(Editors note: The following post was written by Jonny Caines as part of our Stories about.me project. If you have a personal story to share, please follow this link to submit your writing.) 

I grew up in a small town in central Saskatchewan.

The youngest of 4 boys, I was a little whipper snapper with some attitude, spunk and something to prove — mainly to my older brothers. In my attempts to grow up as fast as humanly possible I found myself trying to keep up with them. We started playing sports at a young age, and often visited our grandparents’ farm in Manitoba to do battle with make-shift wooden sword and shield.

In addition to sports, I also developed a special interest in activities like running, climbing and jumping (especially on back-yard trampolines). When not playing sports or moving around like a monkey — I took to school plays and church musicals to express myself through performance arts.

Capoeira and Beyond

At 13, I was taken out of my comfort zone and into the unknown: Peterborough, Ontario. Soon after moving I was introduced to the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira, known to some as “break-dance fighting”. Capoeira incorporated my dreams of being a dancer, acrobat and martial artist all at once.

After high school, I went on to study Art Fundamentals at Sheridan College and Graphic Design/Classical Animation at Seneca@York. Realizing that I didn’t want to focus on visual arts anymore; I soon returned to my love affair with the art of movement. I gravitated to Parkour/Free-Running and martial arts “Tricking”. Around that time I also began performing in Capoeira shows along with my instructor and mentor; Mark Ross.

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