Week 81
One of the girls that I trained with at European Girls Parkour Day, A, lives in Paris and she invited me to come train with her at one of the well-known spots in Paris— Dunois. You can check out the spot in this video. Not only was it an awesome spot, but there were also tons of people there. I'm used to a very small community in the U.S. Not even in the numbers but in the sense that everybody knows each other. If I go to a park in Washington, D.C. and see someone doing parkour, I probably know who they are. And there's probably not more than 6-10 of us, if that, unless it's an organized event.
The other day at this spot in Paris, there were at least 20 traceurs there just to train and hangout. It wasn't organized. They weren't all best friends. They were all just there. I felt silly being excited by this but I mean seriously, how cool is it that there are that many people who do parkour on any random afternoon in a little corner of Paris? I loved it! I met some of the guys and made friends with this kid, B, who taught us how to do a wall spin. A wanted to learn them so we just spent hours jumping and spinning against a wall.
I can't remember the last time I picked one skill like that and just said, I'm going to stay here and train until I master this. Usually I'm too busy to do that. I have to go to class, I have to go to the grocery store, I don't have time, etc. but on this day, I had the whole afternoon free and I could just focus on parkour. So that's exactly what I did. I stayed glued to that wall until I could spin. I started using two hands going to the left. Once I mastered that, I moved on to the right side. What's the point in learning a skill if you can't do it on both sides?
Once I mastered both sides, B told me to do it with one hand. I laughed nervously. Okay, fine, I'll try it. The first time I went for it, my chest was too far forward and I went flying towards the ground, but I managed to right myself by spinning in circles until I was vertical again. Following my momentum can look really funny and awkward sometimes, but it usually works. Excited by getting so close, I kept trying until I got it. By the end of the session, I was doing it on one hand to the left and to the right. Mission. Accomplished. What's next?
I love learning new things. It sounds so silly and cliché, but there's really nothing quite like it. It's that feeling when you're presented with something you can't do at all (at the time) and then you leave having completely mastered it. Whether it's a jump that seemed out of reach, a balance challenge that was kicking your ass, or a new skill like spinning around on a wall, it is such an amazing feeling to learn a new trick. It's like being a little kid again and running home to your parents telling them you scored a goal in your soccer game. Guys, guess what I did?! I did it! I really did it! Seriously, I sound and look exactly like that child when I learn something new. And it's the best.
Hopefully I can train with these guys again soon. It was so much fun and I just loved seeing so many traceurs out and about in the city!
