Kurt is Leaving September 19 - October 6

WHERE I'M GOING
This Friday, September 19th, I am on my way to Boston to partake in several days of glorious bleeding, sweating, and quite possibly even crying... but guaranteed laughing as well. What's in Boston? I'll be participating in the A.D.A.P.T. Level 2 certification course delivered by Parkour Generations and Parkour Generations Americas... the next step in my journey to take over the world! Just kidding. Taking the course is more of a personal challenge for me than anything else and it will be nice to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. It is known as officially the hardest physical certification in Europe (if not the world).

HOW TO REACH ME
While I'm gone (I return Monday, October 6th), Gerardo will be at the helm of things! I'll still be accessible via the internet (email, Facebook) but I will likely be at the computer much less than I usually am, if at all some days. As for the phone - I will be as terrible at answering calls as I have always been.

CONTACTING GERARDO
Gerardo does not have a phone at this point in time, so your best method of contact will be email. SIGN UP FOR YOUR CLASSES ahead of time and re-check the schedule for cancellations before you head to the class!

THE EFFECTS ON THE CLASS SCHEDULE
Saturday's classes at Goose Island CrossFit (formerly "VIE Custom Fitness") are the only classes that will not be running while I am gone. This is because Gerardo teaches at the Actors Gymnasium on Saturday afternoons, and as much as I'd like it to be possible, he cannot be in two places at one time (we tried, he is too slow). Apologies to those who were signed up for this Saturday, it had slipped my mind to take care of this on the schedule until I was writing this email! Speaking of changes to the schedule, look for a new class or two on the schedule in coming weeks! Once we move indoors, the schedule will likely need to have some adjustments made again, so keep an eye on it.

GIRLS JAM (SEP 27TH)
Angela Martin is running the upcoming Girls Jam and will be assisted by Jessy Hernandez and Brian Reyes.

QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about how things will work while I am gone, please do not hesitate to email me (because soon you may not get a response for a while!).

Thank you, see you all soon!

Kurt Gowan
Founder

Trip to Québec

Here are a few photos from the last day of our trip to Québec this past week. We taught two Art du Déplacement classes for ADD Québec while we were there. It was an amazing group of people, we really enjoyed working with them and the students were wonderful to be with as well. There is a ton of great spirit here! The photos are from our climb up to the top of Mont Sainte Anne on August 30th, 2013:

LaSalle Language Academy Parkour Workshops

Both classes of sixth graders (32 kids in each class) at LaSalle Language Academy in Chicago will be skipping class (with teachers and parents, of course) to join me for a one-hour mid-week parkour workshop (outdoors and away from the school) for three weeks - starting next Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Teachers have already started prepping the students with videos and other materials. Very excited to get these kids introduced to the discipline.

LaSalle sixth graders... get ready to work harder than you ever imagined you could or would during school hours. ;)

I'm excited to work with LaSalle Language Academy, especially after reading their mission statement:

"The LaSalle Language Academy community will create an environment that inspires in every child a love of learning, global understanding and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. LaSalle will develop graduates who are life-long, resourceful learners, and reflective, contributing citizens of the world."

Being a globally growing discipline, parkour definitely inspires one to learn about their body, their mind, their role in society and the world, and about other communities and cultures across the planet. Some of the common mottoes in parkour, "Être fort pour être utile" ("Be Strong to Be Useful", adopted from Georges Hébert) and "Être et Durer" ("To Be and To Last") seem to align perfectly with the Academy's desire to create those life-long, contributing citizens.

Would you like Parkour Ways to come to your school or facility and put on some workshops? Send an email to kurt@parkourways.com with your inquiries.

An American Journey

John Conway, my great friend and an ADAPT certified affiliate coach of Parkour Generations, just returned from a trip across a good portion of the United States and has put together this video to share the experience with all of us. It turned out wonderful, I'd like to thank John for making this video and for helping me to get where I am today.



-Blaze