Through The Eyes Of A Traceur
I guess I should’ve mentioned this in my last post, but a traceur is basically one who does parkour. As one who practices parkour, I think I’m qualified to be called a traceur. (Officially as of Friday, when I went for my first session at a local gymnastics drop-in. 5 days later and I’m still hurting.)
Anyways, ever since this crazy idea of parkour for in-depth planted itsself into my head some six months ago, I’ve been constantly keeping an eye out for nearby parkour-able places. It wasn’t until I actually went and practiced for the first time that I realized that my searching scope could easily be broadened. Before, I was only really brainstorming huge cities and apartment complexes with all sorts of platforms and tables to do stuff with (refer to the video below.) Living in a suburban area, I realized that none of the places I brainstormed were actually readily accessible for a 15-year old with no drivers’ license.
Now, after being magically enlightened I realize that even a simple playground fits the bill. They’re public so you don’t have to worry about trespassing, feature wood chips or pea gravel in case you take a particularly nasty fall and setups can vary from place to place. Parallel bars and elevated platforms all fall within your training arsenal, but often playgrounds sport other cool things like monkey bars and climbing towers.
So anyways, I’m really looking forward to getting this project truly off the ground. Once the weather clears up I’ll be able to do a bit more exploration of the mental list of training spots I have in my head. As for mentorship, Clay and I haven’t quite found a mentor yet, but we’re close. We have a few contacts with PKBC, and two people have replied to our forum post (but have yet to respond. Anyone out there in Coquitlam willing to be our mentor, there’s nothing against having more than one!) In the meantime, I’m basically restricted to our local gym on Friday nights and possibly Town Center Park, which features cover from the rain and keeps everything dry and not slippery/dangerous.
On another note, tricking is going well. I’ve been practicing butterfly twists, and although I haven’t quite been able to land one yet, I think I’m making pretty good ground. Again, waiting for the weather to clear up so to practice some more.
Till next time!
