practice Makes a Man Perfect

 

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'."

Pole Voult....

“Our aim is tO Take our arT to the WOrld and make people Unders ta nd what it is to move.”

  David Belle

The sport of parkour was developed in Lisses, France, a suburb of Paris. Who is usually considered to be it's founder?

David Belle. Belle developed the movements of parkour with a group of friends in the 1980s. Foucan, Perriere, and Diouf were other members of this group, which later became known as the "Yamakasi"...

 Turning a city into an obstacle course

When I began studying i almost 10 years ago, one of my reasons for doing so was a desire to learn how to move more gracefully and meaningfully. I thought (correctly, as it turned out) that t’ai chi would be a safe, interesting, and enjoyable way to learn what it feels like to move intentionally and become more aware of my posture, balance, and physical interactions with my environment.                                     

When I first read about a sport (or art or activity) calledparkour, the philosophy behind it sounded very similar: an emphasis on fluid, elegant, graceful motions. But in practice, parkour is about as different from t’ai chi as I can imagine. It’s sometimes considered an “extreme” sport; as its participants dash around a city, they may vault over fences, run up walls, and even jump from rooftop to rooftop. So you won’t see senior citizens doing it in the park on Sunday mornings, but if you do witness it, you may think you’re watching a stunt person on a movie set. 

"I saw an exhibition of Miro once. Miro the painter. His very last painting was a dot. I was wondering why everyone says hes a great painter. I can make dots. Yet he is a great painter. I looked at his evolution. First I thought he couldn't draw. Then I saw his early drawings, and they're works of art. His figures are full of detail, his landscapes. Its like looking at a photograph. So I looked at his evolution, and saw that gradually there were fewer details. He was paying less attention to the external, and more to the internal. I thought about it, that little dot, and I understood. Everything else was false, he had just retained the truth."

i Love Parkour

Parkour belongs to the ones 

   Who live it, not the ones....

Parkour

"You can be Good, better or Best, but make sure your Good be better and your better be Best"

Danger

Danger is always present when practicing Parkour, but it has been said that the discipline is "only as dangerous as you make it." The risk of injury is obviously at a maximum if the traceur is going beyond his abilities, attempting overly difficult maneuvers for show, or is tired and losing focus. The danger is minimised by checking the surroundings for any loose objects regularly, and progressing at a reasonable rate. However, many young teenagers forget that traceurs such as David Belle have been practising for close to twenty years. They want to immediately perform the same kind of moves as the traceurs they see in videos. They forget their limits and incur injuries.
In August 2005, a UK teenager, Alex Leatherbarrow died after trying to jump a two-metre gap between two buildings. He and a friend had just seen some traceurs at a local skate park and decided to try Parkour. While his friend made the jump successfully, Alex slipped while standing on the edge of the building and eyeing up the gap, later dying of his injuries. The global parkour community was incredibly saddened by the tragedy, which highlighted the inherent danger in untrained traceurs attempting to replicate the large roof-gaps they see on TV, which are almost always set up purely for the media.

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

 Energy Drinks Explained
The internet, magazines, sports matches, supermarkets; everywhere we look we are told about the best energy/sports drink to improve our performance. As practitioners of Parkour/Freerun, we often train longer and harder than we set out to do so, depleting our glycogen energy stores in the process. We all know that we are at our most vulnerable to mistakes and injuries when we are tired and our energy levels are depleted, but the addiction of training (especially when we’re having fun) often makes us ignore of ‘forget’ to fuel our bodies properly.
Energy drinks

ISO Drive by EAS is an isotonic concentrate consisting of soluble carbohydrates, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and nutrients along with glutamine and taurine which form a balanced drink mix. The energy supplement is a fast acting drink designed especially for hydration and building endurance and power. The drink mix can be ideally taken pre or post workout or training session. When our Miracles for Men team reviewed EAS ISO Drive drink mix, we were happy with the overall results we saw and gave it a good rating of 8 out of 10, as we found it slightly over priced. The supplement drink mix comes in two different flavours, which are orange and lemon.

Parkour is a fascinating and impressive activity which is loved by many across the world, but how much do you know about it?

• Parkour originates in France and has its roots in military training and physical education.
• Modern Parkour is said to be founded by David Belle and Sébastien Foucan who are ambassadors of the techniques and have pushed it into films and video games.
• Parkour is not a sport in the traditional sense. In fact, competitive Parkour has been campaigned against by leading figures in the Parkour arena as it goes against the very philosophy of free movement and self-development.
• Parkour has no set movements or tricks, but is up to the individual and focuses instead on swift movement with minimum injury.
• Parkour practitioners are known as “Traceurs” – simply because they “trace” their way through the environment and across, under and over various obstacles.
• Despite all the daring videos you might have seen, the majority of people participating in Parkour do so at ground-level. Railings, walls and low-level obstacles are seen as a great challenge and a perfect way to practice without serious risk of injury. Parkour training areas are perfect for people who are new to the discipline.
• Parkour is not just about jumping and climbing. One of the key factors in success is learning “spatial awareness” – knowing how far you can leap, judging distances and gaps and more will lead to a perfect Parkour outing.
• No equipment is required (or standard) for Parkour practice. Although traceurs may wear lose, casual clothing and things like sweat bands and gloves for protection, the majority of Parkour is practiced outside on man-made obstacles, buildings and other constructions.
• Precision is the pinnacle of Parkour movement. A large jump from one place to a small, narrow platform is a firm demonstration of Parkour skill.
• Parkour is now considered to be an “extreme” sport and is thereby part of the US X-Games – an annual extreme sports event hosted by ESPN.
• Some say that the key to Parkour is moving from one place to another as quickly as possible.
• Parkour has become so popular that training camps have popped up around the world including groups like Parkour Generations who teach and train the movements of Parkour to others.               

There’s plenty of fun to be had in the wonderful world of Parkour. But remember, if you’re new to it, start off small, safe and use a Parkour training area to avoid unnecessary injuries.

“Practice with the obstacle, always with the obstacle, and seek combinations.” 

      Some interesting facts of Parkour

What is the general term for a practitioner of parkour?
       Traceur. The term "traceur" is derived from the French word "tracer," which is slang for "to go fast." "Traceuse" a term used to describe a female parkour enthusiast.

The sport of parkour was developed in Lisses, France, a suburb of Paris. Who is usually considered to be it's founder?
       David Belle. Belle developed the movements of parkour with a group of friends in the 1980s. Foucan, Perriere, and Diouf were other members of this group, which later became known as the "Yamakasi."

One of the most well-known movie scenes involving parkour was the opening chase scene in the 2006 James Bond film, "Casino Royale". In the scene, 007 chased a bomb-maker named Mollaka through a construction site in Madagascar. What famous parkour athlete played Mollaka?
       Sebastien Foucan. In addition to his role in "Casino Royale", Foucan appeared in the music video of Madonna's 2005 single "Jump". Sebastien worked with David Belle to create parkour and is considered one of the primary founders of freerunning.

In which type of environment is parkour most commonly practiced?
       At ground level with obstacles such as railings, low walls, and short buildings. The majority of amateur traceurs stay relatively safe by staying close to the ground. While many movies and internet videos show traceurs jumping across large gaps between multi-story buildings, this is very dangerous and should only be attempted by very skilled and experienced practitioner. There are a few parkour gyms that offer a place to practice movements in a safe, controlled setting.

Which of the following pieces of equipment is required for parkour or freerunning training?
      There is no required equipment. One of the best things about parkour and freerunning is that there is no required equipment. Many traceurs use sweat bands and gloves to protect themselves from scrapes while others prefer to use bare hands to better feel the environment. Although it may seem crazy, many experienced traceurs train without shoes. In fact, David Belle once said, "bare feet are the best shoes".

What is the name for the parkour movement that involves jumping from a spot on one object, to a specific spot on a second object?
       Precision. A precision is a useful parkour move that requires power and balance. The movement generally involves jumping from one narrow platform, such as the top of a wall, to another. More skilled traceurs can jump over a very large distance and land perfectly balanced on a narrow rail.

One of the most important skills for any beginner to learn is the roll. It is very useful for preventing injury by dissipating t0he energy after a long jump or drop. Which of these best describes the technique used for a roll in parkour?
       Put your hands on the ground and roll your body over one shoulder and across the diagonal of the back while being sure not to hit your head on the ground. Rolling is one of the first movements taught to beginner traceurs. In addition to preventing injury, it allows the traceur to get up quickly and move smoothly into the next motion.

Which of these movements would be seen in freerunning, but not parkour?
       Wall spin. A wall spin involves running up to a wall, placing your hands on the wall, and performing a flip while still in contact with the wall. While it is an impressive and aesthetically pleasing maneuver, it has no practical purpose and is not the most efficient way to overcome an obstacle.

When approaching a handrail, what is the best and most efficient way to overcome it?
      It depends on the entire situation. In parkour, the methods for moving past an obstacle are almost unlimited. A speed vault, which involves jumping sideways and righting the body by pushing off of the obstacle, is a quick way to get past low walls and railings. For longer or higher obstacles, a kong vault, which involves diving forward horizontally and pushing off with the hands to return to a vertical position, is useful. An underbar is a movement that involves swinging under a bar or railing. In freerunning, additional creative movements are possible and allow endless possibilities.

         Parkour Movements
There is no list of "moves"each obstacle is approached individually. In many cases effective parkour techniques depend on fast redistribution of body weight and the use of momentum to perform seemingly difficult or impossible body maneuvers at great speed. Absorption and redistribution of energy is also an important factor, such as body rolls when landing which reduce impact forces on the legs and spine, allowing a traceur to jump from greater heights than those often considered sensible in other forms of acrobatics and gymnastics.
According to David Belle, the practice is to move in such a way that will help you gain the most ground as if escaping or chasing something. Also, if you go from A to B, you need to be able to get back from B to A, but not necessarily with the same movements or "passements". Despite this, there are many basic versatile and effective techniques that are emphasized for beginners. Most important are good jumping and landing techniques. The roll, used to limit impact after a drop and to carry one's momentum onward, is often stressed as the most important technique to learn.

A back flip is considered a basic skill in gymnastics, but only because it is a building block to many other skills. It's not a simple move to learn, but once you do, you've achieved one of the big milestones of becoming a good gymnast.
Please make sure both you and your coach feel that you’re ready to learn a back tuck. It's not a skill that should be attempted by a beginner gymnast, and it should never be tried on your own without a coach present.