atreideslioness: (don't look back)
Ghanima Atreides ([personal profile] atreideslioness) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2010-08-02 09:51 am

Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You, Week V [Monday, Period 1]

When students arrived in the Danger Shop today, they'd see an obstacle course, modeled after rooftops and walls, about six-to-ten feet off the ground, foam mats all over the floor.

"Good afternoon," Ghanima said cheerily. "Today we're looking at remaining mobile in an unfamiliar urban environment. To this end, we are studying parkour, or l'art du déplacement."

"When lost or being pursued in an unfamiliar city, sticking to the streets is the equivalent of painting a target on your back," she continued. "A stranger will stick out like nothing else, and sometimes an alternative view of your surroundings can be unbelievably helpful."

"Parkour is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as smoothly, efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females."

"Now, parkour is a physical activity that is often categorized as a sport or an extreme sport; however, parkour has no set of rules. Most experienced traceurs think of parkour as a discipline closer to martial arts. It is often said that 'the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it.'"

"The primary characteristic of parkour is efficiency. Practitioners move not only as rapidly as they can, but also in the most direct and efficient way possible. This characteristic distinguishes it from the similar practice of freerunning, which places more emphasis on freedom of movement and creativity. Efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, both short and long term, part of why parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer - to be and to last. Those who are skilled at this activity normally have an extremely keen spatial awareness."

"So, today, you'll be trying it out on a smaller scale," she said, going over some of the basic moments with the students. "For those of you that manage this course, I'll switch the Danger Shop over to an actual urban environment, and you can feel free to take a run at a slightly more realistic scenario."

[OCD is ready to run!]
therewaslife: (→ | school bound)

Re: Sign-In V

[personal profile] therewaslife 2010-08-02 03:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Nobody Owens
therewaslife: (↑ | pretty good yep)

Re: During the Lecture

[personal profile] therewaslife 2010-08-02 03:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Parkour was something Bod hadn't heard of before and, after learning what it was, he knew it could have been helpful in the past. The past was the past though and today was about learning how to do this for the future.

He watched the obstacle course curiously while contemplating how to get over it in his head.

Re: Sign-In V

[identity profile] ostianbelle.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Asuna Kagurazaka

Re: Sign-In V

[identity profile] thegirl-onfire.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 05:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Katniss Everdeen

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] ostianbelle.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh. She's never heard of Parkour before but it looks like one of those things Setsuna can do.

Re: Sign-In V

[identity profile] lordofthecats.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 05:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Lion-o
momslilassassin: ([neg] zomg!)

Re: Sign-In V

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2010-08-02 05:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben Skywalker
momslilassassin: ([pos] grin)

Re: During the Lecture

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2010-08-02 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben's eyes lit up. He didn't know that this was a sport--it was just something he did. The next date he and Tahiri went on was going to be astral.
momslilassassin: ([pos] hee)

Re: Run the Practice Course

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2010-08-02 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Ben was trying not to rely too heavily on his Jedi reflexes, but about halfway through the course he gave into the impulse and began to leap higher and further, tossing in flips and making jumps that ordinary reflexes couldn't account for.

He was having a ball.
momslilassassin: ([pos] grin)

Re: être et durer!

[personal profile] momslilassassin 2010-08-02 06:09 pm (UTC)(link)
As far as Ben was concerned, this was the best class ever. Coruscant should be wary for his next trip home--there'd be a Jedi racing across rooftops much like he was doing through the Danger Shop now.
notagoose: (Default)

Re: Sign-In V

[personal profile] notagoose 2010-08-02 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Shane Gooseman

Re: Sign-In V

[identity profile] nothornlessrose.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 11:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Cassidy

Re: During the Lecture

[identity profile] nothornlessrose.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 11:29 pm (UTC)(link)
Cassidy was examining the obstacle course with a great bit of curiosity.

Re: Run the Practice Course

[identity profile] nothornlessrose.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 11:30 pm (UTC)(link)
Cassidy was very much enjoying herself as she worked with the practice course.

Re: être et durer!

[identity profile] nothornlessrose.livejournal.com 2010-08-02 11:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh this was going to be so much fun! And her next trip home was already being planned so she could try all of this out.
eyebrowgoesup: (Vulcan - not yet imploded)

Re: Sign-In V

[personal profile] eyebrowgoesup 2010-08-03 04:13 am (UTC)(link)
Spock