The Motley Mario Crew

Today's boring topic is...yep, you might have guessed it, parkour. More specifically, our parkour crew here in Taipei. One of the great things about training parkour with a group is that everyone brings something different to the table. Both in terms of personality/character and skill sets. Everyone has their own strengths, weakness, specialty, knowledge, etc. This is especially true of a group like ours, where our members are compromised from diverse sources. To exemplify my meaning, I'll give a brief breakdown of our 'core' members. 'Core' being a loose term that has nothing to do with skill level...merely my judgment of how often they train and how committed they are. In no particular order...

Sona "hei ren" - Sona's kind of the granddaddy of parkour in the Taipei area. Of our group, he is the most experienced and most skilled. In spite of his flashy wushu background, his parkour exhibits great technique and power in even the most basic of movements. Skills aside, Sona's greatest contribution to the group is his role of teacher. He is a great source of knowledge (with solid examples to boot) and is always helping others push themselves.

Josh "spiderman" - though relatively new to parkour, having only started training once he discovered this group in Taipei sometime this year, Josh is always a great source of determination and eagerness. It's clear that Josh has always had the parkour spirit in him, as is evident upon witnessing his specialty: climbing stuff. This fool loves to climb trees, lampposts, etc. straight up. Josh also has some of the coolest looking wipeouts ever, from which he always rebounds quickly.

A-wei "bill" - a-wei is another beginner, having only started a month or two ago. However, a-wei has an unstoppable will and seizes every opportunity possible to train. He's learning quickly (as well as getting in shape), and it's becoming clear that he's naturally adept at the 'flow' side of things. He may not know many techniques yet, once he's like a graceful charging rhino, once he sees a line he doesn't stop until he has run his course. A-wei also has some of the coolest sounding wipeouts ever, from which he also always rebounds quickly. If we could combine the visuals of Josh's spills and the audio of A-wei's....it'd be perfect entertainment.

Xiao Cuo "xiao pengyou" - is a walking, talking monkey. he started training with sona maybe a year and a half ago or so, so he is one of the more experienced members. He's also the most committed taiwanese youngster we have in the area, and could do a lot to shape the face of parkour in taiwan. Unfortunately, he's wrapping up his senior year of high school, so time for training does not come often for him these days. When he is there, his presence is highlighted by boundless energy.

Jeffrey " a-wei number 2" - Jeff's a friend of a-wei's that just started training with us recently. He has no previous experience, however learning the movements are coming pretty naturally to him as he is a b-boy (breakdancer). His b-boy background leads to some unique traits in his parkour movements, which we could all learn from...namely, his smooth style and flair, interesting flow and vision, and amazing bodyweight suspension.

Me "mario" - well, you know me, but perhaps you don't really know my journey thus far in parkour. After training on and off for about 2 years privately and with my bro, being in Taipei was the the first opportunity I had to train with a group. Falling in love with it all over again, I've been training seriously since my first week here. I reckon my specialty would be things of an 'agile' nature, particularly movements that involve quick leg/foot work (wall runs, tic-tacs, etc.).

Two short videos have been thrown together recently (a lot of the footage is from a recent trip to danshui), the first by sona and the second by josh. They can be viewed below.


'Oktoberfoon' edited and music by Sona (for the uncultured, the music is mixed from mario)


'Jumping man II' edited and music by Josh

Week In, Week Out

Well, when you stop to think about it, life is good. Or, if you're the other kind of person, when you stop thinking about it, life is good. Of course, it helps if you're in my situation. I've been prodded to write some more mundane, daily life sort of posts. So here's a quick rundown of the highs and lows that have stuck in my brain during the past week or so, just as a kind of snapshot of a typical week I suppose.

Highlights
-I wore pants...AND it wasn't raining when I did. weird.
-realizing (for the not the first time in my life) that friends come from the most unusual sources
-the look on my students face as she proudly told me her english test score
-finding the time to finish a good computer game (Mass Effect)
-while playing said game, remembering why, in my opinion, video games are such a powerful and potent medium
-seeing how far my balance has come
-eating cheap, delicious food (have I ever mentioned that before?)
-the hilarity of Josh and Cat trying to awkwardly flirt with each other in 2/3 English, 1/3 Chinese
-getting my ass kicked (every Saturday) by someone who has some gray hairs
-after getting ass kicked, a relaxing lunch of shui jiao while discussing the intricacies of women
-having lessons cancelled
-finding the time to finally finish a song that had been in my 'To-Finish' queue for too long and being happy with the outcome
-making decisions regarding the future a bit more concrete
-eating cheap, delicious food
-experiencing the energy of another Go Chic show
-a plethora of good games coming out this week

Unfortunately, it's not always sunshine and sugar plums.

The Lows
-no one wanting to sit next me on the MRT (next to that weird foreigner?? last resort only)
-waking up in the morning because I was dreaming that the waffles were ready (just plain cruel)
-trying to remember what hugs are
-having lessons cancelled ( -$$)
-listening to previously-mentioned song the next day on the MRT and realizing that it's pretty awful
-having to make another new hole in my belt (why are things bigger now...)
-realizing my time here is coming to a close
-wanting to make an employee's day a little bit brighter but lacking the communication skills to do so
-a plethora of good games coming out, thus threatening my wallet into further depression

Well, those are the ones that I've managed to skim off the top of my brain.
Till next time...endure, enhance, enjoy.

The Epic Song

So epic, it'll melt your face off.

A bit more of a comic approach to this one. This is a recording of the The PeeBee&Jay's (fictional band) performing their 'The Epic Song' live.

'The Epic Song'

THE KING PENGUIN (Revised)

EDIT: Picture has been revised. Upon several reviews, I wasn't happy with the 'colored-in' look of the poster. More clean and plain now.

So for those whom I haven't mentioned this to...a while ago Corey came across a shirt and generously brought it back for my wardrobe because he thought it was perfect for me. I dare anyone to differ.

As CEO of Pengy Poo Productions (the label all my crappy creative works are produced under, for those who don't know), I felt it necessary to have a proper business picture, and this shirt provided the perfect opportunity.
So, here's the 'King Penguin' holding a Pengy Poo poster (fake).

Zelda Breaks it Down

This week's song is a bit different. I love Zelda games (who doesn't). I love the music from these games (who doesn't). So, like all things I love, I decided to ruin it.
This week's song is 'Trifechno' (Triforce + techno...get it?!?!?!). It's based on Zelda's theme (usually referred to as 'Zelda's Lullaby') from Ocarina of Time. Call it a cover, remix, whatever. This is my first time using some more techno elements (namely, a beat sequencer...though it does switch to analog drums at the end) and also features some old-school NES synths. Till next time, go relive some Zelda.

'Trifechno'

Music Connectivity

It was brought to my attention that the songs I've posted have not been playing reliably. I switched file hosts, and they seem to be working again...let's hope it stays that way. If not, let me know so that I'm aware of the problem.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Scott 'n' Scott

Just tossed a new video up on the Tubes of You.
Very short, light, video. The video was a good technical challenge for me...a bit more complicated than usual (won't bore readers with the technical details here) Only took a couple of hours, but the setup, execution, and editing was a bit tricky.
This may be the first in a series of episodes, or it may not...not sure.
Anyway, watch it below or on the tube. Till next time, enjoy.

For the Gain

Back to 'roots', no frills here. Hopefully it captures a fraction of the energy that is generated and consumed by training. Let's get out there yo

'Train'

Risk and Injury

To follow up the video posted previously, here's a bit more on a subject that David talked about. Risk and injury...mostly in relation to parkour.

Every time we train, we put our bodies at risk. Why? Is it because we are drunk-on-adrenaline youngsters who find it exhilarating? Well, partly, sure. But it is also because the risk is a necessary part of the training. Not to start any debates on technical terms...but in my eyes, parkour is not a sport...the same way that martial arts is not a sport (sport karate, etc. aside). In parkour, we do not train to be better during 'games'. There is no competition, no endgame. We train for real-life situations (not going to get into the 'why' of parkour, only the training 'for what'). If we trained the exact same skills in an indoor, padded, safe gym all the time, we would not be practicing parkour...we would simply be awkward gymnasts. Similar to what David points out in the interview, to practice boxing is not the same as learning how to fight. Thus, it is the same with us. To train for real-life situations (whatever they may be), we must practice in said real life. On rails. Across gaps. On sketchy terrain. On concrete. Training a 10 ft. precision jump on flat ground is NOT the same as training a 10 ft. from between two rooftops. Half of everything is mental.

The second reason is that in parkour, risk is a necessary consequence of challenge and progress. If an artist wants to challenge his skills, he draws something intricate or something he has never drawn before. If a gamer wants a challenge, he'll set the difficulty to 'Hard'. If a philosopher wants a challenge, he'll contemplate the reason why girls are so weird. When failure happens (as it inevitably does from time to time when we challenge ourselves), the artist can crumple up his paper and start anew...the gamer can reload/respawn and try again...the philospher can smoke some pot to clear his head from the confusion. For us (not that we are exclusive in this aspect), failure means falling, breaking, etc. That's just how it goes...this is the price you pay for progress. If you are comfortable with everything you do in parkour, you are doing it wrong. Thus, this fear of injury is not something to dwell on...it can not be something you dwell on.

Obviously, 'fear' is closely related to risk and injury. Fear is the greatest ally and the greatest enemy of any parkour practitioner. Balance on this issue is key. Listening to your fear and understanding it while not letting it control you. Listening to these fears helps prevent injury, helps us understand our strengths and weaknesses, and helps us gain a better insight into who we are and our perceived notions of ourselves vs. the truth. If you can understand the difference between your mind's 'perceived notions' of what you're capable of and what you're actually capable of, then you can control it. Obviously, this control of fear (as with most aspects of parkour) has many benefits in the rest of our lives as well.
Finally, to punctuate this discussion, below is a video of the afeared almighty injury. This was shot at a university in Hsinchu. This particular wallrun is bit tricky as you have to run up and twist your body at the last moment to reach the perpendicular ledge. After a few attempts, Sona and I made it up. However, after training a bit more at that spot, someone wanted to capture said feat on video. I opted out so Sona stepped up to the plate. He was getting tired and probably didn't listen (self-admittedly) to that nagging fact and its accompanying fear enough. Thus, his right arm comes up at a bad angle and smashes into the ledge.



Got himself a nice gushing gash and bruised bone...caused quite a scene in the bathroom.
These are scars we will gladly wear, as each one reminds us of a lesson learned.

From the Man's Mouth

While I was busy (very, I swear) preparing for a lesson, I got an email from Sona pointing me to an interview with David Belle (in short, the main icon and legend of parkour) that's been translated up on Youtube. David Belle's always been a class act, often demonstrating not just technique but philosophy and good will. Here, he goes into topics such as the 'why' of parkour, the risk, some general philosophy (parkour and otherwise), and a few other interesting notes. There's also some pretty slick footage peppered in as well.
Anyway, if you're interested in parkour at all, definitely give this a watch. Otherwise, if you're a bit ignorant on subject, this is a nice little intro video, straight from the horse's mouth.

Another Day Goes, Another Night Flows

Bit of a change of pace from the previous songs.
This song is 'Passage', the tale of RJ the Immortal (fictional character).

Hopefully the vocals sound a bit better on this one, due to an upgrade in hardware and knowledge. However, it's still my voice (albeit echofied this time), so you've been warned...no advancement on that front.
As always, I recommend listening with some headphones or decent speakers. A lot of this electronically-sampled kind of music has a large dynamic range, so if you're just using laptop speakers or some such, you'll miss a lot of the lower end, and the higher end will probably sound pretty tin-tin-tinkly (that's a technical term, totally). Also, when I do the actual mixing, I use my good headphones, so all the levels are balanced for that environment.

'Passage'