Conditioning Through Motion.

All of us at one point or another have been attracted and perhaps participated in a variety of physical activities/disciplines that appeal to us for one reason or another. Whether it is because of the physical results we get from it, the rush of adrenaline or plain and simple because they are fun, they all helped us develop abilities that only needed to be awakened .

I have had the fortune of being able to participate in several of my disciplines, most of them activities of motion. Ever since I found parkour I got stuck on it, being my main way of training, a hobby and also my life style. However, I have come to realize that several of the activities I have been part of in the past, although, in my opinion, not as fulfilling, fun and rewarding as I find parkour to be, they all offer other possibilities for movement; a variety of ways of motion that has been left out or put on pause since I started parkour. I will dare to say that I am not the only one who has done so.

We find parkour to be a very complete and functional discipline. The conditioning and preparation to be able to perform well is pretty much all we need to stay in top shape. But being a student of motion, there are always many more opportunities to develops skills that, although not being entirely necessary for our training, they still help the body adapt to different situations at any point in time, making us react quickly and effectively while our bodies keep control. They work on other areas we might not find another way to emphasize on and they also keep the body and mind in constant challenge and in constant evolution towards a stronger being.

We get hung up on putting a titles on a move, naming a discipline and even argue about what it is that we do. Well, let me help you out just a bit. Who cares really about what he/she/they choose to do? This we all do, is plain and simple and? called motion, movement. Regardless of the discipline, regardless of what we feel it means to us and regardless of what it is actually intended to, it all falls into a category, a category that needs no explanation, no definition. It is born with us, wired deep within our brains and will stay with us as long as we have limbs. It all falls into motion, natural movement.

The hunger for discovering what we are capable of has been with us ever since the beginning of man kind, when we had the actual need to move, to be fast and effective in our feet and stay focused, calm and strong in our minds while hunting, or even being hunted. Abilities that have stayed with us in order to survive. As only the stronger was able to make it, our race grew stronger and faster, therefore taking over all the animal kingdom as the stronger and smarter of the species'.

We are still smart, but are we strong? In this modern technology, where everything is put in front of us, that need for movement is no longer an urge or an actual necessity. We have come to evolve weaker, slower, heavier and lazier.

We see it everywhere, on the streets, dozens of obese people, people who could not be able to run even if their life depended on it. We see it on TV, "buy this" or "buy that" "You wont have to do this/that anymore" "It'll make your job easier" No more back problem" No more reaching that far" blah blah etc etc. Lazy, convenient, weak.... blah!

It is our natural instinct that thrives to move, then we make the choice, how we move and why we do it. That is all that matters, that we follow our primal need for motion and keep it alive. Whatever it is that you choose to do, do it with passion, discipline and dedication. Do it for yourself, treat your body with respect, reward when it performs well and punish it with intense conditioning when it doesn't, because that is what it is asking from you. Preparation, "play" and discovery. Keep it challenged and it will repay you in time.