Parkour

[Liverandbacon]

Are there any other traceurs here? If so, share any stories, training tips, etc. here. A few questions to get the topic started
1. Has parkour changed the way you looked at the world?
2. How do you feel about the publicity and growing popularity parkours been getting for the past few years?

My personal answers:

1. Since I started training, I've got some funny looks from non-traceur friends, when I see a building, railing, wall, or alley, and say "I want to climb/vault that", stop what I'm doing, and do it. I've been unable to look at a building without thinking how it would be for parkour.

2. I think it's great that lots of new people have been getting into parkour because of its recent publicity in movies, games, youtube, etc. However, I do worry that people who see the videos on youtube and movies will try to go too far, too fast, leaping buildings before they can do a decent vault or landing. I'm also worried about the corporate interest being shown in parkour. Parkour always has been noncompetative and noncommercial in spirit, and I'm worried that it will go the way skateboarding did. K-swiss even made a parkour shoe. Seriously, all you really need is a shoe with decent grip, and spending lots is a waste of money, because hard training chews through shoes like there's no tomorrow.

Edit: Also, people who want to get started in Parkour, feel free to PM me, and I can send you links to some good sites with tutorials and friendly communities.

 

[Zac_Dai]

When I was younger I used to do a sort of tamer version of Parkour with friends.

I even met the French guys who did the Jump London thing a few years back at a extreme sports festival.

I couldn't do it now though, I doubt my knees could take it.

EDIT: Ok just found out that those jump london guys were freerunners and thats different to Parkour.

EDIT2: Ok now it seems that the difference between Parkour and Freerunning is a philosophical one. They are basically the same thing otherwise.

 

[Sewblon]

I am to lazy too actually do it but I am curious about it.

 

[Liverandbacon]

When I was younger I used to do a sort of tamer version of Parkour with friends.

I even met the French guys who did the Jump London thing a few years back at a extreme sports festival.

I couldn't do it now though, I doubt my knees could take it.

EDIT: Ok just found out that those jump london guys were freerunners and thats different to Parkour.

Freerunning's similar enough for this thread. Freerunners, feel welcome! After all, it's pretty much parkour but with the emphasis on stylishness rather than directness and efficiency. Both are fun.

 

[Berethond]

I have done some freerunning and parkour, in small doses. Though it was in a completely natural environment, no buildings at all. Quite interesting. There's nowhere to do parkour near my house, though. I have some friends who tried doing some parkour through a suburban area, and that didn't turn out so well. So no parkour for me.

 

[Liverandbacon]

I don't see how anyone's ankles can take that shit... I've always wanted to do it. But it's pretty much impossible for me. Due to an unfortunate incident I don't really have any tendons in my own ankles.

It's really all about landing properly. If you bend the right amount in the right places, there's very little impact (proportional to the drop). I started out practicing drops from a very short height, just to get used to landing properly (I'm talking 3' short, this was to get muscle memory). Once I knew that I'd instinctively land right, I worked my way higher and higher, stopping at a reasonable point. That's one of the things I'm worried this popularity will cause, people will want to start off with a 12 foot drop, and hurt themselves because they don't know how to land while minimizing impact.

BTW, sorry about your tendons, I know someone who has a similar problem.

I have done some freerunning and parkour, in small doses. Though it was in a completely natural environment, no buildings at all. Quite interesting. There's nowhere to do parkour near my house, though. I have some friends who tried doing some parkour through a suburban area, and that didn't turn out so well. So no parkour for me.

Actually, if you have any woods, non urban parkour can be really fun. If you have any good boulders, trees, logs, etc., it's great. As for suburban parkour problems, I'm assuming it had to do with a lack of permission from property owners?

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

I hurt my self pretty bad performing a cat jump. Fell and got a concussion and a broken wrist.

 

[Berethond]

I have done some freerunning and parkour, in small doses. Though it was in a completely natural environment, no buildings at all. Quite interesting. There's nowhere to do parkour near my house, though. I have some friends who tried doing some parkour through a suburban area, and that didn't turn out so well. So no parkour for me.

Actually, if you have any woods, non urban parkour can be really fun. If you have any good boulders, trees, logs, etc., it's great. As for suburban parkour problems, I'm assuming it had to do with a lack of permission from property owners?

Non-urban was pretty fun, but my problem is I live right in the middle of the 'burbs.

Well, most of the property owners were fine with it, the SWAT officer got pissed when they almost broke his fence, though.

 

[Raziel_Likes_Souls]

I'm a traceur, my specialty is gate vaults and spped vaults.

 

[Figgis Fiddis]

Always wanted to try it.

Would be a useful skill once the aliens come. Or the fast zombies.

 

[meatloaf231]

I've always wanted to start parkour, but my physique has been... uncooperative. Let's just say I'm not the lightest, most agile person around.

 

[Fightgarr]

Because of a heart condition, doing activities involving a heavy amount of cardiovascular ability leave me with palpitations rendering me incapable of parkeur. Its seems like a cool hobby though.

 

[HousePlant]

I do parkour in the LA area. I'm always looking for other athletic type people if you live there too. I also rock climb, white water kayak, surf, slackline, freight hop, etc... If your into any of that and in LA PM me.

 

[nimrandir]

I managed to trip in midair once, so I doubt I would last long doing parkour. Were I to miraculously acquire the required coordination, I think I would really get into it.

 

[Robert0288]

liverandbacon, you might sending me a link to those vids/tutorials?

 

[Akas]

I'm an ex-traceur. I used to do it and be decently good at it, but one dumb accident (smashing my face against the ledge and barely managing to avoid slipping off a 3-story building) made me give it up for good.

1. Parkour still interests me, even if I don't do it anymore. I think it's opened my eyes to the beauty of human movement, and it's a great way of keeping fit and enjoying the world around you. I never really had too many friends that did parkour with me (those that did also enjoyed tagging), but it was fun interacting with people all the same.

2. I think it's for the best actually. I don't mind the sponsorship/corporate aspect if it gets people moving and into parkour. But then again, I was never an "extreme" guy: I never really did it for the extreme sports aspect. I did it to get to places I wasn't supposed to, to see sights that I wasn't suppose to see. + If they come up with good, specialized footwear, that's a big plus (the day of the accident, my shoes slipped).

 

[Wolvaroo]

Anyone in the GTA is quite fortunate to have one of the most active parkour communities in North America. www.pkto.ca

Jams to be found every day of the week.

 

[Revernd Awesome]

I got kinda into it at one point, I've had a long history in Karate, Dance and to some extent Gymnastics, so I've got the right physique and coordination for it, but as I started to get into it, I shattered part of my wrist in a karate tournament and had that is various casts and splints for over a year.
Which kinda stopped me from doing any parkour, and I'm not to keen on repeating that ordeal, so I stopped practising.

It is awesome to watch though.

 

[jamesworkshop]

I did it for a while but I have now sprained my right ankle 3 sepperate times I simply can't run anymore