Parkour a.k.a. Free Running

[alchemist]

Parkour is like an art, being able to run, perform big jumps, rolls, flips, etc. Thought it'd suit this forum well. Some people have taken it to the limit and jumped small buildings. An example video is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO0EJ-Vx0I
After seeing a few vids i thought i might try it out myself. All i can do is a roll. Heres some tutorials i've found:
http://www.zanshinstudios.com/learn/...tutorials.html
Anyone else tried this or have something to say about it?

[Beyond]

I saw a kid try it in front of a theater once, busted his ass good.

[alchemist]

lol. i hit my shoulder last night on a roll.
***Note to self*** Do not learn on concrete...

[practicaljoker]

Lol. It might be a good idea not to learn on concrete. This stuff is crazy though.



edit: Well, you will eventually learn to not fall on your ass if you get hurt enough, then maybe you will learn faster.

[Psychonaut]

Hi, Ive been doing Parkour for about a year. Its great for fitness. Id reccommend it because it helps you to think seperately from society. You can run, instead of walk. You can saut de chat (cat jump) that fence instead of go through the gate. Don't get too stuck on reading stuff about it. Get out there and run. One thing first. Learn how to roll. This can help prevent injury and is the basis for many other inportant moves, as it aids in co-ordination. Learning on concrete is no biggie, just only do jumps and stuff. Learn rolls on grass.

If you want info on Parkour, go to www.parkour.net it really is the most authorative source.

BTW, there are two main branches of parkour; Free style (for show ponies and trixters) and free running (all about fluidity, speed and purpose [this is the one that i do] )

If you want to do some research, David Bell was the creator of Parkour and people that practice it are called traceurs and traceuresses. But just get out there and start.

[James]

I've been looking at freerunning for about 7-9 months; note looking...

http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/fundame...ndamentals.htm

A good site for the fundamentals of parkour and freerunning; and some of the forums are also quite helpful too ... mainly the fitness section just for training tips + other shit.

Its great for fitness. Id reccommend it because it helps you to think seperately from society. You can run, instead of walk.
Don't get too stuck on reading stuff about it. Get out there and run.

Agreed.
Most of all its fun; you don't have to stick to precise rules or what not, make it up as you go along. Thats what I like about it, theres nothing to it at a basic level, you progress as you go along and just do it.


*A word of advice, don't listen too hard to the 'whats parkour and whats not' shit which you'll surely come across sooner or later.
You do what you want, and decide what you wanna do. That shit started pissing me off when I first came across it*

[Kaos-theory]

David bell was not the creator Sebastien Foucan as the actual creator, alot of things put him as a co creator when he wasnt.

Anyway.

Pking is great fun.

[Beyond]

Actually Sebastien has stated many times that he was not the creator of PK

Sebastien Foucan says,

"Free running has always existed, free running has always been there, the thing is that no one gave it a name, we didn't put it in a box." He makes a comparison with prehistoric man, "to hunt, or to chase, or to move around, they had to practice the free run."

[Blue0ctane]

I've been doing parkour for about a year and a half, although I need to get to a gym because I forgot how to roll. It's not really needed around my area considering how it's all flat, but it's nice to know how.

[Psychonaut]

Kaos Theory, It is widely accepted that David Belle invented the concept of Parkour, though parkour itself has been around for ever, as Foucan said. Foucan actually started freestyle parkour after he and Belle split over wether tricking could be included into the Parkour philosophy. However, for the purposes for diplomacy and not scaring any potential traceurs off with petty debates, ill agree with Foucans statement of Parkour being around for ever.

An interesting point, you see lots of movies on YouTube and stuff of traceurs moving around. Many of these are scripted and planned but i was interested that many are not. Then i realised that they looked so polished not because they are practiced many times in situ, but because the traceurs are improvising. Many people learn specific moves and go out, jsut to practice them in a order of whatever. But constantly improvising is something to aspire to.

[crzydan]

I just started doing free running. I can basically only land a jump from high heights. Lol, I bet I am the only nigga that does parkour.

[James]

Lol, I bet I am the only nigga that does parkour.

If I could be arsed I could give you loads of examples of black people doing parkour, in fact, a fair number of my fav vids are from black people :wink:
But that was a throwaway comment so fuck it ....

I can basically only land a jump from high heights.

Roll.Roll.Roll. Learn roll first.
If you're jumping large drops onto you're legs and letting them absorb all the impact then you will really start to get problems with your knees in not too long at all .... sounds like bullshit, but it really is a terrible strain constantly absorbing large drops without rolling ... and it will come back to piss you off later on in life ...

[crzydan]

Thanks alot james. I just started out and i have been using websites and they basically said learn the land first. I competly agree with you tho to learn the rolls since I pay alot of basketball i dont want to mess up my knees. and the I bet I am the only nigga comment was a joke. thanks for the help.

[Aphix]

I actually trained with parkour for quite some time, probably a year now. Now that I'm in a city college it's much easier to find places to go, rather than suberb playgrounds and the like. It's exhilerating as all hell, and really gives you an instant sense of accomplishment. It's great to get your mind off of things.

Also, as James said, roll first. It's like crawling to walking. As a rule of thumb, roll from a shoulder to an opposite hip side and you'll pop right up on your opposite leg and can keep going. This method of rolling protects the majority of your spine and leaves little room for major error. Practice makes perfect and good luck.

[crzydan81]

Thnks alot. Do you think this will help me get faster?

[crzydan81]

HAHA i just tried doing the roll and I busted my ass. I cant figure out how to do it.

[Blue0ctane]

Practice on mats a lot until you're confident you can pull that anywhere. Then the progression to grass and concrete should be seamless.

[Beyond]

Originally Posted by crzydan81

HAHA i just tried doing the roll and I busted my ass. I cant figure out how to do it.

You just use your arm as a guide and roll along it while tucking one leg behind the other knee, how fucking hard is it? It's too fucking easy.

[crzydan81]

Well I have only seen it done once in a video and it wasnt one of those walkthrough ones. Also I dont think it was a good idea that I tried doing it on my concrete steps.

[Blue0ctane]

That's not a good idea to start on concrete...

[Gobiggi]

Starting on concrete is a good idea.
Lest just say on concrete if it hurts then thats where your going wrong, Practise on soft ground, and occaisionally concrete.

Will help :P

[Jago]

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