Wild Souls

Esprit Yamak Chicago 2014

Some use the word "sport" when referring to Parkour/Freerunning/Art du Déplacement. We do not.

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Sport:

Noun
1. an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

This one, we'd agree with:
Verb
1. amuse oneself or play in a lively, energetic way.
"the children sported in the water"

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We prefer to refer to it as a discipline. As it was originally meant to be. No competitions, no teams, no federations... only the spirit of the discipline was needed.

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Discipline:

Noun
1. activity or experience that provides mental or physical training.
2. a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.

Verb
1. train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.

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Of course, play and creativity are still a big part of what we do. But it is not just throwing ourselves around until we "land" something "cool". We strive for discipline, safety... in our play and creativity as well! Yes, we take risks too... it's always there, but we manage it.

Training should come from the heart, not the ego in the head.

Wild souls... but disciplined.

Dark

New video, old footage... this video was originally planned to be around 5 minutes long with a lot more content. It's tough for me to focus on making videos. One of the things that bothers me most in the global Parkour "scene" is the poor representation of our discipline on YouTube. Too often we see videos filled with huge jumps, massive drops, flashy tricks, dangerous stunts, and obnoxiously egotistical behavior. Nothing you see in this video will likely be very impressive or "big", but that is not the point. This video is comprised of simple shots of myself doing some night training. I believe night training is important, and that we don't see it enough in video form (probably because it's tougher to see things, of course).

DIVERGENT - On Set & Behind-the-Scenes!

If you haven't already found these photos I took on set of DIVERGENT (#1 movie in America for its release week!) on our Facebook page, here they are! Scroll all the way down for a behind-the-scenes look at one of the train jumps we did!

Behind-the-Scenes Video:



Read a bit more about the jump from this email we sent out to all of our students and parents!

1st Look Segment on NBC

Here it is, our segment from 1stLook on NBC that aired this past Saturday:

Chicago PD Behind-The-Scenes

Some of you are already aware, but I've been doing some stunt work here and there since late 2012. My most recent work was on NBC's Chicago PD and the episode aired last week. Catch me doubling Officer Halstead (played by Jesse Lee Soffer, the same actor I doubled in FOX's "The Mob Doctor") as he chases down a purse-snatcher (doubled by my friend Alex Hashioka)! Below is behind-the-scenes look at the work we did for this episode. See the entire episode here on Hulu!

NBC's "1st Look"

Tonight I had the pleasure of shooting a segment for NBC's new lifestyle/travel show with host Audrina Patridge (MTV's The Hills, Dancing with the Stars). The episode won't air for another couple of months (around January, I was told), but I'm very excited to see it all put together! Audrina joined me and a few of my adult students outdoors in the cool evening for a beginner's look into what parkour is and is all about! She was excited to get started and learn more about the discipline, and it was great to see that genuine interest in what I do and teach from her. She's a great girl!

As with every class or event I teach, we started with a warm-up. I think Audrina quickly realized that this was going to be a bit tougher than she expected! After the warm-up, we moved to some other areas and started showing her some of the movement training that we do with our beginners. We started simple with balance, walking on a rail. Audrina tackled that one quite well, showed great control in her steps and really had her mind on what she was doing as she moved down the rail. Next, I took her over to a wall and a rail to show her the Safety Vault. She picked this one up pretty fast and was moving over those obstacles in no time!

The NBC team had quite a few questions about parkour for myself, Travis Tetting (a fellow instructor from Wisconsin Parkour who came down to help with the segment) and a few of my students, too. I can't wait to see the finished product! See what else we did and the rest of what Audrina tried in January on NBC!

Small Bits (Video)

This is just a short and very simple little video I threw together with a few clips recorded while out for a photo shoot with my good friend, David Joseph Gall. Check out the photos as well here: www.ParkourWays.com/gallery?album=sandw

The Way Forward

This is an amazing documentary and I definitely recommend that you make the time to watch this through. The quick film (49 minutes) touches on very many aspects of parkour that I think a lot of people should think about and learn about.

At the start of the video they briefly discuss what parkour is, how it got started, and other common things. Martin Svenselius of Parkour Academy Stockholm did a wonderful job of explaining things. The documentary also includes some insight into the minds of those who are running organizations that teach parkour. Martin explains that he would much rather be able to do what he does without money involved, but that it just isn't possible now.

Chris Rowat of Parkour Generations also makes an appearance in the film, discussing many issues including getting paid for instructing parkour, competitions in parkour and sponsorships. If you want to know how I feel about those subjects, watch the film and listen to Chris' words. I wholeheartedly agree with everything that he had to say!

Enjoy!

Ninja Warrior Games Update

Here's the detailed schedule for the weekend:

And here's a teaser video!




More information at www.NinjaWarriorGames.org!

First Overnight Jam: Success!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out for our first Parkour Ways overnight jam last night!! I had a blast and I hope you all did too! I really appreciate the great turnout we got with such a short notice of the event! I'm Looking forward to doing something like this again in the near future!

If you stayed at the jam through the night then you heard me talk about two important things coming up:

* * Parkour Ways classes and open gyms will be expanding to LivFit in Forest Park (Berwyn/Oak Park area) in a few weeks!

* * I am collaborating with another facility and an awesome group of new friends I've met to bring Chicago it's first ever Ninja Warrior weekends. We are hoping to do monthly events with a 3-level obstacle course including skill workshops and (of course) a competition with some prizes! Show us your support and let us know if you have any great ideas or resources for equipment... we are looking for sponsors! We're still just getting started and there is much left for us to do, but check out our page! Ninja Warrior Games

Here's a quick video put together by some of the guys that came to the jam!! Thanks for sharing this guys!

Overnight Movement Jam This Weekend!

Parkour Ways is hosting an overnight MOVEMENT jam this weekend at Vie Personal Fitness to celebrate the end of the season as we move our equipment indoors again! The jam will start outside and will likely move indoors after the sun goes down and the temperature drops!

This isn't a parkour-only jam. You're free to train any discipline you'd like! The cost is $15 - a very reasonable price for a 14 hour gym session like this!! Registration is limited! Read below!

- Plenty of indoor and outdoor space to utilize for whatever you want to work on - parkour, tricking, capoeira, breakdancing, yoga, weightlifting, etc!
- Cost is only $15/person for 14 HOURS!
- Music played inside and outside! Bring an iPod/phone/mp3 player/laptop/CD if you want to share yours!
- Healthy snacks will be provided! There are always water bottles, Gatorade, cans of Monster Absolute Zero, and snack bars for sale (cash only). Absolutely NO alcoholic beverages allowed.
- IF you want to sleep you are welcome to sleep on the floor... just make sure you're out of the way!
- Ages 12 and up!

- EVERYONE MUST BRING A SIGNED WAIVER (unless you have ever been to a Parkour Ways session before)!!! Print the waiver here: http://www.parkourways.com/documents/Parkour_Ways_Waiver.pdf

- REGISTRATION IS LIMITED!! Sign up in advance here to make sure you get a spot:

Sign Up!!

Brian Scalabrine Commercial!

Check it out! Blaze stunt doubled for Chicago's very own Brian Scalabrine (of the Chicago Bulls) last month doing parkour in a hilarious web commercial!

Slim Jim Video

Last Wednesday we got to spend some time with Scott. He's the Sultan of Snap, the king of the Slim Jim community! We got to tell him what parkour is about and show him a few things. It was a lot of fun, check it out!

04/02/2012 Clip of the Day

4/1/2012 Clips of the Day

3/28/2012 Clip of the Day

3/26/2012 Clips of the Day

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

Blaze's New Video

A new video from Parkour Ways owner Kurt "Blaze" Gowan. The majority of these clips were shot throughout 2011, some are more recent from 2012. Locations include: Chicago Illinois (UIC, Lincoln Park, Elmwood Park), Arlington Heights Illinois, Columbus Ohio, Hammond Indiana, Hobart Indiana, Munster Indiana, Monticello Indiana, Whiting Indiana, Miami Florida, and inside the Parkour Ways gym location (Vie Personal Fitness).

Gym Preview

Here's a preview of the new gym location! We had a soft launch to test out the equipment this weekend, thanks to everyone who came out!