Parkour Progression - P1

This is an attempt to keep track of my progress in Parkour. I have been practicing on and off for four months now.

When you begin, it's all about getting fitter - getting stronger muscles, improving balance, strengthening grips and all. I guess that's the hardest part - even harder than conquering the fear of doing a new move.

I am a fairly fit guy, and I am trying to take my fitness to the next level. I will keep recording my progress with parkour in this series of blogs titles 'Parkour Progression'.

Current level:

Pull-ups:
            10 reps X 3 sets
Hand-stand (against wall):
            3 sets X 2 mins
            2 sets X 90 secs
Precision Jump:
            8 feet (~240 cms)
Moves learnt:
            Kong vault, speed vault
Moves learning:
            Palm Spin (almost there), Side-vault, Muscle-up
Push-ups:
            Haven't done any push-ups in the last three months but three months ago I could do 60 proper push-ups without taking a break and without breaking the flow of breathing. In short, 60 push-ups in 60 breaths. More than a year ago I could do 50 diamond push-ups. That's when my elbow got injured.
Running:
            4000m in ~15:30 (PB is 15 mins 20 secs)

Limitations:

• Elbow pain while trying one-hand push-ups
• Chronic back pain while trying to do a bridge. I don't/can't do anything that involves bending backwards. I can bounce up and do a forward hand-spring comfortably though.

Next update in about a month (or sooner).

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最近生活的狀況：一個更新版 [An update on stuff going on in life recently]

[我還沒翻譯完這篇文章，我需要多一點時間。]

A little more than a month ago, on the spur of the moment I decided to go for a hike outside Taipei. That was the best thing I did in the recent months; in hindsight probably the only good thing I did.
[一個月多以前我在最後時刻決定去爬山。回想起來我覺得那是我最近做的最好的是。]

June was a particularly dark month, both literally and metaphorically. With my spirit running low, my errant thought process forestalled any progress I was making on the things I was working on. July was a much better month. I have been making efforts to get closer to the kind of life I have imagined, and the pace has been steady more or less. I hit a plateau in most things I have been working on - fitness, language learning, programming and getting more social. I write this to keep a track and also since writing is one of the few things that calm me.
[五，六月我不太快樂。我普通做的事的進步停止了。我正在努力把我生活變成我理想的生活。為了記下我的進步我寫這篇文章。在說，寫文章讓我輕鬆。]

Outdoors: I went to WuliaoJian (五寮尖), a small mountain to the south of Taipei. While it wasn't physically or mentally challenging, it helped me get out of the groove and I found the much needed repose. I committed to devote every weekend to exploring the wilderness of Taiwan. I made a few more trips to the northeast coast of Taiwan, and discovered how underrated the Taiwanese landscape was. 

The northeast coast of Taiwan is a range of jaw-dropping volcanic cliffs lined along the deep blue Pacific Ocean. A hike to any mountain here offers an extended view of the horizon whose beauty is compounded by the ocean in the foreground. All I need now is a bike to explore the area thoroughly.

Parkour: A lapse of about a month severely hindered all developments I was making with my fitness. Most of the skills I had been learning were at a cusp of being committed to muscle memory and relapsing back again. A month of practice more and I would have gone past the most difficult stage of getting a well conditioned body. My progress on precision jumps, handstands, handstand push-ups, muscle ups and kong-vaults has been absolute zero in the last three months. I was learning to do a double kong vault, but I haven't tried it after moving to my new place. I need to find a good spot to practice it. 

A few days ago I intensified my physical activity with a renewed fervor. By the end of September I aim to be able to learn all the aforementioned skills. I usually practice in a small park near 101 which has all the equipment I need to practice. I am also looking for someone to record my moves so that I can see if I am doing it right. 

Mandarin: I have been learning Mandarin at a slow but steady pace. My listening skills are woeful, probably due the lack of social participation. It just takes a couple of months to get a hang of how these characters are created and the underlying notions of logic or randomness. It is interesting, but you need to keep it applying in daily life which at times becomes a little challenging.

I will try to re-write this post in Mandarin but there are sections which are too complicated for me to translate into Mandarin. Let's see.

Programming: The least wanted and a little unpleasant part of my schedule is programming. I have to be fiercely motivated or at least happy to get ready to code, but lately in the wake of drooping endorphins it's been a rather tough task to do.

I should be done with most of what I have been doing within a week or two if I keep pushing myself.
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Next update next month. I hope it's rather positive in the nature of its content.

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