Looking back on 2008

My mental and physical ability has improved these past few weeks and I am looking forward in seeing what I am really capable of leading up to Spring 2009...

Below is a chronological set of clips, (January 2008 to December 2008) of my Parkour Journey.

The point of posting this clip below is to draw a line of where my ability was, as I feel different now as my mind, body and spirit are very close to being in harmony.

Zeno

Traceur Zeno [Glasgow Parkour] 2008
Uploaded by TraceurZeno

DISTRICT "B13" 2 : ULTIMATUM (trailer)

DISTRICT "B13" 2 : ULTIMATUM (2009) - Official Trailer [HQ] Cyrill Raffaelli - David Belle



Release date 18th February. :o)

My Parkour highlights of 2008

Below are some of my Parkour highlights that was 2008.


JANUARY
Back to training from having a couple of days rest...


Started off the year with two of my closest training Partners Chris Grant and BJ Lang.

I also began to concentrate more on my diet, by eating little to no processed food, and began to cook more types of healthy dishes from scratch. So Parkour was making me a better cook.

I also made one of my accomplishments, the upwards precision at the top of the stairs at the Adam Smith, Glasgow University.

January also seen the start of Parkour and Conditioning with my Fiancee. :)

FEBRUARY


Finished filming my video, before heading off to Berlin, Germany for a few days.

Glasgow Parkour celebrates it's 3rd birthday.

For February I trained technique training intensely, which seen my jump increase by a whole foot. :)

MARCH
Glasgow Parkour Coaching first Adult workshop begins.

Three day training session with Parkour Generation's Dan Edwards and Forrest in London with my fellow Glasgow Traceur Chris Grant.

APRIL

Glasgow Parkour Coaching Scotland Wide Workshop 05-April-08
Uploaded by TraceurZeno

Glasgow Parkour holds it's first "Scotland wide Parkour workshop".

Establish training with new comer Omercan.



MAY
Conqueored the Big Scary Level Cat at Wellington Church.

I Also decided to eat more and incorporate at little more fatty food into my diet as my diet was so clean, I felt I was running out of energy pretty quick.

The 4 day trip to Evry, Paris for the opening of Yamakasi/Majestic Force Art Du Displacement Accademy.

Lisses Trip from where I badly sprained my ankle just 4 hours of arriving there, but ended the trip on literally a high after making it to the top of the Dame Du Lac, despite barely being able to walk.


From the footage I filmed leading up to my injury i posted my video "The awakening"

In the month of May, I turned 30 years old.

Lots of Ice days to reduce the swelling of my ankle...


JUNE
Recovery begins on my badly sprained ankle.
So i concentrated first on protection of my ankle, by wearing an ankle brace, which I ordered off ebay.

My training had to be adapted... And when i was not doing upperbody conditioning I would work on getting my injured foot's range of motion back, by sitting of the ground and writing the imaginary alphabet several times a day with my big toe, focusing the range of movement from my foot only and not moving my leg.

After about two weeks of working on my injured foot's range of movement, I began lowerbody conditioning to focus on strengthening my legs and weak ankle


JULY
Training light jump techniques with my healing ankle.

The initial pilot of Glasgow Parkour Coaching youth accademy begins with a few outdoor workshops in the Southside of Glasgow.

I attended the big Parkour Jam at Erskine, which was great fun despite recovering from my Ankle injury.



AUGUST
Despite my ankle not being 100%

I still managed to finish off filming a joint Parkour video, with BJ Lang


SEPTEMBER
UPG come to Glasgow for the Merchant city festival, from where Glasgow was entertained in a fantastic display of Parkour and dance from the guys and gals of Urban PlayGround, of which former Yamakasi member Malik skills where on show.
Zeno and Malik Diouf

OCTOBER
I spend October trying to get my fitness, strength and mind level back to where it was before my ankle injury.

NOVEMBER

Barefoot training begins with weekly barefoot distance jogs. (the video is of low quality because of initial file size, but gives you an idea where I jogged to.

The idea of barefoot jogging, especially in the cold rain was to toughening my mind as well as my feet, to sharpen my concentration and push through former comfort zones, so when I had my shoes on and doing Parkour, things would seem easier, and so my level began to rise again.

November also seen the coaches from Parkour Generations, visit Glasgow in part premotion of EA Games "Mirror's edge"

Johann, Zeno, Thomas, Chris & Stephane

There was a great turn out from our community and a fun workshop was enjoyed by all at Bellahoustoun Sports Centre


DECEMBER

Glasgow Parkour and Edinburgh Parkour attending Rendezvous 3.

December saw the great gathering in London, for Parkour Generations "Rendezvous 3" two day event. And despite the rain the spirit of everyone was excellent. It was good to travel down to London with several guys and gals from Glasgow and Edinburgh Parkour.

Blane & Zeno

The closing of December saw the end of year Christmas Parkour Jam.

Below are three videos filmed and edited by Ian Lyon, Nina and the other by myself.


Ian's edit

GPK Jam 27-12-08
Uploaded by TraceurZeno

Nina's Edit

Zeno [Glasgow Parkour] Uni Run

I would normally show control by stoping when landing my precisions, like in my older videos, however I wanted to show continious movement in this clip.




Thanks for taking the time to watch.

Zeno

Zeno & BJ Lang [Glasgow Parkour]

Just a wee vid of us two.



High Quality version available on my youtube page

Thank you for taking the time to view.

Zeno

Erskine Jam July 2008

Footage from the Erskine Jam July 2008.





Cheers

Zeno

Zeno "The Awakening"

I have been working on pushing my fears and mental barriers these past few months. And so this video is more about me dealing with these mental barriers, rather than being slick with many varied moves. With a growing sense of confidence, I feel my Parkour vision beginning to open up more and my passion and spirit deepen further.



Thank you for taking the time to view.

Zeno

Dame Du Lac

A nice chilled out day at the Dame Du Lac with my fellow Traceurs and Traceues, and a nice way to finish up my 4 day trip in Lisses.

Thomas, Zeno, Kazuma, Chris

Zeno & Dan Edwardes

James, Alex, Dan Edwardes, Chris Grant, Zeno & Andy

Despite picking up a bad ankle injury on the 16th May, I was determined to end my trip to Lisses and Evry on a high, so I climbed to the top of the Dame du Lac with the help of Thomas Couetdic and the encouragement from my fellow Glasgow Traceur Chris Grant who also made it to the top too.

Zeno

Trip to Lisses (May16th)

Training at Lisses with my fellow Glasgow Parkour Traceur Chris Grant and Camera man Ben.

Scotland wide PK workshop day

Here are some of the highlights that I managed to shoot with my camera of the "Scotland wide PK workshop day" which was held April 5th 2008 in Glasgow, UK. This was a positive gathering of like minded humans who came together to learn and push their Parkour abilities, regardless of gender, race or experience.

I would like to thank all of the Traceurs and Traceuses who attended. I hope they either learned new ideas, improved on their technique at the beginner workstations. And to the experienced ones, I hope you discovered new weaknesses that need to be addressed.

I would also like to thank the rest of the coaches, who put in the free time to organise and teach.

Below is a peice of rough footage filmed by Ryan Montieth and myself. The professional filmed version will be completed by our qualified camera man Ben, and will be online in the near future.

Glasgow Parkour Coaching Scotland Wide Workshop 05-April-08
by TraceurZeno

Overcoming my weakness...

Four months has passed since making my decision to drop conditioning sessions and focus exclusively on my technique training. I have also included working on my mental factor within my technique training.

In the past few months I have been training, I have been working off my written list of techniques, which consisted of techniques, obstacles and mental barriers that I seen as weaknesses within my Parkour. I knew deep down I could or should be capable of executing particular challenging moves, but put them off. It was very important to complete as much of that list as possible with it's tasks and reps.

I said in my previous blog entries, that “Rendezvous 2” was a turning point for me. I had the strength but I knew I had to improve on the following from that Special night:
* Up my technique level
* Up my ability level
* Increase my confidence
* Increase my endurance
* Lose muscle mass (de-bulk) and become lighter and become more athletic.


Up my technique level
When watching video clips of myself, I look for flaws in my technique or listen to constructive criticism from my fellow Traceurs. As an example when I did precisions I often did not lift my knees up high enough, or when I did wall climbs I relied on brut strength over fluid technique with strength. So on my list along with many other flawed techniques I drilled my weaknesses until they improved.

Up my ability level
For a few months leading up to “Rendezvous 2” I felt my ability had stagnated and it was getting me down which affected my confidence as well as mood, and “Rendezvous 2” was the icing on the cake. So I decided enough is enough, and ask why I am not improving... I realised I was only drilling moves, obstacles or single techniques that where in my comfort zone. The decision I had taken was to include on my “Written List” was jumps, moves, obstacles that where on my limit and feared, but knew if I stuck to my gut feeling I could do.

Increase my confidence
I always knew that with better technique and ability my confidence would grow. I drilled the jumps, moves and obstacles that I feared but knew deep down I could do in my mind. I had to push my mental fear barriers sensibly and drill these jumps moves and obstacles until they become a natural reflex to me. The higher my confidence the more I will challenge myself but with becoming complacent when moving or becoming arrogant.

Increase my endurance
Yes on my “written list” was a decent sized challenges that where executed without rest. One such weakness for me was cat-walking on rails, so on my list was to 10 reps of a large rail, as well as dealing with upward and downward gradients to really sharpen up my technique as well as endurance.

Lose muscle mass (de-bulk) and become leaner, lighter and more athletic
In the past I spent so much time conditioning I was becoming heavy in muscle and the hypertrophy of my body frame hindered my movement. I had good strength but my techniques had to match my strength potential. Now due to doing very little to no conditioning recently I have become less bukly in muscle, more leaner, and much lighter on my feet. My power and technique has increased dramatically. Although my strength has decreased a little, my strength is perfect for Parkour at this present time. I will however introduce some conditioning sessions in the near future, to keep my strength topped up and more importantly to prevent future injuries. I am really grateful that I did a hell of a lot of conditioning for the first year and half of my Parkour training, as it has benefited me physically, mentally and kept injuries at bay.

I still feel it is important to keep a balance of conditioning and technique training to be a strong and capable Traceur. Over the past 4 months my technique has improved as they have become cleaner, natural and powerful. My ability has progressed dramatically, such as my jump distance going up by 1 foot. My endurance has increased but can be worked on a lot more. My confidence is an area that has increased more than I planned and grateful for. Lastly I have become more athletic, powerful and lighter, due to not doing more conditioning than technique training.

I look forward to the next 4 months with great optimism. I will optimise and adapt my written list accordingly on a fortnight basis to ensure steady progress, and that I challenge my fears and weaknesses.

The point of posting this is not to tell you to drop conditioning. It is to say... Write out your personal weaknesses and go and work on them until they become a strong point!

Zeno

Borne Magazine Article

The Glasgow Parkour coaches recently took part in an article for Borne Magazine which has been published this month.

I feel it was a truthful and positive artcle, in which the writer Iain Nevill wrote an honest and refreshing article, that covered our Parkour training, spirit and beliefs.

Zeno

Traceur Zeno [Glasgow Parkour] Feb2008

Just an update of the progress in the last six months.



Thanks for taking the time to view

Zeno

Random thoughts at this precise time.

Where I am and where I am going.
For the last three weeks I have stopped doing conditioning routines and my focus has been purely on techniques. Although it is very important to do conditioning when starting off in parkour to have the strength, I am content with my strength at the present, but I want my technique up to match my strength level.

This week my jump distance has went up, and so has my mood and confidence. Therefore I am going to continue to train this way for the time being.

The weather and general environment has been excellent recently with lots of wind, rain and darkness falls in Glasgow about 3:30pm, so most my training is at night. Am I being sarcastic... Nope! I have been training the past few weeks in cold, dark and wet conditions and for the first time in the wetness I have been doing Parkour and not body weight strength conditioning.

Today for example I popped up the blind and looked out the window, and smiled. At one time I would have been annoyed and frustrated seeing rain and wetness, but today I just grinned. It was wet after a crazy down pour of rain and today was a Saturday Jam session in Glasgow. Despite the cold and wetness, I managed to do my biggest precision to date, as well as vaults, jumps, cats, cranes and balancing/walking on the wet rails.

I am finding training in the wet is heightening my senses and sharpening up my technique, as I do not want to slip and fall. I have to be very precise in my movement. Even in this very short time i feel I am adapting faster than I usually would, and my mind strength has improved, with higher concentration levels, faster instinct and an even more positive attitude to myself and to others.

I am becoming addicted to training in the wet now, due to the highly focussed mentality, almost like meditation at certain points. After training at Rottenrow I went back to the west end and drilled 51 wall climbs and 100 precisions all on my precision limit, plus one extra precision for you lot who where not there... A productive day!

If I can handle Parkour in the wet, then surely it will improve me when it becomes dry and I will feel even more confident as well as competent.

I still have a long long way to go, but i feel happy and can see and feel my current progression.

My new years resolution??
My new years resolution will be the same as last years one... "Not to have a resolution"... I am already doing what I need to do because it is relevant in my progression at this precise time in my Parkour journey.

Zeno

My Parkour highlights of 2007

Below are some of my Parkour highlights that was 2007.


JANUARY
Started Gymnastics for the first time in my life aged 28, to improve my form, flexibility and confidence in the way my body moves.


FEBRUARY

My first trip to Lisses in France with my Fiancée to visit the home of Parkour and the Dame Du Lac, which was an unforgettable experience. It was inspirational at the size and scale of some of the most famous obstacles and paths chosen by the best.


MARCH

My Being part of an article written by the Scottish Sun newspaper on Glasgow Parkour.
I Conqueored the baby cat at Wellington Church, Glasgow


APRIL
My first Edinburgh Jam with BJ, Pete, Gav & Rab on a gorgeous sunny day.
My first time ever doing Slackline with Liam Arnold.
Kettlebell training with David BJ Lang.
Nailing the Rail Kong to Precision at the Uni Library.


JUNE

The Eglinton Trip with Chris Grant, Paul Sayer and Sean Laverty, which was one of those sunny long lasting days with great training and fun, topped off with a freezing cold dip in the sea and juicy steak on the Barbeque.

AUGUST

The London trip with Chris Grant and David BJ Lang to see Dan Edwards and train in the evening with Forrest.


SEPTEMBER
Coaching the younger up and coming Traceurs at Unit 23 Parkour Workshop in Dumbarton with David BJ Lang, Chris Grant and Sean Laverty.

NOVEMBER

Participating in the K Swiss event with Chris Grant, Sean Laverty and Paul Sayer at the Fort Shopping Centre, Glasgow.

DECEMBER

The London trip with Chris Grant, David BJ Lang & Paul Sayer to train with the Yamakasi, Stephane Vigroux, Forrest, Johann Vigroux and the rest of the Parkour Coaching team at the Rendezvous 2 event. Also it was a pleasure to meet and chat to Blane and Dane DC Grant too.

Also in December I have began to practice Parkour in the rain with wet obstacles to sharpen my technique and mental abilities.

I would like to thank my Fiancée and to all who I trained with, met and chatted with, for a memorable year, and I wish them all the best in strength, courage, love, self improvement and happyness in 2008.

Zeno

Rendezvous 2

This blog entry is from a thread I posted on Parkour.net today and summed my feelings on Rendezvous 2, which was an event held by Parkour Coaching team and the Yamakasi.

Rendezvous 2 was magical evening where like minded Traceurs and Traceuses learned and pushed their abilities in mind and movement after a killer warm-up.

I went to this event to learn and I personally learned a lot about myself and what I need to train on. The scaffolding towers that where constructed where superb to pass round, above and through. And was one of my favourite obstacles to execute my movement on and watch others too.

I thought the 5 workshops that where laid on in this event where very well thought out. The number of people who attended was perfect, so we all had space to learn and move, move and learn and little time to stand still. The music and training vibe was perfect!

I would like to personally Thank Dan, Forrest, Stephane, Johann, Kazuma and the rest of the Parkour Coaching for making this event possible.

I would personally like to thank the Yamakasi for their teachings and encouragement.

Well done to everyone who attended and pushed themselves!

From a tired, positively sore and very happy Zeno.

P.S. I would like to thank my training partners Chris Grant, David BJ Lang & Paul Sayer, whom made the 4:30am travel and flight from Glasgow to London, and on the same day, the 8 hour brutal bus trip back home to Glasgow worthwhile, with the good banter and team spirit.

The Spirit of Parkour and how is it a way of life for me.

I have been doing a lot of thinking before, during and after my training and thinking why do I do Parkour and why I feel so passionate it?

I started Parkour after seeing it on the TV (when I use to watch TV). I was impressed by the fluid movement, strength and power being executed. It reminded me also of when I was a kid, jumping wall gaps and climbing walls and trees, but on a more serious and higher level. So I browsed the internet looking for Parkour group in my area, and was happy to find Glasgow Parkour where I met up with local Traceurs and my journey began...

I knew it would take a long time and hard work to achieve a descent level of Parkour. And that I would have to be patient too, in letting my mind and body develop together.

The reason I do Parkour is:
* Improve myself
* Positive inspiration
* Survival skill (help, chase and escape)
* Beat Stress
* To learn and to teach

Improve myself
A Traceur’s/Traceues’s journey is an infinite ascending and path. On this difficult path are many rewards (body, mind & spirit) with true greatness as well as hard times, much like life really.

It is good to move or reflect on your environment knowing you are competent of your abilities. And should you have a weakness, challenge it!!! Improve on it. I feel if you are strong in body and mind then you will be strong in spirit. Positive things happen to positive people.

Positive inspiration
I take inspiration from my Traceurs and Traceuses I train with. I take inspiration from Traceurs and Traceuses I have met, chatted to and watched videos of from all over the world. In return I like to give back that positive energy back , and keep a balance.

Survival skill
Parkour in its essence is a survival skill on whether to help, chase or escape. And therefore a Traceur/Traceuse should be always training, even when not training. What do I mean by that? Well I train most days of the week I am out either practicing technical moves or body conditioning. However my Parkour training does not stop when I get home or go about other duties in life. I am always thinking about my movement and my surrounding environment. I could be in a restaurant or on a form of transport; I will be thinking and running over in my mind routes of escape or arrival.

It is always important to be always thinking about your movement (before, during and after), and when you become strong, skilled and useful you will no longer need to think, you will just know. On various occasions I have spent time teaching an individual the importance of landing quietly and correctly, only to watch them perform another move such as a cat leap, so happy they made the leap; they forget and land all loud and sloppy. Parkour should always be a state of mind so be aware of it and yourself at all times.

When I am in work, I will walk past the lift/elevator and take the stairs, and ascend or descend smooth and quiet, thinking of ways to take less steps or how I turn. Even when I am sitting down or resting, I will mentally go over a move, and see it in my mind, overcoming the obstacle. And when I mentally visualise I will incorporate my senses to make it all the more vivid, such as how the texture of obstacle would feel or the rhythm of my movement, what sound my hands and feet would make when in contact with my obstacle, and any smells such foliage, sea air and certain obstacles just have a unique odour, which most of us do not even think about and should. We should connect our senses to our movement and obstacles to increase our alertness and better our chances at survival.


Beat Stress
One of the beautiful aspects of Parkour is the ability to switch off your mind from everyday external problems, and just focus all your attention to the moment of your Parkour. Yes exercise in itself is a fantastic physical stress reliever but it is good to mentally escape too. It is magical to have fun and always be a kid at heart regardless of age, and strike the balance also in ing the discipline of Parkour seriouly too. When your movement is of the highest purity and is just natural instinct, then you do not even have to think, you just know and move freely. That is the path of enlightenment.

Many Traceurs and Traceuses will agree that there is a strong connection between over coming obstacles in Parkour and obstacles in life. Parkour allows you to see your obstacle, analyse it, and provide the solution with the end product overcoming the obstacle. In obstacles in life you become more possitve at handing stress and problems around you, you , provide a solution and take that path.

The only frustrating aspect in Parkour is not conquering the obstacle; however there is an easy answer. You are not ready for it. You go back to your training, you mentally run over it in your mind. You practice, practice and more practice until you are both mentally and physically capable. You make that move and you over come that physical obstacle and that mental obstacle in your mind; you feel amazing, you feel proud and you grow from that experience. And if you have great training partners, then they are proud of you too. Likewise when I watch my fellow Traceurs over come an obstacle significant to them, I am happy and proud of them. Only then do you really begin to feel what proper training and pushing your abilities can do wonders for the body and mind.

To learn and to teach
There is always something to learn and master in Parkour. Your vision, environment and you as a practitioner evolve. It is important to put what you have learned into practice, in different environments and circumstances. Let’s say someone was chasing you. Yes you could do a turn vault, drop down, roll and run onto a cat leap, but what if one of your arms where broken or fractured? Can you vault or roll left and right side? Can you perform your movement using just one hand for example?

I enjoy teaching and even more learning. I am going to Rendezvous 2 next week in London to train with Dan, Forrest, Stephane and Johann Vigroux, The Yamakasi plus more of the best Traceurs and Traceuses there is. I am not going there to show off what I can do or just execute what I am comfortable with. I am going there to learn, train hard, absorb the positive energy and chat with like minded friends. And I know I will return grateful and continue my journey.

I feel it is important not to have a big ego, and think you know it all. It is important to remember that there is always something to learn, regardless of how good you think you are. It is equally important to teach well too, as one time you were a beginner and how grateful you were to have someone to teach and guide you, regardless of age, race or gender.

All that I have written above is why I am so passionate about, why it is a state of mind and a way of life for me.

Zeno

Getting Results in strength and fitness

I want to keep this post short and straight to the point!

Often I receive comments, emails and messages asking what condition routines do I do, what number of reps and sets should they should do...

To achieve good results in strength and fitness requires discipline, time and constant stimulus; along with adequate rest and good nutrition. The body when doing the same exercises, all the time will adapt fast to a particular movement and try to execute the exercise with as little energy as possible. Your body will try to become lazy. So it is very important to keep varying your routines, temperature and environments (constant stimulus & constant challenge).

Try to keep your mind and the body just out of its comfort zone. And when you finish exercising, replenish your energy levels with carbohydrates, lots of quality protein and rest.

At the end of day, to be strong and fit depends on the individual, their ability, their genetics and the variety of exercises so their training regime. We live in a society that expects fast results in anything in life. There is no secret. It takes time, a will, creative improvisation and hard work, but it is worth it!!!

Train Well

Zeno

Footwear for Parkour

Whilst the experienced Traceur may say it is down to the Traceur and not the trainers, I beleive the type of trainers play an important tool for a Traceur to move confidently, queitly and with sensitivity through his/her environment. It is important to be confident in the shoe you use.

Grip Confidence - Quietness - Sensitivity
I like to know there is little chance I will not slip/slide when I land on a rail or wall, which will free up any doubt in my mind. So a trainer with great grip is very high in my list.

I like to move and land as quietly as I can, and while landing properly is down to good technique. A good Traceur landing wearing DC's and a good Traceur wearing Nike Free's the sound of the landing will be much more quiet wearing Nike Free's.

When moving around in my environment, I like to feel what is beneath my feet through my shoes. I like to feel the friction of the surface as well as any curvature and edge of any given surface. This increased feeling heightens my overall sensitivity and impoves the feedback i need to move and feel my path.

At the beginning...
I remember the first time I done Pakrour with my DC Skate shoes, and thought they were good because they had a big flat chunky sole. Now looking back they were like running about with big rubber bricks on my feet.

After a month in the DC's, I went out and bought my first decent pair of trainers that were more suited to Parkour. They were Nike Air Pegasus 2005. They where light weight and had a superior grip, which improved my Parkour considerably.

As any Traceur who trains constantly will tell you, your trainers do not last long in Parkour. And since my early days in Parkour I have went through 5 pairs of trainers. And now I am onto the new Ariake trainer from KSWISS.

Below are the trainers I have used and what I thought the Pro's and Con's.

DC's
Pro's: Good for rail balancing due to flat sole

Con's: Heavy, lack of sensitivity & poor grip.


Nike Air Pegasus 2005
Pro's: Light weight, superior grip & good ventilation.

Con's: Plastic parts on sole can make rail work slippy and dangerous.


Nike Dart IV's
Pro's: Light weight, last long, good ventilation & price

Con's: The grip when new is waxy and takes a while to become good at traction.


Nike Dart III's

Pro's: Light weight, last long, good ventilation & price

Con's: The grip when new is waxy and takes a while to become good at traction & the stitching comes loose too quickly.

KSWISS Ariake
So now I am on to the Ariake from KSWISS, which is a trainer that is purposely built for Parkour/Free running and is endorsed by Sebastien Foucan.

My first impression of these trainers is, they are one of the best looking trainers with nice attention to detail. The sole from the middle to the front is smooth and reminds me of a tyre tread in a F1 racing car. I know for sure that these will be grippy despite being smooth, as the type of rubber on this sole has a sticky/gripping property to it.

KSwiss Ariake
Pro's: Stylish Looks (Although not important), Excellent Grip!!

Con's: Too rigid (will not wrap around rails), lack of sensitivty (for feeling edges and curves), the ventilation could be better & Expensive.

After testing these trainers for just less than 2 months this is what I thought. I really loved the grip on these trainers; they allowed me to forget any doubt of sliding and gave me confidence in trying bigger and more challenging things. However they are rigid in their construction, which made my landings recognisably louder and heavier. Also the lack of flexibility has not allowed me to wrap my feet on rails during precisions; which in turn has sacrificed the sensitivity from the shoe. I found my feet sweating a lot from the poor ventilation as well, although the white KSwiss Ariake have perforated holes in the side and so may have better ventilation.

***Update 10th January***
I originally found the K-Swiss trainers to be dangerous in the wet, however I have adapted by specifically training in the rain. And I have found by sharpening up my technique in the wet they are not as dangerous in the wet as I once thought. This is just my personal opinion and down to the way i train. So please be careful if you train in the wet.

***Update 8th February***

Nike Free 5.0 v2

I recently purchased my Nike Free's last week and love them!!!

I will give a proper write up of these trainers in a couple of months time.

Pro's: Amazing feedback on the sensitivity, Very Flexible, Ultra lightweight.

Con's: Not for the inexperienced Traceur who has not mastered their landings. Also... Due to the design flaw unsupporting of the foot, should the foot roll over sideways there is a very high chance of spraining or breaking your ankle. And this can be at ground level on uneven ground. And has happened to 3 of our experienced Traceurs at ground level.

Zeno

Fluidity and the creation of complex movements

Very often... I see lots of Parkour and online videos of Parkour, where Traceurs execute just lots of single moves.

It is very important to get into linking your moves and how you move between linking. Below is a clip of Traceurs Chris Grant and myself, showing with just a simple rail, small wall and bench. How you can be creative, by drilling your single moves, then linking them up to create a fluid and complex move.

The purpose of this clip is to help open your training spot and make you think of linking your single moves into one complex movement, that can be executed efficiently being fast and fluid.

Train Well

Zeno