06-16-2014, 03:16 AM
So, I'm a practitioner of parkour, and true parkour communities are arranged in a very community-based commune. Everyone's welcome, everyone's welcome to leave whenever, no such thing as a trainer (we work a variant of the mentor system). We don't have a club of any sort, we're literally a group of people with similar interests who help each other to progress respectively and have fun together all kinds of ways. Not only parkour, we also play basketball occasionally, go running, or just organize a BBQ somewhere in a forest, go for swims in the nearby mountains, help each other with school, chores, love problems - you name it.
Recently, we've been having a small issue with people who used to be part of the community wanting to come back but not knowing how to. A buddy of ours had some issues with a toe which rendered him unable to practice properly, so he stayed away from training and regressed noticeably. Apparently, he was afraid of returning and having to work his way back up to where he was months ago due to the break he had to take after earning the injury. Another friend, who'd been training for 5 years and then suddenly stopped, came to a community meeting (a kind of meet-n-greet we do every month or so to plan our further activities and revise on the already completed ones) and lashed out because he didn't get a t-shirt we created for the members of the community. We tried to explain to him that he hadn't been around for the past two years and wasn't really considered a part of the community anymore. We pointed out one more thing. It was completely his fault. He still got invited to every training session we did. He still got invited to help with workshops and other events we held. He never returned the calls.
After he left, we talked a bit more and went on without mentioning it anymore. We concluded, as usual, a very vital point. The community is a kind of humanitarian organization. Nobody is obliged to help. Everybody is allowed to enjoy the fruits. The community is only as good as our members wanted it to be, which was proven by neatly organized workshops, group training sessions, et cetera. The concept of our events is very simple. Somebody comes up on a meeting, or calls the group up on Skype and tells everyone about their idea. Everybody gives their opinion, tips from past experiences, and feedback in general. Then people offer up to help. The mind behind the idea (the original creator) decides if he needs the help and everyone who wants to help is thanked. The ones who refuse to help are not shunned, quite the opposite - they are respected. Why? Because everybody in the community has learned the purest form of community interaction. If you can help, say so and do it. Don't talk. Do. If you can't help, say it right away, it's not an issue at all. The worst thing you can do is say that you'll help just to get 'rep' (again, wrongly implying that a community works on a system based on reputation) and then vanishing without a trace when you're most needed.
It all works really well, I must add. I enjoy every event because everyone puts in as much of themselves as they can and we make everything work flawlessly with minimum individual effort. I haven't mentioned this yet, but I assume that it's important as well - Not all members of the community are asked to make the serious decisions. The more experienced ones (we don't have a fixed criteria for that, and we don't need one) are the ones whose opinions are valued most. The fresh members are asked for help, too. It's important, in that situation, to keep in mind that their opinion is not based on solid experience, which is why it can't be valued as much as the opinion of someone who's been around on events for years. I hate that, I hate that we can't have a textbook definition democracy, but it's the only way our community works without breaking down every few months.
Recently, we've been having a small issue with people who used to be part of the community wanting to come back but not knowing how to. A buddy of ours had some issues with a toe which rendered him unable to practice properly, so he stayed away from training and regressed noticeably. Apparently, he was afraid of returning and having to work his way back up to where he was months ago due to the break he had to take after earning the injury. Another friend, who'd been training for 5 years and then suddenly stopped, came to a community meeting (a kind of meet-n-greet we do every month or so to plan our further activities and revise on the already completed ones) and lashed out because he didn't get a t-shirt we created for the members of the community. We tried to explain to him that he hadn't been around for the past two years and wasn't really considered a part of the community anymore. We pointed out one more thing. It was completely his fault. He still got invited to every training session we did. He still got invited to help with workshops and other events we held. He never returned the calls.
After he left, we talked a bit more and went on without mentioning it anymore. We concluded, as usual, a very vital point. The community is a kind of humanitarian organization. Nobody is obliged to help. Everybody is allowed to enjoy the fruits. The community is only as good as our members wanted it to be, which was proven by neatly organized workshops, group training sessions, et cetera. The concept of our events is very simple. Somebody comes up on a meeting, or calls the group up on Skype and tells everyone about their idea. Everybody gives their opinion, tips from past experiences, and feedback in general. Then people offer up to help. The mind behind the idea (the original creator) decides if he needs the help and everyone who wants to help is thanked. The ones who refuse to help are not shunned, quite the opposite - they are respected. Why? Because everybody in the community has learned the purest form of community interaction. If you can help, say so and do it. Don't talk. Do. If you can't help, say it right away, it's not an issue at all. The worst thing you can do is say that you'll help just to get 'rep' (again, wrongly implying that a community works on a system based on reputation) and then vanishing without a trace when you're most needed.
It all works really well, I must add. I enjoy every event because everyone puts in as much of themselves as they can and we make everything work flawlessly with minimum individual effort. I haven't mentioned this yet, but I assume that it's important as well - Not all members of the community are asked to make the serious decisions. The more experienced ones (we don't have a fixed criteria for that, and we don't need one) are the ones whose opinions are valued most. The fresh members are asked for help, too. It's important, in that situation, to keep in mind that their opinion is not based on solid experience, which is why it can't be valued as much as the opinion of someone who's been around on events for years. I hate that, I hate that we can't have a textbook definition democracy, but it's the only way our community works without breaking down every few months.