To soon be completed (completed)
Update 5/24: Completed!! This was meant to be completed over the span of five weeks but due to my built up intimidation of the last kong, it's been delayed until today.
Freeway stair gap
Also known as Tyson's Cat, what's scary about this gap is the potential face-breaking fall onto a concrete stairway if you bounce off of the cat.
progress:
This was the obstacle that set me off to create this goal list. A week before I finally did it I covered Rafe's level 3 class and the theme happened to be fear training. I noticed I had a lot of encouraging words and helpful pep-talks to motivate the students to overcome their fear, but kind of felt hypocritical because I haven't been conquering any of my own fears lately. I've gotten to a point in my training where I've become comfortable with my own movement and could do fairly impressive things in the gym almost effortlessly, so I thought the next step was to take that confidence outdoors and tackle obstacles I've been afraid but knew I was capable. Training the mental aspects of parkour. It's an odd feeling knowing you are capable of doing something but being afraid of actually doing it, my goal is to cut through the fear and connect the dots of knowing what I can do and doing it.
---
Freeway descending cat
I've seen a picture of someone doing this jump at the Summit jam. The distance is just at the fringe of my range and the most difficult part is allowing myself to fall a little bit to a descending cat - the worse kind of cat...
progress:
This one wasn't all to difficult, the tricky part was getting my feet to absorb enough of the impact so I'd stop bruising my palms. This was a good practice in judging how far my broad-jump would take me and trusting my body to react once I started falling.
---
Silo Jump
progress:
Haha, okay, this was pretty terrifying. I was able to make the distance a couple of times but can't say I was completely conscious during each jump. I only remember charging at full-speed then miraculously landing on the silo. Of course technique brought me across, but I wasn't able to slow myself down and focus even as I attempted the fourth jump (second clip in the video above), which was actual the least successful of all attempts. This has been one of my greatest accomplishments, especially because my running jump used to be horrific. Next step is to stay calm while soaring.
---
Rail precision
A simple tac (or stride) to precision. I have a feeling that this will be very easy once I commit to jumping, but have always been apprehensive about railings - they're kind of akward to bail out of.
My railing precision and ability to stay calm if I slip up has been improving.
progress:
I've tried this gap almost a year ago and failed miserably. Kellen Fujimoto took a picture of me in midair and the photo says it all; one eye open and only one hand reached out. Ended up smashing my chin on the concrete lip and rolling my ankle a little on the landing.
- Lesson learned that day: don't do crazy things you aren't confident you can do. There's a difference between the fear that comes from something you haven't done but know you're capable of, and fear of doing something stupid...
progress;
