Developing the Basics of Parkour
by Eric Higgins
I was thinking about ways to break down movement this week as I trained. I was interested in how we learn to move. Specifically how we learn to move from one step to another. I came to the conclusion that the best way to develop the basics of Parkour is just like I had explained last week; I spoke about a way to learn basics, which was to move through your environment and learn to become more efficient without being taught specific vaults first. I feel though, as someone moves over an object they will become more efficient as long as they learn from all of their past tries, they will get more confident and efficient in their movement over time.
This is certainly what happened to me. Growing up I always would jump around and run on things. I was fond of the tramp and enjoyed seeing my oldest brother learn to back flip and font flip on the grass.
As I got older I learned to back flip too, and I did sports like Track and Wresting in High school. Two weeks before I was to graduate from High school I learned about parkour through the Internet. I had a friend and a cousin who were both a year younger who liked break dancing and tricking. We messed around with the sports a little until school let out and I went off to collage.
As I got older I learned to back flip too, and I did sports like Track and Wresting in High school. Two weeks before I was to graduate from High school I learned about parkour through the Internet. I had a friend and a cousin who were both a year younger who liked break dancing and tricking. We messed around with the sports a little until school let out and I went off to collage.
My first year of parkour I had to learn everything pretty much on my own. I had searched to see if there was a local community of guys but at the time I couldn't find anything in the area. I was hooked however and enthralled with the disciple. In the first year I did not concentrate on flips like a lot of other people do. I was more thrilled with the basics I would see in parkour videos and try to emulate some of the moves I saw. I learned to be conservative and not to aggressive in my growth and progression. This allowed me to have the time to become more efficient in my own movement: I was learning from all of my experiences in parkour. Because of this I conditioned my body without really meaning too, I learned how to properly avoid injury and I was building my confidence as I learned.
In order to develop the basics you need to consider your own level of fitness and conditioning and begin to condition yourself to Parkour. This is important because it is in the early years the most damage can occur to the body. I do not mean you will fall and break a bone or tear ligament (however this may happen), its the little wear and tear we puts on our body over time. Just speak to an older person who was active in life about how there knees feel, you get the picture. However if you condition properly you can avoid injury. There are lots of stresses parkour puts on joints, ligaments, bones and other muscles through-out the body. It has been proven that over time an athletes body can adapt and build up the necessary strengths to avoid these long term injuries. Take for example a gymnast, I like this example because it relates to parkour exactly. Gymnasts tend to have a thicker, stronger bone structure in their wrists and forearms because of the pressures applied due to landing on their arms, say in a hand stand position. Athletes in fighting sports build a tolerance to the pains in being hit. It is in these kinds of examples in-which we see the importance of conditioning. Conditioning also helps us to build up and experience how to properly transfer stresses on the body, say in rolling, and also allows us to learn to crash.
Crashing can be a big part of parkour; especially when doing something new. Its going to happen but you can avoid an immediate injury by leaning how to act in an emergency. Ways to prevent some injury is by checking all serfaces you will be on, also by only doing movements you have done before and are comfortable doing. Practice in a safe environment to build up muscle memory and confidence.
In building upon your own abilities in parkour remember to condition your body, learn to properly avoid injury and build your confidence, just as I did in my first year of the sport. Eventually I did find a group of guys and was able to jump right in with them in doing parkour and helping others to learn.
HiggiE-
Next week I want to share more about breaking down movement and what I have in mind with this 365 day Parkour Challenge of 2013.
