On this day

February 27th

Insight with Cristina Latici

17 Days Ago

Insight with Cristina Latici

What makes a great movement coach, and how do they balance structure, intuition, and individual learning styles to help students progress?

Teaching movement is as much about reading people as it is about teaching physical skills.

You have to wait— you just have to wait and see. It’s not always the right time to give feedback.

~ Cristina Latici (15:22)

The conversation explores the nuances of movement coaching, particularly in the context of parkour and dance. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding each student’s background and learning style, emphasizing observation over immediate correction. Cristina describes her approach, which involves assessing a student’s experience, allowing them space to explore, and offering small, precise adjustments when necessary. She reflects on the parallels between her parkour coaching and her past as a dancer, noting how both disciplines require a deep awareness of movement and the ability to convey complex physical concepts to others.

[Yoda and Luke] are having a conversation and Luke’s bitching, as usual. And Yoda says something to the effect of, “we are what they grow beyond.” And the point that’s being made is, if you’re a coach and you don’t make students who are better than you, you’re not a good coach.

~ Craig Constantine (22:04)

Another key theme is the role of community in movement practice. Cristina discusses how the group dynamic influences training, particularly when working with long-term students versus new participants. She also highlights the challenges of coaching adults versus children, explaining how her background in special education informs her patience and adaptability in coaching. The conversation touches on the idea of “touch” as an intuitive sense developed through movement practice, illustrating how familiarity with movement can enhance both safety and creativity.

Takeaways

Reading the student — A good coach observes and learns about each student’s background before offering guidance.

Holding back feedback — Immediate corrections aren’t always beneficial; sometimes students need space to explore movement on their own.

The role of community — A strong training group can create a supportive and engaging environment that extends beyond just learning new skills.

Differences in coaching adults vs. children — Adult students can be given more freedom, while children require more structured guidance.

Intuition in movement — Over time, practitioners develop an unconscious sense of movement that helps them adapt in unexpected situations.

Bringing past experience into coaching — Skills from other disciplines, like dance, can influence and enhance movement coaching.

Frameworks for structuring sessions — Having a strong guiding structure helps coaches tailor sessions to different groups and needs.

Personal growth through coaching — Teaching movement involves constant learning and adaptation, even for experienced coaches.

Adapting to different skill levels — Coaches must balance providing challenges with ensuring students feel comfortable and capable.

Flow and connection between movements — The ability to link movements seamlessly is a key part of high-level physical practice.

Resources

The Movement Creative — The parkour organization where Cristina coaches, offering outdoor movement training in New York City.

Gerlev Parkour Gathering — A well-known parkour event at Gerlev Idrætshøjskole Cristina mentions as a valuable training community.

Yamakasi — The original founders of parkour, mentioned in relation to training approaches.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Talent is bullshit

February 27, 2023

Marty is a death camp survivor. He’s got the tattoo. He never speaks about the experience directly (I only know through my friend Pablo, who originally introduced me to Marty) but he’ll make remarks from time to time whose gist is, “Appreciate life. Never complain. Work hard and do your best.”

Marty has one other mantra: “Talent is bullshit.”

~ Steven Pressfield from, “Talent is B.S.”

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It’s worth reading simply because Pressfield wrote it; He doesn’t write that much on his blog and so I make time to read it all. Marty (who is a fictionalized version of a real person Pressfield knew) consuls a tidy, four points. I was gut-punched to realize that while I excel at the last two, “Work hard and do your best,” and I suck at the first two, “Appreciate life. Never complain.” The complaining bit I have made reasonable progress on. These days I don’t often complain, and when I do complain I am able to see it’s ridiculous indignation at its core. But that first one, “Appreciate life,”… yikes! I seriously suck at that.

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Far more control

February 27, 2022

We have far more control in our lives than many embrace. We create or co-create our experiences in life, and each day is a new opportunity to be fully engaged in the present moment. It’s the present moment where glimpses of our potential are revealed and expressed. A living masterpiece is not drawn on a canvas or etched in stone or inked by pen. It’s the pursuit and expresssion of applied insight and wisdom.

~ Michael Gervais

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Control

February 27, 2022

We have far more control in our lives than many embrace. We create or co-create our experiences in life, and each day is a new opportunity to be fully engaged in the present moment. It’s the present moment where glimpses of our potential are revealed and expressed. A living masterpiece is not drawn on a canvas or etched in stone or inked by pen. It’s the pursuit and expresssion of applied insight and wisdom.

~ Michael Gervais

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I disagree with, “[w]e have far more control…” because clearly we actually have no—absolutely no—control. If that strikes you, I suggest you pause. Imagine something you have control of. Now imagine the scenario where your control is taken away. I’m not trying to scare you; there’s nothing here you don’t already know. All of the “control” is fleeting; that’s not actually control. That an illusion of control.

If I could change that quote I’d just quibble with that first, “control,” and suggest it be changed to “choice.” Because the rest of that quote is frickin’ powerful. Literally every person has choices. For me, my “worst case” choices are quite rosy. (“First World Problems” is the meme.) There are certainly people who are literally only able to choose among various evils.

The illusion of control is toxic. But the reality of choice is empowering.

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Reflection: Day 58

February 27, 2021

HUMILITY — Imitate Socrates.

Simply being is easy to understand but difficult to embody. In week six I tried to point at the moon, while hoping my pointing finger didn’t draw your attention instead.

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Arrived in the middle? Visit the first post, Where to begin?
(The entire series is available to download as a PDF ebook.)

The beginning of philosophy

February 27, 2020

The beginning of philosophy is this: The realization that there is a conflict between the opinions of men and a search for the origin of that conflict, accompanied by a mistrust towards mere opinion, and an investigation of opinion to see if it is correct opinion, and the discovery of a certain standard of judgement, comparable to the balance that we have discovered for determining weights, or the rule, for things straight and crooked.

~ Epictetus

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Don Beeson | Wilderness Survival and Evasion

February 27, 2019

On Castbox.fm — Don Beeson | Wilderness Survival and Evasion

What skills and experiences are gained when parkour practitioners apply principles of stealth, teamwork, and adaptation in unconventional environments?

Adapting to dynamic challenges creates opportunities for growth in unconventional environments.

I wanted to present a framework for civilians, who don’t normally have access to training that you would see with military personnel, to get a little bit of that hands-on, but in a fun way.

~ Don Beeson (0:54)

The conversation revolves around a unique training experience blending parkour with stealth and survival techniques, conducted during a leadership and education retreat in the Cascade Mountains. Participants engaged in skill sessions that introduced military-inspired strategies for stealth and evasion, culminating in night missions designed to apply these lessons in practice. These activities challenged attendees to slow down, communicate non-verbally, and adapt to unfamiliar environments.

The discussion also highlights specific moments from the night missions, such as encounters with a “monster” in a ghillie suit and the use of distraction tactics. Participants demonstrated creativity and teamwork, employing methods taught earlier in the day to achieve objectives. The experience underscored the value of applying parkour principles in new contexts, encouraging practitioners to explore stealth and adaptability beyond their usual environments.

Takeaways

The value of slowing down — Participants learned how deliberate, slow movement can be more effective in certain contexts than speed.

Stealth as a skill — Techniques for evasion and camouflage were introduced, demonstrating their practical and creative applications.

Non-verbal communication — The exercises emphasized teamwork through silent coordination, fostering new ways of interaction.

Adapting parkour to unconventional settings — Participants explored how parkour skills can extend beyond urban environments into stealth and evasion scenarios.

Confidence through mastery — Success in the missions built participants’ confidence in applying new techniques effectively.

Integration of fantasy and strategy — Incorporating creative elements like riddles and challenges enhanced engagement and problem-solving.

Resources

Parkour Leadership and Education Retreat — Annual event fostering skill development and community among parkour practitioners.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Scaf 101: Build 4, rail precisions

February 27, 2016

(Part 9 of 13 in series, Scaf 101)

This is a very stable, adjustable setup for learning rail precisions close to the ground.

Here’s the layout shot. The 1-foot pieces will be vertical.

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In this build, I’m going to use 3-foot braces incorrectly; I’m going to build them out-of-plane, where all the angles are just a bit off. Turns out it’s close enough to work because the brace pipes are 3-feet long. This wouldn’t work with shorter braces. (Look at it closely when you put it together to see what I mean.)

Here are closer layout shots of the two types of corners in this build. First, a corner with a brace:

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…and the corners without a brace. The upper clamp that holds the precision rail has an extra outlet we won’t be using.

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Put the 90° two outlet tees on the 7-foot bases. This is a little trick to make the pair on each pipe have matching alignments. This also makes their set screws super easy to tighten. Set the distance between the clamps (on each pipe) to be the distance of the precision you want to end up with in the finished setup.

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Put all the verticals in place. Since each of the elbows has an outlet I’m not using, I’ve turned them out/away from the jump-gap.

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Put the cross bars (the ones you’ll jump on) in place, and build the 3-foot braces. You can adjust the distance by loosening 3 set screws and sliding one side. (Another spot where you can use the wooden feet to prop up the ends of the 7-foot base pipes so yo can get at the set screws that are on the ground.)

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Minimum is about 2-feet, limited by the angle braces:

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…maximum is nearly 7-feet. If you never plan on going out to seven feet, you could also do the build using the other 5-foot pipes as bases. (Sorry about all my other scaf pipe sneaking into the shot. All of these builds I’m doing with just “the set” described in the beginning.)

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