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Information To Start You Off

For those looking to learn Parkour
on Wednesday 29 August 2007
by cak010

in Parkour Articles > Philosophy
comments: 12

Information to help you start learning Parkour.

What is Parkour -
Parkour is the discipline of overcoming obstacles in one's path using only the human body.
The discipline of Parkour is guided by utility, progression, and sustainability/durability in all aspects physical, mental, and emotional.

With disciplined training and the mindset of doing what is useful to become useful and to progress and sustain in all aspects, Parkour helps people in their life's journey, allowing them to overcome all obstacles that enter their path and help others to do the same.

Physically, Parkour is a natural method of training the human body to efficiently overcome obstacles, making use of the environment that's around at any given time. It requires neither specific structure nor accessory for its practice. The body is the only tool. It's an athletic discipline accessible to all, because it combines the natural skills of the human body: bipedal movement, quadrupedal movement, jumping, and climbing.
Parkour is about being able to face the obstacles with which you are presented, whether they be in the natural environment or in the urban environment, in a search for movement that combines effectiveness and control. Disciplined, intelligent training is necessary as the aim is to be able to sustain the strength and abilities throughout life.

Parkour is NOT a competition. It is NOT about being flashy, extreme, or rebellious. It is NOT about doing tricks or flips.

Begin Training -
As I see it, the best way to get started in Parkour is get out there and try some stuff. Start small with just finding different areas with rails, walls, trees,...anything that can be used as an obstacle and figure a way to get over or around it. Get used to this type of movement and how your body moves. Feel how it is to jump over, climb up, grab, and/or crawl on these obstacles. Keep in mind, there is no one set of techniques that encompasses how you have to move and no one way to do something as no obstacle is the same and no person is the same.

Do not start with anything big and dangerous. You can easily get injured and also cause long term damage to your body.

Start drilling the roll. It seems simple, but is arguably the most complicated technique to do. It is very useful and can help you prevent a lot of injuries.

At first, it may be difficult to see opportunities to train in your environment. Don't hold back...get out there. The more you just get out and train, the more your "parkour-vision" will increase and you'll begin to see lots of opportunities arise everywhere you look. It's not uncommon for people to suddenly realize that the walkways, paths, and other spots they usually glance over everyday have great potential for training.

Here are some useful links to information that you will find helpful. Read them!

Some starting information, check out
Beginning Training
While there are no real "Parkour moves" here is a list of commonly used terms and techinques:
Basic terms and movements

Here is a roll video of David Belle I put together to help see the right way to roll:
Roll Analysis
I highly recommend reading all the articles on parkour.net especially the ones in the "Spirit" section. Here are some links to articles that can aid in learning more of the philosophy of Parkour:
Parkour! More than an art -- a way of life!
Aspects of Training: Conditioning, Technicality, & Restriction
The Benefits of Parkour
Mental Techniques
David Belle - The creator, the orginator
Spirit of Parkour
Process of Training
The 11th Commandment

I had the great opportunity of meeting and speaking with David Belle (the creator of Parkour) in person. I learned a lot from him and wrote an article describing some of the important aspects of what David had to say:
Cali meets David Belle

Given the general trends that have taken form in those learning Parkour, here is an article discussing some warnings and thoughts about the future:
Dilution - Thoughts for the future of Parkour

Here is an article written from a female point of view that benefits both men and women:
The Traceuse - A woman's perspective and advice on Parkour

Parkour is often misunderstood and people think it's something that it's not. Parkour is not about being flashy, extreme, and/or rebellious. Parkour is not about doing tricks. Parkour is about efficient movement...getting from point A to point B (see the description above from parkour.net). Yes, there are techniques that may look spectacular to some, but in Parkour, it's not about looking spectacular. It's about getting passed the obstacle, whatever the environment, to get to point B.

A great site that is made for the parkour community in North America is parkournorthamerica.com. There are many very knowledgeable and experienced traceurs there.

We welcome everyone to participate here on the www.pkcali.com site. There are a lot of people of varied skill and experience that are always helpful. Don't hesitate to post in the forums and ask questions. We like to help! Also, keep an eye out on the Training Grid and in the Sessions forum for upcoming training sessions/meet-ups. We'd love to be able to train with you.

If you have any questions/confusion/concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.

Have fun, be safe, and go train!
-CAK010

Comments

Information To Start You Offcak010 \| 31 Mar 06 : 03:59
Comments: 69 Reply to this	I hope this helps a lot of people. :-)

Information To Start You Offgmpianoman \| 03 Apr 06 : 21:39
Comments: 21 Registered: 23 Dec 05 : 12:17 Reply to this	I'm sure it will.

Information To Start You Offruffwolf \| 26 Apr 06 : 09:18
Comments: 19 Registered: 18 Jan 06 : 09:11 Reply to this	thanks that helped a lot when i started off

Information To Start You OffN o F l o \| 08 Feb 07 : 17:51
Comments: 5 Registered: 11 Sep 06 : 22:16 Reply to this	Very useful, thanks cliff!

new to site/ live in los angelesbram83 | 12 Feb 07 : 02:31

Comments: 1

Registered: 12 Feb 07 : 02:00
Reply to this

Hi... I'm all about parkour. I;ve only begin to scratch the surface. Im always looking for people to jam with. I live in sherman oaks but am down to travel anywhere on L.A. Also if anyone knows of any good locations in the valley, that would be great.
And lastly, im planning on putting together a 5 min. parkour short film for youtube in the next weeks or asap. If anyone is interested in that, let me know too.
Cant wait to really get into this.
bram

Information To Start You Offcak010 \| 12 Feb 07 : 12:29
Comments: 69 Reply to this	Hey Bram, Welcome to PKCali. Glad to have you here. You should start a thread in the forums to meet people and see about getting together with others to train. This article isn't the place for it. Thanks, -CAK010

Information To Start You OffPK is Awesome \| 30 Mar 07 : 03:40
Comments: 1 Registered: 30 Mar 07 : 00:20 Reply to this	That was cool info thanks.

Information To Start You Offcak010 \| 11 Apr 07 : 19:20
Comments: 69 Reply to this	I've added a couple more helpful articles to this that I think should be read by all.

Information To Start You OffSocrates \| 09 Jul 07 : 16:14
Comments: 7 Registered: 11 Feb 09 : 22:59 Reply to this	Writings are always good for the beginners and to refresh the veterans. lol

Information To Start You OffAnthony \| 23 Oct 07 : 22:48
Comments: 2 Registered: 19 Oct 07 : 04:31 Reply to this	wow this makes alot of sense well now i guess i know what i need 2 do now

Information To Start You OffDarkchilde \| 06 Jan 08 : 17:38
Comments: 1 Registered: 06 Jan 08 : 16:45 Reply to this	I'm absorbing everything this site has to offer and have researched a bit and am interested in seeing how peeps actually train...looking forward to my first seesion with y'all---I understand there was one [training] yesterday and I missed it, but wondering when the next available will be. Hit me back when you guys know, best- darkchilde

Looking for people to session w/ in the IEemagdzim \| 15 Aug 12 : 12:13
Comments: 1 Registered: 23 Aug 10 : 21:54 Reply to this	Hey what's up, does anyone live in the IE. I'm looking for people to session w/. So hit me if you're down too.

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