reborned1Obwohl 2016 aus weltgeschichtlicher Perspektive pre-apokalyptische Szenarien aufgeworfen hat war es aus we-trace Sicht ein ereignisreiches und positives Jahr mit viel Motivation für 2017.

Im April ging es privat nach Bukarest (Rumänien). Wie bei allen Trips nutze ich die Gelegenheit die lokale Szene kennenzulernen, sich auszutauschen und gemeinsam zu trainieren. In Bukarest konnte ich Justin wiedertreffen, den ich zuletzt vor über 10Jahren gesehen hatte, der immernoch aktiv ist und der mittlerweile Bukarest´s 1. Parkour Halle eröffnet hat. Um genau zu sein, sie wurde 1 Woche nach meinem Aufenthalt eöffnet.

 

http://www.felixalexander.photos/

http://www.felixalexander.photos/

Ebenfalls im April fand seit langer Zeit der Springjam wieder außerhalb Wiens statt, nämlich, auf meinen Vorschlag hin, in Linz! Das Gebäudemanagement des neuen Rathauses hat uns eine ausdrückliche Genehmigung ausgesprochen und mit ca. 50-60 TeilnehmerInnen war der Jam bei gutem Wetter ein voller Erfolg. Im Aufwärmen haben wir außerdem QM style die monströsen Ars Electronica Stiegen erklommen, eine Errungenschaft auf die alle stolz sein können (siehe Video). An dieser Stelle großer Dank an CtC-Verein zur Förderung von Bewegungskünsten für die tolle Organisation.

 

 

Im Juli fand erneut der sogenannte FMI – Forum Meeting Instruktor statt bei dem ich u.a. mithelfen konnte und meine bisherge Erfahrungen ein wenig teilen durfte. Der FMI ist eine CtC / PKVienna interne Kurzausbildung für alle interessierten Mitglieder, die in der Abhaltung des Forum Meetings unterstützend agieren möchten. Beispielsweise beim Leiten des gemeinsamen Aufwärmens oder bei der Abhaltung von kostenfreien Gratisworkshops für Anfänger. Ínhaltlich orientiert sich der FMI an ADAPT bzw. an den gängigen internationalen Coachingstandards.

 

Juli war zudem NIGHT MISSION time. Die 3. Night Mission ging nach monatelanger Vorbereitung mit insgesamt 7 TeilnehmerInnen erfolgreich über die Bühne. Es wurde geschwitzt, geblutet, der innere Schweinehund getreten und über ca. 9 Stunden durchgehend trainiert. Die Teilnehmerreviews sagen dabei mehr als ich hier unterbringen könnte. Ihr findet sie hier: http://www.we-trace.at/nightmissionreviews/

wetrace_Night Mission_Emblem.indd

 

Ein weiterer privater Trip führte mich nach Berlin im August, wobei auch hier die Gelegnheit genutzt wurde zu trainieren. Phil ein guter Freund und Trainingskollege verbrachte einige Monate in Berlin und neben dem Worlds best Döner gab es viel Gelegenheit sich zu bewegen.

 

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Da uns die outdoor Class an die verschiedensten Orte in Wien führt wurde Ende Juli / Anfang August am Schwendermarkt ein Team junger KünstlerInnen auf uns aufmerksam, die im Zuge des Grätzlevents “Schwenderkino” ein Kurzfilmprojekt mit uns drehten. Das Video zeigt abseits dem vielfach verbreiteten Bild von Parkour in den Medien ein sehr authentisches Bild eines Parkour Trainings, nicht zuletzt, eines Parkour Trainings mit we trace (Veröffentlichung war im August).

AkteurInnen der Stadt – Parkour am Schwendermarkt from Claudio Anderwald on Vimeo.

 

Ende August stieg ich mit Tom von Parkour Vienna in den Flieger nach London für eine Woche Training und Austausch mit Parkour Generations. In dieser einen Woche haben wir viel Schweiß und ein bisschen Blut in London gelassen und veiniges an Eindrücken und guten Gesprächen dafür bekommen. Trainiert wurde “all over London” und im sogenannten Chainstore, der 1. Parkourhalle UK-weit, die 2013 eröffnet hatte, als ich bei PKGen arbeiten durfte. Parkour Generations ist auch weiterhin Vorreiter auf internationaler Ebene und wir freuen uns, dass über die Jahre eine sehr freundschaftliche Beziehung gewachsen ist.

 

 

Direkt nach London ging es zur Erholung nach Griechenland, aber wie es mittlerweile offensichtlich sein sollte wurde auch hier trainiert. In Athen konnte ich Panos besuchen, der mit der Athens Parkour Academy Vorreiter in Griechenland ist. Nicht nur hat er mit seinem New World Gym (One Piece Anspielung) Griechenlands erste Parkour Halle eröffnet, er hat sich 2016 zudem vollständig professionalisiert und zeigt dabei eindrucksvoll, dass gerade in einem so ökonmisch krisengebeutelten Land wie Griechenland ein starker Wille etwas zu bewegen und zu verändern kleine Wunder wirken können. Die Trainingssessions mit Panos und Anma waren grandios. Das Zeitrennen gegen sich selbst (siehe Instagram) war genial.

 

Footplacement and speed route with Athens Parkour Academy. @panos_toge @aproswpaa

Ein von Alex (@we_trace_parkour) gepostetes Video am

 

Im Oktober ging es Schlag auf Schlag weiter. Für die Generalversammlung von Parkour One folgte ich einer Einladung nach Basel. Dort durfte ich we trace, aber generell Parkour in Österreich vorstellen, durfte all jene Leute treffen und kennenlernen, die in Deutschland und der Schweiz, aber auch international sehr gute Arbeit leisten.  Parkour One wird auch in Zukunft ein starker Partner sein und ich freue mich auf die Involvierung in Projekte wie z.B: der Parkour One Academy, eine Instanz zur Etablierung gemeinsamer Coaching und Wissensstandards, sowie zur Forschung und Entwicklung. Im Zuge der Generalversammlung konnte ich zudem das Interview mit jenen Coaches durchführen die 2016 nach Gaza gereist sind um dort zu unterrichten. (Das 1. Mal im für mich ungewohnten Format Face to Face via Kamera – Veröffentlichung wahrscheinlich Anfang 2017)

last10pushups

 

Im Oktober startete zudem ein innovatives von der Stadt Linz gefördertes Projekt mit einer neuen Mittelschule in Linz. Im Zuge der bis jetzt eher planlos gestalteten Freizeitstunden der 1. Klassen wurde ich eingeladen über einen Zeitrahmen eines gesamten Schuljahres diese Freizeitsunden mit Parkour zu beleben. Den SchülerInnen soll dabei Spaß an der Bewegung, ein gewisses Körperbewusstsein und vor allem die Förderung von Selbstbewusstsein etc. vermittelt werden, während den beteiligten LehrerInnen jenes Wissen vermittelt werden soll, das dazu notwendig ist Elemente dieser Stunde auch eigenständig mit den SchülerInnen abhalten zu können.

 

Im November wurde ich vom Alpenverein nach Bruck an der Mur eingeladen, um dort einen Parkourworkshop für die GruppenleiterInnen der einzelnen Alpenvereinsgruppen abzuhalten. Dabei wollte ich neben einem ganzheitlichen Zugang zu Parkour vor allem die Fähigkeit betonen Parkour für jede Alters- und Skillgruppe gleichermaßen zu adaptieren, wobei die Differenzierung von Parkour in der “Realität” vs. Parkour in den Medien ebenso angeboten wurde, wie ein Mix aus den gängigen Unterrichtsformaten (Parkour Teambuilding, Einführung für Anfänger, Parkour als Tool zur Bildung von Selbstbewusstsein,…).

 

Im laufenden Betrieb fanden 2016 ca. 50 Outdoorclasses statt, bei jedem Wetter. Ausnahmen gab es lediglich aufgrund spontaner Ausfälle und /oder Reisen ohne Möglichkeit von Ersatz, was jedoch selten vorkam.

 

Julie in motion - pic by Andy Day (Kiell) - Link on bottom of interview

Julie in motion – pic by Andy Day (Kiell) – Link on bottom of interview

Auch dieses Jahr gab es wieder Interviews, wobei sich vor allem Samson und Phil von Parkour One angeboten haben bei den Interviews zu unterstützen. Daraus wuchs eine Kooperation mit Parkour One und einem breiteren Kreis der PKOne Mitglieder mit der Hoffnung die Interviews qualitativ besser zu machen und intensiver zu forcieren. Konkret konnte nach dem Erscheinen des neuen Buches Breaking the JumpJulie Angel für ein Interview gewonnen werden, nachdem sie 2013 ca. aus Zeitgründen bereits einmal absagen musste. Außerdem ließen uns die Betreiber der KRAP Halle, der damals größten Parkour Halle Europas einen Blick hinter ihre Kulissen werfen. Ein weiteres Interview befindet sich zudem gerade in der heißen Phase, denn Alex Pavlotski, australischer Anthropologe und Schöpfer der Parkour Panels Comic Serie beantwortet gerade unsere Fragen.

 

Ein paar der Eindrücke von 2016.

Fellow parkour and movement enthusiasts. I am always looking for new (and old) high quality parkour related reads. Since the first book about parkour was published I made it one of my goals to gather parkour related books as I believe it helps my understanding of the discipline and because I justlike reading (old school reading, with books and stuff ).

In a way over all these years the goal has stayed the same but I came to find there are many books out there that I do not consider to be of great quality. So i refined my approach and also reached out to other disciplines in my search for books that potentially can broaden and deepen my understanding of parkour, or just movement in general (not considering for a moment all the great articles, posts and stories to be found online or elsewhere).

 

The following is my collection so far and if there is anything new and of interest for any of you out there, I have already reached what I wanted with this article.

 

Julie Angel: Cine Parkour

cineparkour

What can I say. If you have not read it and give just the slightest shit about parkour, its origins and how it developed this is a must. Cine Parkour is the result of Julie Angels Phd thesis. For the first time ever it concentrated a great deal of scientifically processed knowledge about parkour and made it accessible to everyone. Gone were the times where your number 1 source for info about the art was the internet forums or some vague stories told by more experienced traceurs (counting myself in on that one). It also presents the starting point of the scientific exploration of parkour away from classic sports science. Allthough it is dry to read at times I soaked up any bits of info in there and can advise you to do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent Thibault: Parkour and the art du déplacement: Strength, Dignity, Community

vtpk

I can´t believe how small the book is compared to what I got out of it. It features a very philosophical viewpoint on parkour and covers a lot of what living the discipline means. In my opinion it is very close to the original (Yamakasi, David Belle,..) approach on parkour that is so easily forgotten in our nowadays culture where the focus is solely on the movement itself.  The book (on whose cover we have Bobby G. Smith on a London bouldering mission btw.) is a great benefit to the community. In fact I gave away my first copy of it to someone who I thought would appreciate it and advised him / her to do the same once finished. The person should then write the date of the possession of the book on the first page, along with the name and location and hand it to someone else. I hope the book is somewhere in the world now and eventually finds its way to you 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Dan Edwardes: The Parkour and Freerunning Handbook

pkfrhandbook

It presents a short colorful intro to parkour. A lot of the content is very familiar to advanced traceurs but it is ideal for starters, people with no background in parkour or as a gift to authorities (like we did with our charity jam in Linz).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent Thibault: Parkour & Art du Déplacement: Lessons in practical wisdom

vtpk2

First off: I have not fully read it yet. It was published January 2015 and is an english/french bilingual book. From a first glance it seems great. Adding to the philosophical approach of his first book on parkour Vincent has structured his second book like amodern Book of Five Rings, or a Hagakure. It presents the reader with 90 short chapters / sections each aiming on giving guidance / inspiration on different aspects of parkour. I was amazed to find many quotes from well known practicioners in there as well as I like the feeling of the book overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander Huber: Die Angst dein bester Freund (Fear, your best friend)

huberalex

The so called Huber Buam (the Huber “dudes”) are world famous professional climbers, brothers and pioneers in the climbing world. Alexander Huber is a specialist free clmber and was first in climbing many of the hardest routes out there free-solo (no rope, no partner). In his book he reflects on fear as mechanism of awareness and rightfully claims that despite what fear does for us and our progress we live in a fear avoiding society that has lost touch with itself. Reading the book I felt very close to how Alexander described his relationship with fear and how we as parkour people treat fear and benefit from it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Bradley Garrett: Explore Everything: Place Hacking the City

explore everything

Explore Everything is the result of a phd thesis on urban exploring (if I remember correctly). It is written in a mixture of academic style and storytelling and features Garretts journey into the UE scene. First London, but also world wide. Filled with pictures and stories of great adventures one easily forgets that these stories are in fact real, that there are people out there seeking to crash the boundries of modern cities and people who do not fear stepping out of their comfort zone in search of the extraordinary. One of the main observations for me while reading the book was the development Garrett described. From simple touristic actions of visiting desolate and abdandoned sites in the beginning to creeping into “live” structures and ultimately exploring one of Londons most secure networks ever (the tube).

 

 

 

 

Whipplesnaith: The Night Climbers of Cambridge

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To me this is more a historic document rather than just a good read. Imagine the 1930s. It is a cold wet night when a group of students decide to take on yet another climbing challenge they set themselves. Mostly their climbing challenges take place on the renowned Cambridge university campus. All they are equipped with is their everyday clothes and maybe a rope (suits, shoes we would consider stiff the least,…). They have a goal but the risk of being caught could feature some uncertain consequences, maybe even get them banned from the uni let alone the potential danger they face during their climbs.. Find my review for more info here: http://www.we-trace.at/2015/07/22/nightclimbersofcambridge/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly Starrett: Becoming a supple Leopard

starrettbasleo

This one was recommended to me by a friend (gimbalninja.com – go visit his site!) and it is the first strength / mobility related book I have taken on (ever). In such it is just awesome. It is well worth the price and can be used to tackle any deficites / little pains or problems or just get more rounded as an athlete overall. It is filled with easy digestable theory that is broken up with practical examples and tests that can be applied to oneself.

 

 

 

John Little: The Warrior Within: The philosophies of Bruce Lee to better understand the orld around you and achieve a rewarding life.

bruceleeththewarriorwithin

Sooo. Let the “How to be happy for dummies” title not fool you. John was one of Bruce Lees direct disciples and made this book a great effort of explaining Lees philosophy. A lot of the content is of course martial arts related but the philosophical aspect of the book caught my eye. Bruce Lee to me is an exceptional character and  the book got me an authentic glimpse of that mans mindset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last on my list is Christopher Mc Dougall: Born to run

borntorun

Born to run is the story of Christopher Mc Dougall who, injury ridden but with a love for running thought there was something school medicine is not telling us. He went to Mexico in search of a tribe (the Tarahumara / running people) that is characterised by a nearly superhuman ability to running huge distances (literally hundreds of kilometers) in the life threatening environment that is the mexican desert. Running plays a fixed role in the tribes culture and Mc Dougall is trying to get behind the secret of their running. The book is a story and in such it was an awesome read. It also raises some questions and concerns about modern day running culture. That being said the book falls out of line a little because I see it more as a story aimed to be written in an entertaining way  but that does not make its content less valueable to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am aware there are more books that did not get a mention (yet), like Seb Foucan´s Freerunning, the german Tracers Blackbook (good stuff) or some german books on parkour in schools.

 

June2016 UPDATE: Just finished Julie Angel: Breaking The Jump: The Secret Story of Parkour’s High Flying Rebellion. It´s awesome and I do recommend this to everyone with the slightest interest in parkour history. Check out the full review for more details.
jabreakingthjump

 

On my current watchlist I have:

  • Ryan Ford, Ben Musholt: Parkour Strength Training: Overcome Obstacles for Fun and Fitness (quite pricy for my taste – 40 euros)
    pkstrtrain
  • Carlos López Galviz, and Bradley L. Garrett: Global Undergrounds: Exploring Cities Within (amazon release in May 2016)
    vietunnels
  • the translated versions of the Methode naturelle books by Philippe Til
    pthebert

It was February 2009 (I was 22) and a training colleague of mine and me decided to go for a parkour trip to London. We met Cable and Blake from the Saiyans earlier in 2008 when they came to Austria for the Playstation workshops and they were so kind as to host us during our stay.

From one of the early videos I knew that there was this awesome place somewhere in London with all these little walls but I did not know where it was or how to get there (Vauxhall). One day I expressed my wish to go there and asked Cable and Blake if they knew where it was. They both said “no” but knew someone who could tell us how to get there.

On that day my colleague and me left Edgware (where we were based) early to get to Canada Water Decathlon to stock up on as many pairs of Kalenji Success as we could afford / carry as there was no Decathlon in Austria. After that we were to meet Cable and Blake at a tube station somewhere to find the spot. Blake used a navigation system on his PSP to guide us to the spot (Vauxhall Walls).

From that moment on something happened. After a few minutes into navigating through the district we heard someone shouting (at us) from behind us. Like “owweeehh, braaaap braaap”. I was instantly intimidated, Cable told us not to turn around, just keep walking and eventually they´ll lose interest. Well I already turned around. 4 of them. 4 of us. We continued walking when in the distance I saw some people jumping around in what seemed to be the spot that I knew.

I said to the guys “That´s it!” and pointed my finger. We made it to the group and I felt safe. After all we were 11 now. 7 guys training at Vauxhall already, amongst them Teige, Bobby, Elliot,Kristian and some I did not know. Teige was with his HUGE backpack, I remember him telling us he is going for a trip later.

I put my stuff in the corner with the others and started warm up and happily jumping around. What I did not notice is the big crowd of sketchy looking people gathering at the entrance to the spot (thus blocking our way). When I realized I saw around 20-30 guys in that group.

I realized something was wrong way too late. A guy from the group, probably the youngest of them came down to us asking anyone at random “got a pound or a smoke?”. No one really replied so he became a little more aggressive (verbally). I still thought everything was cool, just some idiot being idiotic, like so many people in London are, and continued training.

Blake eventually approached him. Seemed everything was cool. At some point Blake offered the guy 5 pounds to let us be as we just wanted to jump around. The guy took it (grabbed it…) and continued asking for “a pound or a smoke”. At this point he was not alone anymore. 2 or 3 other guys got involved now.

Ok and now it gets dizzy…

While some of our group smelled something and started ascending the walls, the aggressors were in an argument with Elliot. They tried to grab his backpack from him but he refused. They hit him. He eventually managed to climb the wall and was chased by a few of these dorks.

Pretty much at the same time I was doing something stupid. As I thought Blake knew what he was doing I got my wallet. I thought I could buy us out of the situation when I offered the guys “all the money I had with me” in exchange for us training there. (I still wanted to train, it was one chance only to do this, I came all the way from Austria man 🙁 ). The thing was, because of my earlier Decathlon visit mixed with stuidity I had around 85 pounds stashed in my wallet. The 5 pounds were easily accessible (where you keep papermoney). The rest was hidden in some smaller pockets, I thought well he´ll see the 5er and gets on with his life.

Sadly that´s not what happened. Once they realised I really was THAT stupid to put out my wallet, they surrounded me. They pulled my hat over my eyes so as not to be able to see their faces (well done) and when I opened the wallet they just snapped it and started running. Cable shouted to them to AT LEAST drop everything they don´t need. And indeed.

I was following the trail of shame through Vauxhall Walls, picking up my driving license, my social security card, membership cards, anything really….except the picture of my (ex) girlfriend (bastards!).

When I was finished we were alone, the gang had left us. A few minutes after that the police arrived. We explained. They took us into the cars (I was in a BMW) and then we raced through Vauxhall with at least 80-90kilometers per hour stopping at every black man/child where they asked me if it was him. I declined. After that we were driven to a public place somewhere in the area and woven good bye.

What happened to Elliot? Where are the others? What the fuck just happened?

We decided to go to the thames and eventually found some of the guys at this huge playground near the London eye. Elliot was fine.

Effectively, what they got was 80 pounds and my dignity. What they created was a traumatized Alex and a legend amongst London parkour practitioners. (btw. my training group got robbed and threatened at gun point next year in Athens…bummer)

Some thoughts that were going through my mind the next years were: How was I that naive and stupid? Did they have guns? (One of them was shouting “Have you ever been shot?” while everything took place). Why was I so idiotic to take so much stuff with me in London, in an area I did not know. And many more…

 

But to finish it off with a good vibe: I was in London during my internship for PKGen. I also trained at Vauxhall numerous times after that, I was also teaching a children’s class on my own at the Vauxhall walls and of course RDVX was there. Whenever I think of the spot I think of something that made me stronger, as a whole 🙂