NZPA Instructor Insights

Two Street Conversations

2011-09-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

I had the following conversation on a street in a busy portion of Wellington the other day:

Bystander: “I’m not going to pay your ACC bill when you injure yourself.”

Max: “Haha. There’s actually a lot of training behind it. Like we do thousands of smaller jumps at ground level, and a lot of training for your legs to handle the impact like that, such as lots of squats and--”

Bystander: (cuts me off) “You’re a f***ing idiot, that’s what you are.”

As he walked off I had the urge to ask him if he realised he was currently smoking a cigarette, and yet he was calling me an idiot. Go figure, sometimes society has very strange views of health and what the norm is. I went back to training and he went back to, I assume, being a bitter old man.

Don’t let people tell you what you can’t do. Put your energy into doing rather than complaining.

A few days earlier on the waterfront, I had another conversation with another stranger. This time it went differently:

Stranger: “That’s amazing. You make it look so easy and graceful.”

Max: “Thanks.”

Stranger: “You must do a lot of training.”

Max: “Oh yea.There’s actually a lot of training behind it. Like we do thousands of smaller jumps at ground level, and a lot of training for your legs to handle the impact like that, such as lots of squats and weights and running. That sort of thing. You build up to jumps over time so you understand completely where the limits of your ability are. That's how you can do big jumps without getting hurt. Like as safely as most people can do something such as step down a gutter.”

Stranger: “What do you call this?”

Max: “Parkour. It’s a French term.”

Stranger: “Wow this is amazing. I didn’t realise anyone did it in Wellington. I teach my children to do parkour at a kindergarten. They really, really love it. They’re so natural at it.”

Max: "Wow really? You teach it at a kindergarten?”

Stranger: “Yea just in the playground. The kids love it. We started teaching it so it’s supervised and safe, after they started doing it at play by themselves. It’s hard to keep up with ideas to give them as they just keep climbing things.”

Max: “That’s epic. Most kids these days aren’t allowed to do that. Like as a kid you naturally climb things and develop your body and learn how your body works, but somewhere along the way of growing up you become conditioned to not to use your desire to move over things like that in a different way.”

Stranger: “Yes there’s so much bubble-wrapping of children these days that it’s harmful. Most parents are over-protective. Their children never learn to enjoy exercise.”

Max: “Yea yea I absolutely agree. Anyone can come out here and exercise on the street for free or climb trees for free, but people see it as something strange and wrong. I’m a member of the NZ Parkour Association,” I pointed to my awesome, swank NZPA tshirt “We teach classes as well. Have done a few at schools, if you’re interested.”

After talking for a bit more I got the impression that she wasn’t interested in doing classes with the NZPA, but she was extremely excited about seeing someone my age who could do what her children could do but on a bigger and more impressive scale without getting hurt. And she repeatedly mentioned how much her kids loved doing all of it. She ended up filming me to show to her kids. I liked that meeting, it gave me a buzz for the rest of the day.

Just thought I’d share two very different views and attitudes of what was me doing the exact same thing. Only allow people to influence you in a positive way.

I believe if you can learn to overcome difficult physical obstacles, making impressive feats look like child’s play, then your self-confidence soars and you understand that you can overcome obstacle in other areas of life which aren't physical. I only wish I started at an earlier age. Sport training done right can set you up for life with character and discipline.

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Max Bell

Wellington Instructor

Shin Splints

2011-09-05T03:25:00.000-07:00

Let’s talk about shin splints. If you’ve been around the parkour community, or any other sport for that matter, you’ve likely heard the term “shin splints” thrown around. And you’ve likely heard them cursed and complained about and even seen people quit training because of them. They could probably be, from what I’ve experienced anyway, the most common injury from parkour. So what exactly are they?

What are shin splints?

Shin splints are an overuse injury resulting from too much force on the tibia (the main shin bone) and the connective tissue surrounding it. They are felt as a dull ache in the lower tibia, which can manifest either in the front, inside, or outside face of the bone. The tibia is commonly recognized as the strongest weight bearing bone in the body... or in other words, your body better be conditioned to handle the immense weight placed on it through parkour otherwise you’re going to damage your shins. Even though the pain of them is usually dull, they can with continuing trauma become so extreme as to hurt whenever you take a step and force you to stop exercising altogether.

Unlike a traumatic injury such as a broken bone or something that can be avoided if you’re smart and cautious in your training, shin splints are an insidious injury that sneak up on you. They are so horrible simply because they build up over time, even if you train well with every intention of avoiding injury. Personally, I’ve had them and I’m still in the process of fully recovering from them. Every now and then, if I train for two or three days in a row, my shins become tender and painful until I rest. They have to be one of the biggest things holding me back in terms of my parkour. I know people who’ve stopped parkour because of them and I know people who’re currently dealing with overcoming them. So I think it’s about time someone writes about them in a blog post.

From my own amateur research I gather that the exact nature and cause of shin splints is not fully understood, which makes dealing with them even more frustrating as different experts may offer completely different advice. But bear with me as l go over some of the information I understand about them.

What causes shin splints?

They are usually caused by a sudden increase in exercise, especially exercise that puts extreme pressure on the legs with sudden stops and starts (ie exactly what we do in parkour). Increasing exercise too quickly and having too little recovery time beyond the limit your tendons and muscles are conditioned for causes them to become fatigued, which may then lead to higher pressure being applied to the connective tissue, then to the attachment of the connective tissue to the tibia bone, and finally to the tibia itself eventually resulting in injury.

Shin splints are common in runners and sports performed on hard surfaces and since we’re practicing parkour primarily on concrete, we need to be aware of the possible issues that go along with our chosen activity. A contributing factor to their cause can be biomechanical irregularities such as flat feet, muscle imbalances, or bad posture. In my case they were caused by starting exercise with undiagnosed flat feet, which I’ve since strengthened and corrected now. I know it’s stressed everywhere and no one pays attention, but it does pay to see a doctor before starting a new form of exercise. It would have saved me, if a doctor had picked up on my feet, a lot of trouble.

A controversial topic which may be another contributor to shin splints is using incorrect footwear. However, the issue of footwear and correct running technique is something that should be examined in depth in another post so I don’t want to get into it here. Just be aware that changing to training in minimalist footwear if you’ve been using padded sports shoes your whole life can be a factor in causing shin splints.

How to treat shin splints?

Developing strong muscles, tendons, and proper technique etc from the very start of your training should be paramount in avoiding shin splints. You can do this by building up your parkour slowly and wisely. Have a read over the article Dilution (http://www.parkourgenerations.com/article/dilution) if you haven’t read it for a slap in the face to make you rethink the way you’re training. If however you’re already experiencing shin splints then the smartest thing to do is not to repeat the mistakes that have lead to the injury.

If you have them, taking a total break from any impact training is advisable as it allows your shins to recover and heal. However I understand all too well that for athletes the mental torture of taking a break may beworse than the physical pain of continuing through an injury. So taking relative rest is a more feasible option that involves staying active with exercise that won’t worsen shin splints, such as upper body strength or skill training, or non-impact cardio like bicycling or swimming. Also a conditioning program of targeted stretching and strengthening should be followed. Search YouTube for shin splint exercises and you’ll find good example exercises.

To lesson the pain, anti-inflammatory medications and ice can help. However, these won’t correct the underlying causes and you’re only setting yourself up to experience ongoing problems and pain. Again, strengthening your body is the answer.

A problem you may encounter in dealing with shin splints is that many experts are going to recommend you either stop running altogether, avoid running on concrete surfaces, or prescribe some orthotic shoe insert that’s going to immobilise your feet. The reason I believe all this advice is bad is because it’s another way of telling you to stop exercising, and thus making you even weaker and more likely to become injured or sick in the future.

You should always seek expert advice if you’re having problems with any injury. Find a good physiotherapist in your city and listen to their advice. In Wellington I recommend Willis Street Physiotherapy (http://www.willisstreetphysiotherapy.co.nz/).
I’m not affiliated with them in any way, but they are the people who treated my shin splints and I was very happy with their service as well as surprised to find the physiotherapist I saw very aware and understanding of what parkour is about. I’m not an expert by any means so have at it in the comments if you disagree with anything I’ve written.

Remember “to be, and to last” is one of the underpinning philosophies of parkour. The goal of your parkour journey should be to make you stronger, healthier and more confident - ie “to last”. Going too hard and becoming injured is in direct opposition to overcoming long-term obstacles.

References:

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Max Bell

Wellington Instructor

Year One

2011-09-05T00:51:00.000-07:00

April 2011 saw the New Zealand Parkour Association (NZPA) turn a year old and what a year it has been! Firstly I want to send out a special thank you to all those involved with the development of the NZPA. Whether that was directly through contribution or indirectly through support, either way, the association is what it is because of you.

The NZPA's main goal is to teach and develop Parkour in New Zealand and I am really proud of the way our community has stepped up to the plate in taking on this responsibility. Over the last year classes have developed across the country from Auckland to Invercargill with great success. We have had many experienced practitioners take on the role of being an instructor over the past year and its really great to see their passion for Parkour shine through as they volunteer their time to this cause.

Since classes have started we have started to see the abundance of talent out there waiting to be discovered. It is amazing to see that so many people are interested in our discipline and it is awesome to see so may people from different walks of life take up Parkour. I think one of the most positive things that we are seeing happen is how accepting and supportive the people of New Zealand are becoming of Parkour. This is really important as a major part of developing Parkour in New Zealand depends on how it is received by its non-practitioners. We have had numerous groups/organizations contact us wanting to be involved with us in some shape or form, along with some positive media attention too.

I think we are really blessed to have such a tight knit Parkour community here in New Zealand and it is beautiful to see practitioners always opening up their homes and taking care of one another in their travels. It's rad that so many people are getting out there and strengthening the ties in the Parkour community.

This past year has really been a growing year for the community. Although we had guidance from our neighbouring community, the Australian Parkour Association (APA), we didn't exactly know what role the NZPA was going to play. Now that we have had this year to test the waters, we have a clear idea of what the community needs are and how to go about fulfilling them. It has given us the time to really understand the uniqueness of our community and now we are able to pave our own path.
Again, thank you all for making New Zealand Parkour what it is and supporting the development of our association. I look forward to seeing what this next year brings.

Cheers,

Ryan Mattingley

Wellington Instructor