As week four comes to a close I find myself trying to work out how to retain and improve the knowledge I have gained. Asking each instructor I was given four separate movements to focus on. In the hope that this weekend at the big parkour gathering in Auckland I will be able to keep up with everyone else.

I came across this blog while surfing the net. I thought it was worth re-publishing here. For more info go to http://timbrucejiujitsu.blogspot.com

After a crazy weekend at the movement Jam in Auckland, I am painstakingly putting together the very first ever episode of my hitch hiking documentary. Three days of running, leaping, vaulting and flipping around Auckland (ok ok I was behind the camera mostly) with guys from all over the country has been a great way to get to know not just the style but the people who practise it. Anyone can get a wikipidia definition of a style but only by meeting the people can you truly get a sense of what it is about (because the people who practise make the style).

So week three has finally come and gone and a pattern in my training has emerged. I seem to have a fear of commitment (way too many jokes come to mind....ok ok just one “that’s what she said”). You see in parkour a lot of the movements are designed to continue your momentum. So that as you approach the obstacle the vault movement is nothing more than the next step from your last. The timing, distancing from each step doesn’t change this means slower you go the harder it is to achieve correct technique.

This is another article I found which I thought was interesting and relevant. It is by Paul M. Jerard Jr.

At first glance, Martial Arts and Yoga seem like opposing forces and philosophies, but these two health maintenance systems have more in common than meets the eye. For a moment, consider the similarities between Tai Chi and Hatha Yoga. Within the warm up, you notice very similar movement, philosophy, and principles.

At the start of training as discussed in the ‘Health and Fitness’ blog our objective is to gradually reach our optimum aerobic training zone. This mobilizes the body’s fatty acids into the bloodstream so that they will be burned up rather than sugar. This is achieved by starting up with light exercises and gradually building up so that the body will distribute the blood flow to the areas that need it rather than immediately diverting it from vital organs when sudden intense demands are made on the system.

"The human body is the best picture of the human soul."

- LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN

Many people seem to think that fitness implies health; however fitness and health do not always go hand in hand. The optimum balance to be achieved in health and fitness is achieved in training the metabolism. This is what dictates the quality of life and ultimately the physical destiny that we set for ourselves in developing a ripped physique.

Working with schools whilst running my self-defence programme I was looking at the Maori weaving patterns adorning the reception walls. Noho Taniwha, the teeth of Taniwha; to the European perception they look a bit like the teeth of a dragon. Taniwha have been sighted by some Maori and even some pakeha; it seems that the metaphysical nature of the Maori culture is able to awaken the spirituality that the European has conditioned to ignore over the ages.

It is important to identify the purpose of the training in the martial arts in order to ascertain what really drives and motivates us to train. It is not really the antagonism of combat or the sweat of the training routine rather it is about the emotions that the practice of martial arts elicits. To delve into the Zen philosophical purpose of why we train we have to look at the factors that drive us emotionally on our journey. It could be the feeling of security, health and wellbeing, personal growth and development, comradeship or maybe status or recognition; it all varies from one individual to the other.

I came across this article and wanted to share it as I thought the author made some good points.

We do not have to go to the foot of the Himalayas to attain inner peace. We also do not need to renounce everything before attaining quietude. Instead, we can live day to day in inner quietude. If we look at all of life's experiences and their disturbing content with inner eyes, the disturbances we undergo will remain at the periphery. Deep down there will be an emotional quiet.

“It is not because things are difficult that we dare not. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” – Seneca

I was listening to a great interview recently in which a famous person was speaking about a particular time in their life.

This man went through a very traumatic birth in which forceps were used to help to deliver him into the world. However the use of the forceps left him with a slightly deformed face and he talked with a slur.