Once Upon a Time in Blitar

 

It was still ±04.00 AM in the morning, but Yohanes and I already stood by, waiting around Maspion Square for our appointment with Rijalul. It wasn't without reason that the three of us were willing to wake up as early as this. On that day, Saturday, June 24^th 2023, the three of us planned to go to Blitar together to attend the 12^th East Java Parkour Regional Jamming. I rode my motorbike with Yohanes, while Rijalul used his own one.

 

Only 6 months after Mojokerto Regional Jamming, when its euphoria had still not faded, we were reunited in Blitar. This is definitely a very exciting moment for all parkour practitioners in East Java (and also those from outside East Java who are joining in). I really couldn't wait to meet them all later.

 

But unfortunately, our trip to Blitar wasn’t as smooth as imagined. My motorbike experienced minor incidents twice during the trip: a flat tyre and a broken exhaust. Especially for the second one, luckily not long after the incident, the three of us immediately found an electric welding workshop in the middle of random location we passed. This definitely caused our travel time being delayed, so we only reached Blitar around ±09.30 AM. But it didn’t matter as long as we’re able to arrive safely.

 

After parking our motorbikes at the Kanigoro Village Office (which was the staying location), the three of us took a break in a small coffee stall across from the office. And surprisingly, we met Ijoe there (plus several other friends). It was really an unexpected presence from Ijoe, because on the previous day, we thought he wouldn’t attend this regional jamming due to his mourning his father’s death. Luckily his family finally allowed him to come soon after his father was buried.

 

Soon after the coffee break, we returned to the village office building to re-register. And by noon, the other participants from various cities began to arrive. We chit-chatted and exchanged pleasantries with each other. Some of us continued to have lunch together in Ayam Geprek Sa'i, located right in front of the village office building and next to the previous coffee stall.

At around 03.30 PM, when the weather was less hot, the regional jamming was officially opened at the Blitar Regency Office Park, which is still within walking distance from the village office building. We all had fun jamming and exploring this place until sunset. However, to be honest, I was a little disappointed realizing my parkour skills & power had decreased compared to the previous few years (especially pre-COVID era). There were so many obstacles/gap jumps that I should have been able to overcome if I was still in my prime condition. But never mind, we can't obviously go against time/nature. Apart from that, the most important thing for me being here is the friendship and brotherhood.

 

After showering and having dinner, the meet and greet session began, where each attending community introduced themselves. Not only from East Java, but there were also representatives from Parkour Bekasi, Parkour Jakarta, Parkour Jogja, and several other non-East Java parkour communities. This session lasted until around 10:00 - 10:30 PM. Then after it finished, some of us went straight to rest, some continued to do parkour jam at night, and some continued socializing. What about me? I just went to sleep around 2:30 AM after enjoying some fellowship at one of the local food stalls and the village office terrace.

                                                                                                                                                      

The sound of a song from my friend's phone played on a large speaker, woke me up that morning. It was approximately 06:30 AM; some were still asleep, while others were already awake. Once fully conscious, I proceeded to shower and have breakfast. On that day, the second day of regional jamming, the schedule was a full day jamming at Kanigoro Park until the closing session.

Around 09:00 AM, the warm-up session had just begun. Each of the participants seemed enthusiastic despite most of us having little sleep the previous night. The Kanigoro Park spot was just as interesting as the Blitar Regency Office Park on the previous day. It also provided many big trees that shaded us from the heat of the sun.

For the next 3-4 hours, we enjoyed the jamming sessions in this park, starting from warming up, coaching clinics, free jamming, and challenges. However, the peak moment of this event unexpectedly occurred when Ijoe, Herry, and Acil spontaneously organized a sudden-precision jump challenge over a small pool on the edge of a ditch. I didn’t join the challenge due to my tired legs, so I just helped record it instead. From just being done by 3 people, then later many other friends were also interested in joining it. It turned out that the challenge indirectly became an additional session of this regional jamming.

 

And the result? As expected, some friends who failed ended up with wet shoes and pants due to splashing into the pool. But hey, that’s the fun part that we were looking for – a moment that will be remembered forever.

 

The closing session of regional jamming 2023 took place around 1:30 PM, with the announcement of Bojonegoro becoming the next host in 2024, and Malang as the host for 2025. Then afterwards most of the participants gradually went back to their respective cities, while I, still unsatisfied, continued jamming with Yohanes, Vyel, Yla, mbak Lini, and some friends from Parkour Jakarta until around 4:00 PM before returning to the village office. Shortly after showering and packing my stuff, Yohanes and I bid farewell to the others and continued our motorbike trip back to Surabaya.

Overall, this Blitar regional jamming was very memorable, just like the previous ones. I don't want to compare which regional jamming was better, because each one has its own story. And as I mentioned earlier, I’m somewhat disappointed realizing my parkour skills and power have started to decline. Even during my prime, my skills were only average compared to the others, let alone now.

But in the end, I realize that it will be a never-ending cycle if I constantly compare myself to others. It will give the impression that I don't appreciate myself, so sooner or later, it will bring negative impacts on the other aspects of my life, not just in parkour. So, perhaps it’s time for me to shift my focus away. Instead of focusing on chasing skills or big jumps, I should focus more on building fellowships with my parkour friends, because I found my second family here in this community. In the end, hopefully we can meet again next year in good health in Bojonegoro.