Happy New Year!
Another year has passed and a new one has begun; now is the time for reflection over the previous 12 months and of course everyone is now talking new years resolutions, so what's yours ? Maybe you have already got a clear vision of how you wish to improve yourself this year or maybe you still need to decide.
In the past I have made highly overambitious resolutions spanning several pages with aims of increasing flexibility to the point where I can do the splits both ways and learning a hundred thousand new tricks. Of course after the first week of enthusiasm once the holidays are over and the harsh realities of life set in, all of a sudden there are other priorities which result in these new plans being pushed aside. Come the following year and I'm lucky to have achieved any of my previous year’s resolutions and the ones that were successful came about only by chance rather than purposeful intervention.
This year I’m taking a more abstract stance and rather than focusing on specifics I'm simply going to make the intention to be better in everything I do. That way when I look back this time next year I need not worry about ticking off boxes but can rest peacefully in the knowledge that I raised the level of my physical and mental ability significantly above that of 12 months previously.
There are of course lots of specific things I would like to achieve both athletically and in other areas of my life. For example I would still like to improve my flexibility, also increase my all round strength, learn wall flips properly and a whole load of other new tricks like aerials, palm flips, back 360's and wall fronts. But rather than focus on the activity, I shall focus on the result. By focusing on progression as a whole this means I will train more often and train harder and as a result stand a much better chance of learning the specifics as well as many other techniques and abilities which have not yet crossed my mind.
Whatever you choose to improve upon in 2008 all of us at Devon Parkour wishes you the best of luck in your endeavours, a year free of injury and full of progression!