I have no athletic skills. I tried parkour.

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Parkour! Parkour!

I don’t know the guy but he really needs to believe in himself more.

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/mindmountain 📅︎︎ Feb 20 2022 🗫︎ replies

Wait... is Tom Scott a celebrity?

I've followed his Youtube channel for ages but I thought he was just a nerdy niche channel.

👍︎︎ 4 👤︎︎ u/edinbruhphotos 📅︎︎ Feb 20 2022 🗫︎ replies

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We've just shot my first parkour video. Lower your expectations. But that means I need to give you the disclaimer. This is Hedge, a qualified parkour instructor, and also one of the people who writes the qualifications for parkour instructors. We've made a lot of choices, both on-camera and off-camera, to keep Tom safe. We've taught him the basics in a safe environment, and built it up slowly. Don't try what you see at home. But if you do want to try it... go off somewhere with a qualified parkour instructor, and try it there. I got an email from Access Parkour in Edinburgh, inviting me to learn something cool. (chuckles) And now I'm here, at this— I was expecting sort of foam pits and things. This is very solid. Yeah. So parkour developed outdoors. It's an outdoor discipline. And the idea is that you challenge yourself to... move through the environment and complete challenges. And so what we do here is, when we brought it indoors, we're replicating outdoor environments, where everything is solid. It's made of metal, concrete, wood. We do have a rubber floor down, which is there to... just prevent any major spills from causing any injury. But generally, the way we try and teach you is we're gonna learn how to move safely in concrete environments. And everything that we do today is going to build up on that idea. So we're going to learn how to keep ourselves safe. Learn how to drop down when there's a problem, learn how to get off from balancing, and just generally keep you, um, safe, by teaching you how to fall and how to drop down. But for a beginner, we're much more interested in challenging you at your own level. So my level is not great. Like I was— I— I don't really have— I can sorta do that, and that's about the most I can get out of upper body strength. I was kinda assuming I was gonna need a lot more than that to do anything. Parkour is something where... you get fit by doing it. Rather than— It's really common. People say to me, "Oh, I'm not fit enough to do parkour." But actually, by doing parkour, we challenge you at your level, and you'll get stronger, you'll learn more, you'll develop more. So I'm not going to be doing big flips through the air, or anything like that? My goal here is that after... What, we've got about six hours today? Yep. And then tomorrow, we go out and we try and film something with the help of slow-motion cameras and a production team... that does not look terrible. Like, if I get one shot where I look vaguely cool... I'm gonna be happy with that. 'Cause I don't think I've ever looked cool in my life. That seems possible. So, when I'm balancing... Yep. I want to have my foot on, but you'll see my toe is just off the bar, and my heel is just off the bar here. and my right knee is just on the outside. So it's actually a slightly external position. Okay. Okay, so that's the position. If you feel strongly there, and then this is nice and tight, and this is nice and tight, you come up, you balance on a single foot, okay? And you're gonna fall down quite a bit right now, and that's fine. Good. So, um... Try and be a stick instead of spaghetti. So... Okay. We will stand up, and I'm gonna try and hold tight, and the work is going to be done at the knee. So everything else is tight, and it's just the knee. Everything else moving, it's like if you imagine... trying to coordinate every bit of your body moving at once. Instead, you hold your body, and do the balance with a single joint. Okay, and that's about the right position for the foot. Stand nice and tall. Yeah. ...Oh! And there's a bit of flailing on the arm. (laughs) As soon as— So instinctively, I started moving my body... and it all fell apart. Yeah? Cool. Keep practicing that. I'll be back in a second. Alright, here we go. ♪ (retro electronic dance music) It's the exact opposite of everything my body wants to do! (music finishes) Here's the game. You're going to balance on that bar. Right. I'm going to bounce this ball at you. You're going to try and catch it. Okay. If you fall, you're going to grab the bar. Very good. Fandabidozi. So we've got a slightly higher bar now, and we're still gonna be working on balance on it, but before we do that, we're gonna kind of build on this idea of getting down safely from the bar. So we're gonna be using the front of our foot here, on the bar, and the opposing hand is going to grab the bar. The first thing we're gonna do — it's called the step-through position — is you're going to try and keep this knee over this toe, and float here, and then float here, and float here, and float here. That looks like you've taken parkour, and distilled it down into a single movement. That looks like some foundational thing just there. You're learning foundational parkour. Alright. Ohh! Oh no. Hey! Oh, no. Not sure I've got the flexibility. Hey! (laughs) Again, like, half a second before it fell apart, but... What I did there was I missed the bar. ♪ (synth arpeggio) Next skill... You're gonna sit on this box. I can do that. Excellent. ♪ (retro electronic dance music) Okay. Good. Turn, down, down. Okay. ...Alright. I'll be here to catch you. Okay. Belly on. And then... ...down. You just descended off something the same height as you. (wheezes) Okay. I'll take that. (music fades) This is gonna be our first exposure to a little bit of height. And don't worry, it's this bar. We're not going crazy yet. The good news is I'm not going to force you to climb onto this bar. Instead, you're going to get a bit of help. You're gonna bring yourself onto this bar. Okay. Okay? And we're gonna be trying to get off the bar. So we're gonna come here... here, we're gonna be going through, and we're gonna try and come onto the ground as lightly as possible. Okay. I mean, that is not a graceful... not a graceful rising. That is... and I know it's gonna look terrible on camera. But, this is... I don't wanna say it's higher than it looks. It's exactly as high as it looks to you down there. All I'm saying is it's the first time I've been at a height where... I know you'll catch me, and I know I can catch myself. But it's the first time in which... my brain's going, "That's injury-height." Yeah. But you know what to do. Yeah, I do. We're gonna go... Michael Jackson toes. Good. Toes here. Down here. And... balance. Good. Like that! That I can do. Are you gonna get down? I'm gonna try and go over back. Okay. Good, good. Reach for the second hand. Wait, I got it, I got it, I got it. (wheezes) Decisive. We're gonna move on a little bit, now that we've sort of got quite a few different skills together. We're gonna start integrating them all together to create routes. ♪ (hip-hop rhythm bed) I have already lost what you wanted me to do there. This is not about speed. This is about landing each thing, and the flow will come naturally. That felt good! Yeah? That felt smooth. I started to take a moment here though. ♪ (dramatic percussion) Should've descended there. Slow. Slow. Grab. ♪ (music picks up) So the thing is, while I'm quite proud of myself at this point, 'cause this feels fairly continuous... it also feels like... if you give a six-year-old a playground... they'd probably be able to just do this. (pants) On the other hand... I'm not a six-year-old. (both laugh) (music ends) I don't bounce so much if I fall. The fluidity doesn't really happen with the kids. You'll see them hit all these beats, but they won't try and integrate them the way you're doing, and make that lovely continuous movement. For that to happen, it'll take a bit of practicing. But it's coming with the practice and the repetition, which is really nice. We're gonna create a couple more of these today. We're gonna get you in the habit of putting the bits and pieces together. And that'll be us. Alright. Cool, let's go for the next one. Alright. ♪ (hip-hop music bed) Wahey, that was slippy. And that was my knee. I was rushing. I'm tired and I'm rushing, okay. (music ends) You're getting frustrated at it, 'cause it's hard, and actually the main problem right now is lack of focus, end of the day. Let's call it here instead of hurt ourselves. Go back tomorrow. I'm tempted to say one more try. No. No, no. No? 'Cause that one more try is the most likely to hurt you, and I'd rather you were okay tomorrow. So let's finish there. Let's call it. Get some water. We'll do it tomorrow. You've had a fantastic day. There's a lot of movements I haven't done in decades, of lifting myself up, of twisting, turning, that wrists are going to ache tomorrow, legs are going to ache tomorrow. But, everything in here, I have managed. Mhm. It's just, at the end of the day, I wanna nail this. And I wanna get one run-through where I can go, "Yeah, I've done this." But you're right. I'll hurt myself. Yeah. So let's leave it. From my perspective, you're doing better than expected, which is great. It's a low bar, and I've cleared it(!) The other thing is, I really like the effort you put into it. So you're concentrating, you're working hard. You're taking note of the details, and you're trying to put them together, which means that it is progressing. Because if you do as I ask, you'll get better, and that's the point. And what I really like is, because you've listened, it's been a very safe day. Which is a really great way to start parkour. ♪ (mellow strings and piano) Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Morning. Morning. (music ends) How're you doing? Bit sore. Thought I was gonna be worse. I've— I'm okay, I'm okay. I thought I was gonna hurt a lot more than I am doing, so yeah, I'll be okay. That's good news. Okay, there's a couple things to be aware of. First of all, we are outdoors. And so, because we're outdoors, things are hard. So we don't even have that rubber floor. And there are edges, and there are corners, and there are odd angles. And so we need to be a lot more careful with our choice of movements and think things through. Yeah. So again, yesterday we were talking about being slow and considering things. It's about flow, it's not about speed. Yeah, so we're gonna build up the speed over time, but generally it's about keeping everything consistent. And secondly, there is a bit more height. Okay. And we're gonna be sort of playing with that the entire time. Because obviously, height looks good. It's spectacular, it's enjoyable to see. But it comes with more risk. Yeah. So we're gonna be making decisions based on what we can and can't do, and keeping ourselves within a margin of risk that we are both happy with. Alright. And if you're okay with that, we're gonna get started. Yeah. Okay. Where... Let's go! Where do we start...? What we're gonna do is we're gonna be careening over here, we're gonna be using this wall, gonna be rolling over here, descending down there, and using these steps. Okay! That is... That's already more than I thought I was gonna get to do, so okay. So it's gonna be mostly fine, and there's a couple different options. And we're gonna sort of build up to it. So, the movements we were learning indoors, things like this... Yep. ...work well. Here, it's about getting that lovely step-through motion. Hooh, okay! And coming down through here. That is... Okay? And the thing is, I know that's gonna look... just... like a really small thing on camera. But from where I am right here... That's— That's a lot further down than I thought it was gonna be. Excellent. Well, let's build up to it. Alright. Great news. So this bar is very wide. Yes it is. I can balance on that. That's not a problem. You're gonna find balancing on this, absolutely no worries at all. Okay. And you're gonna find crouching down on this, absolutely no worries. You're gonna find that step-through position, absolutely no worries. And you're gonna be able to come to here, and be able to use this, and be able to come down here. Okay. And you're gonna— That's not gonna be an issue. Just give it a go. Go for it. So, hand comes down to here. Other hand's gonna grab here. Other hand's gonna grab here. Step through. Yep. Turn to there. Ohh! Turn around. Turn around. Sit down. And drop. Yeah. Okay. So now we're gonna go about here, do the same thing. So... Pivot down, extend to the right. Step down. Over here. Left hand— left foot up. It's very easy, 'cause you're gonna use this here. Okay. And you're just gonna jump easy over. That's gonna be left— I'm sure that's gonna slip. It doesn't. Try it, it doesn't slip. Okay, so it's gonna be, foot here... Toes if I can. Uh-huh. And then it's gonna be... (grunts) Okay! I know that won't look like much on camera, but that was a real leap-of-faith moment for me, because I was sure my foot was gonna go (imitates scrape) and I was gonna smack my face into that bar. You can go under this one. I can just... Whee! (groans) Apparently I had problems! That was not smooth. So for that one then, we'll come in, walk it down, and then come through. Okay. Pivot down, extend to the right. Step down. (groans) I'm safe, I'm good. Thank you. Please tell me you got that. I got it. That was exactly what I thought was gonna happen. "Oh, I'm balanced on that." And I did not react in time. And I had one leg on either side. Did you hit the goolies, or are you safe? No, I hit the thigh, so I'm fine, but... That was caused by not enough strength in these arms. And since the run's a bit cold, didn't push up enough. Alright. And careful, you're swinging. Oh! (laughs) Alright, let's try it again! You feeling good? I'm feeling okay. ♪ (hip-hop ostinato) Yeah. ♪ (vocal samples added) That felt good! Alright. Let's get— Let's get a slow-mo. ♪ (music intensifies) What's gonna happen here is that lovely... step-through to come to that small edge. Yep. Turn around. Lower down. That's... That's nearly two metres. Cool, okay. Right foot comes down and lowers to there. And then the second foot comes off, and you're gonna drop safely to the ground. No, I'm not. Sorry, that's... I know it's like three, four feet, and it's scaring the hell out of me. Alright, step away. Gimme a sec. We're going down into that. Uh-huh. Down to that. Uh-huh. Really good. We're going here. Gonna do left foot, right hand. Then it's gonna be step-through to there. Turn around. Half-turn. Overgrip. Nope. No, one foot. Yeah, good. One foot as far as I can go. Now I can see down to there. Bring this down. (grunts) Like that. Yeah. Yes! (both chuckle) I have never done anything like that before. (music ends) Your next step is gonna be here. Okay. (laughs) Don't worry about it. Don't worry. There's no way! Oh that... Yeah. That is— That is a long way down! I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. Thank you. I am definitely gonna try tightrope walking at some point. Hooh. I'm not scared of heights. I'm scared of falling. It's not the height. It's the fall. Yeah. If it feels weird, dive at me. It feels very weird. Excellent. Well, don't dive at me now, 'cause you're not falling off. I'm bringing my legs together. You are. Go up again. Keep the moment. Become bored of it. I'm here, so you can't go anywhere. I'm literally holding you. But watch, you can actually balance there fine. Slow breaths. Three-quarter bar. Three-quarter bar. Slow breaths. Slow breaths. Slow breaths. Three-quarter bar. Okay yeah, that's good. ♪ (hip-hop dance music) Foot over, half turn. Over, half turn. Over, half turn. Left foot. (music fades) So, one more shot left. Have you got any idea what we're doing next? Hold on, hold on, so... We've done the drop-down. Uh-huh. We've done the step-through. Uh-huh. What else did you teach me? Well, I've taught you how to balance on things. Yeah, we've done. We've done a little bit of that. But we've been doing some fairly wide bars. ...Oh, okay. I see where this is going. So the good news is that here, there's... Oh, you're kidding me! ...some really lovely chrome bars. And it's a nice height, and we've got a couple options for descending. That's... very thin and very shiny! Yeah, it's good, isn't it? So the first thing we're gonna do to get you onto the bar... is we're gonna use that step position, and we're gonna cheat a little bit. Yep. Hoooh-kay. Alright? That is step one. I don't like step one! Gonna be honest with you. Don't like step one. Right foot up. Uh-huh, up. Good? Yep. Good, good. We squeak over here. This is the point where I definitely need a shoulder... ...as a stable point there. Good, bring the foot in. Alright. With me, fix the hip. Good, fix the right foot a little bit. So... position. Yep, lower straight down. Lower straight down. Grab further away. Grab further away. Cross. Step through easily down. Step down. Good. Down. Step down. Step down. Step down nicely. Step down nicely. Bend the knees to get straight arms. Bend the knees all the way. To get straight arms. Swing, and drop! Yeah, and then step over and keep walking. I'm gonna keep going. The more nonchalant you look as you come out of it, the more awesome you look. Alright. ♪ (electronic drum and bass) (music stops) (chuckles) That's it. I've got nothing left in these arms now. So you look really impressive there. You're nice and high up, safely down. That's solid, really good technique. Down... here. This is a little slow, but we can cut that well. And then you come down— This is really nice. I like how you came down, away... and walked confidently away. (chuckles) And then you, yeah. The bar I was aiming for was like, "not terrible". And like that... I think you achieved that. It looks like someone having... (chuckles) his very first attempt at parkour done by a slow-motion camera. Yeah, but it works. Do you wanna show me how it's actually done? Yeah, sure. ♪ (electronic dance music) [Caption+ by JS* caption.plus | @caption_plus]

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Channel: Tom Scott plus

Views: 1,631,792

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Keywords: tom scott, tomscott

Id: 9GxXjTQSrLU

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Length: 21min 20sec (1280 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 19 2022