Author: Craig Constantine

Recovery with Eric Rubin

June 8, 2023 · All posts on Jun 8

Recovery with Eric Rubin

What is the impact of physical injuries and personal loss on an individual’s identity, community engagement, and resilience, particularly within the context of parkour and movement practice?

Join Eric Rubin and Craig Constantine as they reflect on the role of uncertainty in recovery and the need to accept and adapt to life-altering injuries, offering a glimpse into the emotional struggle of finding a new sense of self and purpose amidst uncertainty.

Parkour, and being part of the parkour community… was one of the few times where I felt this solace from the grief and a connection to people.

~ Eric Rubin, ~20’10”

Eric shares his personal journey of how parkour has played a significant role in his life, teaching him valuable lessons in persistence, adaptation, and creativity. He recounts how parkour became a source of solace and connection during a challenging time marked by the loss of his brother to suicide and a debilitating Achilles tendon injury.

The conversation dives into the emotional impact of personal loss and how it can affect one’s physical and mental well-being. Eric and Craig discuss the potential connections between emotional upheaval, such as grief, and the tendency to push oneself too hard in an effort to overcome challenges.

Finally, Eric expresses his struggle with uncertainty regarding his nerve injury and its long-term effects on his physical abilities. He shares his journey of acceptance, resilience, and finding ways to be a fulfilled individual regardless of the outcome, while still striving to give his best.

Throughout the conversation, the power of shared experiences, seeking inspiration from others who have faced similar challenges, and the importance of emotional support are emphasized. The transformative impact of parkour and the resilience it instills in individuals are central themes that emerge from Eric’s story.

Takeaways

The transformative power of parkour — Parkour is portrayed as a practice that instills perseverance, adaptability, and creativity, offering valuable life lessons beyond physical skills.

The interconnectedness of emotional and physical challenges — Eric’s experience with grief and his subsequent injury raises intriguing questions about the relationship between mental state, motivation, and the ability to overcome physical obstacles.

Embracing uncertainty and seeking new possibilities — Eric’s acceptance of uncertainty regarding his recovery emphasizes the importance of resilience and finding alternative paths to fulfillment, even in the face of unforeseen challenges.

Resources

Eric’s favorite podcast episode about loss and grief: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stephen-colbert-grateful-for-grief/id1643163707?i=1000580162304

His favorite podcast about the mental and emotional side of injury: https://injuredathletesclub.com/

And Eric’s Instagram sharing his recovery process: https://www.instagram.com/erics_achilles_chapter/

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(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

Still, choose today

June 7, 2023 · All posts on Jun 7

Back at the start of January I mentioned, “Indeed. If it is to my advantage tomorrow, it is much more so today.” My touch phrase, “choose today” for 2023 continues to be a poignant reminder. I’ve now written it at the bottom of every journal entry this year, it often comes to mind in moments when I most need it, and it always reminds me of this:

Stick to what’s in front of you—idea, action, utterance. This is what you deserve. You could be good today. But instead you choose tomorrow.

~ Marcus Aurelius

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“If it is to my advantage tomorrow, it is much more so today.” is a direct quote of Epictetus. Aurelius was born shortly after Epictetus’s death. But Aurelius makes a point of thanking one of his teachers, Rusticus saying in part, “[…] And for introducing me to Epictetus’s lectures–and loaning me his own copy.”

Which leads me to the first thing “choose today” reminds me of each day: Knowledge, and in particular wisdom, are gained through others by seeking out those who have something you wish to learn. These people which I’m mentioning lived thousands of years ago. Others (in other traditions from other regions of the world in other centuries) have separately discovered these same ideas, which makes it clear to me that these ideas are worth considering.

The second thing “choose today” reminds me of is to be forward-looking. Certainly I want to observe and consider my past (and the past of others!) but I should be looking towards the future. If something feels urgent, then where exactly is that sense of urgency coming from, and is the urgency real? If something feels important— same questions. If something feels _insert_whatever_here_— same questions. And then, what can I choose today?

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Niko Pal | Developing Yourself As A Coach

June 6, 2023 · All posts on Jun 6

On Castbox.fm — Niko Pal | Developing Yourself As A Coach

What are the challenges and approaches to developing oneself as an effective and compassionate Parkour coach?

Insights into balancing personal growth and teaching are shared by an experienced Parkour coach.

I like to say that not all athletes are good coaches, and not all good coaches are good athletes. And one of the things you run into, and this is also a huge part of what my talk was about is the ego. And these high skilled athletes oftentimes can run into this perspective of working with people who maybe aren’t as like, super interested in learning Parkour… If you’re trying to help people, and if you’re trying to help people grow, which is kind of the role that a coach plays, then you really got to step aside from that ego.

~ Niko Pal (2:16)

The conversation centers on the experiences and philosophies of an experienced Parkour coach. It explores the significance of self-awareness, ego, and intention in coaching, emphasizing that coaches must align their methods with their students’ goals rather than imposing their own perspectives. Niko discusses the theoretical aspects of coaching, particularly the importance of understanding why one coaches and what outcomes are desired for students. The pitfalls of ego in coaching are highlighted, particularly among high-skilled athletes transitioning to coaching.

Challenges like burnout, injury, and the loss of passion due to overcommitment are discussed as common obstacles for coaches. Niko advocates for developing support systems, setting boundaries, and maintaining a balance between coaching and personal training. The value of mentorship is also emphasized, with the speaker reflecting on their own lack of a mentor and their desire to support others in avoiding similar struggles. Ultimately, the conversation underscores the need for coaches to connect authentically with their students and community.

Takeaways

Not all skilled athletes make good coaches — coaching requires distinct skills like compassion and adaptability.

Ego management in coaching — stepping aside from personal pride to meet students where they are.

Burnout prevention — the importance of setting boundaries and maintaining a balance between coaching and personal goals.

Mentorship value — having a mentor can help navigate the challenges of coaching and accelerate growth.

Impact of injury — physical limitations can affect both personal training and coaching effectiveness.

Authentic connection with students — aligning coaching goals with students’ aspirations fosters genuine growth.

Support systems — having peers or mentors helps coaches recover from setbacks like burnout or injury.

Resources

Parkour Visions — Organization focused on Parkour training and coaching.

niko@parkourvisions.org and @niko_pal on Instagram.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Provoking the powerful

June 5, 2023 · All posts on Jun 5

One reason I write here, is because I think it’s healthy for me to work with the garage door up. My choice of the guideline that herein I write about myself and things I find lying about reminds me to stick with sharing my subjective experience. Long ago I began suppressing my urge to share my opinions, and gosh, that turns out to be liberating.

This is the birth of “epistemic humility” in Western philosophy: the acknowledgment that one’s blind spots and shortcomings are an invitation for ongoing intellectual investigation and growth.

~ J. W. Traphagan and John J. Kaag from, What Socrates’ ‘know nothing’ wisdom can teach a polarized America

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The confetti gun of opinions seems always to be spewing. For a while I was concerned that my expanding humility would create a sort of power vacuum into which even more opinions of others would drift and settle. But, nope. Removing my contribution has made no difference in the fluttering mess. None the less, it’s simply nice not to feel urgency to contribute to the mess.

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Never say never

June 4, 2023 · All posts on Jun 4

Is there a term for applying the Socratic method on oneself? Maybe, autosocraticism? Not simply self-examination or self-inquiry, but rather when you find yourself speaking with someone and realize you’ve just deployed the Socratic Method on yourself? Because this happens to me. I’m explaining something I’m thinking about, and I realize I actually don’t understand what I’m thinking about. (This is very close to “rubber duck debugging” where you can sometimes find the source of a problem by explaining it to a rubber duck. Yes, really.)

Also, a pull-quote is a self-quotation; a selection from the thing itself, presented earlier to suggest reading on is worthwhile.

And of course, I also need the past tense verb-form of that noun, just so I can write the sentence I really want to start with:

The other day I autosocratisized myself into realizing I had no freakin’ clue what the difference is between a pull-quote and a blockquote.

All of which confirms the (usually unspoken) truism about humans – we’re often wrong but never in doubt. We’re as sure of the future of our relationships as we are that 2+2=4.

~ Bob Seawright from, Proof Negative

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Never say never. I’m often wrong and frequently in doubt.

Also, a pull-quote is a self-quotation; a selection from the thing itself, presented earlier to suggest reading on is worthwhile. Versus a blockquote; something quoted from another source, but which is too large to be just dropped inline wrapped in quotation marks.

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Just, hard

June 2, 2023 · All posts on Jun 2

I spend large amounts of time just thinking. That’s not so terrible, all things considered since there’s lots of actively anti-useful stuff I could be doing.

People have different personalities, goals, experiences, and levels of chance and serendipity, all of which make universal truths hard to find and difficult to teach. No matter how smart the world becomes, the best answer will always be, “You’ve got to figure it out for yourself.”

A lot of things work like that. Some of the most important topics are the hardest to teach, and real world experience is the only school.

~ Morgan Housel, from Very Important and Hard to Teach

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There are certain traps for my mind. One insidious example is when I notice I’ve been doing prolonged thinking. …and then I start thinking about how I was thinking about whatever-it-was. …and might there be some underlying principle or knowledge that I don’t understand? …and maybe I should read more about that? …and maybe I should seek out others who know more about that?

Sometimes, I can manage to shake myself out of that. But usually, I have to simply lean into it for another hour, sometimes even the rest of the day (or week!) “Okay, I’m hung-up on this” and I have to try to go all in. After a real attempt at figuring it out, when I can apprehend just how bonkers-complex it would be, my mind simply let’s go of it.

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New associations

June 1, 2023 · All posts on Jun 1

Instead of feeling complacent about what you know, you must expand your knowledge to related fields, giving your mind fuel to make new associations between different ideas. You must experiment and look at problems from all possible angles. As your thinking grows more fluid, your mind will grow increasingly dimensional, seeing more and more aspects of reality. In the end, you will turn against the very rules you have internalized, shaping and reforming them to suit your spirit.

~ Robert Greene

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Slightly better

May 31, 2023 · All posts on May 31

An eternal question which I find myself frequently pondering: When to stick with something and when to dramatically pivot (or outright quit)? Pondering this problem is not a recent development. I have countless stories going back as far as I can remember—all the way back to little-kid baseball at, perhaps, age 10.

[…] there’s not a lot of readily available answers to the question of what the meaning of life is. The only answer I’ve been able to come up with for myself is this: to ensure that my presence on this earth makes it better than if I hadn’t lived at all. Whether or not I’ll have managed to achieve that is an unknowable calculation. All I can do is try to love this stupid, cruel, wonderful, gorgeous world I’ve been given through an accident of entropy, and hope that I can give it a better than equivalent exchange.

~ Jenny from, Labour of love

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When I find I’m staring into space, pondering the stick-or-pivot question, a two-part test has been getting me moving again: If I keep doing the thing (upon which I’m pondering sticking or pivoting) are my efforts making the world a better place, and does what I’m doing have a clear end-goal?

The perhaps counter-intuitive part is that while I want a ‘yes’ (obviously!) for the first part of that test, I want a ‘no‘ for the second part. When I have a clear end-goal things don’t work out well. I find I generally misunderstand in the beginning of a thing what would be a good end goal, and worse, I lose interest once I understand what done looks like for the long-arc of the thing. Far better it seems to point myself in a makes the world better direction, and wonder onward.

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Molly Courtney | If Parkour is For Everyone, Why Doesn’t Everyone Want to Do It

May 30, 2023 · All posts on May 30

On Castbox.fm — Molly Courtney | If Parkour is For Everyone, Why Doesn’t Everyone Want to Do It

How can coaches effectively bridge the gap between the benefits of Parkour and the reluctance or resistance of individuals to participate?

The discussion challenges the assumption that Parkour is universally appealing and explores why some people resist trying it.

When we stop trying to match their defense and the generalization, and try to encourage and give information, we give them space to start to think about other things, like what’s possible.

~ Molly Courtney (3:00)

The conversation addresses the challenge of making Parkour more accessible and appealing, particularly to those who resist it due to defensiveness, lack of confidence, or demoralization. It draws on psychological models like the Stages of Change to highlight why premature encouragement often backfires. Recognizing participants’ emotional states is crucial for building their readiness to engage in new activities.

Another key topic is the balance between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Molly emphasizes that early learners benefit more from intrinsic motivators like verbal affirmations than external rewards, which can undermine their self-driven desire to improve. Techniques for fostering play and exploration are discussed, providing coaches with strategies for facilitating growth without overwhelming participants.

Takeaways

Stages of Change — Understanding where someone is emotionally helps tailor the approach to introducing Parkour.

Defensiveness and Demoralization — Recognizing these barriers and validating participants’ concerns can create space for progress.

Role of Play — Structured play fosters exploration and autonomy in early learners.

Motivation Theories — Intrinsic motivators are more effective than extrinsic ones for beginners.

Feedback Timing — Interjecting too early can harm engagement, while timely affirmation builds confidence.

Coaching Techniques — Setting clear boundaries and expectations facilitates safe and productive learning environments.

Psychological Models — Applying theories like self-determination and Stages of Change provides a scientific basis for coaching methods.

Resources

Stages of Change — A psychological model describing readiness for change in individuals.

Self-Determination Theory — A framework for understanding motivation and growth.

The Movement Park — Molly’s Parkour gym in Hillsboro, Oregon; resources for beginner and advanced movement training.

molly@themovementpark.com — For inquiries about Molly’s work and methods.

Social Media: @TheMovementPark on Instagram, The Movement Park on Facebook.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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