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Naomi Honey: Dance, coaching, and self talk →

Published September 4, 2019  ·  All posts on Sep 4  ·  

Naomi Honey: Dance, coaching, and self talk

How does engaging in movement practices like Forró and parkour contribute to personal growth, emotional development, and professional coaching?

Naomi Honey shares her experiences learning the Brazilian dance of Forró, and how it relates to her other movement practices. She unpacks her work as a life coach; what that means, how it works, and why she loves it so much. Naomi wraps up by discussing her thoughts on her current interests, the idea of success, and self talk.

[It’s] amazing. I’m the cheerleader while they’re doing it, and while it’s difficult. And I’m the cheerleader when there’s success. And then—one of my absolute favorite moments—coaching is designed to end at some point.

~ Naomi Honey (11:45)

Naomi Honey discusses how her experiences with Brazilian dance and parkour have shaped her personal and professional life. She highlights the contrast between the individual nature of parkour and the partner-based dynamics of Forró, a Brazilian dance she has been practicing for over a year. Naomi shares how these practices have enhanced her ability to listen to her body and respond intuitively, revealing unexpected emotional blocks and new ways of engaging with others.

Her work as a life coach focuses on helping people recognize and overcome personal obstacles, drawing from her movement experiences. Naomi explains how self-talk plays a critical role in both movement and life coaching, recounting workshops where participants verbalize negative inner dialogues to foster awareness and shift perspectives. She also emphasizes the importance of celebrating effort over results, demonstrating how encouragement and playful experimentation foster growth and confidence in movement and beyond.

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Charlotte Miles: Motivation, emotional recovery, and purpose →

Published August 28, 2019  ·  All posts on Aug 28  ·  

Charlotte Miles: Motivation, emotional recovery, and purpose

What motivates someone to engage deeply in coaching, creativity, and physical training, and how do personal struggles and life experiences shape this engagement?

Charlotte Miles shares her motivations for coaching, why it’s important to her, and how it fits into her life. She digs into more difficult topics; energy and emotional recovery, personal struggles, and her experiences with mortality and grief. Charlotte discusses how parkour affects her life, her definition of success, and finishes with real life superpowers and finding purpose.

Being strong, there is no frame of reference for that. There’s no ‘I once was’ and so there’s no return. It’s a completely new thing. It’s a blank canvas. And that can be as scary as it is exciting.

~ Charlotte Miles (15:00)

Charlotte discusses her work as a coach, filmmaker, and movement enthusiast, reflecting on how physical training intersects with personal growth. She describes parkour as a therapeutic practice that forces her to confront fear and emotional barriers, emphasizing that her biggest obstacles are often mental rather than physical. Charlotte highlights the unique space women occupy in strength and conditioning and the importance of encouraging curiosity and strength in female athletes.

A significant part of the conversation explores mortality and how Charlotte’s personal experiences with loss shape her sense of urgency and purpose. She shares how storytelling and coaching allow her to uncover powerful messages within others and transform them into impactful narratives. Charlotte speaks candidly about balancing her intense work ethic with the need for rest, acknowledging the challenges of being emotionally open and the importance of staying present.

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Gogoly Yao: Journey, Esprit Concrete, and challenges →

Published August 21, 2019  ·  All posts on Aug 21  ·  

Gogoly Yao: Journey, Esprit Concrete, and challenges

How can addressing personal fears and vulnerabilities through movement practices lead to deeper personal growth and stronger community connections?

Gogoly Yao explains his background and the journey that led him to where he is now. He discusses how he first encountered parkour, and his work on Esprit Concrete with Kasturi Torchia. Yao shares his current challenges and what he is working on, and discusses his training with Esprit Concrete team member Georgia Munroe.

My focus in training has never been really about the movement. It has been about my fears. Like I said, that’s where it started, but I didn’t know at the time. I didn’t know a lot of things. I didn’t know where it was, what I was looking for, and what I could get.

~ Gogoly Yao (11:50)

Yao’s journey in parkour and movement began as a way to confront personal fears, including heights and physical vulnerability. His initial focus on power and large movements shifted after injuries forced him to explore conditioning and smaller, more controlled actions. This gradual change led to deeper self-awareness and a new approach to training, rooted in addressing psychological barriers.

Esprit Concrete, co-founded by Yao, reflects this philosophy by blending physical practice with emotional growth. The project focuses on guiding individuals to recognize their vulnerabilities and develop a personalized path forward, emphasizing personal agency and choice. The conversation highlights the balance between teaching others and continuing personal growth, with Yao candidly sharing his ongoing struggles with trust and control.

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Be kind to yourself →

Published August 9, 2019  ·  All posts on Aug 9  ·  

I just finished listening to an interview with Stephane Vigroux (see, 1, 2, 3, and 4) and one of his take-aways—the point he ended with actually—was that your parkour practice should make you happy. If I may unpack a bit: That you should be kind to yourself.

Stephane teaches a drill which has many variations, but is roughly to spend 30 minutes balancing on a rail. One finds something reasonable to balance on, like a simple railing or a low bar, where falling off has no consequences and where it’s easy to re-mount. When balancing, simply stand as still as you can. Switch legs and positions as you need to, but mostly, simply stand still and balance. If you fall off, simply get back on, and be kind to yourself for the duration.

Go do this drill. Seriously. If you cannot balance on a railing, scale the challenge down to fit your ability; Find a narrow wall, a curb, something the size of a shoebox, a bench—whatever, and alternate balancing on one foot at a time.

I’ve had the chance to train with Stephane a few times. Once, in Évry France (right in front of the Cathedral) a large group was being led by Williams Belle through a long sequence of ground movements. I had arrived at the event from another week-long event, in the middle of a summer after I had recently given up a year-long physical challenge that had my left shoulder with an aching weakness. It was only mid-morning and I was grinding my way through the physical training. There was a tremendous group spirit of support and encouragement, with everyone—absolutely everyone being pushed to their own personal limits. There was shouting and cheering and a good bit of laughing.

I could have continued. It’s possible that every other time I had ever done physical training I did continue. I had struggled through the, “this hurts I want to quit,” rationalization much earlier that morning. But for some reason, at some random moment, I stood up and walked off to the side where I sat down on an outdoor chair in the shade. At that moment, it felt right to choose to be kind to myself rather than persevere.

After a few minutes, Stephane also stopped, walked over, sat down in a neighboring chair, and asked how I was doing. It wasn’t an, “are you injured, why have you stopped?” visit. Just a friend dropping by to see how I was feeling.

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Steve Zavitz: Freelancing, artistic process, and parkour culture →

Published August 7, 2019  ·  All posts on Aug 7  ·  

Steve Zavitz: Freelancing, artistic process, and parkour culture

What drives someone to transition from a traditional career path into a freelance life focused on parkour photography and videography, and what insights can they share about this journey?

Steve Zavitz shares his passion for parkour photography and film: from his transition to freelancing, his process, and what he likes to create. He discusses the changing style and culture around parkour videos, and the impact social media has had. Steve reflects on the evolving culture, audience, and growth of parkour, and what that means for communities today.

It was in the back of my head where I was like, ‘You know, eventually, I would like to be working fully for myself, being a freelance photographer, videographer, doing my own thing.’ But it wasn’t like I have a three-year plan or a five-year plan or whatever. It was just, I’m going to go out and shoot stuff that I really like doing because I want to, because I need to, almost.

~ Steve Zavitz (11:45)

The conversation explores Steve Zavitz’s path from working in various traditional jobs to transitioning into a full-time freelance career centered around parkour photography and videography. Steve recounts his early experiences capturing parkour scenes on low-quality cameras, highlighting the incremental steps that led to his professional break working with prominent parkour brands. His approach to building a portfolio emphasizes pursuing personal passions rather than following trends, which ultimately led to organic growth and recognition in the parkour community.

In addition to discussing the creative and technical aspects of his work, Steve reflects on the evolving parkour culture and the shifting landscape of content creation. He touches on the growing prevalence of daily parkour posts on social media and how that contrasts with the slower-paced, community-driven videos of the past. The dialogue also reveals concerns about how gym-based parkour might inadvertently limit resilience and self-directed learning in newer practitioners.

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Sean Hannah: Designing curriculum, teaching seniors, and the mid-range →

Published July 31, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 31  ·  

Sean Hannah: Designing curriculum, teaching seniors, and the mid-range

How can Parkour principles be adapted to improve the health, mobility, and confidence of seniors?

Sean Hannah takes us deep into curriculum development; how he researches, the importance of games and fun, and developing with specific audiences in mind. He discusses his role in designing the curriculum for the PK Move Study with Marymount University, and the specific challenges it presented. Sean shares advice on coaching and designing for adults and seniors, before unpacking his current personal curriculum and goals.

We’re going to spend a lot of time on the Single Point. …and for all the Mine Craft kids listening out there, my Fortnight players who want to do Parkour… Single Point is still your best training tool. It’s seriously overlooked in the [parkour] community because it’s hard to make money selling ninja stuff, where you’re just standing on one foot for a while.

~ Sean Hannah (20:50)

The conversation explores how Parkour can be adapted to address the unique physical and psychological challenges seniors face, focusing on fall prevention and improving overall mobility. It highlights the development of PK Silver, a Parkour program designed for older adults, and details the thought process behind designing a curriculum that makes movement both accessible and enjoyable for this age group. Games and creative scenarios are used to build strength and confidence in seniors, ultimately improving their quality of life.

The discussion also covers a study conducted with Marymount University, which examined the effectiveness of Parkour-based training for seniors. Emphasis is placed on low-impact, balance-focused exercises that encourage participants to overcome fear and improve their autonomy. The curriculum emphasizes simple but essential movements, such as getting up from the ground or navigating stairs, reimagined through the lens of Parkour. The success of the program demonstrates that the core tenets of Parkour—play, exploration, and adaptability—can have significant benefits for populations traditionally excluded from high-intensity physical disciplines.

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Ryan Ford: Coaching methods, talent hotbeds, and cryptocurrency →

Published July 17, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 17  ·  

Ryan Ford: Coaching methods, talent hotbeds, and cryptocurrency

What are the strategies and philosophies that guide building inclusive, innovative communities and leveraging multidisciplinary skills for growth?

Ryan Ford shares his thoughts on his Parkour EDU program, various coaching methods, and his experience of building a community. He discusses the idea of a talent hotbed, how and why it occurs, and how to apply those ideas, before delving into the world of crypto-currency. Ryan explains what crypto currency is, why he’s so interested in it, its potential for growth, and the similarities he sees between crypto and parkour.

The art of reinventing yourself and learning new skills is essential for the future.

~ Ryan Ford (23:16)

The conversation begins with an exploration of Ryan Ford’s work in developing a Parkour Strength for Adults program, which focuses on physical training as a gateway for adults into parkour. He explains his approach to making training scalable and welcoming, emphasizing community building through inclusive practices and partner interactions. The discussion touches on his inspiration from various movement disciplines and coaching methodologies, such as those by Ido Portal and Christopher Sommer.

Later, the conversation shifts to Ford’s interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. He highlights the parallels between parkour and crypto, such as decentralization, freedom, and global accessibility. Ford shares his experiments with using blockchain for parkour community projects, like decentralized bounties, and reflects on the potential of blockchain to democratize finance. The discussion concludes with reflections on balancing entrepreneurship, training, and innovation.

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Amos Rendao: Journaling, nutrition, and self talk →

Published July 10, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 10  ·  

Amos Rendao: Journaling, nutrition, and self talk

What does it take to balance creative passion, personal growth, and professional responsibility while navigating life’s unpredictable journey?

Amos Rendao reflects on what music means to him, flowing vs planning, and the benefits and importance of journalling. The conversation turns to the idea of success and what that means, before moving to Aikido, and information activism. Amos shares his insights on diet and nutrition, his journey with injuries and recovery, and how he manages self talk.

Journaling is such an important way to develop a relationship with yourself.

~ Amos Rendao (49:50)

The conversation covers the relationship between creativity, self-reflection, and structured productivity. Amos reflects on his deep connection with music, sharing how his early experiences in bands shifted to a hiatus as parkour and business took priority. He revisits his passion through home recording, finding renewed joy in music’s restorative power. This leads to broader discussions on the interplay between freeform exploration and the necessity of structure, reflecting on how Amos balances spontaneity with highly organized systems to maximize productivity.

Amos and Craig explore the transformative impact of journaling as a tool for self-awareness and growth. They discuss the challenges of maintaining consistency in habits, diet, and personal health while navigating entrepreneurial and athletic commitments. The dialogue also touches on the influence of aikido in shaping their movement practice, drawing parallels between martial arts and parkour. The broader theme highlights how embracing both structured goals and open-ended exploration can lead to deeper personal insight and development.

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Lynn Jung: Training, recovery, and goals →

Published July 3, 2019  ·  All posts on Jul 3  ·  

Lynn Jung: Training, recovery, and goals

How does moving to Brighton and experiencing injury influence an athlete’s approach to training, recovery, and personal growth?

Lynn Jung discusses Brighton, what it means to her, and how moving there affected her life. She unpacks how she approaches training, her movement background, and her journey of injury and recovery over the past few years. Lynn shares how she came to freerunning, her current projects, and her involvement with Storm Freerun and xDubai.

Then I moved to England where I didn’t know anyone other than my boyfriend which I think is a very hard situation to be in because you don’t always just want to spend time with one person. You need to have a broader network of people which was hard to build up first.

~ Lynn Jung (13:30)

The conversation focuses on Lynn Jung’s experiences moving to Brighton and how it shaped her personal and professional life. She shares how the move initially brought challenges, such as building a social network and dealing with the absence of indoor Parkour facilities. Despite these hurdles, Brighton eventually became her home, supported by a community of Freerunners who shared her lifestyle.

Lynn also reflects on the impact of injury, describing her recovery process and the mental shift it required. She explains how her injury led her to explore other physical activities like yoga and diving, broadening her understanding of movement. Professionally, Lynn discusses her involvement with Storm Freerun, her commercial work, and plans to develop skills in filmmaking and photography. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes the importance of community, resilience, and adaptability in navigating her athletic career.

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Feeding the mind →

Published June 28, 2019  ·  All posts on Jun 28  ·  

I wonder if there is such a thing in nature as a FAT MIND? I really think I have met with one or two: minds which could not keep up with the slowest trot in conversation; could not jump over a logical fence, to save their lives; always got stuck fast in a narrow argument; and, in short, were fit for nothing but to waddle helplessly through the world.

~ Lewis Carroll from, Feeding the Mind: Lewis Carroll’s Rules for a Fine Information Diet and Healthy Intellectual Digestion – The Marginalian

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What an interesting metaphor! Can a mind be overfed? Can a mind undergoing regular, additional exercise require more feeding? Are there different diets—composition of the nourishment, not strategies to lose weight—for the mind?

Am I the sort of person who takes seriously the specifics of nutrition and exercise of the mind?

What would “junk food” be for the mind? What would “comfort food” be for the mind? What’s the equivalent of quadrupedal movement for the mind? What would over-training be for the mind?

…and why do I have the urge to dump out the “cabinets” where I store my mind’s nourishment in order to reboot my mental diet?

No answers today. Only questions.

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