Basics

Since there are more and more newcomers to the discipline of Parkour, I figured I would post a bit about learning the basics

Learning Parkour is definitely easier to do when you are with people who are more experienced—but a lot of traceurs/traceuses are self taught (myself included.)  We all learned by watching videos, reading tutorials, and observing. Here is a list of things you can begin to work on.  Local playgrounds, your backyard, the woods—you don’t need to be in a city to train.  The whole world is an obstacle.  I mean, hey, I learned palm spins on my bed.

Just remember, once you have your foundation—from there you add your own style.  You find what works best for you.  The possibilities to conquer your obstacles are only as limited as your imagination. 

I don’t claim to be an authority on PK. No way.  I’m just sharing what I’ve gotten from my experiences

Warming Up

ALWAYS start by warming up (and i don’t mean stretching).  Strangely enough, this seems to be a uncommon practice in PK/FR I have increasingly noticed, but it is imperative—especially when first starting out.  It prepares your body for the challenges you are about to face and it reduces the risk of injury.  In Parkour, the first couple times you go out, you are going to be doing things with your body you probably haven’t before so…. even if you are the only guy warmin up, trust me, your body will thank you later.

1. The Active Warmup

An active warmup is the most effective way to prepare your body for physical activity.  It should be, in total, about 10-20 min long depending on your current physical condition and prior experience.  You should be sweating a bit by the end of this.  It incorporates both upper and lower body exercises interwoven in to a jog.

So this is how it works:

Start with a slow jog for about 5-7 min. Then, once your blood is pumping you’ll start working in exercises.  Jog 30 seconds, (pause if needed to) do one of the following exercises, Jog 30 seconds, do an exercise, etc. You can use any assortment of dynamic warm up exercises but this below is the one that I follow whenever I warm up.  It might be a little ambitious for some of you when you first start out, but give it a try.

Here are also some other dynamic warmup drills you could do in place of these.  You want to develop a routine that you are comfortable with and can remember.  Do a little research n try to use good form as well =)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyX4olA6VL4

2. A note on Wrists + Ankles + Knees

This might be just me, but these are the most commonly injured areas.  If any of these feel tight/tense beforer you start working out, take time to stretch them out/pay extra attention, or look up exercises that target these areas to loosen up the joints/muscles.

3. Quadrupedal movement (5-10min) - A great way to condition your body and get it moving in a way that will be familiarized through vaulting.  There are a variety of quadrupedal movements.  I would suggest spending quite some time doing this at the start—pref at the end of your active warm up.  Examples:

4. Balancing - Undeniably, parkour is about knowing your body.  Working on your balance will only help you on later as you move on to more advanced techniques

Basic Movements

Landing & Rolling - Above all else, these two techniques critical to learn.  They are safety techniques that will be integrated in to all aspects of your training.  A proper landing reduces stress on your knees and ankles and reduces chance of injury. Practice these often… and at the start, don’t go jumpin down off anythin too high.  Land on your toes and roll whenever necessary.

Safety Vault - A beginner vault that will eventually evolve in to a speed vault.  Most basic of all vaults.  Start with low obstacles like rails (or walls, if you are uncomfortable and want a little more room to plant your foot)

Climbing - No doubt you’ve done this before you even knew what Parkour was.  Have confidence and commitment when you do this, and have a destination/goal in sight.  And, in my opinion, if you’re going higher, do it with friends… that way if things go wrong… Well, my advice? Just don’t climb up anything you can’t get down!

Standing jumps/Precisions - Start on the ground.  Pick lines—side walk lines, parking lot lines, etc, and focus on good form and landing cleanly.  Push your distances and then start pushing your heights as you get more comfortable.

Last bit of Advice:

Be aware of your surroundings—people walking around, cars, etc, what is private property, what is unstable!…etc.  Try to use both sides of your body—ambidexterity is what to aim for!  Train everywhere (and learn to see obstacles in all places!)  Learn to know your OWN limits—and not those of others.  Don’t be afraid to use your whole body.  Don’t just train all the time—go for full fledged pkruns or plain ol conditioning.

Have goals and commit to them.  Make no excuses.  Acknowledge your fears, and transcend them.  Train hard and train for nobody but yourself.

Cheers

K

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Other resources (i’ll add to it whenever…):

http://parkourpedia.com/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/19091426/Parkour-Techniques-and-Movementshttp://www.monkeysee.com/play/11425-parkour