March 7th-14th Training from Within

“How do you train when you are by yourself?,” I was asked. GREAT question Calvin. This is how I answered…

When I train, I train from within. I warm up, physically and mentally. Perhaps watch a few videos that have recently inspired me. Then I set a goal…sometimes it is big, sometimes it is small, sometimes it is a movement I am on the brink of capturing, and sometimes it is a location. In any case I set out in a direction. I continue to move until something enters my mind…FEAR.

I will get somewhere and an image with flash into my mind. Sometimes it is something I have done before, or it is something I saw someone else do. Other times it is something I KNOW I can do, but in each case it is something I am uncomfortable or “afraid” to do.

Now this gets back to where I define “fear” in two big categories. Fear due to lack of understanding the movement. Fear due to the unknown.

Now fear because you don’t understand a move is Dangerous in my opinion. This is where people “chuck a tuck” and get hurt. Fear due to the unknown, however, can manifest itself due to silly notions of what “could happen” that really are not probable if your attention is instead focused on performing the move.

When you can get to the point where you recognize places that are right there, just outside your comfort zone, that is your greatest opportunity to train!

Because of this, it can sometimes take me HOURS to make it to my destination and back. EVERYWHERE that this notion occurs, I stop and overcome it…whether that takes a long time or a short time in each instance comes from my ability to focus myself for the move.

On that particular night, I demonstrated this by prying into Calvin’s abilities, finding a move for him that I knew, and he knew, he could do, but made him perform it somewhere that scared him. For Calvin, it was a palm spin on a concrete railing…after he overcame that obstacle, I made him do it on an exact duplicate railing, but this time with an 8 foot drop off. It was the EXACT same move, but different IN THE MIND.

Train from within my friends…

Discipline is not one’s learned abilities but one’s ability to learn.

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March 4-6th Freerunning meets CTF

Ok, so it is BEAUTIFUL outside...50 degrees, light wind, and SUN...

I have 4 tests, a speech, and a paper due next week...

But everybody needs a study break right???

HA, I met up with the guys this afternoon for a bit of jam when we were approached by some guys from a Fraternity who were hosting a "Capture the Cure" event for charity - a game of capture the flag to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. They wanted us to join in, so we obliged, splitting up onto the two teams.

Much fun was had as we jumped, vaulted, and flipping through campus attempting to steal each others' flags. My favorite moment was teaching some of the guys on my team how to vault to escape being tagged!

The biggest downfall to CTF is going to jail right? Wrong.

In "jail" we practiced moves and even had a few photos taken for their album for the event. My one-footed fronts from height rapidly improved as I worked them for one of the first times since the weather got cold...I LOVE throwing them outside now.

In the end my team won ;) but pizza was had by all. The important thing to me was we were given the opportunity to positively portray fr/pk to a portion of the community

I love this weather...but my test scores may not. I hope it rains? nah...

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March 1-3rd - Sharpening the Blade

You learn best through teaching...it's so true. The past week I have been working with two guys on backflips and it has made me consider all of the little things in my form that I could improve on to make my movements more effortless, clean, and powerful.

Wednesday, I hit Cheer Express with Nick and Adam. We worked form form form. Tumble track frontflips...with hands behind your back. So great. Your take off must be just right to give you the momentum you need for the move. You drive your hips UP! Then, you must rely on your abs to tuck you nice and tight, keeping your HEAD TUCKED IN. The real challenge is to do multiple flips in a row...precision landing is a must.

One thing that I have realized is that I generally don't keep my head in on front tucks. I REALLY focused on this while throwing fronts on the tumble track. Although it is something I know I needed to work on, the practice of it makes you spin MUCH faster and the timing required to land it is different...aka scary. My first tuck was so tight I missed my feet straight to my chest...ouch..but AWESOME! After that I got the timing down....a huge improvement.

I also revisited the two-footed wallfront...Legend. I love this move so much. I focused on getting CLOSE to the wall so that the drive is hard and the spin is FAST (applying the tucked in head from earlier). I feel that I am getting much more control of this move and I can't wait to take it outside soon :)

Soreness to come...Rest will be essential.

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Feb 19-28th Moral of the Story: Don't Throw Banana Peels Out the Window ;)

Wow, just an awesome week of training...

Tuesday, a new guy came in and worked backflips. We went over the steps, got him over a few fears and he went for it....SUCCESS! (Number 277 if you are keeping count with me). I spent most of the rest of practice working backfulls (still striving for that better understanding of the twist to make the move simpler)

Wednesday, we went over to Cheer Express (an awesome cheerleading gym that allows us to put their slanted mats up and wallflip all we want). I had a specific trick in mind that has been rolling around in my imagination for weeks...Double footed wall front! As I stretched out and warmed up I focused on what I knew of the movement and reflected back to Cane's tutorial that I had just watched... I do have a history with this move...I have tried it once before. A year ago, strait to my back...not ready... BUT that didn't matter now. So I went for it and made it around! NOW to LAND IT! A few more tries and a tighter tuck later and I landed it to my feet YES YES YES YES! I freaking love this move!!! I can't wait to get in to train it some more :) ...ALSO highest wallflips I have ever done...off the mat with my feet up the wall lol VIDEO to come...

Thursday and Friday were naturally days of rest and healing for.....

SATURDAY!

Saturday my great friends Colleen, Adam, Nicholas, and Derek traveled down to Indy with me to train for the afternoon. EPIC! I landed INWARD FLY-A-WAYS and my KICK THE MOON's were so high I think I may have affected the tides. Seriously grand training sesh all the way down to my lunch on the way home (Packed with love by the stunning Megan Renee). We had loads of fun throwing triples into the pit and I worked back fulls as well...I experimented with a modified technique that I believe is spinning me round quite nicely...looking forward to playing with it in the gym. ALSO I threw some sideflips on flat ground before we left. I changed from my old tuck to a tighter tuck in front...I was so high and fast you would think I was Big Z for a minute ;)

Two more days of rest and I will be ready to go again...Thank God for freerunning...I feel alive

"True discipline is not one's learned abilities, but one's ability to learn."

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