Parkour - Passion or Obsession?

Earlier this week, I was walking along the road looking at my high school field, watching the varsity football players pummel eachother over and over. It had me thinking about the fact that they practice 4 hours a day, 5 days a week, have a game on the weekend plus a mini practice before that, then are encouraged to run every morning and lift weights when not at practice. A little much, no? And the coaches wonder why we have 6+ players out with ruptures or tears, and many more suffering from overuse injuries like stress fractures and shin splints. At that moment, I caught myself thinking about...myself. Am I any different than those players? Other than the fact that I technically am my own coach, no. I am not any different. And that needs change.

Before my discovery of Parkour 3 years ago, I was a dedicated practitioner of Kung Fu, practicing anywhere from 2-6 hours a day, everyday of the week (well, any chance that I got). I was already suffering from pain in my knees due to Osgood Schlatter's, but pretty much ignored the problem and continued on with my training. I eventually did visit a doctor, but did not put much of the information he gave me to practice. I just thought that they would heal eventually.

I had about a year gap between my stopping of Kung-Fu and my discovery of Parkour. In that time I was just another wandering teenage soul, with no goals or motives whatsoever. Parkour changed that completely, and it was if I had started anew....practicing everyday, hours a day...precisions, vaults, laches, jumps, drops, climbing...everything there is. This was it, my path, my way. I had (and still have) a passion for Parkour that is unmatchable, a passion so strong I didn't even know it was possible. I dealt with the plateau's, the shin splints, the knee pain....but didn't take proper steps to recover. And now, I sit here today posting on the subject of parkour with pain in my wrist and both knees, wondering where I went wrong.

The 'epiphany' I had earlier in the week during my walk made me wonder if my Parkour had turned into an obsession rather than passion. Not only is this my problem, but a global problem when relating to sports, in this case Parkour. We see so many beginners walk away because of knee injuries, shoulder injuries, wrist injuries, stress fractures, ruptures....these people are failing to see that 'going big' is for the pros, the guys who have been training for 10 or 20+ years! They are in too big a rush, and forget that it takes years of conditioning, followed by repitition of small jumps w/ conditioning, then gradually increasing those jumps and intensity of the conditioning, before even attempting leaps off of 12 foot high roofs!

And then there are those like me, who understand that 'going big' is going nowhere, but end up injuring themselves in the slow, gradual process of getting there because they are over focused on certain areas. Because my knees are healing, I've been working my upper body, challenging myself with a variety of movements, and working on things like laches, muscle ups, and cat traversing. Yet, I failed to implement the concept of proper rest, and ended up with overuse pain lasting for 3 days so far in my wrist. My constant need to move overpowered my self-discipline. Instead of working on, for example, laches and muscle ups on day 1, cat traversing and climb ups on day 2, handstands on day 3, I should've allowed more time for rest. Say, day 1 laches and muscle ups, day 2 core, day 3 ankles and lower legs, day 4 cat traversing/varieties, day 5 rest....so on.

I suppose I was not as good as I thought I was when it comes to listening to the body, but hey, I'm getting better. Mastery takes time.

I think the idea to get out here is that, although everyone has heard it.....THERE IS NO RUSH! I train everyday, grades drop in school, lose time to hang with friends, less time home with the family, overuse injuries popping up everywhere....I'm going to be 18 in two weeks. Not 25. Not 30. Not 40 or 50. Eighteen....I have a long road ahead of me, and so do all the other adolescent Traceurs out there wishing to become masters of movement. What we need to do is focus on the now, and not so much on the future. Get what needs to be done done, spend time with your friends and family....and you can still train 4 or 5 days a week, because in the beginning, with so much going on in other areas of life, everyday might just be too much for right now. Let this continue to be a passion that takes you somewhere great, not an obsession that tears you down. Our bodies can not yet handle what David Belle's can, what Stephane Vigroux's can, what the Yamaksi's can, but with time, patience, training, and respect for your body, our bodies may just be able to handle more. This is how I will view my training and practice from now on. I understand my motives aren't in showing off or in doing the biggest moves, but instead are in bettering my body, mind, and spirit. I want to reach the top and go beyond, I want to move without pain, restriction, or questioning. I want to be free, and teach others who wish to walk the path. To me, Parkour is a passion, not an obsession, game, or hobby. What is it to you?

"I train iron palm for 12 years, and I break bricks. Five bricks, ten bricks, no problem. You train iron palm half a year. You break your hand." -My master from past years xD

An obvious, but often ignored piece of the truth. Take it instead as someone such as Belle himself saying something along the lines of:

"I train Parkour for 18 years. 10 foot roof, 15 foot roof, everyday, no problem. You train Parkour 1 year. You break your legs."

Respect your body. Patience and time are two of the most powerful warriors.

-Nick