Parkour is a sport that sometimes requires you to jump over fences, custom-designed railings, balconies, ledges, and more. It’s a thrilling and trendy sport that everyone young individual is trying nowadays. However, although it’s captivating and inspiring seeing a person moving through an environment while pushing their bodies to the very limits of their capabilities, many have no idea how to get into the sport.
To learn more about the sport, here’s what you need to know about parkour, from how you can get started to the ‘basic’ moves to try:
Find a Local Parkour Group and Join One
The most efficient way of getting started in parkour is finding a local parkour group or attending a parkour jam, which is a get together of parkour enthusiasts. Doing this helps you get insights from people who have plenty of experience parkouring from all around and have someone there to polish your skills on challenging moves. Plus, if you have a bad fall, you can stay at ease knowing there’s someone to help you out immediately.
Most large cities hold daily or weekly parkour meet-ups, where you can find details on online parkour forums. Joining a ‘parkour gym,’ if you have one in your location, is also a great way to get started in the sport.
Take it Slow
When doing parkour, especially if it’s your first time, make sure to take it slow and know your limits. Although it’s tempting to pursue and copy experienced individuals doing out worldly flips and aerials from gigantic buildings, don’t try to do too much too quickly. After all, it’ll take a while for your body to adapt to the sport’s strenuous physical demands. So, don’t move on to more complex moves until you’ve mastered the basics.
Additionally, remember to stay safe and don’t take unnecessary risks. After all, parkour’s goal is to have a good time and push yourself beyond your comfort zone, but with safety in mind. So, before participating in any training session, double-check the environment for any potential hazards, such as broken glass—allowing you to get from point A to point B quickly and safely.
Respect Your Surroundings
It’s best to stick to doing parkour in public spaces like local parks or city plazas, but try to avoid rush hours or times with high pedestrian traffic as it can disrupt the order or get you into big trouble. Additionally, if someone asks you to stop what you’re doing or leave, just agree to it.
Although it can be frustrating to stop jumping or running, especially when you’re in the zone, keep in mind that the sport is still relatively new, meaning many people aren’t aware of its nature.
Basic Moves to Try
Whether you’re a newbie in the sport or want to take things easy, here are the most basic moves you can try when doing parkour.
Balancing – Balancing is a crucial move or skill you need to have when doing parkour, especially when you’re going through a relatively dangerous course. You’ll often walk on uneven pathways to narrow areas like rails and wall edges, making it crucial to develop muscle strength and coordination to avoid injuries. Begin by balancing on walking rails or taking up slacklining.
Running – To get the real parkour experience, you need to perfect the art of running. It requires explosive and tedious sprinting alongside endurance. Training with parkour regularly can help you condition yourself to the running required. However, consider adding in 5K runs to speed up your progress.
Jumping – This plays a significant role in parkour, helping you overcome height differences to get across gaps and obstacles. You can start by mastering ‘precision jumps,’ where you can land on small areas such as compact surfaces on top of a wall or a stepping stone in the middle of a running river.
Landing – Landing safely and efficiently after jumping and dropping is a crucial skill for parkour. That’s because correctly landing helps you immediately get up and keep your pace going, allowing you to move on from one obstacle to another. Perfecting this also helps reduce your risks of going to the emergency room. The best way to decide how you’re going to land depends on several factors, including the height you’re landing on, the distance of the jump, and the surface.
Parkour is all about smoothly and efficiently moving through the environment without any form of support, making it a physically exerting sport that lets you uniquely explore your surroundings. If you’ve always wanted to try — the tips mentioned can help you get from point A and point B as fast and efficiently as possible.
