Lessons Learned

Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Teaching I Learned from Parkour.

That's right, in just three days under the tutelage of Travis Graves of the American Parkour Certification Program, I came away with an understanding about not just parkour instruction, but teaching in general that is more valuable than both my degrees in education.

You see, parkour has changed my life. As Mark, founder of APK, told me, "Parkour will revolutionize the world, and how we view health, fun, the environment, and architecture." I'd like to add education to that mix.

Here's some of the pedagogy I gained, that if implemented in our educational system would increase motivation, achievement, and overall well being of our students.

1.  "When you walk, don't talk, and when you talk, don't walk."  Give the student time to take in one important lesson at a time and let them focus on you. Don't demonstrate and explain at the same time.
 
2.  Make one correction at a time.  An essay riddled with red pen will only frustrate and confuse. Correct the student on one aspect that needs improvement until they perform as desired. Then move on to further lessons.

3.  Have fun.  Don't take yourself too seriously as an instructor, at least not 100% of the time. Crack jokes, be creative, and keep 'em surprised.

4.  Learning should be playful/non-competitive.  Praise success, encourage improvement, never focus on the negative. Allow more capable students to aid the rest, and applaud the one who struggles the most, despite accomplishing the least.

5.  Allow for progression.  Begin at the basics.  Always drill the basics until they are reflex. Then give students a skill or task to aim for, but also give them a series of steps that will help them to get there. Encourage attempts at the different levels, until the student feels like they are challenging themselves within their capabilities. Adapt the lesson to match the students.


The parkour community is amazing. It is a movement based on mental and physical vitality that is infectious in its positivity. I know that parkour is a specific physical discipline, but to me, it is more than just that, and if applied to other aspects of life, will make the world an even better place. By applying these ideas into my teaching practice, my English and yearbook classes are better than before.

Play hard,
Keith

Great Blue Heron Parkour

My prodigal haystack precision jumper

Fresh outta my American Parkour Instructor Certification Program in D.C., I traveled to Western N.Y. for the Great Blue Heron Music Festival. It's a very nostalgic event for me.  A weekend that in my high school years I would create zines to pass out to revelers in the woods.  A weekend spent with close friends and family and good music and kind people.

This last summer I was lucky enough to convince the festival to let me instruct a parkour workshop.  It let me give back to this festival that has given so much to me.  Although they didn't feel comfortable putting it on the official schedule, I was still allowed to make an announcement from two different stages in order to get the word out.  The announcement I wrote was something about moving like a monkey and playing like a kid.

I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me to teach this class.  And I understand the misconceptions people have of parkour from watching random Russian or extreme parkour videos on Youtube.  But it is my belief that parkour is not necessarily dangerous.  Parkour is fun.  Parkour is life expressed through natural movement.  As Mark from APK told me, "It is my belief that parkour is going to change the world." 

HIPK representing in Amish Country

I was a bit nervous - seeing as how this was my first professional parkour gig (free ticket! big mahalo event owner!).  I was also worried about obstacles.  Not all, but much of parkour is about overcoming obstacles.  Luckily, there were haystacks and a big wooden vault boxes, I mean stages, that provided what we needed.  Even luckier, people showed up!  I was completely stoked to have my wife and son, two cousins, family friends, and yes even a bunch of strangers show up to learn some parkour.


I was flexible in the lesson and decided to drop some activities due to the heat, and allow waiting for turns, also in account of the near unbearable heat.  The class was a blast.  I got the greatest feedback from the participants and was so glad to share my love of parkour with others.

And to top it all off, I QM'ed around the crazy ass bonfire late that night to the rhythm of the drum circle.

Ready? Set goals!

I'm sold!

Health magazines, diets, fitness related advertisements and infomercials - they all try to make us feel like crap due to our general lack of muscles, particularly in the abdomen region, and overabundance of flab.  We're brainwashed into thinking that the sole purpose for exercise is to look good.

If that's your goal, you will probably fail.  Why?  Because looking like Hollywood models isn't natural, achievable (well, for most of us), or even fulfilling.  It's the result of pressure from the media.  It isn't even necessarily real health.

A year and a half ago, I got into moving my body by starting Insanity.  My goal was to get a six pack.  I did not, by the end of six sweaty, grueling, near vomiting, weeks, have a six pack.  I was a little disappointed to be sure, but not entirely.  I had a pride in my spirit and strength in my body that wasn't there before.

I learned that goals shouldn't be to lose X amount of pounds, or look like some cut model who is at least 10 years younger than me.  Effective fitness goals are quantifiable feats of strength, endurance, or flexibility that I want my body to do.  I've learned to set my sights on some athletic accomplishment that I can't currently do, and train my body diligently to get there.  There's so many milestones to reach for any number of physical interests: yoga poses, parkour craziness, weight lifted, distance covered, speed, height, accuracy, whatever.

Personally, the biggest fire is lit under my lazy ass when I have a goal that is 70%-100% attainable in a time frame of 1-3 months.  If I set out on a year-long fitness journey, I would simply give up or get so bored I would quit trying my best somewhere along the line.  If I was 100% positive a goal would be reachable, that means it isn't a real goal - it's just something I'm currently too lazy to do.

Here are three steps that help me in my own personal goal setting:
1.  VISUALIZE - Find something cool that happens to be within the realm of possibility of achieving given your current capabilities.
2.  PLAN - Set a realistic time frame and figure out what needs to be done to get there.  You can easily inspire/humble yourself by watching YouTube videos on any given fitness goal.  Set a increasingly difficult regimen and stick to it.  Possibly even write down what you have to do on a calendar and cross it off each day (this helps me a lot).
3.  ACCEPT - Understand that you might fail.  I have set goals in which I have a high and low threshold.  If I reach the high, then yippee, but as long as I stay within the low threshold I can still feel a sense of accomplishment. This is very personal - but you don't want to set a goal to be either like superman as a optimal or Homer Simpson as an acceptable.  My lower threshold for goals must be definitely achievable with commitment.  This is important to keep my ego and motivation elevated in order to set the next goal.

Oh, and if my body decides to look better along the way, well, then I won't complain.

Play hard,
Keith

Stop Working Out

No gym membership required

"Work out."  A phrase that has a connotation of nothing that could possibly be fun.  Who wants to work during their free time?  No wonder so many people can't motivate to get fit and healthy when it is viewed as a painful chore. 

Health should not be work.  In reality, living with vitality means a playful, exciting, and motivating existence.  Children run, climb, throw, crawl, and roll around like boundless bundles of energy for hours - all with smiles on their faces. They enjoy themselves.  They desire movement.

I prefer to say train or condition.  These imply a motivating goal energizes me and keeps me going.  Even if my training tests my limits, wears me down, or doesn't progress exactly as planned, I am having fun. Accomplishing an extremely difficult task that takes all the strength and endurance I can muster doesn't have to be work. 

Are we having fun yet?

There are so many fun ways to move your body that build strength, endurance, energy, and balance.  Find the way to move that makes you happy.  If possible, move outside (easy for me to say, I live in Hawaii).
Go at it alone or with a group.  Take a class, join a sport, swim, polka dance, whatever.  Just move in a way that is enjoyable.  

No Pain No Gain!!!  Well, I don't know about you, but I tend to shy away from things that cause me pain.  It's instinctual.  Working out until it's painful is a good way to get injured in my experience - and injury inhibits movement.

Play Hard,
Keith

Muscle Up Tutorials

If you are like me and want to raise your elbows over the freaking bar, then watch these videos and practice everyday.  There is more advice out there, but I found these three particularly helpful.

How to Do Beginner Pull Ups and Chin Ups Training Tutorial

This first one is a beginner pull up and chin up video by Iwayfitness.  I like how he demonstrated both chin ups and pull ups side by side.  It made me think of some parkour training in which I forced myself to condition both my right and left sides.  There isn't any direct muscle up instruction in this video per se, but these exercises will surely build the basic strength and coordination I will need to get there. 

Kipping Muscle-Up Tutorial: With Lead-Up Exercise Progressions

This video is very thorough.  I've already incorporated the three lead ups and I have to say, that although I am only 60% there, the jumping muscle up has made me feel that this is totally doable in three months time.  Global Body Weight Training has some other excellent tutorials.

Muscle Up Tutorial

This video by Learn More Parkour's Jonathan Tapp has a couple different variations.  I haven't tried it yet, but the forearm cheat seems like a good progression towards the real thing, even though it looks awkward and wrong, but I guess that's why it's a progression isn't it?
 

My take away from these is that you have to learn the Kipping pull up before the muscle up.  I think that wall ups may help, but since I have the huge advantage of using my feet, they aren't the real deal. 

If you have any suggestions or corrections please leave a comment.  I am by no means an expert in this field - just to let you know.

Have fun training!

Keith

Muscle Up Inspiration

"You'd be surprised at the things you can achieve when you believe.  The reality surpasses your dreams, and when that happens, there's no reason to sleep." Bar-Barian's Zef.

I had no idea that you could make such an exciting and inspirational video about fricken pull ups.  Zef does some insane moves, but some of it is good fodder for training ideas.  I am going to try out the horizontal pull ups, albeit at more of an angle than the beast on the video.  Holding pull ups at the top help build that strength I'll need.  Also, bringing my head in front of the bar is probably a good way to build up my back.

I was also glad to see that he sometimes used gloves.  This guy's tough (obviously) and if he wears gloves to keep his hands from being shredded, then I'm not a wimp just because I do as well.  I just bought a pair yesterday.  I promise not to use them all the time, but my hands are getting beat up and abused from the bar.  I like calluses, but pinched nerves are hindering my reps.

Check out their site at pull-ups.blogspot.com

Three Months - Three Goals

Goals motivate me.  Without them, I'd probably be lazy, eat junk, and feel like crap.  Goals are what motivated me to complete the Insanity Workout, two parkour bootcamps, and the Honolulu Marathon.  I do compare myself to others, but mainly I compete with myself.  I enjoy proving to that doubtful, pessimistic, negative voice in my head, that yes, I can achieve whatever I set my sights on.

I have set my sights on three goals that will by no means be easy.  I'm not 100% sure that I will reach them all in three months, but I will do my best.

Goal #1 (easyish) - Flagpole

Jason Stantham showing good form in the wind.

I call this one easyish because I can do one with poor form and hold it for a second.  I want to be able to hold solid flagpoles at varying angles for a decent amount of time (10-30 seconds maybe?) on both my left and right sides.  Why?  Because it looks cool and works your core, lats, and obliques like crazy.  Just look at Jason Stantham there.

Goal #2 (difficult) - Handstand

Daniel Illabaca relaxing and enjoying the view.

I can do a headstand with my forearms on the ground as long as there is a wall there to support me.  I suck at these and my yogini wife loves to taunt my form.  Something about being upside down scares me.  I really don't want to break my neck.  By the end of three months I hope to be able to comfortably stand on my hands without any support for a decent amount of time (again 10-30 seconds).  As a bonus, I think it would be cool to be able to walk on my hands, but we'll see.

Goal #3 (damn near impossible) - Muscle Ups

A patriotic demonstration of the muscle up progression.

These will be extremely difficult to perform, even poorly.  I have at times been able to do a respectable wall up, but then I have the huge advantage of being able to kick my feet off the wall and get more flat handed leverage.  Unlike the picture above, my goal is to do these on standard pull up bars, which seems more difficult than the rings, but I've never used those so I don't really know.  I'm imagining that good muscle ups will take skill, strength, and coordination that I do not currently have. 

I will keep you posted on how I actually plan getting there.