​It's been a long time... almost 10 years since the last post, and even longer since our last Jubilee. Things have changed, and things have stayed the same.

The people have gone through many changes, but the fundamentals of parkour have remained:

• Be strong to be useful
• Progress with purpose
• Grow with longevity in mind
• Embrace play and creativity
• Build community

I had reached a point where I was so burned out on parkour I didn't care if I ever did it again. I turned to other physical pursuits: martial arts (a return to that after nearly 20 years away!), yoga, scuba diving (love!), and of course just your generic garden-variety fitness training. And frankly, there were quite a few stretches in that 10 years away from parkour that I literally did nothing physical. My body-mind just didn't want to. And that was OK also.

But then I noticed that the mental part of parkour never left me. I'd just been ignoring it for a while because I needed to set down the load of all of it. I needed a moment of rest in my training. I figured the door had closed on parkour forever, and I was OK with that. Until it started coming back to whisper in my ear. I'd be going about my daily life and get a flash of "parkour vision" when walking past a stairway: seeing routes in my head and actually feeling my muscles twitch as if I were doing the route. 


I'll be honest, my parkour vision had vanished for a few months before I stepped away from parkour, so getting it back was a wonderful experience, like, "Hello, old friend."

I've spent the past year or so really exploring deeply in my heart what this all means and what my relationship to parkour is to be going forward. I've gotten really clear on which people in my parkour past have been constructive and uplifting, and which have been toxic and destructive; and I've also gotten clear on how some destructive mental patterns I had were affecting me during the height of my training.

I also got in touch with some folks who are passionate about movement and parkour -- some of whom came up through Wisconsin Parkour's program back in the day. I'm so glad to reconnect with these folks and see all the great things they're doing for parkour - and support their visions in any way I can.

I'm not sure what this means in terms of exactly what Wisconsin Parkour will do or be going forward, but I do know this:

• We will lead with heart
• We will return to training
• We are (re)building new partnerships
• What's important is the movement

I'm going to return slowly, but it sure feels good to be back. Turns out I just needed to take some rest & recovery days.

​Structured classes tend to be more focused on skills and techniques: developmentally inappropriate for most kids under the age of 7 or 8; or they are focused on exposing children to what a certain type of activity (dance, gymnastics, soccer, etc.) is like: how to line up, how to listen to the coach and follow instructions, how to move creatively, etc. While the latter is more developmentally appropriate, it still denies the child the ability to do the introspective work necessary for knowing her own body, understanding his feelings surrounding risk, etc. To quote Sonja Lukassen, of the Ottawa Forest and Nature School, “Taking a risk looks different for each individual, and shifts based on a great variety of factors. The need to listen to our bodies and brains remains the same- if something doesn’t feel right, it makes sense to pause and take a closer look. If something does feel right, if it feels safe and fun and perhaps even exciting, go for it.” Putting children in structured physical activities too soon deprives them of this critical opportunity to learn how to listen to their bodies and brains, and understand their own landscape of risk.

I would encourage any parent whose child shows interest in parkour (or whose child, without mentioning parkour directly, is one of those kids who is “always jumping and running and climbing”) to take a deep breath, and look for ways to encourage their children’s development of autonomous risk-assessment and creativity in these types of movement. It can be scary to watch your little one climb up the slide, or swing from high above the monkey bars, but each of these experiences is an opportunity for your child to know his or her own body better, and to develop rich brain-body connections with regard to risk, thoughtful behavior, measured decision-making, and self-confidence. The easiest way to do this is to follow your child in the activity: “Wow you are climbing so high! That looks fun and also a little scary. I’m going to try it with you!” and climb on up!

In addition, the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada suggests that parents limit the use of the phrase, “Be careful!” instead, be more specific with your direction, applying it to the situation at hand, for example, if your child is climbing higher than you are comfortable, instead of saying “Be careful,” you can invite your child to “Stay focused on what you’re doing,” or ask your child, “Do you feel safe there?” These types of statements validate the physical activity while at the same time modeling appropriate self-awareness and risk-assessment behaviors for your child. This is critical for raising wise, resilient, courageous children.

If you have an active child who seems to do parkour naturally, wonderful! If you are able to allow her to cultivate that through natural, unstructured play, using some of the tips mentioned here (and in the  resources linked below), so that she is still excited about parkour when she is around the age of 11 or 12, then it’s time to start her in structured parkour classes.

If you’re not sure you’re up for fully embracing “risky” play for your younger child, seek out a parkour class for kids that emphasizes:

• free play and creative exploration of the environment
• active, imaginative physical games (such as tag, or “How many stuffed animals can we rescue from this maze before the monster gets you?”)
• non-calisthenic physical challenges (“Can you balance on this railing?”)
• skills instruction that emphasizes creativity and imagination over technique drills (“Let’s try to move silently like ninjas!” vs. an explanation of quiet landing technique and a repetitive drill)
• child-centered decision-making (“try to get over this box in whichever way your body wants you to”)
• actively modeled risk-assessment (“Do you feel safe there?”)
• respect for the child’s sense of limits (i.e. does not force the child to do a movement or jump that they feel is too risky for them)

That said, though, you may be inspired to try outdoor physical play with your child! In a future post I will talk about who parkour is “for” (hint: everyone!), and what “type” of person can do parkour (hint: everyone!), which may come in handy if your little monkey inspires you to join in the fun!

Stay Balanced,
​Alissa