What's up world?! Or whoever is reading this :-) I had a wonderful day today after a wonderful night last night. I'm in high spirits and my ankle is feeling good. Life is good. I just got done training on my hand-balancing posts and had a great time doing it. Tomorrow I'm going to spend my hand-balance training time on side bends. Today, I mostly just stuck to basic straddle while on the posts just to build strength and endurance on the apparatus.

Keep up your awesomness,

Morgan

hand-balancing

I just got a set of hand-balancing posts today that I can practice on! They are super fun and really hard. I thought that having blocks of wood to hold onto would make my balancing quite a bit easier, but it turns out that not having the full length and therefore leverage of my fingers makes it quite challenging. I'm just starting on this adventure of hand-balancing on posts, but I think I'm gonna really love it! It'll be great conditioning for my arms and back as well :-)

Train hard and safe,

Morgan

It had been more than a year since I'd twisted or sprained an ankle. On Saturday while filming a Parkour shot I was practicing a simple lazy vault over a railing and didn't look at the surface I was landing on. It was slow and low to the ground so I wasn't worried. But as it turns out the sidewalk had an inch drop between it and a small dirt patch. It was just enough for me to land half a foot on and roll it as I put my weight down. This reminded me of two very important principles that I try and follow always: look at and test (if possible), surfaces that you're about the train on, and two, always be training support strength right along with the big muscle groups. It's often easy to forget to strengthen such things as ankles, wrists, shoulders especially those of us that have weaker joints naturally.

Train safe and don't forget the joints

;-)

Morgan

I'm in the process of breaking in my new shoes and can't wait to get them out into the big bad world and onto some juicy brick walls! I used to be able to scale 12 foot walls when I was last measuring so this winter its on to 12.5ft walls! Here I come world!

Train hard, stay safe,
Morgan

training in all weather

It is essential that one who is serious about Parkour and its philosophies to train in all weather. Emergencies happen when least expected and in any and all weather. If we are to be properly prepared for such events it is imperative that we train in all conditions. Surfaces that we train on react differently under different conditions. For example I find that I can train on railings even when it's raining so long as I account for angles of landing with extreme caution. Brick becomes slippery when wet generally but then it depends on the soles of ones shoes. This is also a reminder to check all the surfaces that you are training on to be see how slippery, clingly, soggy etc they might be beyond appearances.

Safe training,
Morgan

bodyweight training

I am a huge fan of bodyweight training. I almost never lift weights other than myself. Pushups and pullups are great as they use an immense number of muscles, however they can get rather tedious and I am a man who loves variety. And when it comes to bodyweight exercises, they all use many muscles and strengthen supporting and core muscles especially well. I just finished up a set of press handstand exercises. I'm working on a hand-balancing routine as well as training Parkour and dance. This particular press exercise is so wonderful and so interesting. It uses muscles that are internal and that I haven't been able to isolate consciously in any other exercise. I always feel as though so much more of my body is being worked when I'm doing bodyweight exercises. Go bodyweight exercises and handstands!

;-)

When I was filming Parkour with my friend the other day I was thinking about why it is that I train and practice Parkour. What does it mean to me? What's the feeling that continues to make me love this training? I find it to be soothing for me. It calms me and gives my body and mind a beautiful harmony. It's a kind of moving meditation for my body and mind. The combination of the meditative qualities of Parkour and the fact that it continuously challenges my mind and body make it a part of my life that is extremely meaningful and powerful.

Continue training,
Morgan

great day of training

still getting used to posting daily here, but I'll get better ;-)

Saturday I had a fabulous day of filming with a friend of mine at Freeway Park in downtown Seattle. Absolutely perfect weather as the sun wasn't out, but the clouds were holding back their rain for us. That park never ceases to amaze me with it's possibilities. I keep finding more and more things to do. I've been having a great time playing with flow especially. I find that moving continuously and as slowly as possible is building my strength and control in my movements.

Keep training

I have decided that my next pair of shoes for parkour will be the 5.10 freerunners in Teak. I'm very excited to be getting a fresh pair of shoes. I have been training with a pair of Nike Pegasus sneakers and really enjoyed them. They are super light and very comfortable running shoes. Their main downside is their grip though. I have been missing the superior grip that the freerunner offers with the stealth rubber soles. Stealth rubber is quite phenomenal and allows gripping even on most wet surfaces! In Seattle that's really useful as I enjoy training in all weather. I can't wait to get 'em! Having reliable and comfortable gear always makes the experience that much better.

What makes humans unique? That we can think about the future? That we can create complex tools and analyze complex systems? What about the things that we overlook or undervalue on a daily basis? It seems that we've forgotten how to move and be physical beings. I love to move and move gracefully as well as efficiently and safely. I see movement as a necessity and a gift. I consider Parkour to be a study, training and practice of the aspects of human life that have been pushed aside all too often in a culture bent on more and more brainy work and less and less body work. Don't get me wrong, we have created amazing things and I wholly believe that we should continue our push for greater knowledge and understanding, but while we do so we should be sure to challenge our bodies equally.

Why Train Parkour?

Parkour is a great way to keep in shape, to have fun and to meet great people, but it's far more than this. Parkour has roots in a great French phrase: Etre Fort pour Etre Utile, to be strong so as to be useful. For what is the point of being strong? Why be able to run fast, jump high and be able to climb a 10 foot wall? I see these feats as being a tool, a tool that at any moment may be needed. Sometimes the need comes in different ways. It could come as a life or death need, but it might also just be a need for greater achievement. Sometimes it's not enough to be decent, normal, average or just stagnant and need arises to be someone better. Maybe it's not enough just to be the person you are when you know you can grow and become someone so much greater. I believe that all of these reasons are legitimate and they all are important components of Parkour and why traceurs train. Everyone will have their own reasons and they are all legitimate. I train because I know that I can be more than I am now. I train because I believe that being useful and prepared for the unknown is not only a good idea, but essential. I honestly doubt that I would have gotten involved in Parkour if the initial spark of fun exercise wasn't there, so I wholeheartedly embrace the reality that Parkour is fun and exhilarating. I have a blast training and I continually find more and more ways to deepen my training and get every drop of essence out of the experience. It is a continuous journey, and rewarding adventure and one that I will continue my whole life.

This last Sunday, October 18th I got to train at a gym in Kirkland. Ethan, Matt, Spencer and I all got together with Random, Matt and their helper Tara to shoot some Parkour training. During the shoot a great many things happened. Unfortunately, Ethan hurt his ankle pretty bad and had to stop training a little early. On the plus side of things though, I trained a triple kong and was quite successful at it. Keeping with the idea of Parkour being a utilitarian measure I must remark that the triple kong is probably not within keeping to this philosophy. However, I do believe that training such movements, even if directly unhelpful, can in fact train the body in very advantageous ways. The quick use of the arms in such a vault to keep the body aligned in the air for a safe landing train the arms to be quick in response to all vaults. I also found myself prepping for the vault with a very short, but very fast sprint which I often find useful in the urban environments as there is often limited space to achieve ideal speeds and angles. Overall, a wonderful day and much learned and sweated.

Etre Fort Pour Etre Utile,
Morgan