Sebastien Foucan (Part 1 of 3): Explorer, evolution, and adaptation →

Published August 6, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 6  ·  

Sebastien Foucan (Part 1 of 3): Explorer, evolution, and adaptation

What is the role of exploration in achieving personal growth and self-mastery?

Sebastien Foucan joins Craig for the first of a three part interview. Sebastien is best described – in his own words – as an explorer. Craig and Sebastien talk about what he means by explorer and how his journey of exploration has evolved over the years.

The purpose of it is liberation and self-development.

~ Sebastien Foucan (6:00)

Sebastien Foucan discusses his evolution as an explorer, emphasizing how his experiences with Parkour, freerunning, and L’art du Déplacement reflect a personal journey of discovery. He describes the origins of freerunning as an extension of Parkour, influenced by his desire to create a distinct approach that resonated with his personal philosophy. Sebastien outlines how these practices connect the mind, body, and environment, explaining their importance in fostering growth and transformation.

The conversation highlights Sebastien’s perspective on the maturity stages of development, from roots to fire, water, and air. He explores concepts like the cyclic nature of life, energy balance, and the distinction between training and practice. By emphasizing mindfulness and understanding one’s limitations, Sebastien illustrates how individuals can navigate their unique paths toward achieving their potential.

(more…)

The kind of training I need →

Published August 5, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 5  ·  

The truth is that if you can push into the discomfort, with love, and keep going … it’ll be an amazing breakthrough for you, an opening up of your habitual patterns. It’ll be a place of growth, of learning, of tremendous change. This is the kind of training that you need to put yourself in if you want to grow. Not a meditation retreat, necessarily, but any kind of practice that makes you want to retreat. It doesn’t have to be hardcore, just something that causes you to be uncomfortable, that causes your old habitual patterns to come up.

~ Leo Babauta from, A Guide to a Life of Purpose – Zen Habits Website

slip:4uzepu1.

Leo’s Zen Habits has helped me tremendously over the years. His was one of the first useful sites I found about 10 years ago when I started changing my life. The idea that hard work– not a retreat per se, but anything that makes you want to retreat– is exactly what I need to work on, is one of the pillars upon which I began rebuilding. When things start to crack– when I feel my grip on my reasonable demeanor slipping– it’s this idea which I try to pull up.

ɕ

Down the rabbit hole →

Published August 4, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 4  ·  

This entry is part 4 of 11 in the series A Tracer's Manifesto

( In late 2016 I began a small discussion with a few friends about an idea. Eventually the project became a web site [now gone] and this series contains the posts from that site. The project continues in the Parkour Forum. )

Originally published Dec 14, 2016

Components

It seems clear to me that the name has two components: Let’s start with the part that identifies/associates with the communities. (The second part would be the “code of conduct”, “social contract”, “ethics”, verbage.) The order of the parts isn’t what I’m talking about; it could be “parkour code of conduct” or “movement ethics for traceurs” — both of those phrases have two parts, different specific examples for each part, and in reversed order.

Let’s discuss the “identifier” part…

Identifier

We can choose to omit this component from the name (and just call it “code of conduct” etc), we can pick an existing community’s word/name, or we can find a larger umbrella term.

[omit] ?
parkour ?
freerunning ?
mover ?
traceur ?
…some other word?

ɕ

What we do →

Published August 3, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 3  ·  

It’s not who we are, but what we do that defines us.

~ Bruce Wayne, in Batman Begins, (2005 film)

slip:4a324.

The power of now →

Published August 2, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 2  ·  

This shift in thinking produced a significant shift in my priorities. I began focusing more of my energy on improving the quality of my present reality instead of projecting all those improvements into the realm of someday. I started asking questions like, “How can I experience more joy in this very moment?”

~ Steve Pavlina from, The Power of Now – Steve Pavlina

slip:4usebo25.

Steve’s writing is probably an acquired taste — some of it I’m still not swallowing. But this one was well worth the read; Probably well-worth a re-read too. ;)

ɕ

A name →

Published August 1, 2018  ·  All posts on Aug 1  ·  

This entry is part 3 of 11 in the series A Tracer's Manifesto

( In late 2016 I began a small discussion with a few friends about an idea. Eventually the project became a web site [now gone] and this series contains the posts from that site. The project continues in the Parkour Forum. )

Originally published Dec 13, 2016

“A Mover’s Social Contract”

I’ve been going down the “social contract” rabbit hole recently. (eg http://www.iep.utm.edu/soc-cont/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract ). Notably, the UTM.edu article highlights some Femenism-based criticisms of the classic formulations of “social contract.” Clearly “social contract” brings philosophical context, but I think that would ultimately be a good thing.

Stepping back a bit, my whole goal has always been to make people (those who stumble on this thing after it’s finished) think more and more deeply. The goal is not to simply “collect signatories”.

So I’m really liking this name…

“A Mover’s Social Contract”

“A” a political way of suggesting this contract is just an idea for consideration. Not some bunch of people who got together and think they’ve nailed down the One True Thing and named the thing with a “The …”

“Mover’s” singular and possessive so the reader immediately can associate with it (since the reader is self/singular). And “hey, I’m a mover…” is about as platform-agnostic as we could ever hope to be. There will be some challenge in finding the correct word in each language into which we translate, but I think this word/concept is so common that it would be doable.

…and “social contract” as I’ve already discussed above.

Thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Solid ‘meh’??

ɕ

I’m interested in being a whole person →

Published July 31, 2018  ·  All posts on Jul 31

[15:45] I’m interested in being a whole person. I’m interested in that (Cerebral excellence) and I’m interested in – well love transcends all of it and incorporates all of it. You know, I identify as a predominantly feminine creature, as a woman. So that means my strength, where I am most joyful, where I am most powerful and effective and effectual – two different things – is when I am in this state of flow and intuition and engaged listening and sensuality.

…

[16:58] But mostly I want to receive. So my job, my job as me, as female, is to be radiant: radiant with my knowledge, radiant with my offerings, radiant in my visual brand, radiant in how I show up.

~ Danielle Laporte from, «https://becomingasuperhuman.com/gender-dynamics-technology-substances-danielle-laporte/»

ɕ

The first hurdle →

Published July 30, 2018  ·  All posts on Jul 30  ·  

This entry is part 2 of 11 in the series A Tracer's Manifesto

( In late 2016 I began a small discussion with a few friends about an idea. Eventually the project became a web site [now gone] and this series contains the posts from that site. The project continues in the Parkour Forum. )

Originally published Nov 29, 2016

I think choosing a name for “it” is the first hurdle we should clear. It’s obvious the name creates a huge first impression, so it should be chosen wisely. But we need the name asap so we can do things like create a more-public facebook group/page, register a domain name, and build a web site.

I’ve been actively thinking about this for weeks and the only useful idea [imo] that I’ve had is that it should NOT have any of the common terms Parkour/Freerunning/ADD in it’s name. Including those common names would instantly bring divisive baggage into the first impression.

So I’ve mentally wandered way into the weeds thinking of ideas like “Code of Conduct”, but so far they all sound too vague and pompous to my ear. I’ve been searching for some way to hint at the obvious tie to PK/FR/ADD, but there’s no reason the code has to be explicitly about/for that community. Other ideas I’ve had, include playing off of the “tracers” or “traceurs” words, or phrases like “Movers Code of Ethics”.

So, is this hurdle where we should start?
…and if so, any ideas for discussion?

ɕ

Realize that all things change →

Published July 29, 2018  ·  All posts on Jul 29  ·  

If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold on to. If you are not afraid of dying, there is nothing you cannot achieve.

~ Lao Tzu

slip:4a213.

Faith nevertheless →

Published July 28, 2018  ·  All posts on Jul 28

…when you look at everything that goes wrong historically, you can see a deep chain of continuous mistakes that lead up to it. And in a way, that’s really discouraging because it makes you think about each step leading to greater consequences. But on the other hand, it’s really encouraging because if you think about it and you think about, “Oh, wait. What if you do something right? And you do something right right now, you’re starting a whole other chain of events that can lead to a really positive outcome.” And so, his point when he was making the statement which was more or less that is even if things seem like they’re going in the wrong direction or things seem really wrong, you can stop, and you can do something small that’s right.

~ Nick Thompson, Editor-In-Chief of WIRED, from, Nick Thompson — Editor In Chief of WIRED (#311) – The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss

slip:4utini1.

Not only the studying and writing of history but also the honoring of it both represent affirmations of a certain defiant faith — a desperate, unreasoning faith, if you will — but faith nevertheless in the endurance of this threatened world — faith in the total essentiality of historical continuity.

~ George Kennan, The New York Times (27 May 1984), from, George F. Kennan – Wikiquote

This was a great interview where they spent a lot time talking about how writing really works, how good stories get written, and how good editors make or break publications. A long listen, but for me, it was a delightful glimpse into a new world.

ɕ