Blog: A Day In The Life
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Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Sometimes We Forget Why We Started The Journey...
Winter in Manchester isn't great. It rains a lot, it's extremely cold and generally unpleasant. Not good for going out and doing parkour training in. Well, it is if you're the sort of person who likes to train in all situations, which, don't get me wrong, I'm all for - it's just that I find I could be spending that time doing something else more productive. If you know me at all, or if you read my last blog post, you'll know my time is very precious and I can't afford to waste it. I'm not saying training in horrible weather would be a waste of time but I feel I'd rather be training in conditions where I can practise things as normal. I have plenty enough to be getting in with that I'd much rather stay home and do some uni work or web design than doing a watered-down training session: it's freezing cold; you can't feel your hands; the surfaces are wet, slippery and maybe icy; and you can't do any of the stuff you want to practise.Also, being out and unable to train normally really does make me miserable - and parkour is supposed to make you happy, so this creates the opposite effect - I don't want to be in a position where I'm dreading having to do a parkour session (as daft as it sounds, I've been like that before) - I want to keep it a positive thing for me. I often find that if something you love makes you unhappy, you need to take a step back and think back to why you started it - then maybe stop it for a while, change the way you do it or try and enjoy it the way it is if you can find reason enough to do so.
I know a lot of people who would disagree with me here and say that I should be practising in all conditions, not just comfortable ones, and I wouldn't say they were wrong - but they're normally the sort of people who pretty much only have parkour in their life, and nothing much else to have to try and fit in to their week.
One of my good friends from parkour, a great practitioner who is very knowledgeable about training and everything associated with understanding parkour - he once told me, during a conversation along the lines of this blog post, that for him, parkour is seasonal (along with other things in his life), and sometimes it's good to have time away from things to concentrate on others. It really hit home at the time, and I stuck by it as a way of thinking about everything.
Over the last few years, there have been times when I've had so much going on that I've not managed to get out to train much - and it was great to come back to when I was ready, even if I was a little out-of-step with my training/fitness/technique. There's always something that comes up that I have to work on, like last Winter (the UK kayaking season - when the rivers are at their highest levels), I spent a lot of time, pretty much every weekend, out doing river trips and improving my skills, much like I am now, and will be over the next few months. I've already said to myself and a couple of the main guys I train with that I won't be attending many of the training sessions during the Winter due to other commitments and the things I've mentioned above. I've got better things to do with my time than crawling around in the rain, even if they haven't (and I completely admire them for it if that's what they do).
Rather than simply skipping training sessions because it was raining/wet/cold and finding something else to do, like I did last Winter, I've decided to think about what training I can do to replace this. Maybe find exercises I can do at home to stay agile and in shape, and maybe things like jogging, maybe even do some weights to build strength over the Winter. I haven't got into any routine yet but I'm having a dabble in different things and will establish for myself what I will concentrate on and look at when I can fit it in over the week.
There are things in life which are more important than things like training - there's no point me throwing my education away just to get fitter, and there's no point me getting into financial trouble just because I didn't have time to work because I wanted to train. My education is very important to me and I'm not even doing it to get a degree, I'm doing it because I'm passionate about my subjects and I want to learn more about them and become more enlightened about the world of science and technology. What's the point in me putting more effort in to training or running the canoe club?
Parkour is important to me because it helps me deal with life, overcoming obstacles and solving problems, getting to where I want to be - but if I train every day and give up on my education then how am I supposed to get to where I want to be!? Sometimes we forget why we start a journey and get carried away enjoying the ride that we end up not getting to our destination.
Labels: Parkour
Posted by Ben Nuttall at 22:44 
