How do movement, coaching, and family intersect to shape personal growth and relationships over time?
Chris Rowat and Shirley Darlington-Rowat discuss serendipity, coaching, and Chris’s work with the fire brigade. They share their thoughts on raising kids, setting aside time for family, and training and moving together. Shirley and Chris share their current struggles, some stories about their past, and how parkour has affected their relationship.
You should both be able to enjoy your lives. So if we enjoy training and it’s a part of our lives, we shouldn’t suppress that. We should just find ways to bring it all together.
~ Chris Rowat (31:27)
The conversation covers the intersection of parkour, family, and coaching, exploring how movement shapes personal relationships and growth. Chris and Shirley discuss serendipity, recalling stories of chance encounters and how unexpected moments influence their lives. They reflect on how their shared passion for parkour has not only shaped their relationship but also influenced how they raise their children, focusing on movement as play rather than formal practice.
[My son Tyler] didn’t see it as parkour, it was just movement. So he’d be in the play park and he’d maybe cycle on his bike to the climbing wall, climb up the little climbing wall, jump across a little piece of railing. He just moved. Movement is movement, right? So whatever [our daughter Indy] wants to do, she can do, if she doesn’t want to do parkour. She’ll do it naturally anyway because it’s normal for that too.
~ Shirley Darlington-Rowat (12:27)
Chris speaks about balancing his career with the London Fire Brigade and his role as a father, highlighting the discipline and adaptability required in both spheres. Shirley emphasizes the importance of maintaining personal movement practices during motherhood and reflects on how physical training can coexist with family life. The conversation weaves between stories of parenting, training, and the philosophy of finding balance and joy in movement.
Takeaways
Serendipity — Reflecting on how unexpected moments and connections shape experiences in life and movement.
Balancing movement and family — Finding ways to integrate training with raising children without forcing them into the same practices.
Coaching philosophy — Emphasizing personal connections and individual growth within group coaching environments.
Parkour as a relationship foundation — Sharing movement practice fosters honesty, mutual understanding, and emotional openness.
Postpartum training — The importance of patience, recovery, and adapting movement to suit physical changes.
Time management — Juggling careers, training, and parenting by focusing on effective, intentional practice within available time.
Resources
Parkour & Art du déplacement: Lessons in practical wisdom – Leçons de sagesse pratique — Vincent Thibault’s book referenced by Craig early in the conversation.
Parkour Generations — The organization where Chris and Shirley have been involved as coaches and athletes.
Rendezvous — The event where Chris and Shirley first met in 2008.
Yamakasi — A reference to the original parkour group, mentioned during Chris’s story about encountering Williams Belle.
London Fire Brigade — Chris’s current workplace, referenced throughout the conversation regarding his career transition.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
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