One of the great things about parkour is how it can give us something in common with people we might normally never get to know. We still have a lot of work to do when it comes to making parkour as inclusive as it could be, but I’m sure we can all think of someone who we’d have never crossed paths with, if it wasn’t for parkour. This instalment is an Edinburgh special, and even though we all live in the same small city, I have a sneaking suspicion that if it wasn’t for parkour, we would never have met these interviewees, and they would never have met each other.
The first Sweating the Small Stuff blog can be found here, if you’re wondering what all this is about: https://www.parkouroutreach.com/new-blog/sweating-the-small-stuff-pt1
This week, we’re lucky enough to have Maebh and Seb answering our questions. Maebh had her first parkour class about 2.5 years ago following in her kids’ footsteps. She told us: “I loved how playful and included I felt in the class. I went from one class a week to nine classes a week! Parkour has helped me work through a lot of emotional and physical issues. An abusive partner eroded my belief in my mind, body, and judgement so trusting myself to make good decisions and others to see my value has been difficult. Parkour practice and the open encouraging community has been incredible for building back my confidence in myself and others.
Maebh
In this photo, Maebh is in her natural habitat, smiling and climbing a tree. Maebh is surrounded by leaves, perched on a branch and is wearing dark joggers, a bright red top and and a bright orange headband. This photo comes courtesy of Access Parkour and @Garvey_PK
Before parkour I had physical complications after giving birth to my kids, and I have hypermobility syndrome. My doctor said I could not do sports anymore. Not even running for the bus was allowed. The pain got worse and my movement became more restricted as a consequence of inactivity. So when I first tried parkour I was nervous of doing myself a mischief. It may seem counter-intuitive but I now have far less pain than I had before parkour. With amazing coaching I have learned about physical longevity, strengthening the muscles around my joints to help support and stabilise them better, and how to avoid injury. I feel like I have learned so much about my own mind and body through parkour practice.”
Seb koci
An action shot of Seb in the air, preparing to land a tricky precision jump to a rail. Seb is in front of a red sandstone building, with one leg reaching out towards the landing. He’s wearing light trousers and dark top.
Seb likes big jumps and boogying. He’s travelled the world with Brewman but for some reason decided to move to a cold grey corner of Scotland. You can check out his big jumps in cold and warm climates on instagram @seb.brewman
Shout out to Access Parkour in Edinburgh for bringing Seb to Scotland and Maebh to parkour so we could get to meet them both :)
[INTERVIEW STARTS]
What’s the small thing you always do while out training, or should always do but forget?
Maebh: Joint mobility warm-up which I do usually always remember, even if training on my own. But this should be bookended with a stretch cool down which I rarely do out with a class environment. As when jamming or solo training I usually do one last try / challenged and then go for coffee or food etc… Having a light cooldown stretch is such a good time for me to do a body audit after training. Especially as I have Hypermobility, I can injure joints quite easily by going beyond useful range without it hurting me AT THE TIME. It is later on or another day I feel the pain. A gentle stretch cooldown not only helps mentally and physically wind down from the adrenaline of training. It also gives me a quiet check in with my joints to see if an ankle or shoulder has tightened of gotten clicky with the training I've done, so I can take care measures before it becomes painful.
Seb: A bonus rep! Once I bang out a new jump, I like to try and do one more for luck. It helps refine the tech and make the challenge feel complete. Although due to complacency or laziness it doesn’t always happen. Movement-wise, I always try to build in some pistol squats to make sure my knees are feeling good before taking any impact.
What small thing do you always make sure you have with you?
Maebh: Tissues, outdoor training makes my nose run, so even before the pandemic I ensured I had tissues for me and others; Lip balm and water for hydration comfort; Antibacterial gel or wipes for basic wound cleaning / if you end up with your hands on a gross surface and now pandemic reasons; and Phone in case you want to record any of your training is the bare minimum. If I'm training with my kids I also have to have snacks, phone chargers and payment card to cover any other eventuality.
Seb: For training, a speaker. Music brings a lot of energy to a session but I hate training with headphones. It’s good to have music on in the background with friends. So long as you’re not being an obnoxious nitty about it 😉
What small thing do you know will always affect your training?
Maebh: Mood, emotional state and other things going on in my life always affect my training for good or bad. It is not something I try and deny or avoid but it is important to be aware of just how big an emotional baggage you have on your back when out training. As it can be like a virtual weight or obstacle for you to work on. Or if you are mega happy as you are out training with friends, judging yourself by their progress, you could push yourself too far to keep up or level up. Personally I know I am more likely to hold myself back when training than push too hard because of how emotional pressures affect my confidence.
Seb: Who I’m with can affect me, especially in changing what I’m interested in training on any one day. With some people, it’ll be more playful, but with others it’s more challenge-based. On my own I tend to do more drill or challenge based training.
What small thing do you focus on or try to remember when you hit training plateaus?
Maebh: I remind myself how far I have come with my physical strength, movement, and confidence. If I can stretch for movement it is likely that comes from natural ability or my Hypermobilty condition. If I can do a strength, power or control movement then it is hard fought and hard won and I remind myself of those achievements. It may not be impressive along side someone else's movement but compared to where I was a few years ago my progress has been huge. I regularly reflect on what I can do now that seemed impossible before, so that encourages me to work towards more movement progress.
Seb: Switching things up helps a lot. I try and find enjoyment in a different type of skill, it doesn’t have to even be training. Sometimes you’ve just got to shift your energy onto something else and then come back. And don’t be too hard on yourself! Flips were a big focus for me last time I felt I was plateauing.
What small thing has helped you cope with injury in the past (or now)?
Maebh: Focusing on what movement you are able to do with your injury, not just pining for what you can't do. Because I have hypermobility I can get joint injuries quite frequently and without even a dramatic fall etc… When I first started handstand practice for example I threw one of my hips out of place just kicking up to handstand. So for six months or so I could only kick up with my good leg. But I worked on strengthening the muscles around the joint on my bad leg so that I can now kick up equally on both sides. Even when you are injured, do still go out to training with friends even if you are only there for the social side of training, as that is important too. There are still non-impact challenges that you may still be able to take part in like balance, handbalance, bridging challenges or just encouraging your pals as they train.
Seb: I guess, similar to the last question. Try to find something else to put your energy into, and hopefully if it’s an injury there are other things you can do that aren’t too debilitating. Find some satisfaction in something else, you know? I’ve started to really enjoy rail strides recently because my elbow’s bust at the moment.
What small thing has helped you cope with the pandemic in the past year?
Maebh: Balance is my go to skill when solo training which has been more common during the pandemic. It helps with my confidence, focus, control and strength building. Its also something I can work on in doors at home. Handstands, single foot conditioning exercises and crawling and plank variations are all possible at home. I know that balance together with strength and conditioning training is my investment for future control, strength and power gains when we get back to 'normal' training.
Seb: Lockdown to start with was hard, I couldn’t find the want to really go out and challenge myself. I didn’t feel like getting too send-y or taking big risks but working on floor flow was good and really helped me when I started doing more flips with it. Recently, I’ve gotten quite into kendama. Has a similar focus and satisfaction to training and scratches the itch that you get from scrolling insta but it’s a nicer way to get some endorphins.
[INTERVIEW ENDS]
Come back next week for the final Sweating the Small Stuff blog. We hope you’ve got as much out of reading this wee series as we did putting it all together, and look forward to learning and sharing together again in person one day soon.