Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Some pics and movies...

Ok, I remembered I had a Photobucket.com account and that I had put a few photos in there so here ya go!

This is me training in my garden. The blocks are there to help my landing technique, not mark distance. My landing here is a bit guff... (video may/may not work)



This is one of my friends practicing his balance

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

This is the perfect height for learning most vaults and that is exactly what I used it for!

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Darren airborne!

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Finally, I was trying to help my two pals with their diving saut de chat techniques and overall confidence. First is the video of me doing it, then my pal Darren's attempt.



Meditation

Just yesterday I was introduced to Buddhist meditation techniques.

I downloaded an e-book on meditation from buddhanet.net, which I have printed off and started reading.

From what I have read and heard from other people, meditation is exactly what I need. here is an excerpt from the e-book:

"In the Buddhist tradition, meditation is used to defuse the source of all the trouble -the illusion of self and other. In Cha'an (or Zen), the aim is to overcome thought and defilement. Having done this and with thoughts no longer strring, the real substance of mind becomes evident. Without thoughts and without the illusion of self and other, greed, anger and hatred have no place to arise; and the energy that was tied by those illusions becomes avaliable, helping to provide an overall improvement in health"

This is the paragraph which made me decide I wanted to try out meditation for myself. To raise my subconscious concentration to a level where I can block out everything, including my own thoughts and focus on one thing a time, whether this may be the huge saut de bras I require all my energy to even contemplate or the guy in ring who I need to knock out. It may even be that I require my concentration to be focused solely on the pile of work in front of me! I can see how this sort of thing can help me in many aspects of my life: Work, drumming, parkour, muay thai etc.

As usual, any progress will be up here.

Standing Jump

I have found a spot in Arbroath where I can drill standing jumps for as long as I want without being disrupted. At the business entrance for a local gear making company there is a nice area with a few trees and a view of the river. The trees are in what is best described as a concrete box filled with earth.This box is no higher than my knees. Anyway, round the edges of the "concrete box" there are ledges about as wide as my foot is long and the distance between then is about 8 and a half of my feet. I know for a fact that I can get to 9 of my feet, but that's not a comfortable land. I can make 8 and a half feet, but again, that's not comfortable either.

I plan to drill this one day this weekend. Possibly Sunday. Hopefully I will get some pictures as this blog seems to be lacking in the image department!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Muay Thai

Ok, I know I said I was going to do boxing but I accidentally came across Muay Thai - Thai boxing. I watched one session of muay thai take place and I instantly knew this was what I wanted to do, not boxing. Muay Thai claims to not only get you fit, but get you fighting fit (what a line!)

On top of getting extremely fit (which is what I desperately need), I also have never really learned to fight properly. I mean, I'm so bad I have been headbutted and punched and not retaliated through lack of confidence that I could do anything. In the few weeks I've been attending training I feel I now have the confidence to stand up to anyone who confronts me.

In the greater picture, I feel I have taken a step forward in becoming the most useful person I can be. In my opinion, parkour is not just about overcoming obstacles of concrete, metal, height or distance. To me, it is not just about escaping but about being useful. I feel that this is where the roots of parkour lie and where my true path lies. In learning Muay Thai I have taken a step towards something positive. I am taking action for the future, so that I can protect my loved ones from physical harm when they are around me. I am also taking steps to effectively protect myself from anyone who is overly aggressive towards me.

I am still making progress, It's just getting harder to maintain a view on the future while concentrating on the now.