"I've always been fascinated by Eastern cultures, which probably has a lot to do with my childhood preferences." On the way to the Yamakasi training camp, David Bell told Lin Mingyang about some of his history with parkour. "When I was a kid I lived in Lisbon, and the game I loved to play in my childhood was to pretend to be a ninja and run around on the roofs of my school, and the teachers at my school used to bring my father in to talk to me, and our principal even threatened to get me out of the house if I climbed up on the roofs again!"
"If I did that, my mom would probably go crazy!" Lin Mingyang said with some envy.
"This is also thanks to my father, although he is a soldier, he gave me more tolerance and support. I have to say that my pioneering of the sport of parkour was heavily influenced by my father - the original text of the word parkour is 'ParcoursDuCombatant', which means a training course for traversing obstacles. As you know it's a very common form of training in the army, in fact parkour started to circulate among French soldiers much earlier, only back then it wasn't as complete a system as it is now."
"It was you who pioneered the sport of parkour, nowadays this sport is slowly becoming popular, perhaps in the future it will become a representative of extreme sports!" Whether in the movie or in reality, Lin Ming Yang was full of interest in the sport of parkour.
"It's not me alone, but a group of like-minded friends who developed the sport together." David Bell shook his head, he didn't take all the credit, "Speaking of which, I have to mention my good friend Sabasti, he and I were born in the same year and grew up together, it took us about 10 years to create this new way of life. My contribution to the sport has been mainly in terms of technique, while Sabasti developed the concept of parkour."
"Isn't higher, faster and stronger the ultimate concept of all sports?" Lin Mingyang was a bit puzzled, all along he had thought that the slogan of the Olympics had already encapsulated the true meaning of all sports.
"So in a sense, it's not accurate to simply categorize parkour as an extreme sport, in our opinion, it's a way of life and an attitude that can even become a culture!" David Bell said with a serious and earnest expression, "Sabasti was influenced by Asian philosophy as I was, and decided that he wanted to convert his own beliefs, from fighting against negative forces, to 'flowing like water'. He then chose to use his beliefs to start a new philosophy. And the base of this theory is built on the idea of freedom."
Lin Mingyang easily accepted his explanation, as he thought of a famous quote about water by Laozi in the Tao Te Ching: "Water is good for all things but does not contend; the only thing that does not contend is that there is nothing in the world that can contend with it!"
"Life is like a process made up of obstacles and challenges to overcome, and if you are proficient in parkour, then you will get more out of your life." David Bell led Lin Ming Yang to stop in front of an abandoned factory, he opened his hands, "Welcome to Yamakasi!"
Standing in the large expanse of thick, dark shadows cast towards the ground by the tall workshop plant, Lin Mingyang could hardly imagine that this was Yamakasi, the birthplace of parkour. From between the already rusted steel-framed blast furnaces, the sunlight only barely shone in, and between the two huge workshops was a narrow pathway, walking up to the center, with all the huge pipes overhead that were erected in the air, and these dark pipes whirred and rumbled with the roar of powerful winds.
After ascending a flight of escalators, not far away was an iron gate with the word Yamakasi written in paint on it in a lonely manner, and it was indeed better known than seen that this was the headquarters of Yamakasi.
Seemingly sensing the strange expression on Lin Ming Yang's face, David Bell hurriedly explained, "This is our training camp, it does look a little shabby."
"Fortunately!" Lin Mingyang had been fully prepared in his heart from the moment he entered.
"Once we accept new members, we never charge any fees for the related training training. There were also quite a few sponsors who offered us cooperation, but they were all rejected by us, we're not a training organization, all the people here share a common hobby, we're not inventing this sport for the sake of money."
"Parkour is not a product of popularity, it should be an evolution of the mind! Understanding the philosophy of parkour is much more important than showing simple moves, and it can be considered an important lesson of a lifetime." Before David Bell could finish his sentence, a man suddenly jumped down from the mouth of the escalator on the floor above, looking about the same age as David Bell, but a little more chiseled in build. The visitor took over and said a philosophical interpretation of the sport of parkour.
"I think you must be Mr. Sabasti!" Lin Mingyang quickly responded as he extended his hand to the other party in a friendly manner, "Mr. Bell has just been talking to me about you and your philosophy!"
"What conclusions?" Sabasti shook Lin Ming Yang's hand, then asked curiously.
"You are an interesting person!" Lin Mingyang smiled.
Sabasti pointed a finger at Lin Mingyang, "I like that comment, no matter who you are or where you're from, welcome to Yamakasi - the paradise of the free!"
"Hello, my name is Felix Lin, from the United States!"
"Felix Lim?" Sabasti held his chin in his propped up hand with a contemplative look, "That name sounds a bit familiar, but I can't quite remember it, you're famous aren't you?"
David Bell added this time, "Felix is an actor!"
"Yes, I've seen you in a movie, what was it called?" Sabasti thought hard, "Right, Follies, that was a great musical, the key was that all the American high school girls in it were beautiful!"
"Felix is interested in parkour, and he's very talented, I just did a little quiz on him, but the results surprised me!" David Bell was overflowing with appreciation for Lin Ming Yang.
"There aren't many things in this world that can surprise you!" Sabasti nodded seemingly casually, "And then that's the reason you made us wait so long on a hungry stomach?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot about it in my excitement!" David Bell smiled apologetically.
"Lucky you didn't forget to buy food, I guess they couldn't wait!" Sabasti didn't mean to blame him, he couldn't wait to take the food from the other man's hand, "Just how much potential is there to get our David Bell so excited that he forgets, we'll see when we've had our fill!"
Watching Sabasti hurriedly take the food inside to share with his partners, David Bell smiled slightly apologetically towards Lin Ming Yang, "That's just how they are, you'll get used to it after a while!"
"I still stand by what I said earlier, Mr. Sabasti is a very interesting person!" What Lin Ming Yang hadn't expected was for David Bell to have such a high opinion of himself, it was no wonder that Sabasti was skeptical. "He mentioned swabbing just now, is it possible that we still need a test?"
"This is Yamakasi's usual practice, every time a newcomer joins, we'll do some tests on him." David Bell nodded, "But it's pretty easy for you to pass those tests, even if you don't have more mastery! Let them eat first, I'll first take you to see the testing grounds and familiarize yourself with the environment!"
------
"Sabasti, I heard that Bell brought in a Yankee who doesn't know anything?" In the lounge, Lin Mingyang became the center of discussion amongst the members of Yamakasi, a black man with a chicken leg in his mouth and an exaggerated mohawk asked with some disdain.
"I just took a look from a distance through the window, I think that kid is still young!" A person next to him also spoke out at this time.
"I really don't know what Belle was thinking?" Sitting on the sofa, the man in sunglasses wearing a beachwear was constantly changing the channel of the only TV in the room, "I heard that kid is an actor, but why isn't he a female? Hollywood actresses can be eye candy!"
After waiting for the crowd to finish voicing their opinions one after another, Sabasti, who had been silent since he entered the room, finally spoke up. "Guys, want to hear my opinion? I think that kid is something else!"
"Reason?" Someone asked in a hushed voice
"It's a feeling, although I don't know what that guy did to make Bell think so highly of him, but that guy gives me a unique feeling, it's a stupid thing to judge someone just from their appearance, but the truth is that all of the people here, including me, may have made this grave mistake. Until the truth, all speculation is meaningless."
Just as the members of Yamakasi were filled with curiosity about Lin Ming Yang, David Bell had already brought Lin Ming Yang to the so-called testing grounds, which was actually a huge workshop divided into two levels connected by an escalator in the middle. In the middle of this were some high and low, far and near steel platforms, and further away were some large wooden boxes and tires. These facilities appeared to be placed in a haphazard manner, but in fact they were deliberately imitating the layout construction of a certain residential area.
"This quiz is simply an obstacle crossing, it looks difficult, but from it you can reflect many things, such as your body's coordination, strength, bouncing and also courage!" David Bell stood at the starting point of the quiz and began to introduce the rules for Lin Ming Yang, perhaps because of his special appreciation, he also intentionally or unintentionally introduced Lin Ming Yang to some borrowed strength and cushioning techniques in the process, and in the end, he asked, "Felix, I'd like to know if you've ever experienced anything dangerous but also very exciting? "
"The elevator went out of control and slid from the 10th floor to the 1st floor, does this count?" For this accident, Lin Mingyang was unforgettable.
"I'm not intentionally trying to evoke memories of pain or fear, I just want to use the feeling of such an experience to illustrate one thing to you. There has always been a disagreement between Sabasti and I as to which is more important, the spirit or the skill of parkour, but there is one thing I must admit, use the power of the spirit to overcome the fear in your heart, only then will your skill be able to be utilized to its fullest."
"Being a strong person inside, this I understand!" Lin Ming Yang felt that the biggest gain from his choice to get in touch with the sport of parkour might not be on the material level, but rather a kind of spiritual enhancement, which might be the mood in martial arts that grandfather Lin Aoquan had always emphasized. Previously, Lin Ming Yang felt that this kind of thing was nebulous, but now he felt the change quite literally.
The other members of Yamakasi didn't keep the two waiting for long, in fact, they were eager to see what terrifying potential the genius that Bell spoke of possessed. Seeing that everyone had arrived, David Bell was about to make an introduction of everyone to Lin Mingyang, but Sabasti stopped him, and his reason was very simple.
"If he can show abilities that we recognize, then we will take the initiative to become his friends; but if he can't, then it doesn't really matter if we recognize each other or not!"
"Is that the view of everyone else?" David Bell knew his gang of pals very well, these people were all top experts in parkour, and which one of them was not a high-minded master, if they didn't show strength that made him admire them, they wouldn't go ahead and take the initiative to accept any of the new members.
"Then let the facts prove everything!" David Bell passed an encouraging look towards Lin Ming Yang, then took the stopwatch handed over by one of the people beside him, "You're clear on the rules, complete all the obstacle traversals within 7 minutes and then return here, any other questions?"
"Start!" Lin Ming Yang nodded, his face could not be seen, but his breathing had already entered a very subtle frequency.
"Countdown 3...2...1, go!" Almost at the same time as David Bell pressed the stopwatch, Lin Ming Yang rushed out like an agile cheetah, the crowd present froze, then looked at each other, and in their hearts they all came to a common conclusion, "Very strong explosive power!"
Although there were some surprises, this did not become the beginning of everyone's favorable opinion of Lin Ming Yang, because strong explosive power often meant short endurance, and continuity was what parkour sports valued more.
Lin Mingyang jumped the first two-meter wide high and low platform did not choose the traditional feet on the ground, but the trend of a beautiful roll on the platform, followed by this impulse, almost no effort to easily climb the front of a 3-meter high obstacle, and before the wall when the action is more concise. A series of actions in one go, without any procrastination, although because of the simplicity of the action lacks too much appreciation, but also to the crowd to show his horrible physical quality.
"A one-handed flip over, how can this guy have such strong arm strength?" Seeing this, one of Yamakasi's members finally couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
"I guess if the conditions allow it, he can easily lift himself up with one hand!" Sabasti on the side had remained calm enough, his eyes hadn't left the training ground while he was talking, and by this time Lin Mingyang had already arrived at the TIC-TAC (Quickly Crossing by Avoiding Obstacles) test session, in front of him was a five-meter-long pool, and in front of him at three meters there was a horizontal bar, and the normal method of crossing it would be to first borrow the force from the pool next to the The normal way to cross should be to use the wall next to the pool, then jump and pull the bar, and then do a side flip to a safe area.
"What's he trying to do?" One of the members of Yamakasi yelled out, because Lin Ming Yang didn't slow down when he came to this area, he didn't even use the wall as a springboard, he was directly ready to jump and fly to grab that crossbar.
"He's going to fall hard!" Someone had already started to prophesize.
Sabasti, who had been silent all this time, glanced at David Bell beside him, and he realized that there was actually no concern in his opponent's eyes, and then he immediately made a shocking conclusion, "I don't think so!"
Lin Mingyang's body itself possessed an exceptionally outstanding bouncing ability, and despite the fact that he played the position of point guard for the Firefoxes and mostly scored from the outside, no one on the team would doubt his ability to dunk. In fact, although he can not do like the power forward Thomas as powerful vigorously dunk, but his excellent jumping ability allows him to have a very perfect lagging ability, so long-distance dunking, he has to be more than Thomas a chip.
The forward force of long-distance running plus 3 meters away from the bar is not as high as the basket, in the crowd of dumbfounded watch, Lin Mingyang's body in mid-air lagged out a strange curve, and then steadily grabbed the bar, and then inertia an easy flip, he easily passed this link.
"Amazing, he did it!" The Yamakasi members on the stands erupted into a burst of applause, the shock that Lin Mingyang's set of moves had brought to them had caused them to begin to look squarely at this dark-haired boy from the United States from the bottom of their hearts, and no longer underestimate him in any way.
"I told you, he's a genius!" David Bell, who hadn't spoken since the start of the match, said to himself.
"It's a shame that I didn't record the set of moves he just did, or else I would have been able to cause a sensation by posting it on the internet!" A member said without regret.
"He should be able to break everyone's record here!" Sabasti always made his customary concluding remarks, "He was able to do this just by virtue of his outstanding physical qualities, it's hard to imagine what level he can reach after systematic training."
"Which aspect are you referring to, skill or spirit?" David Bell subconsciously asked.
"You'll take care of the skill, I'll guide the spiritual aspect, I think for this sport, he'll be a better spokesperson than either you or I!" Sabasti shrugged, "What makes me curious is that you actually have such strong confidence in a boy you just met, are you really not worried that he will fail that jump just now?"
"For him, never look at him with the eyes of a normal person!" David Bell smiled mysteriously, "I happen to know that apart from being an actor, he is also an outstanding basketball player, his varsity team just won the state basketball league not too long ago, the key thing is that he can dunk!"
"I see!" Sabasti nodded knowingly, his approval basically declared that Lin Mingyang was officially accepted into this Yamakasi collective.
"5 minutes and 38 seconds!" As Lin Mingyang retraced his steps back to the starting point, David Bell loudly announced his time.
The members of Yamakasi exploded into a round of applause, everyone was excited because they had witnessed the birth of a new record. The coy smile on Lin Mingyang's face further won over the crowd, and this time there was no need for mobilization as everyone came forward to shake Lin Mingyang's hand.
"If you're interested in philosophies about parkour, we can have some discussions on that!" Sabasti added as he came up to congratulate him.
After all the members had gotten to know Lin Ming Yang, David Bell then formally introduced the members of Yamakasi to him:
"Everyone of us here has their own nicknames. Like my nickname is 'Commander' because I'm currently the head of Yamakasi; while Sabasti everyone likes to call him 'Godfather', he's our spiritual leader; the black guy with the Mohican haircut is called Brooke because of his arm strength, so he's 'Baseball'; and the beach guy, Welter, has exceptionally good flexibility, so we call him 'Rubber'; the one who doesn't talk much is Rick, who sprints extremely fast, so he's 'Rocket'; and the one with brown hair is 'The Godfather'. '; and the brown-haired guy is Bill, and he's good at flying, so he's called 'Spider'.Felix, congratulations on becoming our seventh member, and now you have to come up with a nickname for yourself, which is the first step to joining Yamakasi."
"Do I have to?" Everyone's nicknames were based on their own characteristics, which made it difficult for Lin Ming Yang because it seemed like he had some of the characteristics on the other members.
"He has a bit of almost all of us in him, I think he should just be called 'Monster'!" Baseball Brooke grinned lopsidedly.
"Have you ever seen a 'monster' that handsome?" Beach Boy Welter glared at him in an ungraceful manner, "I think it's more appropriate to call him 'Prince', if he really becomes the face of our team in the future, he should always have a handsome nickname for it!"
"I agree!" The reticent Rick voiced his support, and the crowd spoke up, quickly reaching an agreement before everyone focused their attention on Lin Ming Yang once again.
"What do you think, Felix?" asked David Bell solicitously.
"Fine!" For a while, Lin Ming Yang couldn't find a more suitable nickname for himself, so in the end, he could only nod his head in agreement.
"Welcome our 'Prince' Your Highness!" The members of Yamakasi erupted into a burst of enthusiastic cheers, and Lin Mingyang was lifted up by his excited companions, thrown high into the air, dropped, caught, and then thrown even higher. The wind whistled and drummed against his eardrums, and Lin Mingyang's emotions were also infected by this joyful atmosphere; it was as if he had returned to the night when the Firefoxes had won the championship, and the feeling was actually so similar.
------
Three days later, Lin Mingyang followed the promotional team of Pirates of the Caribbean back to the U.S., his busy life seemed to come to an end, but when he announced that he was going to France to receive 3 months of parkour training, he triggered a small storm.
What Lin Ming Yang did not expect was that his decision would actually face so much resistance, the brunt of which came from his mother Catherine's opposition. I don't know from what source she learned about the danger of parkour as a sport, and after Lin Mingyang put forward the idea of going to France to train, he was flatly rejected by her.
What made Lin Ming Yang feel most helpless was that he was still a minor, and according to federal law, if he wanted to obtain a visa to France, his guardian had to sign off on it. In the end, it was Lin's father who stepped in, and Catherine barely passed this hurdle, but new problems ensued.
Simon Publishing Company's Avis, the director of the film "Pirates of the Caribbean" Vybinski, the agent Eckles three "uninvited guests" coincidentally visited the door, their motives for coming to this time are different, but the purpose is only one, want to persuade Lin Mingyang to give up the idea of going to France to train.
Because the three people arrived almost at the same time, Lin Mingyang had to receive one by one in his room, the first and Lin Mingyang to talk to the Simon Publishing Company's Avis, because the "Twilight" of the first part of "Twilight" published in the near future, the Simon Company developed a complete set of publicity plans, and the most important part of the book is to use Lin Mingyang's special identity to carry out some of the publicity on the hype. Hype.
Avis was not fully sure that he could achieve his goal in this trip, because he knew that what he was facing was not just a simple matter of a 16-year-old boy. From his previous contact, he already knew without a doubt that Lin Mingyang was a very opinionated person, and such a person often meant being more stubborn. But on the surface, Avis didn't show his anxiety.
"Felix, this time I've come to bring you good news and bad news?"
"Let's hear the good news first, all I've been hearing this whole time is bad news!" In order to appease the discontent from all sides during this period of time, Lin Mingyang was already a little exhausted, and he replied with a slightly tired accent.
"Twilight has been finalized, it won't be long before this novel can officially meet the readers!" When it came to this issue, Avis's entire spirit seemed uplifted. He had bet heavily on this novel, and seeing that the vision in his heart was about to be realized step by step, could he not be thrilled and excited.
"So is the bad news that the publicity about Twilight will start right away and I can't leave the US at this time?" Lin Ming Yang's eyebrows slightly throbbed, obviously deliberately suppressing some kind of emotional outburst.
"I guess so!" From Lin Ming Yang's expression Avis keenly captured a hint of a gloomy feeling, and his wording became more and more cautious.
"Is it possible to postpone it backward by three months?" Lin Mingyang tried to ask.
"I'm afraid that's not possible." Avis shook his head helplessly.
"Then is it possible to change the publicity strategy, release it first and publicize it later?" Lin Mingyang's stubbornness finally showed itself at this time.
"But we've already discussed this before!" Avis looked embarrassed.
"Then has Mr. Avis seriously considered the riskiness of the publicity plan you've formulated, perhaps we can switch to a more prudent way, let the novel be published first, and then make the next publicity plan based on the sales results of the camera choices." Lin Mingyang did not back down.
"What do you mean?" To make Avis turn this corner so quickly, it would be hard to convince him without a mature program.
"Release it anonymously first, I believe that with the strength of Twilight, normal sales shouldn't be a problem. But when this novel draws enough attention, the mystery of the author will also attract attention, this time then timely breaking news, using the media to publicize, so that you can not only shrink the cost of publicity, but at the same time can achieve unexpected results."
"Your scenario gives me the feeling that it's more like publicizing yourself." Avis said nonchalantly.
"Is there a difference between that?" Lin Mingyang had gotten to the essence of the problem in a single sentence, which left Avis speechless.
"If the company agrees, I can give it a try!" After a few minutes of silence, Avis had to make a concession.
Lin Mingyang sent the somewhat dejected looking Avis to the door and then invited director Verbinski into his room. After both parties took their seats, Verbinski smiled slightly helplessly, "It seems that Mr. Avis didn't succeed in convincing you."
"Actually I convinced him!" There was no sense of accomplishment within Lin Ming Yang when he said this.
"So you're prepared to convince me?" Verbinski looked at Lin Mingyang with interest.
"There are really only two outcomes, one of us will definitely be convinced!" Lin Mingyang turned his rocking chair, hit the keyboard to enter the start password, and opened his computer. "What I want to say to you is all in here, just read it and you'll know!"
Verbinski brought his body over, and Lin Mingyang showed him some of the video-screen materials about Yamakasi that he had brought back from France this time. After watching them, Verbinski's expression became grave.
"They accomplished these maneuvers without any external help?"
"That's something that fascinates me about this as well!" Lin Mingyang replied quite frankly.
"This is dangerous!" Verbinski voiced the biggest doubt in his heart.
"If it's applied to movie shooting, we can carry out the necessary protective measures, so the danger will be much lower!" Lin Mingyang explained.
It was still unknown just how much of an impact these parkour videos that Lin Mingyang had shown Verbinski could have on the director, and after Verbinski had resumed his seat on the sofa, the formal conversation between the two men kicked off.
"Well, I'll admit that these videos of yours give me a very novel sensory experience, but that's not enough of a reason for you to convince me. The news I bring you is that the previews for Pirates of the Caribbean were so successful that the producers can't even wait to get a sequel to the movie on the agenda. And two of the writers have suggested to the producers that you join the writing team and work together to construct a sequel to the movie."
"I will prepare a synopsis for the sequel before I go to France, that's all I can offer in terms of the screenplay, the main script should still be done by Eliteo and Rossio, two of their professional acquaintances." At the time when the movie Pirates of the Caribbean changed because of his joining, Lin Ming Yang had already considered this issue.
"My opinion is that it would be best for you to postpone your training in France, and Eritrea and Rossio may need to consult you at any time during the scripting process." Verbinski moved to a more comfortable sitting position, "Unless you have a better reason to convince me!"
"You've just seen those videos, and I can boldly predict here that parkour elements will occupy a very important place in future action movies. This is because the authenticity and sensory stimulation of this kind of movement cannot be replaced by special effects, and for viewers who have begun to grow tired of visual special effects, this will be yet another element of the movie that can get them excited." Before parkour was widely recognized, Lin Mingyang's such assertion certainly lacked sufficient conviction, but he believed in Verbinski's vision.
"And from the perspective of specific utilization, I'm sure you wouldn't mind having some of these cool moves in the filming of a fight on a pirate ship or an island jungle chase, and thinking about the effects it could potentially bring to the table, I think you should back me up!"
"Have any other directors looked at this sport before me?" Verbinski did have some heart.
"Unfortunately, before this, the French director Luc Besson had already dedicated himself to this kind of sport in a movie he had supervised and produced, but unfortunately it didn't attract too much widespread attention!" Lin Mingyang's words changed, "If you are able to add parkour elements to the sequel of Pirates of the Caribbean, although you are not the pioneer, you will definitely become the leader of this trend."
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