Chapter One : THe Davy Jones Drawer

Well its been some month now since i moved out to live on my own, currently renting a tiny 2x4m room in South Jakarta.
Freedom? Yes, kinda, well um almost...reasons why i moved out is to try for my self if i can survive on my own, im working in a "bank" to feed my self. and the other reason is to deepen my skills in my life's art, Parkour.

As much as it seems, a mere "jumping around" parkour takes a much deeper meaning than just that.
(man i think ill just make a lil post about parkour hehehe)


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Parkour (sometimes also abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (English: the art of moving) is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation.(wiki)


In its movement a parkour practitioner called a traceur will seek to move from one place to another in the fastest, most efficient and fluid manner. But that "to move efficiently" brings the traceur to a deeper part of training more than just mere jumping around, it will lead them to Strength and Conditioning (SnC). A training session where practitioner will "condition" and "strengthen" themselves to be able to take in and bounce off some of the most rigorous techniques of movement.

One of the parkour motto is "Etre et Durer" meaning To be and to Last. Parkour is not something that you do in the morning and forget when a training session is done, parkour is not something that you do for a month or two and leave once you're done with it. And that ability to last means that in many ways being fit for the art.

And so the traceur goes into lots and lots of physical training, building a body that can withstand drops, and jump gaps. Not the kind to built massive bulky (good locking) muscle no, but the kind to built efficient body suitable for the movements required even more.

But that, being just strong is useless if your mind is not trained, unable to control that power. In parkour, practitioner built confidence trough training therefore gaining a greater ability of self control (something that seems to be lost in our time). In this time of age, the society teaches more fear than courage. "Don't do that or you'll fall, don't climb the tress you mite break a bone, just Jog running is bad for you, don't this don't that" and before you know it, you have loose your control over your body, what was created [or evolved] as great hunters, farmers, explorers, creative minds is now reduced to junk eating, office sitting , unhealthy hermits. Our creativity is slowly being taken away from us (maybe thats one of the reason why people are addicted by video games, its an easy way to achieve). And gaining that control, that freedom is one of the reasons for parkour training. When you see a traceur jumping over gaps, it goes for more beyond just jumping, there is months of leg training which tells the traceur that Yes this gap is within you reach, there is a great Mental war, logic fighting over doubt, over fears. Courage? yes, but there is also patience.


Parkour training also built awareness, yes to the body and mind, but also to our environment, worldwide green projects has been run hand in hand with the parkour community. Parkour teaches its practitioner that the world is one massive playground, and dirty playground isn't quite the pleasant place to "jump around".

Parkour as much as any arts can be, is a way of life. A life where its practitioners believes that in their training as well as in life that "There are no limits only obstacle, and all obstacle can be overcomed."
And as much as it is a way to escape situations, Parkour is not a way to escape from life, rather its a way FOR life.

No i do not know completely where my life is going rite now, but i know I'm still in the beginning of one heck of a great Journey, this is parkour, motus ventorum.

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In that short note ^^ this first chapter will be used mostly to record training, experiments, and log my progression for the next few months (Till July i hope).

Seclusion is one of the reason why I'm here in Jakarta, to concentrate with my SnC quite the unexpected place to be alone, but its here in the big city, where people feels more lonely, more than any wilderness.

if your really interested in knowing more about parkour then this 4 part video will be a GREAT start.
Nature of challenge 1 2 3 4