If you've never heard of Parkour or Free-Running you should definitely do a youtube search.
Wednesday came around and I was ready to go check out this Free-running gym I had heard so much about. This place is pretty much like a skatepark but for parkour/free-running, Think Skatepark meets gymnastics gym. This place was located in Northridge CA. It's open gym from 7-10 and cost $10 to do whatever you want with your time. They have floors that are springy and somewhat soft so if you want to try a trick you're unsure of the risk is much lower since you can pretty much bust your ass and just land on a padded floor. Some parts of the gym have hard floors and are set up like a city street. There are foam pits that you can hurl yourself into from a 12 foot drop or just go straight from a trampoline into the pit if you really want to fly high and not worry about the impact. Needless to say I found myself running full speed off the edge of the 12ft drop and practicing flips of all sorts. This was the perfect place to raise your skill level by taking your tricks from foam pit - to padded floor - to real floor. With the padded floors I was able to a pop vault to front flip. It's crazy because I did it 1st try but would not have known I could do it if I didn't have the safety of the pads. Just goes to show we are all capable of doing things we previously thought we didn't have the skills to do.
I packed up my things, said a few goodbyes, and left with some new skills and a few new buddies.
This week has been really fun. I met some awesome people, learned new skills, and had a blast while doing it. I don't know where this road will take me but it's making me happy so it's gotta be good. A wise man once said, "There is no way to happiness, Happiness is the way." I love that. I also love my life and this place called EL-Aye.
Oh and Check out the Tempest Gym: www.tempestacademy.com and watch this video for a look at the gym.