I teach.
I coach.
I train.
I learn.
I live.
Parkour
There is something about Parkour that goes beyond just running and jumping, beyond play, and beyond anything that I've experienced before: Personally, I have learnt a lot about myself through it - I have been able to push my body further than I have before, become more familiar with what the word "Discipline" really means, and learnt slowly how to free my mind. - Many thanks to Dan & Forrest (who are featured in the video above) and Stephane for running the Parkour Academy and instructing us so well - you guys are an inspiration.
By the way, the video above was directed by a lady named Julie Angel. She made one of my favourite ..aries that I've ever seen when she interviewed Stephane Vigroux (and this was before I met either of them). If you're interested in the Discipline of Parkour at all, I advise you watch it. Its hosted on this page , and its an 132MB Download . Enjoy!
Basketball: Playing and Coaching
There is something about this sport that wowed me from th first time I saw it. Those of you of a certain age might remember a cartoon that came on TV based on the Harlem Globetrotters? Well, all i know is when I saw that, I knew I wanted IN. Its a sport I've been following for a looong time, playing since my teens, and coaching more recently. There's a heck of a lot of talent over here, and always the sport is growing: I've seen them in this city on courts from up in Turnpike Lane down Clapham Common on a regular honing their skills. UK will have its day. Modern players like Loul Deng and Pops Mensah-Bonsu (and depending on who you ask, Ben Gordon too) are showing the NBA that the UK has got what it takes to make it.
The video is a montage of Michael Jordan doing what he does best. Who know one person could affect a sport like this and do so much? Its around 8 minutes long, but if you remotely like basketball, you'll love it - its hypnotising.
Good Movies, Speeches and Quotes
I had to start off with Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, as that moment is one of my favourites in film! Anyone that knows much about cinema knows his name, but there's something about this speech which still inspires me every time I see it. You see for, this is what a great movie can do: the suspension of disbelief... that no matter what you are watching, no matter how fantastic, amazing or bizarre, at some point you allow yourself forget that you're watching people pretend what they're saying is really happening, and let yourself believe that truly, it IS happening... that Morpheus is really the wise guru he appears to be... that the Emperor is really the evil Jedi we know him to be... that Tyler Durden really is a twisted genius... and in this case, that this fella that looks so similar to Al Pacino is really a great American Football coach, and is willing his troops to turn the tide of the most important battle they have ever faced, in an attempt to triumph.
