Article : Overcoming fear and taking, the next step...
by Chris Rowat (aka Blane)
The Next Step
We’ve all felt that apprehension before a new jump, we’ve all begged our brains to silence the doubts that deafen our minds and most of us have at some point pushed the envelope and overcome the fear at least once in our Parkour journey. If you have not then this article is for you and even if you have, I hope this article will make overcoming that fear easier to do.
This article talks about that fear, explains what it is, why it’s good, why it’s bad and ultimately, how to keep steadily progressing past the barriers fear puts in place.
Let’s start with travelling to a new area, when you arrive, you arrive and immediately begin to assess the environment, probably looking for similarities between this new area and places you’ve trained at before. This is natural but it’s also limiting your progression. I admit I’ve done it myself, turned up somewhere new and thought, “Is there a nice precision around here?” Whereas I should have been thinking “How can I use this area to improve my Parkour?”…
Every new environment offers you many chances to develop your mental and physical unity and can give you far more than that 'new precision'.
When you stand 'on the edge' and evaluate the distances, heights, widths, consider the consequences of failure and ponder the other innumerable variables, your body begins to prepare for a potentially life saving adjustment… this is both a great thing and at the same time, a bad one.
This is great because the adrenaline pumping through your bloodstream is feeding your muscles, sharpening your senses and preparing your body to perform a very explosive and powerful movement or series of movements.
This can however be a bad thing because thanks to all these hormonal and emotional changes, it’s easy to get confused and panic. If this happens then it’s very likely you will step down from the new challenge since your brain just won’t be able to comprehend the jump in it’s entirety and process all the finer points properly.
Don’t get disheartened when this happens, you’ve not failed, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you’re not ready yet. There are two sides to every new movement and both a physical commitment and a mental commitment is needed to execute this – the key to overcoming the new obstacle is to unite these two elements.
It is vital at this stage that you stay focused on the jump before you and don’t get distracted. Don’t be afraid to politely ask your friends or people training with you to remain quiet for a few moments whilst you concentrate, they will understand.
It is important that you only jump for you, don’t be pressured into
anything or push yourself too hard because this will only result in injury
which will hinder your progression much more than stepping down from the
jump today. It will still be there tomorrow for you to come back to…
a steady and thoroughly nurtured progression is much more beneficial rather
than rushing to do all the jumps your friends can.
Take your time and remember that everyone is on his or her own personal
path in Parkour. Everyone has a different level and your only concern
should be improving yours at a steady pace.
There are many things you can do to overcome the natural apprehension felt before a new jump but here’s what works for me and I can recommend the following:
1 - Go away and practice a similar movement on a similar obstacle
that’s perhaps smaller, lower to the ground or with any other more
comfortable conditions than the one you're preparing for.
The more time you spend practicing the same movement in a safer environment,
the more your body will learn about the chain of muscle contractions needed
to successfully complete the challenge.
2 - Stand at different angles and look at the new challenge, visualise
watching yourself complete the movement in every single detail, from the
run up or preparation, right through to landing and stopping. Try to imagine
every single detail and focus on how each fraction of a second will feel
and what you will need to concentrate on.
Scientists have proven that visualisation is an extremely useful method
of improving your capabilities. You can actually strengthen muscle fibers
and connections simply by imagining yourself moving and create new ‘muscle
memory’ that will help you when it comes to the actual moment where
you move.
3 - Try to approach the obstacle with a fresh mind, the longer
you stand looking at the challenge, the more time doubts will have to
fill your mind and distract you. After all the calculations, if you make
the decision to do it, take a few deep breaths, close your eyes and approach
the obstacle with a fresh outlook.
I prefer to walk away, make some last minute mental commitments then step
back up and do it immediately rather than stand ‘on the edge’
for a long time. However, that is just the method that works best for
me. Experiment with different mental techniques for overcoming your fear
and you may perhaps find that standing 'on the edge' for a while works
best for you before you jump.
Most importantly, you must find techniques and methods that work for you and help you overcome these new barriers. Everyone is different and finds different things difficult so spend some time finding out who you are and what helps you in this situation.
The good news is confidence is progressive. Once you get into the habit of breaking boundaries and overcoming plateaus then it becomes even easier to do so. You will come to depend on your new ability to judge your surroundings and abilities, listen to this judgement and as long as you’re careful, it won’t fail you.
Stay safe, have fun and remember: fear is only a four-lettered restriction in the back of your mind.
-Blane
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