The Parkour & Performing Arts Center (aka Free Flow Academy): 2018

Saturday, December 8, 2018

BIRTHDAY PARTIES & OVERNIGHTERS - WHAT TO EXPECT/BRING

First off, we want to THANK YOU for choosing Free Flow Academy to share your epic birthday (or special event) adventure. Our facility is fun, functional, colorful, and filled with diverse environments designed to give you many opportunities to move dynamically.

**Birthday Parties must be booked 7 days in Advance**

**Overnighters must be booked 14 days in Advance**

Your safety is the most important thing to us! Please review the following rules so you can come prepared and play safe:

GENERAL RULES

1) No Jumping and/or Flipping off anything taller than you.

2) It's perfectly okay to climb up/down onto platforms taller than you, but if you get stuck - just raise your hand and call for an instructor, and we'll help you down.

3) Hands to yourself. No pushing/pulling anyone at any time.

4) Games of Tag must be instructor led and in designated areas if you are having your party/event during open hours.

5) Please stay out of the classes and remain with your Party.

6) No playing on the Aerial Silks (unless you are doing a Silks party/event)

7) Be respectful of equipment, and use it according to it's intention and design. Please share equipment and take turns.

8) Do not bring food/drink out onto the floor. Food/Drink must remain in the Party lounge and Kitchen.

9) Please listen to your Trainer. They want to make sure you have tons of fun while being safe.

10) Weapons and Martial Arts Equipment is for Class Use ONLY.

FOAM PIT RULES

1) No Headfirst diving

2) No Pencil diving

3) No Belly Flopping

4) No Loitering in the Foam Pit

5) Take Turns

**And NEVER push/shove/pull people into the foam pit**

WHAT TO EXPECT/BRING (Birthday Parties/Events)

Your session is 1.5 hours, and includes 1 trainer for up to 12 kids. If you have more than 12 kids, we will add another trainer.

Instruction will be provided for up to 1 hour during your event. We are flexible, so if you have something in mind, feel free to let us know and we'll be happy to accommodate. We can do less structured time if you prefer.

You will be given 30 minutes of free play/open gym. You can use this time for food/cake/presents and/or open play. If you would like extra time the cost is $50 for each add'l 30 min increment.

You bring the food/decor and we provide the FUN!

WHAT TO EXPECT/BRING (Overnighters)

Your session is 12 hours. Drop off is at 8:30pm and pickup is at 8:30am.

One parent of one child must stay over.

Movies can be played in the party lounge at any time but Lights Out on the floor/equipment will be at 1am (or earlier if you choose). Refrain from playing on equipment between the hours of 1am-5am.

Bring a sleeping bag or linens (and whatever you need to be comfortable)

Facility Rentals allow you more flexibility (such as a bounce house rental, or having more guests).

Monday, October 8, 2018

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Mike

Coach Mike is a front desk manager, Media Academy Instructor, and all around Mover. Coach Mike has trained in Kung Fu, Parkour, Tumbling, and Aerial Silks and enjoys it all. His handstands are legit too. With a construction and media background, Coach Mike is a huge asset on the building design of Free Flow Academy's structures, as well as our Media department and marketing. All of the awesome pictures and videos are done by Mike. Anytime you need to talk about anything technical, politics, religion, movement... he's the guy to talk to. He is a human encyclopedia, but friendly and fun, so you are bound to learn a ton with every conversation, and have a lot of laughs.

He was a recent guest on our podcast - check it out!

Photo Credit: Michael Poole

Photo Credit: Michael Poole - some of his awesome photography skills

Another sweet shot done by Michael Poole

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Chris

Coach Chris started off as a Free Flow Academy student, then an apprentice, and now is a Senior Coach and Private Event Manager. Chris is known for his acrobatic skills and being a versatile athlete and performer. Coach Chris teaches Parkour/Freerunning and Tumbling classes, and his students enjoy his love of advanced tricks and dynamic moves that are visually stunning and fun to practice. He also performs Parkour/Freerunning and Tumbling, and is a skilled Aerialist.

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Joe

Coach Joe has been with Free Flow Academy since it's humble beginnings. First as a drop in open gym'er, then as an apprentice, and now a Senior Coach and Manager. Free Flow Staff first took notice of Joe's amazing jumping ability, and as a teen, he was close to breaking the world record box jump. His jumping technique sets him apart from other athletes, as well as his love for the arts. He is a performer, musician, artist, entrepreneur, and a world class Parkour athlete. Humble and friendly, and completely badass, Coach Joe is the guy to know.

Follow him on Instagram

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Abi

Coach Abi came to Free Flow Academy first as a student, then an apprentice, and now a beloved coach among many Free Flow Academy students. Coach Abi is known for her ability to break down skills extremely well, and being organized. Kind but Firm is her approach, and students are expected to be on time and to work hard. She has a very unique artistic style and voice in the Aerial community, and is a creative talent in the visual arts. Besides being an Aerial Artist, she is also a photographer and visual artist, and she has a knack for choreography, putting together interesting and original works of movement art for her personal pieces, and for her students and colleagues.

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Jewelle

Coach Jewelle is a Navy Vet, badass chick, with a great energy. She completed a 3 month Aerial Silks apprenticeship and 2 month Lyra Internship at Free Flow Academy, and has been training in Aerial Silks and Lyra for more than 6 years. She's a very inspiring individual as she's overcome a lot of challenges pertaining to her relationship with her body. She is an amazing artist and athlete and is a force of talent. She performs professionally all around the State at festivals and corporate shows. She currently teaches Aerial Silks and Lyra. She is also known for her amazing hoop dance talents.

Free Flow Academy Instructor Bio - Coach Grace

Coach Grace has been with Free Flow Academy since 2016, first as a student, then an apprentice and now a Senior Aerial Instructor. Grace has a classical dance (jazz/ballet) and gymnastics background. After finding Aerial Silks, she decided to make Aerial a main focus, and is now an Aerial Silks veteran having been trained all over the US (East Coast, West Coast, Mid West, and even Hawaiian Islands). She has a good grasp on how Aerial is being taught and developed on the Western Hemisphere. She has spent the last decade living nomadically, she's extremely intelligent, cultured, and has a warm heart. Her students find her to be very nurturing and an inspiring creative talent.

A Note from Coach Grace: I am super passionate about teaching, even more so than performing. I really enjoy seeing my students grow in self confidence by facing any fears and realizing their potential. It's my goal to help my students grow every time I see them.

Friday, June 22, 2018

Parkour Olympic Challenge Results - June 2018 Summer Camps

Parkour Olympic Challenge is an event that takes place on the Friday of every summer camp. Here we test skills in a friendly competitive setting, to give the kids a chance to grow, and try their movement discipline in the form of an organized sport. It's an opportunity to recognize the strengths of the students and build character through teamwork and sportsmanship.

Each student has a chance to practice self-mastery through the study of a Movement Discipline. It's important each child understands that they can be a part of a supportive and positive community, that will encourage and challenge the individual, to exceed their own expectations.

6/11 Parkour & Freerunning Summer Camp

TEAMS:
Tortals - Michael, Nicholas, Cal, Rylie, Gaia
Best Name - Tim, Jonathan, Andrew, Tyler
Flosceraptors - Easton, Reed, Brody, Nathan, Zachary

Thief Precision - Flosceraptors

Kong Precision - Best Name

Precision - Best Name

Running Precision - Best Name

Longest Hang - Flosceraptors

5 Cat Climb Ups for time - Tortals

Warped wall - Flosceraptors

Tallest Wall Run - Best Name

Cat to Cat - Flosceraptors

Longest time Rail Balance On Feet - Flosceraptors

Longest time Rail Balance Quadrupedal Movement - Flosceraptors

Longest Handstand - Tortals

6/18 Parkour & Tumbling Summer Camp

Thief Precision - Matteo

Kong Precision - Will

Precision - Matteo

Running Precision - Matteo

Longest Hang - Nico

5 Cat Climb Ups for time - Nico

Warped wall - Matteo

Tallest Wall Run - Matteo

Longest dist Rail Balance On Feet - Dominic

Longest dist Rail Balance Quadrupedal Movement - Matteo

Longest time Rail Balance On Feet - Nico

Longest time Rail Balance Quadrupedal Movement - Nico

Longest Handstand - Chase

Best Foam Pit Trick - Will

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Our Online Self Defense Course made it to the Top 23

"Self Defense for Badass Women: Strike to Injure and Escape" made the list of the 23 Best Online Courses on Self Defense. Check out the review here - https://www.onlinecoursesreview.org/self-defense/

Free Flow Academy's Self Defense Curriculum "Survival Science" was developed by Co-Founders Lon and Elle Beyer, and Martial Arts/Biomechanist Colton Fuller. Professional Video and Photography by Michael Poole

The course was originally released online via 4 free videos with the option to buy the full course.

Now the full course is offered on Udemy and Skillshare.

The self defense course was designed as a direct response to the human trafficking issue in Sacramento County. In 2013 the FBI ranked Sacramento as the second worst city in the US for human trafficking. Martial Arts Expert/Co-Founder of Free Flow Academy - Elle Beyer decided to create a curriculum specifically for young girls and women ages 12-34 (the highest risk group for sexual assault and human trafficking). She recruited her husband Shifu Lon Beyer, and colleagues Colton Fuller and Michael Poole to get on board with the project. She believed the best way to train the highest risk group for sexual assault, was to give them the complete and honest truth about the nature of being attacked. She herself being nearly kidnapped and raped on two separate occasions (one of which was a near gang rape). Her escape from the attackers had a profound effect on her, and was the catalyst for devoting so much of her time and energy into studying martial arts.

After 15+ years of training she came to realize that training will do nothing for you, if you don't know how to play the mind game with the attackers. She delves into the "Dark Triad" and teaches practical psychology, so that young women can understand how they are being manipulated. Most sexual assaults are committed by people they know and even trust. Human Trafficking is a lifestyle that many girls are "lured" into through manipulation and exploitation. Rather than teaching a multitude of techniques that cause information overload, she focuses on principles of movement, getting into shape, and finding a deep and primal will to survive at all cost. "You're Life is Worth Protecting" is the motto.

Other than the mental training, she teaches principles of movement, and how understanding the laws of physics is helpful, not because you can use it to your advantage, but because you know it will be your disadvantage. A predator always preys on someone they think they can outsmart or physically dominate. So she went out into the field, into downtown Sac, nearby parks, ect... to test their principles of movement on willing strangers/volunteers. She would always pick the biggest guy around. She had men 225 lb or larger restrain her, pull her hair, mount her, strangle her... Most of the techniques and principles worked. But one time she had to fight off a trained MMA fighter. As usual, the fight is always ugly, never goes as planned, and you have to continue to fight, even if you are raped. Fighting for your life is primal, and there is no "one technique" that will save you. You have to understand a few basic principles - fighting back verbally, attack to create space/injure, and flee.

The course was recently voted TOP 23 ONLINE SELF DEFENSE COURSES

Friday, June 8, 2018

Parkour Olympic Challenge Events and Registration

Our Next Parkour Olympic Challenge take place Fall 2018! Stay tuned on upcoming details. In the meantime take a look at the events, get with your coach and see what you can work on.

Parkour Olympic Challenge Event Registration

Parkour Olympic Challenge

Thief Precision

Kong Precision

Precision

Running Precision

Highest Box Jump

Lache Precision

Lache Cat

Longest Hang

5 Cat Climb Ups for time

Dyno For Height

Most Muscle ups (Classes - W/ Elbows, and w/o Elbows)

Most Pull Overs

Tallest Wall Run

Cat to Cat

Tac to Precision

100m run

400m run

800m run

Longest Rail Balance On Feet

Longest Rail Balance Quadrupedal Movement

Quietest Backflip

Highest Front Flip

Furthest Side Flip

Longest Handstand

Friday, May 25, 2018

Intro Aerial Silks Class Skill Sheet

We Strongly Recommend all free trials and new students attend an Intro Aerial Silks Class and check off the following skills before attending a Beginner Level Aerial Silks Class. We want to start you off with success and give you a strong foundation, so you can continue to build skills and sequences. You are not required to attend an Intro class (you can do your free trial in a Beginner Level), but you will get the most value by attending an Intro Class when first starting out. If you have any questions, feel free to direct the to the front desk: freeflowacademy@gmail.com

Hip Balance (while spinning)

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Movement as a Modality for Personal Development and Play Based Learning

I'll admit. The past 6 years have been a wild ride. Opening Free Flow Academy has been the most challenging and rewarding projects I have ever done. You have to be a gladiator to own a business. Sometimes you do it to honor something greater than yourself. Sometimes you do it for the challenge. Sometimes you do it for the money. I didn't do it for the money. I did it for the challenge and for the opportunity. I can assure you, this has never been, and never will be for money. I've been told that's BS. Everyone goes into business to make money. If you don't, you die. I will say, I do it for sustainability. I want to devote myself to movement and creativity and be able to pay the bills while I'm at it. I want to inspire people to move dynamically, because simply put, I love movement. It changes people for the better. It changes people at the molecular and cellular level. And it makes this world a better place. I feel truly blessed I don't wake up in the morning having to prepare myself to perform open heart surgery on a 6 year old. I'm so grateful for the people in this world that can withstand that kind of work related intellectual and emotional stress. I get to wake up and work with kids and adults, to better their life in some small way. I get to educate and teach in many different forms, from teaching classes, to workshops, to online curriculum, to storytelling. To me, it's all teaching. My job is simple. To help prepare people for their world. To give them the tools they need to cope with the challenges they will face. To give them a greater sense of belonging and connection to this world and to the people in it. I think what I do is a form of preventative medicine. And it's also a form of Warrior Training.

Choreographer/Artistic Director - "Kadaash Zoku" Student Showcase

I write this post as an open journal. To explain my thoughts on play-based learning. At this point in my career I have taught thousands of students. I've taught students Kung Fu, Dance, Acting, and Parkour. Every discipline offers something unique and extremely valuable. All of them build character, and teach practitioners a mindset that will help them in life. Different individuals require different things. And different groups have different needs.

Free Flow Academy - Kung Fu Class

Horizon School District Guest Speaker - "Movement and Mental Health"

I have a group of students currently, who need a lot of creative ownership. They don't do well learning choreography. It's not empowering to them. It's rather stifling. So instead of having them do choreography and structured routines, I set some basic rules: 1) Warm-up and Stretching is Required 2) Your Commitment to Each Other is Required.

For this particular group, I decided play-based learning was the most effective approach. They must warm up and stretch with me. After that, I guide them through their own creativity and I play mediator. They get to be in charge and create their own dance. Here the creativity flows. They come up with all sorts of themes and ideas I would have never imagined. I give them pointers on how to make the movements they are creating more dynamic and graceful. But other than that, it's their brainchild. They work together as a team. And they must commit to each other's ideas. One student had trouble committing to the work of others. She didn't want to do anything if it wasn't her idea. She even hated her own ideas (not at first, but later when the dance wasn't panning out to her expectations). I worked with her on commitment and follow through, as well as listening to others. Being kind to her friends, and more importantly, being kind to herself. She needed constant reminders to not beat herself up. I think her becoming self aware of this habit is the most important thing she'll probably learn all year. Today was the first day she didn't complain once about the ideas of others. And today was also the first day she didn't beat herself up about some small mistake she thought she made.

As a teacher I hope to bridge communities. That is a spiritual calling I feel I have. But I also hope to inspire compassion and joy. As humans we have the power to create. We are the only species on the planet that can create life, technology, art in all of it's complexities, modes of transportation, energy, and even resources that sustain not only our lives, but all life on this planet! We need to find joy in our ability to create! But first we need to be aware of the power of creation. Creating is basically a super power and a gift. Recognizing it as such helps us find joy in that process. We create through play, and play helps us create. When my students make something, it might not be what I would have made for them. But it doesn't matter. In the grand scheme of things, the most important thing to achieve is realizing joy through your own work. And that is play-based learning. Play-based learning is finding joy through your own creation. And that is a life skill everyone can use. So get out there and play. Rechild Yourself!

- Ms. Elle

Free Flow Academy - Acting Class (Seasonally Offered through Media Academy)