December 12, 2023 is the date of the last parkour class I plan to teach at the Mukwonago YMCA. I have taught parkour with that wonderful organization for over 10 years. As it comes to a close, the question arises: why are you stopping classes? The answer is not a simple or easy one. 

The summer of 2023 was challenging for me in terms of my personal health. Doctors were unable to find anything wrong with me and all tests came back negative. I was forced to routinely lay prone nearly every evening just to alleviate abdominal pain. Eating was difficult and I lost a lot of weight and muscle. Many of my close friends were trying to help me, and after 3 months I tried one last thing and switched to eating just meat. By God’s grace this fixed nearly all my issues, but most importantly the habitual pain was gone. I’m currently reintroducing foods slowly, but for now my body is quite happy with no sugar, carbs, fruits, or vegetables. Being so much out of training for the entire summer definitely has taken the wind out of my sails. 

Discovery, adaptation, and exploration are pillars of what makes parkour so enjoyable. 10 years of teaching in the same place with the same equipment has become more of a chore than a joy for me. Please don’t get me wrong, I love teaching all of the youth there. It has been an incredible opportunity to work in the community and be part of so many families. However, my passion for being in that space has come to an end. As many of you know, the complete experience of parkour includes the season, temperature, light, sounds, and surfaces. I miss training in the quiet of the night, the cool of the fall, the silence of the snow, the chaos of the city, and I see that longing drying up my enthusiasm for teaching.

Finally, God has been placing more and more responsibility onto my shoulders, and I have decided to intentionally make myself more available to the people that are asking for help. First and foremost, this attention will be redirected to my wife and children. I currently am not planning to start any additional classes to fill those Tuesday evenings, but that doesn’t mean that won’t change.

This is not easy for me and I have given it a lot of thought. I have been called the “Parkour Guy” for a long time, and I think I’ve allowed that to shape my identity. The problem is that it’s an impossible status to maintain forever. Though subtle, I’m trying to rephrase that identity from “I do Parkour” to “I use Parkour”. God has undeniably given me a gift to jump and teach others, and I want to be sure that I’m using parkour as a tool and not elevating it to an identity. My boys are getting older, and I’m entering into a phase of life where I’m needed more and more by them. It’s been a blessing to serve and teach so many of you over so many years. Thank you. 

-Travis 

To begin, I would like to apologize for the complete lack of communication this past summer. I told many students and families I would keep everyone updated and that I would plan outdoor classes this summer, and I failed. Emails came in, phone messages were left, and I didn’t respond to nearly anything. I never knew what to say. I couldn’t make any promises because it was all completely out of my hands. Not a single week was the same. Between the irregular schedule of camp work and children, the summer of 2022 was busier than I could have ever imagined. My wife and I ended up working a combined 60 to 80 hours most weeks. We were busy with horsemanship, farming hay, fixing boats, driving tractors, building fires, leading hayrides, and fixing an innumerable amount of sinks and toilets! 

Parkour classes at the Mukwonago YMCA and East Troy Bible Church started up again in early September and as strange of a transition away from parkour at the beginning of summer it was equally strange jumping back into it in September. I have always maintained a strong level of authenticity with parkour, and to return to classes after having spent the summer as a maintenance worker felt disingenuous. To put on the baggy sweats and barefoot shoes made me feel a bit like an imposter. To have had so much enjoyment from a summer doing something other than parkour caused me to feel like a traitor. I always knew there would be an end to my parkour career, but I’m not ready to give it up yet. Not having the gym where students can advance makes the current classes seem like they are going nowhere. Innumerable students over so many years looked to me for so much, and now I hate the feeling that I have just disappeared. “You don’t know how much of an impact you have on these kids,” was what a parent said to me recently. I know it, and I love it, and I hate that it’s been in a state of abandonment.

At the time of this blog post, I am very uncertain about the future of parkour classes as Axiom Parkour. Because of the company and website I continue to be contacted with questions of birthday parties, future classes, expanding locations, and familiar stories of sports that have failed children and that parkour is their last resort. It breaks my heart and I have no acceptable response. The times that used to be filled with hope and excitement for new students are now lost to disappointment as I can’t offer what I once did.

In the last days of the parkour gym, Etre Fort (a clothing company) announced they were no longer going to make their baggy sweatpants anymore, so as a little celebration of the times at the gym I bought some as a way to reassure myself that it was not the end. Recently, the company announced that they will be closing down completely and now I question if it really is the end.

In order for there to be an end to this rambling, we’ll finish with the facts. 

1) God has given me an incredible ability to practice parkour and share it with others.

2) I have an entire gym’s worth of parkour equipment sitting in storage.

3) My parkour shoes still have lots of tread and my new pants have yet to be stained and torn.

4) I strive to submit to God’s will in all that I do, and so while I am prepared to continue with parkour, I am also prepared to be finished. 

5) As long as I am able, I will jump, climb, and balance wherever I go. 

      As some of you that have attended the gym might know, there are easter eggs all around. Each object was found or created at the gym, and for the first time ever, they are being publicly recorded so you can forever be distracted at class! The fun is in the finding, so when you do discover a new one keep it to yourself and don’t touch it. The list is in order from easiest to hardest to find. Have fun!

Preface & Chapters 1-14

      Welcome! I’ve decided to chronicle a journey in this medium. At the onset of my 2020 building buying fiasco, I thought about vlogging or posting pictures to social media, but I really don’t like doing those things.

So you want to start training outside in the winter. I have some suggestions that should make it more comfortable. As a general rule, wear multiple lightweight layers you can remove and replace to reduce how much you sweat. Wet = Cold

Upper Body

WHY?