The parkour legend Chris “Blane” Rowat balancing on a rail in London. Summer 2017, a hot day, photoshooting for Skochypstiks. Picture by Andy Day.

“If you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you” – Nietzsche

Humans’ perceptions and instincts are inner signals that can and should be trusted. If you feel you are thirsty, you probably need water. If you feel like something is wrong, it probably is.

Human states have been vastly investigated in the literature. Either in the form of models or scales, they all tried to frame a specific condition considering the individual perceptions produced during the direct stimulation.

These methods of measurement have been implemented in psychology, business, physical activity and so on.

In Powerlifting Mike Tuchscherer proposes a method called Reactive Training System (RTS) which is based upon a rate of perceived exertion (RPE). The RTS puts into a relation the RM percentages for a given lift with the number of repetitions that can be performed with a training weight. Its applications are endless – from autoregulating training based on fatigue to developing a better sensitivity with different loads. (if interest in its limitations click here). Similarly, the classic Borg scale is in an RPE system that is used to measure cardiovascular effort by guessing it subjectively in due course of an activity. It can be used in different forms of testing or as a training tool.

Same Photographer, situation, place, time. See above. However, this time it’s me climbing a rusty tower.

 In psychology, different scales have been developed for research and treatment purposes in clinical contexts. Usually, they are validated through extensive testing and a bit more complex than the basic ones seen above.
Just to name two: The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) is used “to assess the severity of symptoms of anxiety” (you could guess right?), and The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) that examines the chronic and the acute state of the art on this topic. Down here you click on the elements I am talking about:

For example, trying to make more quantitative the degree at which an internal emotion is expressed (such as acute fear) can used for exercise selection during practice.

So, check this out: 

When setting up a session of familiarization with fear, you should be working between four to eight PFS-RPE. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you stay true to the scale. Be honest. You might need to regress your sessions a lot or to move them forward according to the stage you are at. Don’t assume you are at a certain stage forever since things change from session to session and we evolve from moment to moment.

Try to assess the current stage you are in a certain condition and move from there.

Gradually progressing into the scale will require a long time, so to make it sustainable – stay in a state you can sustain for a long enough. When training to better handle basophobia (fear of falling) or acrophobia (fear of heights) for example, the time spent at height is everything. You might think you did a great session because the emotions you felt were very intense, but the actual time spent up there might have been too little, therefore the session becomes poor.

The trick to progress in this game is a constant gradual exposure. Start from a manageable drill, work through it, make it harder until even the hardest variation goes from an eight to a three; then start over. On a preparation layer, this is what I call acclimatization to heights.

But, don’t stop here. From time to time retest your skills on a reality base.
This is what makes parkour, climbing, fighting so interesting to my eyes, you can test your level on your skin where the words don’t mean as much as the actual act of doing.

I.e. you can balance on the floor. You can stand at height. Now, be brave, balance at height. There is a lot of learning waiting for you there.

More insights, next week.

Marcello.

Picture by Andy Day – summer 2017, in a photoshoot for Skochy, London.

I do not mean slightly difficult, but extremely tough.

Your body would try all that is in its power to avoid facing them and it will try to protect you in any possible way.

You think you are tired, busy, simply not ready. Not today, not like this. These are all excuses; protective mechanisms at their finest, trying to trick the mind to avoid putting yourself at risk.

Why? In an evolutionary sense, fear protects you from a potential death, that would also imply an inability of transmitting your genes to the next generation (1). One of the most valuable tools in a nutshell. As easy as that.

The body knows, you know, we all know – deep inside.

This may become a problem when the “fear of fear” is installed in people’s minds, creating as consequence illusions and misperceptions (2). Not experiencing fear while stepping into the world of risk can limit possibilities and discoveries. But how can we approach risk without blindly stepping into the darkness and getting irremediably hurt?

Follow me here.

For a given risk, only one performance outcome is possible, and that is relative to the individual level of preparedness.

This means: accept your state and what you can do. Move from there. Regress the scenarios to your possibilities.

The illusion lies in looking into situations that are too hard for an individual’s level of preparedness without adjusting them by a possible and realistic and controllable risk. Stepping over that line should not be an option.

For example: if it’s hard for you to climb a 5.2 (YDS), you don’t even think about free soloing El Capitan. It is simply not in the frame, it is way beyond it.

I am not saying don’t dream big, but keep the feet well grounded when walking your path.

You know Black Mirror’s “Arkangel” episode (4)? The mother that wants to control the daughter at all costs altering her perceptions to protect her from anything? Well, (spoiler alert) it doesn’t end well, doesn’t it?

Get the right amount of risk exposure, tune in your perceptions.

Mental Preparedness:

So, it appears clear that if you want to step up the game and access a wider range of possibilities you need to increase your preparedness. How? I’ll make it general now, and elaborate more in the future:

– expose yourself to a variety of scenarios and gain experience;

– widen your capacity and increase your skill set;

– learn how to better handle your emotions.

As you wait for some more insight, don’t get too cautious and make mistakes: smaller traumas protect us from bigger and more profound ones. As I use to say when I teach impacts management, there is a difference between Eu-traumas and Dis-traumas.

Eu = positive stress -> will make you grow.

Dis = negative stress -> will destroy you.

Get the Eu, discard the Dis. Don’t get injured, but don’t stop for a few scratches, it’s all part of the game.

To summarize:

Tune in your risks perception by gradually exposing yourself out of your comfort zone, experiencing fear. Let it guide your choices, let it protect you, help you, give you an advice when nobody else can.

Be careful not to fall into the illusion that there are more situations for a single state of risk and preparedness.

Then, increase your mental preparedness by gaining experience, increasing your skill set and learning how to channel and control emotions.

Is this getting any clearer?

Good. Next week I will present the acclimatization and the shock method to fear via height training and I will give you a practical scale that can be used to determine your level in the journey.

Until next week,
-Marcello. 

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1. Dawkins, R. (1989). The selfish gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2. Reiss, S., Peterson, R., Gursky, D., & McNally, R. (1986). Anxiety sensitivity, anxiety frequency and the prediction of fearfulness. Behaviour Research And Therapy, 24(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1016/0005-7967(86)90143-9
3. Arkangel (Black Mirror). (2018). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkangel_(Black_Mirror)