Punk with Amina Shareef Ali

What is the relationship between identity, values, and the practice of parkour as both a personal journey and a broader social phenomenon?

Amina Shareef Ali joins Craig Constantine in a conversation ranging from punk rock to social movements, intertwined values, and the role of parkour in personal transformation.

"…so these are transformative conceptual frameworks that have influenced me. But something, I think [critical …], is that they haven't displaced each other. They've necessarily— …in order for it to be, really, a meaningful transformation and not just some kind of flailing, [not what] I might call [a] spiritual bypassing— It has to be integrated with what was already there." ~ Amina Shareef Ali from 26:58

This conversation between Amina Shareef Ali and Craig Constantine gets into the transformative aspects of various experiences in their lives, exploring Parkour, societal perspectives, and personal ideologies. Amina articulates her reflections on integrating multiple transformative frameworks in her life, encompassing academic, political, and personal growth. She emphasizes the importance of integrating new experiences with one's existing worldviews, highlighting that each transformation enriches rather than displaces previous perspectives.

Throughout this dialogue, they discuss the nuanced ways people interact with spaces, drawing connections between Parkour and societal shifts, aiming to challenge normative articulations of spaces.

"And many of the characters who were around were not who I would think of as my people.  There were those a bit too enthralled with shock and sensationalism at whatever cost, or those a bit too comfortable “ironically” espousing fascism.  It took me a long time to understand that in order to find my place within punk, I had to be an active participant in the conversation about what punk is, and could and should be.  Which, paradoxically, meant that I had to believe in my rightful claim to being punk in the first place." ~ Ali from, https://aminashareefali.com/2023/09/24/on-parkour-and-punk/

Takeaways

Integration of Transformative Frameworks — the significance of integrating various transformative experiences into one's worldview without displacing each other.

Diverse Perspectives on Space and Society — the impact of societal norms and personal ideologies on the utilization and interpretation of public spaces.

Embracing New Experiences for Personal Growth — that individuals discover new transformative experiences at different stages in their lives, and the importance of being open to and integrating these experiences with one's existing worldviews.

Resources

On Parkour and Punk — Ali's https://aminashareefali.com/2023/09/24/on-parkour-and-punk/

Ali's website and Instagram account — https://AminaShareefAli.com/ and @meaniemoves

Once Is Never — "Once is never. Twice is luck. Three times is parkour." https://onceisnever.com/

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

--- Hello👋 I'm Craig Constantine.

In the Movers Mindset podcast, I talk with movement enthusiasts to learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I'm interested in the nature and philosophy of movement and in exploring themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence. My interests color each conversation and provide some structure to Movers Mindset. But since I like to take the scenic route, every conversation ends up going somewhere unique.

The purpose of Movers Mindset is to create and share great conversations with movement enthusiasts. Each conversation feeds my insatiable curiosity, but I share them to turn on a light for someone else, to inspire them, or to give them their next question.

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--- Thank you!

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