Precisions in Paradise

Week 9: Vacation Continued
Friday afternoon, I spent a few hours training with three members of the local parkour & freerunning team on the island.  The guys picked me up and we headed towards a nearby shopping/eating/business/etc. complex.  It's called a "town" on the website but I'm not convinced.  It looked more like a giant ritzy complex to me.  Anyways, it was right on the water (absolutely beautiful) and there were lots of walls of varied height along the docks, some railings, and some trees to swing around in.  Here's a picture of part of the area: Camana Bay.

I mostly worked a bunch of fun but challenging precision jumps, getting comfortable with new distances and mixed heights.  I also got a little too well-acquainted with the feeling of coral rock in my hand.  I was leaning back too much on one of my jumps so I started to fall off the wall.  I should've pushed off so I could land on my feet, but I thought I could catch myself with my hands.  I ended up just falling backwards while keeping my grip so I was upside down like a bumbling bat.  I managed to swing my legs to the side and somehow land upright on the boardwalk beneath me.  Falling is definitely a skill.  I always do it in the strangest of ways.  I survived with only a minor cut on my hand from the nasty coral wall.  Such a pretty surface, but it slices viciously.

We hit a few different spots in the "town"/complex, ending with a picturesque grassy area with wide stone steps in between the grass and trees that produce seagrapes.  While climbing, I got to taste these yummy little snacks.  We had fun jumping down the steps to a branch that probably wasn't really strong enough to hold us and swinging to the other branches around the tree.  I was excited I was able to move from branch to branch without pausing for a swing.

Occasionally, throughout our training session, one of the guys would get that look in their eye—a new idea brewing.  We'd step back and let them try their new challenge before following suit.  I love training like this.  Just going out, playing with your environment, challenging yourself, and each other, with new ways to get through the obstacles around you. I felt totally relaxed and happy, even while sweating buckets in the hot Caribbean sun.

We finished up when I realized that my parents were probably starting to wonder if I'd been kidnapped or was in the hospital since I'd conveniently left my cellphone in the car.  Oops.  Heading back towards the condos where I was staying, we stopped when we saw some empty tents with CrossFit bars set up. A little too tempting for us.  We played for a few minutes until a woman came over to tell us that this was private property and we couldn't be there.  Of all the places to get kicked out.  A CrossFit gym.  Oh well.  We politely scampered off and headed to Smoothie King to end our workout with the perfect meal.  Afterwards, the guys dropped me off and said goodbye.  I told them to come to DC sometime to train with us.  We'll see if we meet again!

I'm really glad I was able to train with them, even for a few hours.  I wasn't quite at their level especially when it comes to tricks or fearlessness, which I realized when they casually asked if I had done any roof gaps.  How do I answer that? No, I don't spend my time trying to get arrested.  No, I don't have a good set of roofs to practice on.  They didn't hold it against me.  We still had a lot of fun together, and they were impressed with me for keeping up (mostly).  It's good for me to train with people more advanced than I am because it drives me to push myself.

I also love learning from other traceurs.  Everyone has their own perspective or technique, and their own reason for training parkour.  It's interesting to see how different people incorporate it into their lives and how it's impacted them.  You'd be surprised how many people have told me that parkour has made them a more peaceful and positive person overall.  I also think it's so cool that I could connect with the parkour community even on a tiny Caribbean island.  Hopefully I'll be back someday, but for now I had to leave this paradise behind and return home.  To 65 degrees and rain.  Thanks, DC.  Good to be back.

Here are a few photos from our session, courtesy of Flo-Motion Parkour & Freerunning:

Playing in the trees with the seagrapes

Balance

The take-off

Mid-jump