Anybody heard of or do this?

[Tgace]

I think Ive discovered my next side hobby. Take a look at this...

http://www.parkour.com/
http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/

The martial, escape and evasion, (Not to mention pursuit :) ) and fitness component of this stuff is very interesting. Not to mention cool...

Anybody heard of, practice or have any experience with Le Parkour, AKA "Free-Running" or "PK" ??

[Makalakumu]

That is awesome! Can you imagine a game of tag played like that! I'm seriously going to go to the park and probably break something now because of this! Thanks...

[Tgace]

I can just imagine the look in some guys eyes as I vault a few fences coming at him...of course combat boots and 20 lbs of belt can throw a kink in a lot of this stuff.

[kempo108]

i have seen the tv special Jump London. it is very cool to watch. here is a clip i came across a while back. the jumping from roof top to roof top is pretty scary.

http://postarchives.entensity.net/031204/media.php?media=monkeyguy.wmv

[Tgace]

Very Cool! Its amazing the things humans are capable of doing that we just never realize. Illustrates the "magical" beliefs people had about people like the Ninja. Who would believe a person could jump from building to building like that?

[Makalakumu]

Very Cool! Its amazing the things humans are capable of doing that we just never realize. Illustrates the "magical" beliefs people had about people like the Ninja. Who would believe a person could jump from building to building like that?
Now, THAT is an interesting point. These guys trained hard to do this kind of stuff...no magical powers required (I think the concept of "magic" or "chi" is something of a lazy westerner bastardization btw). Why wouldn't there be people who could have done this stuff in the past? Most certainly, it would be the kind of stuff people would tell stories about!

[Tgace]

Now, THAT is an interesting point. These guys trained hard to do this kind of stuff...no magical powers required (I think the concept of "magic" or "chi" is something of a lazy westerner bastardization btw). Why wouldn't there be people who could have done this stuff in the past? Most certainly, it would be the kind of stuff people would tell stories about!
The best "magic" is plain old hard work and practice....yes, Im fairly certain that many of the "magical" feats of Ninja lore and other "Warrior Wizard" type legends were probably very similar to this stuff.

[Tgace]

Page full of video clips...
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/parkour/parkourenglish/page21.html

[fistlaw720]

haha, great stuff...

[evenflow1121]

It looks very cool, as far as effective, I dont know enough to critique it, but I am not a fan of high kicks. What I was thinking as I saw that though, if you are pursuing a hollywood career in martial arts or something like that, this seems very eye catching. Nice video. And yes it is quite amazing to see those guys perform all those leaps and falls.

[Makalakumu]

It looks very cool, as far as effective, I dont know enough to critique it, but I am not a fan of high kicks. What I was thinking as I saw that though, if you are pursuing a hollywood career in martial arts or something like that, this seems very eye catching. Nice video. And yes it is quite amazing to see those guys perform all those leaps and falls.
Don't forget about foot-jutsu!

I think the self-defense nature of this stuff is very practical. Heck, people who train for self defense always talk about running away as a good defense. Why not train for it!

[Tgace]

Don't forget about foot-jutsu!

I think the self-defense nature of this stuff is very practical. Heck, people who train for self defense always talk about running away as a good defense. Why not train for it!
If you take out the "flash factor" and just concentrate on the "flow philosophy" these guys espouse, you would be very hard to catch. Of course a lot of that depends on familiarity with the terrain. These guys plan out these intricate routines, but the basics of fence jumping, dropping from heights, etc...very useful.

[Bammx2]

cool as it is....

its nothing new to be honest.
My friends and I used to do stuff like this "back in the old days".
The only problem being is,back then...it was called criminal tresspassing!
And the judges were VERY insulting about it too!
BUT.....

Its still damn cool and beats the crap out of "criminal" activities and just spending all day in front of the XBOX!
(damn...were is that whiny key when you need it)

[Makalakumu]

If you take out the "flash factor" and just concentrate on the "flow philosophy" these guys espouse, you would be very hard to catch. Of course a lot of that depends on familiarity with the terrain. These guys plan out these intricate routines, but the basics of fence jumping, dropping from heights, etc...very useful.
I think the intricate routines could be seen as "kata" and more spontaineous training that utilized "basics" would make this into something martial artsy. I would add in juijutsu escape techniques coupled with movement disabling strikes. Perhaps some scenario training. Hmmm, time to play...

[Sin]

could someone summerize all of this for me....my computer dosn't play vids (I am on one at school) so could someone please describe this art to me.

[Andrew Green]

Spiderman... without the webs ;)

It's a "extreme sport" type of thing that is based around jumping, and some really crazy ones two. Jumping from heights, to heights, building to building, balancing on rails, etc.The second link has lots of pictures and descriptions of the basic "techniques"

[ginshun]

I have seen this several times before, and yes it is quite impressive.

I have thought the same thing as some of you guys in the past, comparing what these do to "ninja magic"

Those dudes definately have their ukemi down pat.

[TonyM.]

Cool stuff. They showed a bit of this on an episode of CSINY. Everything about it appeals to me.

[Corporal Hicks]

I have seen this several times before, and yes it is quite impressive.

I have thought the same thing as some of you guys in the past, comparing what these do to "ninja magic"

Those dudes definately have their ukemi down pat.Lol, ninja magic, yeah I remember thinking something like that!

In Britain its called free running, its fantastic, would love to do it, though no where does it in my area :jedi1: .
Somebody mentioned Jump Briton, that be the one, looks really good!

Wish I could do it..........

Anybody heard of wushu central martial arts and their team Zero gravity? Apparently they do stuff similar to this.

www.wushucentral.com/videos/v.php/zerogravity.com (http://www.wushucentral.com/videos/v.php/zerogravity.com)

(No no, one more post and I hit the 400 mark!)

[47MartialMan]

I guess it is a good workout. But a bit risky in the injury department

[goshawk]

I think Ive discovered my next side hobby.
You said it! Although...crap. I'm going to hurt so much this summer...::grin:: Still, this is much with the shiny.

[zujitsu]

Parkour is known as the art of the escape it emphasizes flow and efficiency(not big drops or crazy stunts ) so that when needed you can escape from a situation without worrying about a confrontation I have been practicing parkour for about a year and recently made a video here it is for anybody that is interested. And if your still interested after the vid you can e-mail me and i can show you where to go to learn the basic techniques of this discipline and the various philosophies that lie beneath the surface of this so called"extreme sport" and another interesting thing about this art is true parkour is strictly non-competitive.

http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3PJF3QOO36N0Q1YLY5VS8O1NKS (http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3PJF3QOO36N0Q1YLY5VS8O1NKS)

[ginshun]

Sorry to bump up an old thread, but I was trying some of this out this past weekend. My poarch has a flat roof and it is about an 8 1/2 - 9 foot drop from the roof into my back yard. I basically did about a 3 or 4 step run and jumped off. Landed on my feet and then staight into the front roll. Tried it three times without any broken bones, so all is well.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't want to do it onto anything harder than the grass though.

[searcher]

I am with tgace and goshawk on it possibly becoming my next side hobby. I think it would be very cool to train for and do.

[zujitsu]

I have a video up in the members in motion area of this site of you guys would like to see it.....also if you guys have any questions on some of the actual techniques in it I would be happy to help...

[zujitsu]

Also pk is'nt about big drops and crazy stunts...it's about moving fluidly and efficiently through your environment and has various philosophies as well...one good way to approach parkour is with the mushin(no mind) philosophy.

[Tgace]

how do you start?

[OULobo]

I started tooling around with it at a local skate park. The obstacles were right for beginning I thought. I also did the city hall stairs, rails and fountains.

[searcher]

Are there any gyms in the U.S. that specialize in parkour? If so, where are they located?

[Jerry]

Very cool

[mj-hi-yah]

I agree this is very cool stuff to watch, and it looks like fun! I think it has to do with your training and ability to let go of your fears, like high diving, skydiving, gymnastics or skiing, snowboarding jumps, really any of these types of sports, you have to train properly and let go. Apparently this training, like most extreme sports, is not without injury though and should be done with supervision from a trained person in this system - check out the injury link on the first page that lists all the possible injuries. I wouldn't recommend people go leaping off buildings without proper training, and make sure you won't get arrested for doing so first. I imagine most landlords wouldn't ok this for liability reasons. Also, I wonder if there is footage of the guys who missed their marks SPLAT! Like uh-oh, two more inches and I would have made it. For you guys who expressed interest in doing this, please do it smart! :)

MJ :asian:

[ginshun]

I am sure that it is not without injury. Running and jumping off a nine foot roof could easily cause a broken leg/ankle/random body part if you don't know how to roll out of it.

I would say it is like most anything. It is very fun to do, and I am sure that people always want to try things that are just beyond your current ability.

I am going to try and get some video this week.

[zujitsu]

as for how to start this...When I began I just searched the net and found some tutorials on how to do some of the techniques and when out and tried them....but also know that even though there are injuries(there is with everything) one thing I have to stress is start off easy then work your way up its not about "that looks high lets jump off it" its about mastering your body and your surroundings so you will be able to move efficiently no matter where you are....as for gyms or actual trainers in this art the only gym I know of in the u.s.that does this is in kerrville texas(but I think they are trying to get some in N.Y.C)....other wise you have to learn on your own(unless you live in england) or find a more advanced traceur(one who practices parkour) in your area to help you out.I can also try and help but there is only so much you can do over the net....but I can't stress enough that it takes practice and even with practice you'll need a keen eye and some good sense for all those what ifs(slippery surfaces...areas unfit for the weight of the human body, broken glass, etc.) that also means as much as you might want to go run over and vault that rail unless your familiar with the area(and even then) you need to check your surfaces....especially if there has been some precipitation or other weather...just if people were wondering the worst injury I have had is I pulled the tendons in my wrist and bruised my palms( I would have been fine except I fell on a steel grate)

Also unlike extreme sports Parkour is strictly non-competitive(except you against yourself) but there are various games(which are just like regular games with a pk spin on them I.E. pk tag) and there are various philosophies as to how parkour can translate to everyday life and other things(which for the life of me I can't think of right now....need more sleep)

[ginshun]

as for how to start this...When I began I just searched the net and found some tutorials on how to do some of the techniques and when out and tried them....but also know that even though there are injuries(there is with everything) one thing I have to stress is start off easy then work your way up its not about "that looks high lets jump off it" its about mastering your body and your surroundings so you will be able to move efficiently no matter where you are....as for gyms or actual trainers in this art the only gym I know of in the u.s.that does this is in kerrville texas(but I think they are trying to get some in N.Y.C)....other wise you have to learn on your own(unless you live in england) or find a more advanced traceur(one who practices parkour) in your area to help you out.I can also try and help but there is only so much you can do over the net....but I can't stress enough that it takes practice and even with practice you'll need a keen eye and some good sense for all those what ifs(slippery surfaces...areas unfit for the weight of the human body, broken glass, etc.) that also means as much as you might want to go run over and vault that rail unless your familiar with the area(and even then) you need to check your surfaces....especially if there has been some precipitation or other weather...just if people were wondering the worst injury I have had is I pulled the tendons in my wrist and bruised my palms( I would have been fine except I fell on a steel grate)

Also unlike extreme sports Parkour is strictly non-competitive(except you against yourself) but there are various games(which are just like regular games with a pk spin on them I.E. pk tag) and there are various philosophies as to how parkour can translate to everyday life and other things(which for the life of me I can't think of right now....need more sleep)
Very cool advise.

One thing that is worth mentioning is to watch out for the shoulders when rolling out of a jump. Last night I came down a bit hard on mine when jumping around. Nothing serious, but I will deffinately be much more aware of how my shoulders come down in the future. Last night I when too much staight down and kind of jammed it.

Happy running.