Naples April 2014
From Sunday the 13th to Sunday the 20th of April the Train Hard team were in Naples. The event was organised by the Provolution parkour family, of which, Train Hard are a part.
A notable event at the airport was Dan bringing various bottles of liquid and razor blades in his hand luggage.
Arriving in Naples was interesting, with just one tiny Fiat Punto sent to ferry all 8 of TH to the Motion Parkour Park, where we were staying. After a bit of haggling in Italian, none of which we understood, we came to a deal that it would cost us 10 euros each to get to the park.
The driving in Naples is slightly more open to interpretation than in the U.K. Driving in the middle of two lanes is the done thing, with plenty of friendly beeps of the horn to go with it. Seat belts are also optional.
Once we arrived at the park, the taxi drivers had changed their minds and decided the fare had gone up, after a bit of haggling in Italian it was decided that the fare had still gone up and we were paying the higher price.
The Motion Park is a warehouse in a car breakers yard on a country road. The Motion Production crewhave poured a lot of their blood and sweat (leading to an unsanitary situation j/k) into the place, and have turned it into a versatile training area.
The bar set up is really cool, and is where I (Jackson) spent most of my time, starting with basic stuff, then finding more difficult challenges as the week went on. Then Matthias Mayer turned up and blew all of my efforts out of the water.
A handful of different boxes are spread around the gym; these can be moved around to create different opportunities. Lastly there is a foam pit. Dan Parry spent A LOT of time in the foam pit.
Throughout the week, we visited Monte Santo nearly everyday, where there are loads of interesting places to train. We trained mostly in the centre of the city, with security not really being too worried about people training, as long as you’re being quiet.
The locals were really inviting, and it was really great meeting the locals at different cities and training spots. They’ve already figured out a lot of the interesting challenges, which means you can get going straight away.
On Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th, we delivered some workshops to the Italians. On both days we were met with enthusiastic and willing attitudes. Although we didn’t speak any Italian, we had a great translator in Gianluca. Even though there was a language barrier, the Train Hard charm came across loud and clear, and everybody enjoyed the warm ups and activities.
One activity saw participants losing their right arm and their sight, then trying to negotiate the park’s various obstacles. Quite often, a person’s parkour training can become quite boxed in, with only specific movements being focused on. The activity mentioned above takes a person out of their comfort zone and back into the mind of a beginner. It was fantastic to see everybody take to the challenge so well.
One person who really struck me was Matthias Mayer. Now, Matthias can move, and he can move well. Before meeting him I wasn’t sure what he’d be like; a person who is at the top of their game can sometimes be arrogant, looking down on people of lesser skill. This is not the case with Matthias and highlighted to me, my own prejudices.
As soon as we met Matthias, we liked him. He had a great sense of humor and he was instantly cracking jokes and throwing the banter about with the rest of us. The fact that he was doing ridiculous side somersault precisions was a bonus. He got involved with all of the coached activities and ran a fantastic lache workshop. Speaking to him in the less dynamic moments of the trip, it’s obvious he’s a thinker and has his head screwed on. We can’t wait to get him over to the UK.
Another highlight was meeting the Crazy Traceur boys, Loris, Manuele and Guglielmo. Young lads with great potential, and a real appetite for challenge. We look forward to seeing you guys again!
The stars of the show are the Motion Production crew. A huge thank you and much respect goes to Gianluca Ferraiuolo, Giuseppe Nappo, Gianmarco Cipolletta and Salvatore Langella. Not forgetting Antonio Fasano (meatball) and Valentina Pianese (we hope your car is okay).
These guys were so accommodating. We were given access to their parkour facility all week, and living in a parkour facility means there’s no excuse for lack of training. It’s obvious that the Motion Production team want to further parkour in Italy, and are making some great efforts trying to realise their goal. Train Hard are proud to be a member of Provolution and enjoy working in partnership with all involved.
A massive shout out also goes out to the Swiss team Streem Freerun. Colin, Marco, Damaris, Niko and Joshua (yoshi mitchi yasaki). It was great to see you all, and you made our trip really memorable. Luca ‘Swainger’ Russo is okay too…
Check out the images below, and be sure to check out the guys on all the social media, if you can be bothered with that.
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