Hi my name is David and I'm a Tricking Athlete turned Investigative Journalist !
I think the most important issue in the world of tricking isn't as much trying to change people who are too set in their ways but instead it's setting a positive example for the next generation, and stressing the importance of integrating properly into society, and respecting that other people are going to be vulnerable and that competitive drive needs to be channelled in the right direction. Life isn't about deceiving others we work with, but by working with integrity and establishing win-win relationships that comply with the laws and regulations that make society run safely and fairly - especially when it comes to sports contests !
I think it's the combination of being a dominance-seeking individual, always wanting to get the upper hand and take a victory over others, combined with the willingness to do whatever it takes that is likely to develop someone into a criminal in Tricking or even in the world in general.
You can't necessarily trust people to respect the honour code anymore. I do think that when children are raised in day-care and in their adolescence that they are taught to respect each other, and to cooperate as a group to keep their environment orderly and integrous. The problem is that making it into an industry, or gaining access to sponsorships, or even having a chance to strike an opponent aren't temptations or pressures that children face - adults do though.
I think it's around middle school & high school where certain pressures start to affect the younger generation - I know it did for me. Marijuana, sex drive, drinking & even the introduction of other drugs can become a past time activity for some social groups, and now adays there are influencers online that encourage get-rich-quick money making schemes that go viral and attract a lot of people who are naive and susceptible. There are many motivating factors that could shake us off from how we developed when we were younger.
The older generation grooming and recruiting the younger generation is the link in the chain where I think people abuse their seniority and have the intentions of taking advantage of their influence.
Influencers who rely on popularity to encourage the direction of athletes either towards ticket sales or merchandise sales have been shown to resort to just about any tactic - either luring young athletes to events with the prospects of possibly being around sexual activity or failure to comply with the group's direction could mean being ostracized from the community - and communities work together to form larger associations or organizations ( albeit unofficially ) and so fitting into the sport as someone who isn't registered as part of a club can be difficult. For many prospective learners, the normal pathway is to attend an open gym program and begin to train with the already established community that trains there. If you've read my article about legitimate organizations in Tricking, you'll know that not every community is legitimate. Some communities simply operate out of open gyms, while others will intake students as officially registered athletes and coach them with the intention of providing a Tricking program to bring athletes up to the level of champions. Parents, guardians & the newer athletes themselves should be aware of these models and pathways in order to make informed decisions for the wellbeing of themselves and/or the safety of their children.
Sex, drugs & money are the most alluring baits that influencers use to corrupt the youth, and when you combine this with organizations that don't officially or legally sponsor athletes into their teams or as special guests to their events, what happens is you get youth who are willing to do whatever it takes in order to move up and become accepted by communities that operate this way. Combine this with groups that will lie to the public, parents & governments about how they really do business, and you have a recipe for disaster.
For me personally, around age 20 is when I began to pay special attention to my decisions. My father passed away around this time, and I had to assume a greater responsibility for my future. I put Tricking as a hobby on the back burner, focused on my career, but also knew that if I invested in my health, I could become a better athlete - this meant rejecting drugs, using my intuition and staying away from people that I did not think were going to be a positive influence on me, and eating and exercising in a much healthier way. Besides giving up smoking weed, I opted for a plant based diet. Fast forward nearly 15 years, and I am still not smoking marijuana. I'm not 100% vegan anymore, I do eat small amounts of animal products, but I'm far healthier than I was as a teenager.
However, getting into the sport, I didn't see the sport in terms of politics or legitimacy as a teenager, but as I got older, I began to understand why it's necessary that athletes should receive protections and that social order needs to have integrity as a foundation.
Here in Canada, we have something called a National Sports Organization, which is the official governing body that sets in place policy, regulation and procedures to help maintain the safety and security of athletes, while maintaining high standards and providing professionalism with excellence. Tricking has not reached this point, and due to corruption, has difficulty reaching this stage in it's development.
Not only is it essential to sanction official contests, to help legitimize a title or award that an athlete is given, but it helps to ward off corruption to a much greater degree. When Tricking takes place on an underground level, where leadership is unclear, and where individuals are inducted into communities without a registration process, and where even potentially illegal activities could take place within these groups, the younger generation are at far greater risk.
It's a common practice that larger, more experienced and politically backed foreign organizations, legitimate or illegitimate, typically have a birds eye view of the development of communities around the world, due to social media. It's common that the most naive and gullible amongst us, who are completely unaware of how Tricking really is, are likely to be targetted and either encouraged to participate in a corrupt system, or face rejection from ever receiving any opportunities to advance their career, simply because they aren't apart of the majority - even if that majority is exercising illegal and/or illogical practices.
It's necessary to have something like a National Sports Organization ( NSO ) in place, like other sports here in Canada, because it allows for athletes to participate in an inclusive environment, free from discrimination, having coaches that regulate their behaviour, keeping things clean and professional, and safe, and to deter gangs and other groups from having an influence and subsequently exploiting what could be star-struck beginners.
It's necessary for Tricking to reach the next level.
My message to anyone reading, especially if you're from the younger generation is this:
Take an honest look at the situation you're in. Compare what your friends encourage you to do, with legal definitions to see if you're breaking any laws. Research your own activities and be aware of who you're becoming. Figure out who encourages the best qualities, and holds you to your worst, keeping you good and safe, and be real about who wants you to take risks quickly, and who you kind of just know isn't good for you - regardless of how fun it might be to do things you know are wrong.
Not only could you hurt yourself, but you could hurt others, and - there could be people collecting blackmail on you. If you're ever threatened that you have to do what your friends want because they'll release damaging information or if you see that these people will go behind people's back to try to harm them by using blackmail - if they would do it to others, they could do it to you.
Don't participate in gangs or any witch-hunts or coordinated attacks.
Tricking is a sport, and the proper thing to do is to become your best self by training, and by investing your competitive drive into self improvement and participating in competitions. If you want to flex on your opponents, win trophies and show them off on social media.
Pro Tip:
When people copy you, regardless if they only speak negatively about you, that's when you know you win.
Check these websites for more information:
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/sport-organizations/national.html
https://cces.ca/integrity
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