US Parkour Association (part 1 of 4): Board members, introductions, and passion →

Published November 13, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 13  ·  

US Parkour Association (part 1 of 4): Board members, introductions, and passion

What are the key challenges and opportunities in creating a unified national governing body for the Parkour community in the United States?

Experienced practitioners work to ensure the integrity of Parkour’s future through governance and cooperation.

This conversation introduces the transition board members of the United States Parkour Association (USPK) and gets into their motivations and expertise. Each member discusses their unique backgrounds and the pivotal experiences that led them to contribute to this initiative. Topics include the need for a neutral platform to unify the Parkour community, the role of governance in fostering public trust, and the challenges of organizing a fragmented national scene.

The conversation also highlights the accomplishments and insights of individual board members. These include creating inclusive events like American Rendezvous, implementing Parkour in public school systems, and establishing training and certification standards. Their collective efforts focus on building a foundation for the sport’s long-term growth while addressing diverse barriers such as accessibility, safety, and representation.

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Movers Mindset Three Words →

Published November 12, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 12  ·  , ,

This essay is also presented as episode Craig Constantine: Discovery, reflection, and efficacy of the Movers Mindset podcast.

In each of the Movers Mindset podcast episodes, I ask guests to pick three words to describe their practice. Each guest’s choice has turned out to be a much more interesting and intriguing part of the conversation than we had initially anticipated.

The word practice goes beyond movement and often evokes broader images and ideas that reflect an approach to life. The idea that parkour and movement techniques in general are more than just physical has always been behind Movers Mindset. This is why I focus on ideas and reflection, for example, rather than on flashy videos of daring movement. The deeper dive into the mindset of movers is where the real magic happens.

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Sharpen the saw →

Published November 11, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 11  ·  

It’s preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature: physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional. … “Sharpen the saw” basically means expressing all four motivations. It means exercising all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently in wise and balanced ways.

~ Stephen Covey

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You can’t fool your body either →

Published November 10, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 10  ·  

I also can’t fool my old friend Hormesis, and rust never sleeps.

Walk distances. Lift heavy things. Move in mysterious ways. (She does!) Ask your body to try something new. Remind your body to try something old.

Jerzy Gregorek said something—which I feel is profound—about, “your first body,” and your second body. I’m definitely understanding what he means these days. The first fifty, this thing was pretty responsive; Handled pretty good in the corners, stopped well in slippery conditions, got terrible mileage, but could haul firewood.

Now? …not so much. But that’s fun too.

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You can’t fool your mind →

Published November 9, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 9  ·  

You can’t fool your mind.  It’s an expert on your current personal management system, and it knows whether you can be trusted to look at what you need to at the appropriate time.  It knows if you’ve decided what the next action should be. And it knows if there is a reminder of that action placed somewhere you will actually look, when you could possibly take that action. If you have not done any of that, your mind won’t let it go. It can’t. It will endlessly keep trying to remind you of what to remember. The mind is a loyal and dedicated servant, but it needs to be given the jobs it does well–not the ones that it mismanages.

~ David Allen from, Ready for Anything

…and yet I try all the time. Fortunately I’ve gotten much better at capturing my thoughts.

The important part, the hard part—one might even say, “the trick”—is to have regular and sufficient time to review all the things I’ve captured. Do I really want to read that book that piqued my interest? Do I really want to try that new recipe I found? Do I really want to go to the trouble of adding that new electric outlet in the dining room?

I see too many people with no way of capturing their thoughts, and I see very few people who have a habit of regularly assessing what they want to be doing.

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A happy body →

Published November 8, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 8

I’m pushing 50 and the challenge of getting enough physical activity into the day is, well, a serious challenge. My biggest challenge though is my unhealthy relationship with food, and my self-imposed stress. But, I’ll set those later two aside for another day.

Today I want to talk about a neat little program by Jerzy Gregorek, (who’s known as the “Lion of Olympic weight lifting,”) called the Happy Body Program. I’d been toying with this program for over a year, before I got serious a couple months ago.

In his “Happy Body” book, Gregorek has a very direct and simple way of defining, measuring and working towards a happy body — meaning one that is basically fit — in the sense of fit for living. There’s a companion poster)—it’s pricey but rather useful to put the entire program up on your wall.

Every morning starts with me doing about 20 minutes of mobility work, followed by Tracy and I running through Happy Body. Currently, we’re working our way up in the number of circuits it calls for, but it’s easy to do and as quick as real work can be.

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The humble sand timer →

Published November 7, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 7

Over the years I’ve experimented with many forms of time management. One that works well for me—and I’ve heard this from others—is to work in a mixture of Pomodoro sprints, combined with open-ended deep work sessions. Combined, I mean, in the same day; A some-of-this and some-of-that approach.

Unfortunately, Pomodoro sprints don’t work for me with a “hard” timer. I’ve tried various timing apps on my computer and phone, and I’ve tried a digital countdown timer on my desk. (This cube timer is a nice one.) But I always find the firm interruption frustrates me. No matter how polite or subtle the alert, I’m annoyed by the interruption.

The solution is the humble sand timer. (Here’s a nice set.) Standing quietly, it is unobtrusive. Eventually, it has run out—but it remains patiently waiting for me to stop working. “No rush to stop Craig, but when you find a good spot, it’s time to move to the next thing.”

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Synergize →

Published November 6, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 6  ·  ,

What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part, but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part.

~ Stephen Covey

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Rafe Kelley: Hero’s journey, practice, and self transformation →

Published November 6, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 6  ·  

Rafe Kelley: Hero’s journey, practice, and self transformation

How can movement practices, particularly parkour, serve as tools for self-transformation and personal growth?

Rafe Kelley dives deep into his thoughts about the hero’s journey and it’s relevance to parkour. He shares his own journey and research into parkour and movement, finding meaning in practicing, and why he trains in nature. Rafe discusses parkour’s power as a transformative practice, the spirit behind it, and what makes it unique.

What parkour does is it provides a mini hero’s journey that can be approached over and over again in your training sessions.

~ Rafe Kelley (3:23)

The conversation explores the idea of using movement practices, particularly parkour, as a means of personal and psychological transformation. Parkour is likened to a mini hero’s journey, where practitioners confront challenges, overcome fears, and grow through deliberate practice. The discussion goes into the concept of combining elements from martial arts, natural movement, and mindfulness to create a holistic approach that transcends mere physical skill, addressing deeper aspects of human growth and connection.

The narrative extends into the philosophical underpinnings of movement, discussing how metaphors and embodied cognition play crucial roles in shaping our understanding of life and self-improvement. Insights from mythology, evolutionary anthropology, and cognitive science are woven throughout, emphasizing the importance of integrating physical practice with psycho-technologies. This integration seeks to cultivate wisdom, foster resilience, and inspire meaningful transformation.

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Telling the story better →

Published November 5, 2019  ·  All posts on Nov 5  ·  

The Movers Mindset project is challenging for me. I have a large number of pieces in place. I’ve discovered many different interesting questions to explore, and I’m well on my way to digging in to find some answers. I’ve created something which I wish I could have found many years ago, early on in my journey.

And yet, I haven’t found many people who see value in the project. Everyone likes the podcast, but that’s as far as I can seem to get the idea to go.

Here’s what I have so far…

Movers Mindset explores themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence through podcasts, website content, and a community of like-minded people. In the podcast, I interview movement enthusiasts to find out who they are, what they do, and why they do it; The podcast focuses on the journey of self-improvement and its underlying motivations, as well as movement’s fundamental place in society. On the website we publish free content, (much of it in three languages,) including podcast transcripts, show notes, articles submitted by people, and original content. In the Movers Mindset community I’m looking to discuss everything related to independence, self-direction and human excellence; I’ve started discussions on how to make the Internet work for you, thoughts about social networks, questions and answers about training from athletes, podcast-guest followups, and more.

Feedback on the project has been overwhelming positive. Over the past four years I’ve slowly expanded the project. I’ve changed things along the way, giving the project a new name back in 2018 and recently breaking the podcast episodes into seasons.

How do I do a better job of telling the Movers Mindset story?

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