that was very tiny and jumped over it. Then I jumped over it with my hands, and finally tried a kong vault. As I got more comfortable I turned the table long ways and tried it. Now I am comfortable doing a kong most anywhere. I learned after working up slowly. These guys who go out and just do the moves are not learning the basics. It's like jumping into a freezing pool, you nearly freeze if you jump straight in. If you slowly work your way in then you get used to the water. I learned a wall backflip once and then I practiced it everywhere. Then soon I fell on my head. I haven't been able to do it since. I tried it with two feet because I was so ready to progress and "catch up" to the people that have been practicing for five years, and then I paid for it.

From now on my training will be very slow. I want to become a great traceur. Not just a really athletic teen. I hope this article helps others see the truth in parkour. It really helped me by just writing it. David Belle once said you should do the move, then do it well, then do it fast and well.
May you all spread the truth about parkour and the original art. It took David Belle over 15 years to get where he is, and it is taking us, what, two minutes? Those people who say we are dangerous and we are going to hurt ourselves doing parkour are right for once. If we continue the path we are going, we will get hurt.

God Bless,
Austin

My Discipline.

This world is full of complication. Most people live a life of fear and hate. They struggle everyday against problems that don’t matter. Caught up in the world and things that won’t last. Every day they are driven to the brink just because their hair isn’t how they want it or their friend turned his or her back on them. But why? Do they have nothing better to do? Well they can do whatever they want to do, but I train everyday to face these problems, mentally and physically.

One day in 2007, I sat at my computer searching for a video on youtube. I don’t know how I found it, but I came upon a video called The Real Spiderman. I thought it was awesome. At the time I just thought it was a cool video, later I figured out about another video called Russian Climbers or Russian Parkour. I researched it to see what it was all about. I don’t know what truly made me understand it but I learned quickly. I started out just jumping off my porch. I never progressed till later when my cousin remembered I showed him those videos and he found somebody who practiced it. We went downtown to try stuff and learn from each other. It was the best experience ever. I felt so free and strong. I had found something that would stick for a long time.

Since then I have progressed so much. I’ve gotten stronger physically and mentally. I can finally do the moves but I can also go through life without all the stupid problems that everyone else has normally. It feels good to have a burden shed off your back, but try taking it a step further and leaping into the sky. It’s hard to think about the things of this world that trouble you when you are three steps from jumping across a building.

But what is Parkour? Parkour isn’t just being a crazy guy trying something that no normal person would. It is about concentration, power, toughness, freedom, and much more. It’s about someone’s personal journey through life. I sometimes like to view it as a personal walk with God. When you are out by yourself, it is just you, God, and the jungle we call the world. The practice physically is making you strong for those situations you need it. The moves so you can get from point A to point B quick and efficiently. Parkour is about taking your fears and conquering them. Some physical, some mental. It doesn’t matter how you accomplish your task, just that you accomplish it the best way you can. Parkour is about discovering who you are inside. It isn’t a competition between two people, it is a competition between you and the everyday struggles life throws at you.

We see the world differently than the average person. As Kyle Clayton once said in a blog “If life is a chess board, then in terms of movement, the average man remains a mere pawn, moving down the row in one direction, one square at a time, or at best, a rook. A skilled parkourist however, is more in line with the queen, having the ability to move freely in any direction regardless of obstacles. A parkour practitioner relies on training and technique, coupled with primal, animal instinct to overcome these obstacles.” I haven’t found a better way to describe the way we look at the world.

Although not everyone knows about this sport, it is my passion. Most people would see me doing these “stunts” and laugh at me. I really could care less what others think about me. I have been laughed at time and time again for being a loser, but I won’t stop. It’s hard to understand when you are viewing it from the outside. That’s okay, no Traceur expects you to understand. If you see me practicing it around, just smile, wave, and keep going.

Mental Block

It's been awhile since I have updated those of you who still read this. Although I don't write this blog for anyone but myself in order to track progress and see what I have done 5 years from now and when I did it. Anyways I have been practicing moves and getting better at parkour. I have gotten smoother and quicker at all my moves which I was going for originally. One problem is it's wrestling season so I can't get to much done. I worked on my handstands today and I'm getting slightly better. Not much. There has been one move though that I lost and haven't been able to get back and that's the wall flip. I had it, on slanted surfaces, then I landed on my head one day and I slowly got it back. Then I landed on my head again. Now it is a never ending cycle. I lose it then get it back. I just can't get my confidence up enough to get it solidly. I noticed that it is easy to get a move but very hard to get it back once you lose it. I think when you first get it you don't realize the danger, then you get hurt trying it and then you are scared. Once the fear leaves you haven't done it in awhile and all you can do is picture yourself crashing. Well that's my problem at least. Then it is just a matter of doing it because you get in the habit of quitting before you try it. I plan to get over that fear tonight. It'll be tough but my plan is to no longer see it as a fear but more of a move I just can't do yet. If I can't do it, then I force myself to relearn it completely. I will start from step one and build up again. Can't wait to test my theory. I'm sorta pumped. Good training to all of you. (I might make a Christmas special video)

The full video

Here's the finished video just changed a lot.

Saturday Training

We went out and filmed all day. If you'd like to read about our adventure and more go down an article. Thought you'd enjoy this. (oh Mike and kyle, there is a special part at the end for you and you'll know what it is when you see it. )

Progress

What have I been up to since last boring mini article. Well just about everything. I have practiced every move in the books. What have I gotten, Gainer, wall runs, parkour type stuff, good front flip, front flip over and off high stuff, almost an aerial, wall flip is a working progress, and much more fluent in all my moves. Sorry to overload you there but it is so awesome. Well Corey joined the team and he is getting good, pretty quick learner. I am working on a video for our school talent show that is pretty cool with Will and I which is pretty cool and should be up soon. We got to go downtown again with Mike and it was fun. Didn't learn much but it was exciting and we had some major fun at the end. In fact we even got frosties from Wendys. No better way to end the day of parkour. Let's talk about our downtown adventure first. We got there and the library was blocked off so we couldn't do much there. We went to the parking garage where I almost got the guts to jump across but decided not to. We left there and went to finley where we did a few things like cat leaps and such. We traveled back and pretended we were a car and just sat at a stoplight. Then we did some stuff behind the library and I had a fun time making fun of all traceurs who have pictures of them by no trespassing signs, as you can see here. So then we practiced cranes, stealth jumps, wall runs, and cat leaps. It was exciting and we got very good. A guy came back there and told us to leave. He insisted we come out the front and Mike said "Little does he know we can climb walls!" and we climbed away in a very extreme way.
Today was interesting. We went through filming so the footage can show most of the stuff we did. But one interesting event was, Will could not get his crane to a big sign. He hurt his ankle and had begun to walk off when a man with kids and a wife drove up (he was an older man) and with his raspy voice said "Try it again!" We thought he was angry at us, he repeated "try it again while we are watching. Will warmed up and did it, as smoothly as yogurt. He looked at the man and he gave Will the thumbs up and smiled, rolled up his window, put his car in drive, and rode away. It was quite strange but he showed up at the right time to help Will. God sent his little helping messenger down to help Will get a move. It was a good day which ended with beautiful weather. I prayed it wouldn't rain (for it was rainy and dark clouds) and God gave me beautiful weather to film in. Thanks to all who read this. God bless.

-Austin

Here it comes

I chase my dream of becoming a professional director or producer. I want to do something with movie and I think through parkour I can accomplish it. I recently found a Chase Armitage video called Free Inspiration that really inspired me. Makes sense doesn't it? But I enjoyed it a lot and you should watch it. I'm getting more into tumbling type stuff because I want more freedom on the ground. To control my weight and body like that. My body is improving and getting more healthy. I could never let go of this feeling. It's wonderful. I wish to do parkour till my body cannot go any further. When I'm 90 I still may jump on a building or two. Not really but it's great to think of that. Really funny too. Here's our latest video. Thanks for tuning in everyone. May God be with you.
-Austin

Class is in.

Today I woke up at seven in the morning to do something spectacular. I went to a gymnastics gym and was taught with George for two hours on flips. Goodness gracious it was fun. George's uncle taught us everything and we are getting good. Wall flips, back handsprings, back flips on the ground. It was crazy. Actually he wants to film us and start a class. To teach free running. How cool is that? He wants us to get a lot better than teach younger kids, and our age kids parkour and freerunning. My dream came true. A class in SC. I'm so pumped. We get private lessons and teach. Sick!

Busting my tail, back, and leg.

Well yesterday went well as you can tell by the title. So I started off filming a movie that is in High Def and will be a short commercial for Irmo Underground. Later I called some of my friends up so I could teach them stuff. So I was running upstairs and I pulled a muscle in my back! Alright I do three thousand back flips and I pull a muscle running up stairs? Weird. Anyways so I went there and started teaching when I tried a long precision and slipped busting my tail and shin. I have a huge bump on my shin but I'll get over it. Lesson learned. I need more practice. You thought I was going to say I didn't need to try precisions! Well as of right now I'm working on commercials for our team as I said earlier and they are slowly coming together. It's great to finally do a useful video.

Freerunning

I recently have been doing more freerunning. Although I don't like it as much I have so many places to learn it and I have been doing it so much better lately now that George is training with us. Once I learned the back flip I have become ten times better at freerunning. I hope to do a lot of parkour soon also. George is just now telling us that his Uncle owns a gymnastics gym. So we plan on practicing there for free! Pretty exciting that we can do it whenever we want. Also I'm sorry for the recent splurge of videos. I will tone it down a little really soon I just have wanted to show you whats going on rather than telling. I like making videos to much to pass up an oppurtunity to film. Practice is going well and I can't wait for winter when you can actually practice without getting over heated. I will be complaining about the cold probably. So here is our most recent work.

Flip Training

A short collection of flip training that George and I made today. Pretty cool. More coming soon.

Some Quick Accomplishments

Just went out today and tried some new stuff. Stuff I wanted to learn. I was sore but I pressed on. So far I've got a few new moves in my arsenal. I think I will learn a side flip soon. I figured out how to do it. Pretty easy. Like a front flip sort of.

Labor Day Training

I started the day off extremely ticked that I had to go to the lake and not going to do parkour. We recently found some houses being built that were perfect for training. So anyways we went to the lake and we practiced flips into the water. I did some high back flips and front flips. Then low. Then George got the bright idea to try it off something. So he got Corey to spot him. He tried and tried then Corey let him try on his own. He landed it easily. Well I decided it was my turn. I got Corey to spot me a few times then he walked a little bit away so I could do it on my own. It was so easy. I did it about 10 times. Then I tried it on something else but got scared and fell. So I got scared again and stopped doing it. So it was good for awhile. I'll get it back when I rest up. George got a standing backflip on the ground. So unfair. I almost did it but landed on my knees and hand because I thought I had support from Corey. It hurt. But whatever I should have it all down by Friday. The video in my previous blog really inspired me. Thanks Chase.

Chase Armitage

Some great advice that my favorite Traceur gave. I think this is a really good video because he is talking about what he does and what we do in a way. It's great.

What it feels like to be free.

Well on Friday practice was fun because we got two of my friends to come and practice with us. Well they invited us to be honest. We were up and out in a minute. After sitting in my classrooms for a week I needed a break. A chance to run again. A chance to feel the flow. So we taught them a lot then went back home. Will spent the night and that morning we went out. Practice seemed like it would stink. We started off not talking. Will went unto a little bridge in the woods and streched while I got on the playground and stretched. My mind was at peace. The breeze was cool, and soothing. After stretching all the muscles we could have we set out slowly practicing hard moves we normally don't do.I would do something and take a minute break then try again. My moves came smoothly and easily. I would breathe in and out slowly and calm myself. There were no words needed. It was understood what we were doing. We were feeling what it was like to free your mind. Later we stopped because we felt accomplished. We found some sprinklers and cooled off. Most refreshing thing ever. We walked back with our shirts and shoes off enjoying nature's beauty. It was glorious. It was so relaxing and opened my eyes to this world we have. The world of freedom. The freedom of nature. I wish everyday was like this so I could always escape the problems and stresses of this world. Today I will settle for that practice.

Parkour Shoes

Well the day finally came where I needed new shoes and my parents let me get parkour shoes from five ten. I did my homework on them and found out they are the best on the market. If you ask why I needed them it's because I'm tired of this....

A Tragic Loss.

My day started out well, I went to school, had good classes, talked to all my friends, and to close it off practicing flips at a gym. Then I got in the car to leave. I checked my messages. (taking Kyle's idea click here and listen while you read) I had about a two minute message about my cousin Mike's resignation. It is a tragic loss. My best partner and my inspiration crushed because his father was so worried about him he thought he would die doing parkour. They don't understand we don't do it for the stunts or the fame. Just the mindset. The mental accomplishes. If only he could stay and not have to leave this beautiful world that we so cherished. We hadn't had a great relationship till we started parkour. We had hour long conversations on the phone about what we wish to accomplish and what we already had accomplished. Now my phone remains silent. I only have one real partner right now, Will, and I know we can make it through this tough time but it'll be hard. Kyle and I still may go but it won't be the same. Maybe Mike can film for us or something. We will let him edit the movies so he can still have some connection with it. It's like being a Jedi. Even when you leave you are still one with the force. Mike still has the mindset and I know it. You can never truly lose the parkour mindset when you stop. We don't do it for the moves. It's only for the mindset. Mike has broken so many boundaries since he had started but those things he has overcome will never leave him. I also feel bad for Kyle because Mike was his partner for the longest time. They did so much together. If you watch their videos and see them now you'd be pretty amazed they have improved so much mentally and physically. I don't wish to tell Mike good bye from this Parkour world so I won't. It is just understood. "No room for goodbyes in Sparta. No room for weakness." This is the end of Mike's parkour days and we are sorry it had to be this way. We will still get together. It won't be the same. Or will it? Who knows. I'd rather his problem be solved than ours. The parkour world has many obstacles and Mike found an obstacle he can never overcome. No way around it. No way over or under it. He will have to take the sidewalk today. I'm sorry Michael David. May you never forget the times we shared together when we weren't just cousins, we were traceurs. A long time ago I was going to make a movie about a traceur who was on the run, he was solo. That is me today. I am a traceur without his wingman. I haven't missed a day of parkour since Michael David was here about two weeks ago. But today I will not go out and practice, today I will rest, today I will remember.
-Austin

Update on Training

Well training hasn't stopped at all. It's been go, go, go all week long. Front flips, back flips, green flips, blue flips. Sorry had a dr. suess moment. Anywho, it seems practice has gone on a little to long. Got some new injuries for you to here about. First I was doing stuff on bars and I jumped over something and when I grabbed the bar two of my calluses ripped off and it stung like crazy. Then I continued to practice that night. I got front flips down to a science. But I did so many of them and so many jumps I now have shin splints. Dag yo. Anyways with school starting it should heal pretty quickly. I'm going to have to stay off my feet as much as possible till Friday so I can practice back flips. They are so fun especially when I get them on flat ground. We've gotten three times better. Me meaning Me and Will. We actually created a new team and a blog, irmoparkour.blogspot.com . Check it out. Here's a video from our training.

Good or Bad Day?

I can't quite figure it out. My day started out bad. No one could go do parkour with me and I was stuck at home. I practiced front flips only to land on my butt and side. It hurt so badly. I was crushed. Later I went to my friends house to do a backflip. To everyones surprise I spent two hours debating and didn't accomplish it. I just couldn't do it. Yeah it seemed the day had gone wrong. Well about six o clock I called my friend and asked if he wanted to practice. Well we didn't have much time but we went anyways. He did more back flips and I debated again. Only to fail. So we headed to a playground at a school to do some boring but good practice. On our way we found a perfect little front flip spot. I tried and tried again to land it well and to my surprise I got better and better. Finally I started landing on my feet but still close to the ground till I got it right. Then he tried and made it. So we kept walking. I tried it again on this big thing of grass and all I can say is my knees need a day off. Ow. So we went to the playground and did our practice and left. Found some kong spots and a way to get on the roof. Which we will not be doing because it's quite inhabited. So I'd say now my day went bad and good. Here's the summary.

Tomorrow.

Today I wasn't able to get around to doing my back flip cause I had stuff to do. I went to my friends trampoline but there was a net which made it impossible to flip off of. So tomorrow I'm going to a gym to do it so I won't kill myself. I also will get my front flip down. I can pretty much do that now. I hurt my legs practicing it unfortunately when I was practicing them out in my yard. I ran out of energy and landed on my leg sideways. I stopped for now but I'll do it tomorrow night if I get the chance. I must do a back flip though. In order to make my movies look better and become a better traceur this is a must. I will grow slowly but until I do this I must put everything on hold so I can accomplish this goal. It may take a week or a month but I will get it. I am determined to. It is my only goal for now.

Speaking to soon.

This would happen to me. That is my luck. My last blog was about how I conquered my mind and I had no limits. I had no limits. But I figured out what I can't endure. (Had to add batman stuff in this whole thing) My friend (Will) and I went to a school today to practice. It was rainy and wet but we dried stuff off. I did some cool tricks on bars and got really good at it. This is my friend who got the back flip down. Now get this I got him to do it off a trashcan. He did it three times. I knew I had to do it. I got up on the trashcan, the first time not feeling it so I got off. So a minute later I hopped back up. The hop sent the message to my brain to flip. But I didn't flip. So I repeated the motion a few times. Nothing. I never did it. I finally figured out that my mind still has a fear of back flips. Not flips, just back flips. In fact in saying this I nearly landed a running front flip in the wrestling room. It's a start. I'm doing better at that. Tomorrow we are going to his trampoline and trying the back flip. I have to do it. So hopefully tomorrow there will be a video up with me doing a back flip tomorrow. So right now you will have to settle for this. I warn you this video will make you mad if you can't back flip. It simply gives me motivation.

Mindset

Currently my mind is clear. I see it clearly now. Every move, every drop, every jump, everything. I watch my last video repeatedly and see what I need to improve on. I go out and do it. Whenever I'm about to give up on a move, I stop back up and execute it. The move becomes natural and I never think about it. No more pacing before trying. It only leads to failure. Crash and Burn. It's amazing how much better I am when I study and get the mindset back. No more "I can't do this! That's impossible!" I attempt and succeed, and if I do not succeed then I do it again. Maybe I'm not strong enough to do a move, well then I find a strategic way to do it. If I can't figure out how to do it like everyone else, I invent my own way. Parkour is not about everyone else, it's about yourself. You create your own style. If I follow what everyone else does then I look like everyone else. I want to stand out from the crowd and make my own parkour style. I know I can do it, anyone can. You find moves you can do and build on those moves. Do a little of everything but get good at one certain type of moves whether spins, flips, jumps, vaults, whatever. Get good at it and be yourself. Let the traceur within free.

There and Back

Well we went downtown again Saturday and were a little less motivated. We were tired and were messing up like most of our moves. Of course everything cool we found I would get nervous because of our encounter with the cops. So we'd do something and leave quickly. I never did anything risky so I couldn't get any good footage. The day over all went badly but we managed to scrounge up some footage of ourselves practicing random stuff. Also before you watch this video we were practicing and were not executing our moves very well. Plus it isn't meant to be fast pace or smooth. It's practice. If we were filming a real movie I think we would've tried a little bit harder. I will probably start working on our first real video that is fast paced and our moves are smoother and more fluent in winter. I thought you would like to watch a practice video though because I mean seriously who wants to read all day? Not me. I want to see the people in action. So here ya go!

The Traceurs Strike Back

Well today went extremely well. Me, Mike, and Kyle went back downtown for practice. Unfortunately Kyle didn't get any practice, mainly because he is on a cane. Well it went well for Me and Mike. Maybe Kyle got mentally better, possibly worse because he is probably going to hurt himself now because he is so ready to get off his feet again. So we started off by parking at Chick-fil-a and we got change to fill the parking meter. Turns out the meter had 1:13 minutes still on it. So we walked off. Of course a homeless guy asked for the leftover change. Denied. Anyways we meet Kyle as he walked down the Capital building's steps. It felt weird to once again be together since the last time I saw Kyle we were surrounded by campus cops. So we walked on down to a few small spots and did some little tricks to get back the old mindset. It seemed distant but it came to me. We walked to the public library and practiced cat leaps and cranes in this little alley beside the library. It was wonderful. Then I spotted a worker within the library that walked by so we left. We took no chances of being caught. We wandered to Finley park where we practiced everything. As we practiced wall runs a homeless man walked by and said "police". So as we were about to bail the guy goes "You owe me a dollar". Joking of course. We got into deep conversation with the man and he seemed really smart till he started telling all these dumb stories so after about thirty minutes we left. Attempted kong vaults on a table and weren't successful at all. As we went back to the car I tried a wall spin on a pillar and landed it in front of a lot of people. Mike did it after and also landed it. I don't normally like showing off but I felt like a street performer and the people enjoyed it. We did that then left. Good time. Good Day. It truly lit the spark within me once again.

For Mike and Kyle

It would seem practice had nearly come to a screeching halt. I no longer see the jumps and spins. I will wall spin or monkey over a bar but it's not the same. There is no longer that rush. That mindset. That beauty. The things I could do. The things I couldn't. Not to far out of reach, but now light years away. If only I could go back and again defy gravity and disobey my mind. To break free of these chains that hold me to this ground. Parkour is no longer the underground sport it used to be. It has grown. It has grown too much. New faces are trying it everyday. What has happened to this thing we once loved. It has been crushed. Left to burn. Angry as I am, I will not stop. I must press on. The sport may grow and grow, but I will always be one step ahead, one leap ahead, and one roll ahead of the competition. Thanks again for taking me downtown that one day. If it wasn't for you, Parkour would be dead in my heart. -Austin

Still Working

I haven't gotten much practice in lately but I mean I'll see something here or there and try something on it. I will continue doing parkour I just haven't gotten around to it. When I come out with my new movie it will have chase scenes in it so that should be interesting.

Messing Up

Got a video with some mess-ups in it. I added Iron man to be funny. Anyways hope you enjoy. I may be getting some free running shoes which are cool shoes without it being used for free running. If you wanna look at them they are at fiveten.com under footwear. Not hard to find. They are pretty cool though and I need better grip. I won't be able to practice much for a week cause I'm going on a mission trip but when I come back I only have a week to practice again cause I have to go to wrestling camp. It'll be fun though.

Some Clips

These are some clips from earlier this year. Most of this stuff I have improved on but still I just had to make a video. I'm not putting this one on youtube though. It's not good enough yet. I have improved ooberous amounts on my wall spin. It's pretty cool. I may upload some pictures of it later. Most of this video is just a few moves with me doing it a few different times. Also the special effects didn't work so it is just a bunch of clips with music. Hope you enjoy it anyways. (I'll have another one up later in the summer.)

Summer Practice

So it begins, the long summer of practice. I plan to find some spots around here and go all out on practice. I really have to practice more flips. I suck at them. I could do it but I don't have guts. Well backflip. I'm working on it though. Otherwise I'm getting better. I was making a video but I may not post it. Well I might but it won't be great. I have to go to finley or something one day in the summer. Or find a new spot completely. I need better practice. I will work on it.

Apology

Sorry about not saying anything for a long time. But I didn't have much to say. Well I have more news now. So I'll start were I left off. The movie. It will soon begin production. It's gonna be great. If you want to see a certain spot in SC in it leave me a comment. I need some Ideas anyways. Well as far as skill I've become better but not much. The last video we had is terrible compared to now. I execute the moves thirty times better. I also got a wall spin, cat leap, and kong vault. Well the kong I just did stuff twenty times longer. But none of this compares to my mental improvement. I no longer think "can I do this? Is it too long?" It's more of a "How can I make this cooler?" or "How far can I push my body before I break?" Which is really cool. But one thing that changed was I don't really look at parkour as a way to clear my mind, It is not a hobby. I don't do it in my spare time. I kinda mixed it with my life. It's my way of exploring places. If I need to get somewhere, well Parkour is my advantage. It's really cool. I go places others can't. Anyways it still is fun, and I will do it sometimes, or at least practicing. But still I'm coming out with a movie for you all soon. You'll like it.

New Movie

I am now making a new movie with a lot of chase scenes with parkour mixed in. It should be pretty good I'll give you the basic plot line and I should have a teaser trailer soon.


Elimination Theory

Jonathan Owens is a former assassin that worked for a terrorist group called Flash Fire. He had one mission to do in which he was trained for years. His mission was simple, to kill Isiah Furn (Owner of a Undercover armory that sold to the U.S.). He wasn't briefed on anything else. There is more to the operation than he knows about. When he kills Isiah he finds out the programs target is no longer Isiah but himself. Trying to outwit every assassin and cop that comes his way, Jonathan tries to find truth without getting killed in the process.

Not so Bummed

Well didn't get much done pretty much cause all the buildings I was at it would have been disrespectful to do parkour on. It was fun though. Got to see all the famous buildings and stuff. Literally all of them. I did some basic parkour and I did crazy tree climbing cause it was fun. We actually did tricks on the trees. It was amazing to be able to move so fluently throughout the tree without messing up. I did handstands. I love handstands. Well it was fun.

Parkour in the Capital

Oh America the beautiful. The lovely white house, The government buildings, many pretty places to visit. There I am in exactly two hours and nine minutes I will be boarding a bus to go to Washington. A school field trip. All my clothes packed, toothbrush, pillow, all the essentials. Oh and did I mention my camera? Oh yeah! My camera. There will be Parkour! LOTS OF IT. My moms the chaperone and me and Mat are in a group. Get the idea yet? Parkour in DC! WOOHOO! Classic fun. Here it comes! I'm so excited because I've been watching videos and I packed some parkour clothes. They can't really tell us not to. Well they could but we can't resist but do a handstand by the Lincoln memorial or even take a few beautiful pictures with the buildings in the background. We don't plan on breaking rules but total fun. Can't wait. More after the break.

Nothing new.

Don't have much to say really. We have been practicing daily and getting better. No great new tricks. Working on my back flip still. I actually was in the wrestling room and my brother was spotting me and didn't know I was going so I did a kinda "no effort flip" and well I didn't try and landed on my head and wrist. Nearly broke it. It hurt really badly and it still does. A little swollen but not really.

Practice makes perfect

Well I finally got to go to ACX (gym) and practiced quite a bit of stuff. I got a handstand that I can hold two times longer. I can do it with no momentum just push up off the ground. I did about fifty back flips (back tuck as cheerleaders say) on the trampoline with no bounce and I got it down. Next step is trying it on the ground. I'm pretty good so I should be able to do it with some guts. I can't get my front flip down but It'll come later on. I had a few days of practice this week and got better at balance and cat leaps. So much improvement this week. I look forward to doing more when it stops raining!

Easy? Parkour isn't easy.

I am so mad I'm laughing at it. All my friends watched our practice video and thought it was stupid and easy. By golly it ticked me off! But I calmed down and thought about it and the video did suck and showed lack of parkour so they are right. We are gonna have to make a real video to show them later on when we improve like crazy. Well good news though, Mat and Stewart are my newest partners. Not only are they new but they both do palm spins and they are getting good. I got so excited when I found them at the park practicing today! I was so happy and started practicing right away. Extreme improvement on their part. I thought they weren't committed and I was super wrong. They are just as committed as me! It's great to finally have someone like that. Anyways I am probably going to Finley on Sat. so more footage and practice.

Hero

I feel as if I am becoming a hero. Not like literally where I think I'm a hero but working alone I've noticed is making me feel like I'm becoming a hero. I feel like I'm training to become like Batman or something. Florida had to many spots to imagine but 97% of the time I was on a bus looking at it or somewhere where I couldn't get to it. Depressing I know. I did some stuff at the campsite though. It was kind of showing off but I had to do it. I mean I wouldn't give up that opportunity to do some free running in front of people. We had a large campfire thing that we made fires in (duh) and I was doing precision jumps from one side of the rocks to the other. It wasn't that hard but no one else did it so I felt special. I did about a ten second long handstand on the beach which doesn't sound long but if you count it is long. Back flips on the ground are coming along slowly. Tomorrow I will be in the wrestling room and I can do wall spins and back flips in there as practice. I'm pretty excited. I didn't get much practice over spring break. I got more mental practice though. I was out in the wilderness camping I mean what else did I have to do? I actually, just for fun, would put my bags in the trees so raccoons couldn't get to them and I would have to climb really high to get to them. A little parkour for my break. Funny story (nothing to do with parkour) I was lying in my hammock at night and I woke up and a raccoon was around my hammock then it climbed up the tree and messed with my hammock hooks. Then It got under my hammock and started poking at my head. I tried to catch it but couldn't. Well anyways hope you enjoyed my spring break story.

Flight is no more.

Well Flight came to a halt. I thought it was going well then I made a fatal mistake. I started accepting to many people! Yeah I know that's not bad right? No it is very bad. It was just as a feared. No one was committed. They made the team and stopped doing it. I hated not having Will as my partner because he was grounded and I tried to substitute him with others. It wasn't worth it. Yeah I mean the people on the team each had something special about them that made them make the team but it wasn't right. Half of them had no idea what was going on. They each did their one move and nothing else. I couldn't take it so I stopped the team. Now it's just Me, Will, and my friend Mat. The only people who wanted to work for their position. No one else would try anything new except them. Well no more team but I did get Mat to become my new partner for now and I'm excited. He is in shape and learns what I want him to quickly. He will get as good as me soon if he practices a lot. I see progress though. Flight may be cancelled but it still helped see who would commit or not.

Focus and Practice

I've actually used Parkour a lot now to kind of clear my mind. I can go out and do stuff and just forget my problems and focus on God and not as much worldly stuff. It helps a lot. I think I'm going to start practicing by myself a little bit. When I'm with a teammate I can't just concentrate on my moves because I have to teach stuff. I'm getting better but slowly and I could get much better doing it by myself. When I'm by myself I see things a little better, like how to hit a move or what I should do better. When I was in the woods yesturday I really concentrated all my mind and strength on one move. It was something I normally wouldn't do. I took a deep breathe calmed myself down and jumped from one tree and landed on another holding onto it. It was a long jump and I felt confident by myself because when I'm around people and they mess up it's like in my mind I'm like it's okay to mess up and I don't get better that way. So I think I'm going to take a team break and practice by myself. What is cool though is I got one of the new members to get a good palm spin down. I was proud but I will help them later now I have to practice. I'm going to Florida for the week I hope there are some spots there because I don't want to take a break. I don't want to get hurt either. Hopefully I'll be a lot better by the end of the month or even two weeks from now.

Making the Team

I have a good few people on my team now. I have five people other than me on my team. Most are just starting but they are all good. We have a guy who's a master at back flipping off anything. We have a my brother who can wall spin, George who is extremely athletic and can do stuff naturally, Mat which has learned fairly quickly, Will who can also back flip, and me. Our team is getting good too. Tonight we are going to a gym to practice flips and tricks. We should get even better. I've been practicing with a person about everyday. We actually found a way to climb up to our roof and go through a window to get in (which we could never find a way before). My hands are completely destroyed from jumping and grabbing bars. I found some gloves though. I can now do a palm spin on both sides too. I'm hoping in Florida, since we are on spring break, will have some great spots! I'm going to bring a camera so I can film. Flight is now a pretty good team. I always will have someone to practice with now.

More Advanced

I spent about three hours practicing and filming my new tricks today. It was fantastic! I got a solid palm spin and backward rail hop (Something my cousin did one day where you hop over and instead of turning around you catch it backwards). It was great I did some precision jumps. I jumped out of a two story window (hanging out of course). I did some better jumps. I feel really accomplished. Will got his back flip off his trampoline down. Not like the bouncy part the side of it to the ground. He is doing pretty well. He completed his first wall spin a few days ago. It is on the video below. He is shorter than I am which comes at a great advantage for him. He can do tricks like the wall spin better because of his height. It is awesome. I finally overcomed my fear of the palm spin. I used to be scared of face planting. Now I can do it no problem. I'm gonna try it over a rail soon. Yep, things are looking up.

March Practice

We had a few practices this march and filmed a little bit. The footage isn't great but we are a lot better. My cousin and I filmed us downtown but the footage got deleted. It was really cool footage though. We had some sweet moves.

My Weekend

I knew it all along! My foot was in incredible shape and I was practicing my leaps and handstands and other balancing things by Friday. When it became Saturday it was pretty cold so I stayed indoors and did handstands. I got a lot better! I can hold one for about ten seconds. I worked on some technical spins involving handstands and I did front flips off a table onto a bean bag to get the feel of flipping down. Slowly building some courage for when the time comes to make a true flip. Sunday came along slowly but surely. Perfect weather. I brought a rectangle table out and practiced and filmed for about an hour or two. I practiced kongs...more handstands but on a table and so I can use it for other areas. My kongs started off easy with just doing the table vertically facing me. Then I did it about thirty times before I thought "This is way to easy." So I moved it vertically. It wasn't much of a challenge actually. I'd say it was 4-5 feet in distance which is okay but I may could do better. I was amazed how much farther a kong got you. I plan on going down to the park when I have time this week and practicing over rails. Shouldn't be too incredibly hard. Well that may be all the news I have this week but don't be surprised if I have more. There's always something to write about. (MD enjoy your break and email me about Augusta if that's where your going. We used to live there.) Anyways have a good weekend.

Flight

I decided to make my own group to kinda get some people in and started so I can get this show on the road. It's going to be called FLIGHT. I don't know why but it's kinda cool and sorta original. Well it's Friday my foots almost all healed up and I'm excited....except I took a nasty spill in my playroom. Yes, in my playroom. Pretty stupid I know. I was trying to do spin tricks on my air hockey table. That didn't go to well. So let me explain. My couch is by my air hockey table. The table is very high. I happen to underestimate how high. So I went to do my trick. That's when I noticed I didn't go high enough. This struck me as I was already falling downward. My kneecap shuddered against the table. As for my chest it went into the, much harder than I thought, couch armrest. Well I rolled on the ground and came to a stop. I couldn't breathe very well and did the "ow ow ow" while sucking in air trying to be tough. To ensure my brother I was okay I kind of yelled "that hurt" and then laid on the floor for about five minutes trying to let the shock wear off. Lesson learned, never ever ever ever underestimate how high the thing you are jumping over is. You will get owned like your retard blogger. Luckily I am not hurt to badly and my battle bruises weren't to bad. Thank goodness. I thought that was an entertaining story to share with all of you. Have a good weekend everyone!!

Flips, Tricks, and Automobiles?

Oh yeah. The name says it all. I'm beginning flips and tricks training. You can't do freerunning without some flips and sweet tricks. I plan to visit some different gyms and places with padded grounds so I can began my training. It's not more about guts than practice. I don't quite have the guts yet. I won't even do my palm spin off the wall unless we are in the wrestling room. I'm also going to River Springs and doing some cat leaps and stuff. I really want to try climbing some cool stuff. Climbing a great workout too. I'm attempting to find spots so I can workout/practice. It will be amazing. Michael D. if you read this before the weekend and find something to do I wanna go. I won't do much but just getting out of the house and going other places excite me. My foot still hurts but I'm ignoring it so I can go on.

Mouse Potato

I am confined to my computer chair. My injury is really annoying. Well my foot is healing but extremely slowly. If I even jump and land on it I sit there cringing for a minute. I have to heal! I can't take it. I look at all the places I could be jumping on and off and I get sad because I won't be up and doing even minor things for about five or six days....Nah I'll be practicing by friday but It won't be much hard stuff just to get some of this excess energy out. I tried to kong a short electric box outside my house and boy did that keep me hobbling all the way to the bus stop. I better stay off it as long as I can. If I don't it'll hurt for even longer. My cousin gave me hope saying he was still in it. WOO! He had told me his parkour was basically over. But i just received an email saying some sweet things he's been doing. Theres still hope. Patience is key. Enough said I'll write when I'm healed for now I can just imagine.

Foot

It sucks. I recently got a wart taken out of my foot and now I have a big hole in my foot. It's really cool looking. Looks like I got shot. Maybe I'll say I was running from the cops and they were shooting at me. Nah, but I won't be able to doing anything for a week. It's only been two days and it doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm not gonna reopen it doing tricks and stuff. Sunday I may go practice stuff on a playground though so I'm looking forward to it.

Irmo High

I found some great Parkour places at Irmo. I was there for the state wrestling tournament and there were some pretty good jumps. I didn't do much but I found places to get on the roof and an awesome two story jump. The jump takes you right on the grass. The hill slopes backwards so you'd have to hit the ground and roll back but it would work out quite well. You can walk up the walls to get to the roof. They are pretty easy and a few rails to practice stuff on. I don't think I would go in there again. I would probably get kicked out for trespassing but it's a cool spot.

Parkour/Freerunning

I have been doing my homework and researching parkour and freerunning to answer your questions. What is freerunning/parkour?

Parkour- a recreational pursuit in which participants traverse urban structures by running, jumping, vaulting, rolling, etc.

Free running-a physical art, in which participants (freerunners) attempt to pass all obstacles in their path in a smooth and fluid way. Free runners interact with their environment using movements such as vaulting, jumping and other acrobatic movements, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacles.

There are the best definitions i could find. I do a mix of both. Fun fact, the guy who invented freerunning actually was the guy who was running from James Bond in the beginning of Casino Royale. I bet he did most all those stunts. Pretty cool huh? The founder of parkour was David Belle, a friend of Sébastien Foucan (founder of Freerunning).

Here are some websites you might find interesting:
Freerunning
Parkour

David Belle Parkour

Sebastien Foucan Casino Royale Chase Scene

USC Campus

Well it turns out that the USC campus is an open campus and the cops were just giving us an excuse to make us leave. Figures....Well it's to late now. Can you beleive cops would lie to us and say we are trespassing. Well anyways I have been working on palm spins soon I'll be able to do it on any wall. I'm hoping to go to CIU with my cousin and do stuff there. I'm hoping to film some of the stuff and put together a video for them. So I'll be working on that.