Whenever parkour would pass through my mind,
I would imagine people leaping from roof to roof top
doing crazy flips and jumping over things twice their
height. I began to fancy myself as spiderman – spiderwoman,
saving Bendites from danger in my spidey
suit.
I through on some exercise clothes and headed
out the door to this mysterious arena of parkourness
known as Smith Martial Arts. I expected to walk
through the door to find myself in the company of
super fit parkour people ready to jump off something
into a flip at any given moment. Being of small stature
with very little arm strength, I’ll confess; I was intimidated.
Well, I’m already here, I thought, might as well
go in there and give it my best shot.
Welp. Here goes nothing!
There I stood, with the rest of the class of about 6
or 7, all different ages, shapes, sizes and skill levels.
The atmosphere had a light-hearted, humorous feel
to it. No judgment, just a gathering of people there
to learn or practice the sport of parkour. The instructors
were friendly and humble. They assured us that
making mistakes or falling down is okay. One of them
even admitted to breaking quite a few toes, numerous
times… ouch! As they began to recall stories of the
falls they endured and the bones they had broken, I
cringed. They had endured pain I could not even fathom,
yet there they stood, continuing to practice and
teach parkour…
They taught us how to jump further, land smoother
and keep our balance. Easy enough, right?
Not for everyone. As most people know, what
comes easy to one person may not be a walk in the
park for the next.
I left Smith Martial Arts with a fresh perspective of
the outside world and myself, my capabilities. I had
faced yet another fear! Not even 3 days of sore muscles
from the fun, but vigorous exercise of parkour
could deter me from practicing this again; I wouldn’t
have traded my experience for the world.
Alyssa Heyman | The Broadside
(Contact: [email protected])