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 Free running/ Parkour

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Ninja

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PostSubject: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 02, 2012 2:48 pm

I know this is also in the "Trained + Preparation" but i cant post replies so I just thought I'd start a new post in this section! Cool

So lets clear this up:

Parkour

The main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment as quickly and effortlessly as possible by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing, and leaping. Parkour practitioners are known as "traceurs", with their female counterpart referred to as "traceuses"

Free Running


Uses parkour as a baseline but focuses more on self expression, innovation and creativity, as opposed to the speed and efficiency stressed in parkour. Free running is usually more gymnastic, for flips and spins are used when vaulting obstacles.

Ok now thats out of the way it becomes obvious to start with the foundation and build upon that when you are confident and able enough! After reading through some comments on the other post I felt it was an underestimate skill perceived by many as to hard to learn either due to age or fitness...which is not the case!

(Am off out now but will continue when I am back!)
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:50 pm

Ok so now you know the difference between the two we will first focus on Parkour

As long as you can lift your own body weight you are basically half way there! If you can not then this must first be addressed, if you are to continue. Not having a gym is no excuse as there is a topic on here about "park" workouts...but don't let that limit you. It doesn't have to be a park it could be street signs, traffic lights, scaffolding etc. Use your imagination! Of course there is also Push ups and sit ups...so you dont even need to leave the house!

Next is stamina.

Going for regular runs is a good place to start. Either make them longer or harder in some way when they become too easy! Then start to incorporate some Parkour basics into them. Eg. As you run down the road, if there is a small wall that runs parallel to the path you are on, jump onto it! This will get your body not only used to the jumps you will be required to make, but also prepare you for the landings and improve balance. Another good one is to run on stones at the beach as this works more muscles compared to a normal run.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:44 am

So...

Now you are strong enough and are building on your stamina daily...you are ready to begin your baby steps into the world of parkour!

Start small.

It is easy to injury yourself while doing parkour so its essential you start small rather than jumping in the deep end with no arm bands. Remember that wall from your jog? Go back to it! Depending on the height, keep jumping/vaulting over it, walk its length and practice jumping off of it. The main aim when landing is to absorb the shock/ impact of your fall so it is barely felt. By bending your knees and using your hands, arms and feet you can further decrease the forces of gravity when landing by spreading it over more of your body.

Youtube: /watch?v=lCV0k71OZRc

Its not my video but shows the very basic "jump and land" which you can then build upon.

The key for you at this stage is to begin to feel comfortable doing the very basics or you will feel you can't progress further.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Fri Aug 03, 2012 10:14 am

When you have the basic landing technique mastered you can start to increase your heights that you can jump from. You will soon find what you once thought impossible for you to do becomes possible. As you climb higher your confidence grows with your balance and heights you can reach.

So now a short list of common "things" you can navigate to further your parkour skills:

Trees: They are everywhere! and each one is different! Dont go too high that if you fall you will be out of control but here you can practice your landings, leaps from the ground to branches, jumps form branch to branch and balance. Hang upside down or swing using momentum to begin new skills...and the beauty of it is that while doing this you are working on your strength, stamina, balance and reaction times.

Stairs + Rails: Another very common obstacle to be navigated. Jump both up and down them, use the hand rails to practice volts and see what works best for you! Also try using just the rails to move both up and down like a cat walks a fence. Heres a video on using the rails for balance (again this is not me and nor is any of these videos!): Youtube /watch?v=T2PGUWMFPgU

Scaffolding: Again very common in most places and an array of different moves to practice and different heights. Use lower level horizontal poles as monkey bars and slowly move up. In fact with scaffolding there really is no limit on what you can do so to get an idea watch this /watch?v=4CWRh295He4

General street stuff: Bins, benches, fences, bus stops, bollards etc just practice navigating them as quick as you can however you can!

Buildings + Walls: This is where it starts to get real fun. Practice running up walls, grabbing the tops and pulling yourself up. Choose taller walls to make it more challenging as things get easier and start finding out your limits. Im 5 10" and can easily scale a 9ft wall in seconds. Knowing this helps you to become faster as you can quickly asses heights and widths and know if you can navigate them with success.

I may upload some videos of my own on my methods and approaches if people want them? There is A LOT on Youtube already but I was thinking a "How To" series or something? let me know

(more to come)
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Fri Aug 03, 2012 11:48 am

Ok to summarise so far...

You have the strength
You have the stamina
You know the basics and the obstacles to practice on

Now this can go anywhere you wish from here

You can continue to practice your skills and improve, drawing from it when needed.
You can turn your runs into "assault courses" to create a challenge: you will try to beat previous times.
You can begin to add elements of free running into your training for that "wow" factor.

Whatever you decide is best - its up to you and your surroundings!

Now personally, as this is a RLSH's forum, I suggest you look at using what you have learned to assist with your crime fighting escapades! Not trying to big myself up here but I know my area so well that if you lost sight of me I'd be gone! So far from the original sighting in fact, within minutes you'd be searching an area of a sq mile increasing every second! So do you see who valuable this skill is?

Ok so the rest of this will be more for those who are crime fighters rather than "outreachers" but I still feel its useful to everyone


Not only is this great for escaping a lone or group of "baddies" but also other forces Wink should you not wish to be seen or spoken to for whatever reason. Not just for escaping though...if it was somebody I was chasing they wouldn't stand a chance...unless it was maybe Usain Bolt! Laughing

So you want to use parkour, as your alter ego:

1. You MUST know your area and surroundings! Every little nook and cranny! As you have got to this stage you will find yourself almost scoping out every possible way up and down obstacles like it is second nature.

2. You must practice in your area and know your limits...whos quicker? The man running blindly or the man with a mental map in his head.

3. If the criminal takes a turn up a hill why follow? learn common routes and cut off points!

Now you know all of the above I would recommend adding stealth into the equation...


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Stephen Hannaway

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:38 pm

Good post Smile just booked into parkour classes
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Gauge




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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Fri Aug 03, 2012 7:49 pm

I have access to parkour and free running training at no cost, but I have been reluctant to take advantage of it, as I am well over 6' tall, and just over 200 lbs. Although I am fit and well conditioned, I am also in my early 40s, and see no advantage to this training for myself.

I would very much appreciate the opinion of someone more knowledgeable of the details of these disciplines to advise me of the plausibility of beginning training with the physical description given, and a realistic expectation of what I could expect to achieve.
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Blue Rattler

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Sat Aug 04, 2012 7:41 am

Gauge, like you, I'm about your age.

I think for me, being able to do some of these things is, if anything, a fun way to improve physical fitness and body awareness.

Check out this link. Even if all you do is the warmups (which is often just what I do), it's a fun, lunchtime workout you can do at a local park.

http://www.americanparkour.com/learn/faq-english/faq/155/887-how-do-i-get-started
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Gauge




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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:25 am

Cool. The issue for me is that I have a specific time frame in which to take advantage of this free training. It goes from beginner to expert with no newbies once the program starts. If I enroll, it will mean missing out on a tactical program that runs concurrently, but would technically be a refresher for me. What I need to do is assess whether the gains from the parkour/free running program outweighs the benefits of updated tactical training. This is why I'm seeking expert advice from multiple sources.

Thanks for the link.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:38 am

Gauge wrote:
I have access to parkour and free running training at no cost, but I have been reluctant to take advantage of it, as I am well over 6' tall, and just over 200 lbs. Although I am fit and well conditioned, I am also in my early 40s, and see no advantage to this training for myself.

I would very much appreciate the opinion of someone more knowledgeable of the details of these disciplines to advise me of the plausibility of beginning training with the physical description given, and a realistic expectation of what I could expect to achieve.

Hi Gauge Cool

I would say your best bet (if you are interested and motivated to learn it) would be to go to a few sessions and see how it goes! What is there to loose if its free! Being over 6' tall will only really hinder you on certain volts which involve tucking your legs but apart from those your height isn't too important unless working in a small space Laughing As for your weight...well i assume its more muscle rather than fat if you are fit? What needs to be considered here is strength to weight ratio...from experience I have found that if you can do around 20 push ups and 10 proper pull ups you have a good strength to weight ratio (which is always being built on while training) to start, for pretty much all your parkour needs Laughing The down side to you weight it is that your legs will need to work harder to get you in the air and also gravity will effect you more so you would need to jump harder and higher than say me (being about 10st/140lbs). Other concern is you are more prone to injury as you age so you would have to make sure you warm up properly without cutting corners because if you do have an accident it will also take longer, with age, to heal...unless you of course feel you are healthy enough for this not to be a major concern! Only other thing that springs to mind is your flexibility? But again there are so many variants of each skill you can pick the ones that suit you! Cool

So what would I expect you to achieve? Well not knowing all the factors this is merely a guess from what I do know but it sounds like if you feel you are healthy and strong enough, compared with what I said above, then you should be able to overcome most obstacles...maybe not the widest gaps or the tallest of walls but certainly the more average ones and as I said in an earlier post you will find you improve your take on the obstacles...you will start to see various approaches instead of just the one! Wink As Blue Rattler said though

Blue Rattler wrote:
if anything, a fun way to improve physical fitness and body awareness.

Check out this link. Even if all you do is the warmups (which is often just what I do), it's a fun, lunchtime workout you can do at a local park.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Sat Aug 04, 2012 10:40 am

The Magician wrote:
Good post Smile just booked into parkour classes

Good man! Let us know how they go!
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Sat Aug 04, 2012 2:10 pm


Right lets wrap this up!

Using stealth while doing parkour is not only satisfying but fun!!

Practice by trying to sneak up on real people Laughing see how close you can get...listen to what they say...some people are completely oblivious! Laughing I once sat on the ground behind a bench about a ft away from these two people. Not once did they turn around and see me. But why would they? Now apply this to your crime fighting situation! You really can become a ghost!

1st things first though...this is not something I can teach by writing. But it is mostly common sense so once you know the basics you can expand from there.

A few of you may have heard of the SAS's "five S's": shape, shine, shadow, silhouette and spacing.

Now unless working in a group spacing isnt really important so forget that for now. Shape, shine, shadow and silhouette are however!

Now its pretty self explanatory but to save me typing here is a video summing it up:

/watch?v=l8j_ItWM0vY

*skip to 13:00 for the "five S's"*
these episodes are rich with information on all different types of situations so I would say they are worth a watch!

One thing they dont mention on there though is "jingles". Keys, zips, toggles on clothes all make noises or have the potential to make noises so before you go into stealth mode jump up and down on the spot and remove any noise or items liable to get in the way (chains, toggles and hair mainly).

Lastly, shoes...they need to be quiet! So walk in them, run in them and jump in them to test before heading out. Trainers with "soft" bottoms are fairly common and cheap but dont forget to get black ones! Its really up to you if they are the right ones, so try a few and see the different sounds they all make!

As there are not many videos on youtube on stealth I might put a few up but only if theres demand for them so as I said before let me know!

This should have been right at the beginning but I completely forgot but its cool because it fits here anyway:

Trainers and baggy clothes that dont restrict your movement are a must...not just for the stealth but parkour in general!

So thats it, I think...if I missed something ill add to this in the future.

Ill try to answer any questions you may have but hopefully I've given some of you some insight into the world of parkour.
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Midnight100

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:48 pm

Great lesson Ninja, you fit your name. Cool I've been doing Parkour for about two years and though I don't use it every night it has defiantly come in handy. As we all know sometimes it's smarter to escape than to fight. It's not only a useful and practical skill it's also very fun. It's great to see an obstacle and overcome it. I never thought I would be able to scale twelve foot walls until I started practicing Parkour.
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The Reverend

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:23 pm

one of the guys i patrol with is amazing at parkour . he is a great addition to missions . im older and have been a boxer and have worked construction for 20 years im more of a dancer-fighter ( i am trim and athletic ) another guy i work with is a straight brawler-wrestler . all good skills im just not built for parkour . and good free runners are uber ripped and could prolly avoid my punches and wear me out by just dodging
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Flora V. Arbor

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:30 pm

I'm with the Rev on this.
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Rook

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:50 am

Excellent stuff. You've really piqued an interest here for me.
-Rook
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:10 am

Midnight100 wrote:
Great lesson Ninja, you fit your name. Cool I've been doing Parkour for about two years and though I don't use it every night it has defiantly come in handy. As we all know sometimes it's smarter to escape than to fight. It's not only a useful and practical skill it's also very fun. It's great to see an obstacle and overcome it. I never thought I would be able to scale twelve foot walls until I started practicing Parkour.


I see you are dressed for the occasion! wouldnt take long for you to "vanish" on a dark night Cool Laughing ...Yes its great fun no matter what you use it for! Once up high you see things from a different perspective...and feel on top of the world Laughing not sure of the tallest wall ive overcome...maybe ill go measure it in a bit


and glad this has interested those of you who have never heard/done anything like this before. I dont think its outta reach for anyone willing enough and determined enough to learn it but i can see why some people see it as a very daunting task...especially those afraid of highs Laughing just start at the bottom and work up until you feel you are at your limit...of course this is very different for different people. some of us dont know where to stop Laughing
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E0N (Inactive)

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:24 am

The parkour stuff is pretty convincing to me in terms of building up a good fitness level.

There's a risk of injury that's greater than with some other activities, however I'm not one to say therefore don't do it. But if you are older with knee issues or something... yeah, maybe don't do it.


I never got beyond very basic stuff with parkour before giving up. Well, actually I guess I didn't "give up" that basic stuff, but I kinda gave up on ever working toward triangle jumps and all that.

It's very difficult for me to think of a street situation where parkour skills would be significantly better than just having run fast skills.

Also I thought the idea of the silence while moving was because it trains you to move efficiently without unnecessary impacts, etc... rather than actual sneaky stuff. That's one of the things I've kept in mind for running.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:49 pm

E0N wrote:
It's very difficult for me to think of a street situation where parkour skills would be significantly better than just having run fast skills.

when they are of greater force or faster than you Laughing

E0N wrote:
Also I thought the idea of the silence while moving was because it trains you to move efficiently without unnecessary impacts, etc... rather than actual sneaky stuff. That's one of the things I've kept in mind for running.

true for running...true for parkour. However not essential for either as you cant move your fastest, silently. You want to be moving like fluid with the least amount of impact in the quickest possible way...whether this is used to just move quietly with less impacts or sneak up on somebody is up to you Laughing


Running quietly behind someone would take them time to notice you... but when they turn, they will see you.
Whereas sneaking up on them from above, they tend not to see coming. Laughing
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E0N (Inactive)

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:02 pm

I'm afraid I really just can't imagine that. Like in the Matrix or a Jackie Chan movie, sure... but not otherwise.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:04 pm

E0N wrote:
I'm afraid I really just can't imagine that. Like in the Matrix or a Jackie Chan movie, sure... but not otherwise.


If we lived closer Id give you a first hand demonstration Laughing
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Stephen Hannaway

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:21 pm

Ninja, I think it may be to do with the fact a lot of American Cites are designed as blocks, I.e straight lines and tall buildings. We have have the advantage of European architecture, there's a lot of curves, twists, ledges, railings, high roads, low roads, adjoining walkways that kind of thing.

However in any country parkour will give you the ability to take routes others cannot, be it in pursuit, flee or even combat. Even if it takes a while that advantage would eventually grind out a result.
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Ninja

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:26 pm

True.

Id love to go to the states to do it though. Anyone wanna pay for my ticket?!
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Stephen Hannaway

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:31 pm

That's my plan too :/ Scottish till I die, but you Americans seem to be having all the fun!
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E0N (Inactive)

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PostSubject: Re: Free running/ Parkour    Free running/ Parkour  Icon_minitime1Thu Aug 16, 2012 1:37 pm

The Magician wrote:
Ninja, I think it may be to do with the fact a lot of American Cites are designed as blocks, I.e straight lines and tall buildings. We have have the advantage of European architecture, there's a lot of curves, twists, ledges, railings, high roads, low roads, adjoining walkways that kind of thing.

However in any country parkour will give you the ability to take routes others cannot, be it in pursuit, flee or even combat. Even if it takes a while that advantage would eventually grind out a result.



Probably something to that. In Tokyo you could do some pretty impressive rooftop jumping with about the difficulty level of playing hop scotch. In the states... no.
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