Parkour Tutorials

c

 Normal two footed landings, which is what we¶ll concentrate on, can be used in any instance of Parkour in which a jump or a drop is involved. The first move is to bring your knees up in front of you this should be done in mid air after you jump as you feel your self peek at your max jump height or for dismounting sakes as soon as you take off the knees should be up and in front of you, they can be slightly angled out but should almost form a 90 degree angle between your torso and your quadriceps,

While this is happening you should be keeping eye contact with your landing area. When you feel your close enough to the ground you should extend your legs straight out almost attacking the ground, but not hard!

At this point you have to think of the balls of your feet as tension receptors, as soon as the balls of your eet make solid contact with the ground (feet should be about shoulders with apart), Your sensors should go off telling you to move with the downward momentum (bending your knees to no lower then 90 degrees, depending on the height of the drop and your experience) and letting your body bend preferably in-between your knees, bringing your arms down in-between your knees to make contact with the ground.

This can dispel the last bit of force left after absorbing the drop with your lower body, it also helps to immediately recover into a full sprint, if needed.

Practice the basic landing from small heights to start. Once you have control ( quite landings with controlled impact) you can work to increase the height.

The Turn Vault The turn-vault is used to get on the other side of a rail, wall or other such obstacle that has a considerable drop on the other side. It can also be useful when you are unsure of the landing surface on the other side of a vault. Start with your body 2-3 feet away from the rail. Place your left hand on the rail with the palm facing up. Place your right hand on the rail with your palm facing down.Y

Start out by jumping up and over the rail while keeping your left hand on it. As you are going upwards, lift your right hand off of the rail and rotate 180 degrees around your left arm, so you'll be facing the opposite direction of what you started.

With your arms nearly at full extension above the rail, place your right hand back onto the rail this time on the other side of your left hand. Keep your eyes on the rail the entire time.

At this point you'll be coming down and want to be concentrating on your foot placement. As you come down with both of your hands on the rail, try to land with both of your feet against the wall and absorb into a crouch. So your rear will be about parallel with your feet. Having your legs tucked against your body will help you maintain better control.

Once you land the turn-vault and absorb into a crouch, you'll be ready for the drop. Push off with your feet while at the same time letting go with your hands, and turning slightly.

As you begin to turn and let go, spot your landing. The end goal is to let go and turn 180 degrees so you can land and continue your run.

Land in a crouch or roll, and continue on your way.

±at leap The ±at Leap can very well be the keystone of a fluid run. Performing it can easily make or break your rhythm depending on the execution. For a beginner, this may be one of the more ³attractive´ techniques to learn, but it is commonly mistaken as something with much less detail and precision than is demanded for a clean cat leap. 1. To begin a standing ±at Leap, go to the end of the takeoff ledge and face both feet towards the destination wall.

Y 2. Squat down and swing your arms backwards as if you were starting any other leap moving forward.Y

Y 3. From that position, begin to extent your legs with forceY

Y When both legs and arms are fully extended, positioned at a 45 degree angle, the force that your legs created and the momentum that your arms created should cause you to jump in the proper direction. While in the air, position your legs so they are in front of your body because they will be the first to impact on the destination wall. Your arms should begin to reach for the top of the destination wall, or whatever is there for a good hand hold.Y

Y Having your legs way out in front of you and being the first to come in contact with the wall, they must absorb the forward momentum as you reach for the wall with your hands. With your legs compressing against the wall, put your hands on the top corner of the wall¶s ledge. Your fingers will be on the top of the wall, and the palms of your hands will be on the vertical side of the corner. It is very important that you tuck your legs to get your body as close to the wall as possible. Y

From there, you are ready to pull yourself to the top of the wall. This technique takes a lot of strength training and technique when done properly. It focuses on upper body strength to arrive on top of the wall. With your legs tucked and your hands gripping firmly on the top, dig your toes into the wall and take advantage of grip on the bottom of your shoe. Extend your legs pushing your body upward, while simultaneously pulling your body with your arms. A good grip with your feet will relieve much force that your arms will endure, and strong arms will make up for any lack of grip that the wall may have.

As your arms pull your body up, they will get to a point where your shoulders are above your hands and the pulling motion needs to be converted into a pushing motion. The easiest way to do that is as soon as you reach the point where your shoulders are higher than the wall, create a quick motion placing your entire hand on the very top of the wall. Your elbows will not be pointing away from your body on either side,

and your finger tips will be facing a point directly in front of your face. From there, you are ready to extend your arms and put your body the rest

Y

of the way up.

While you are pushing up, lean your upper body over the top of the wall. This will create the center of gravity above the wall so you won¶t fall backwards. As more of your body gets above the top ledge, lean farther forwardY

Y With arms and legs fully extended and about half your body is above the top of the wall, you are now ready to pull your feet up. Simply bend and raise your legs and place the on top of the wall one at a time, or bring them over the wall depending on the obstacle. Stand up, and you have completed a ±at leap!Y

The Gate Vault The gate vault can also be useful for a hip level (or lower) obstacle that has a considerable drop on the other side, although the gate vault may not be necessary to clear the obstacle, it can help to take impact out of the landing. It is also useful for taller objects where a wallrun or tapvault might not be suitable.

1. Make sure the obstacle, is secure enough to take all of your weight. 2. Bring your hips facing the gate with your left hand holding the top of the gate beside your left hip, palm facing away (thumb pointing left).

3. Fold over the rail and reach your right hand to the bottom bar (railing), further down the fence, or cement grounding.

4. With your arms, pull the weight of your lower body above your head, so that you are inverted, using the lower hand and your hip against the railing for balance.

5. ±ontinue arching the back (tighten your stomach, so your lower back doesn¶t bear the brunt of the arch) and look for the sky.

6. As your feet pass over your head, with your chest opening towards the direction you are headed, release the left hand and give a slight push off the right hand (this helps achieve more distance from the base of the gate).

7. Spot your landing as you come around to right-side up.

8. As your feet arrive, the rest of your body folds into a low crouch, absorbing the impact and harnessing the momentum so you can continue your run with ease and power, or if necessary, go into a roll to lessen the impact of the landing.

The Monkey/Kong j

           
       
  



     
    
 
  
   
       
Y

4
       
    
 
      

   
    
  
 
 
  
        
   Y

'      
    
   
      

     
   
  
     
  
   

  Y

 
  




 
 
   
    !    

 
.Y

h
 4  
     
 
   
  
   
  
 
    
  
  


  
 

h
   
       
   
     
  

  
    
 

!        
  "  #" 
     
    
       

The Speed Vault The speed vault is basically the first essential step towards learning the technique and commitment involved in overcoming rails and walls during a Parkour run. Its simplicity and efficiency are well suited to quickly surpassing a variety of objects with little wasted energy. You can come to a rail at full speed, and be on the other side in full sprint before you know it. Your run-up must be powerful enough to carry you over and past the obstacle with one final leap, using your hand for balance and to transfer your weight back to your feet to continue on your way. I have found that longer, more powerful strides are easier to set up proper timing and retain momentum over and beyond the obstacle.

Absolute commitment is the key to retaining momentum from mid-run through the last step, on though and beyond the obstacle. If you get that last moment of doubt, you lose most of your speed and kill the most essential aspect of this technique. Your final step should be taken a few feet from the base of the obstacle with the foot that coincides with the hand you will be vaulting with.

If you hit the last step with enough speed and power, all it takes is a slight boost with the final step at a 45 degree angle to the top of the obstacle. Your body should be in front of your feet at this point, with your lead hand (same side as your final step) coming down towards the top. Your legs and upper body are basically rotating around your torso towards the lead hand, so that when your hand contacts the obstacle, you are parallel to the ground.

The speed from your run up is carrying you over the obstacle, while your hand is retaining balance in the horizontal position of your body.

Once your hand makes contact with the obstacle your momentum is going to do the rest of the work making it to the other side, so you can begin to spot your landing. Your peripheral vision will alert you to any potential hazards right at the base of the obstacle, while your line of site will be slightly in front of where you plan to land.

As your feet pass the plane of the obstacle, press down and out with your hand, which will cause your feet to begin to travel downwards and your upper body upright. Keep your eye ahead of your path of travel and as you straighten up in the air, bring your trailing foot down in front of you, landing in mid-stride at a full run.

The Roll Rolling is a foundation movement; you can¶t land from height properly if you don¶t know how to roll, or if you are not confident in your roll. The roll can take months of practice to build up to a level where you¶re comfortable doing it on concrete. I suggest starting on carpet or grass, or better yet a padded gym floor.

Y

1. Stand with a shoulder-width "fighting" stance. Your toes will face a 45 degree angle in relation to the direction of your roll, while your hips and torso will be facing forwards. Most people prefer a stance with their right foot forward. For ease, this is written for rolling over your right shoulder. For Lefty¶s, you can simply swap all right / left references.

2. There are three main points to think about when you roll- Tucking your chin, Sweeping your lead arm towards your back foot, and staying tucked tight until you are carried onto your feet by momentum. Hold your right arm out in front of you, as if holding a barrel, with your forearm across your body and down at 45 degrees. This is the start of your round shape; you want this roundness to carry all the way through into your back. When rolling you want to be as round and even as possible. 3. With your left arm hanging loosely slightly away from your side, tuck your head as far under your left armpit as possible, looking back behind you. This is critical to protect your head and neck. This also continues your roundness into your neck, shoulders, and back.

4. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward, beginning to round you¶re your mid and lower back as you go forward, preparing to roll. Your right arm will be the first thing to contact the ground, but should not bear any appreciable weight. Your right hand should be ³palm facing you´, your hand does not brace your weight.

5. The back of your right shoulder is the first place on your body to bear any weight as you go smoothly into the roll.

6. ±ontinue into your roll, at this point you¶re upside down, and preparing your ³landing gear´ « both feet should be tucked up; your left leg will be tucked behind your right, so that your left foot is roughly behind your right knee.

7. Your left foot will land first; it is critical that you hit the edge of your foot, and not hit your ankle flat on the ground. Your ankle is very sensitive form this angle, and hitting it on concrete could shatter it. Now, the ³blade´ of your left foot (outside edge) is on the ground, and your right foot is coming flat onto the ground, about 6 inches ahead of it « your weight is carrying you through the roll. At this point your arms extend slightly forward, to ³pull´ and steer you up out of the roll, this helps with balance as you come to your feet.

8. Keep your knees bent as you come up to your feet, keeping your weight low, push explosively off your right foot, maintaining your momentum from the roll, and thrusting yourself into the direction you wish to carry on.

To advance your practice, place a string on the ground in a straight line (or find a seam in a mat, or some other straight line). Start your roll with your feet 45 degrees on either side. When you roll, check that both of your feet come up along this line. ±heck to see that your roll was diagonal down your back from shoulder to hip.

The Wallrun °
  
    
      

       °
        

              
              Y    
     
  

                      °

 
 


        
   

       
 
                


  

                     
             
      


          
    
       
                    
        
  
      
           !  

   
 
     
    
 

  
 

 

Ä              

   " 

        "  

       #           

°          
                     °       

  




 
    
        

         ° 
 
            
        
   

     
        $                     

   

 
               % "        
  
    
                     
 Ä  &   

           
             

      
'

               

 (           
  



    

Tic-tac °  !          )  )         $    
     
                       ) ! ) 

       
 °  !      
          

 *        

          
                  

$   
 
    +,  


      

  
      * 

    

             

  

  )  ) 
   
  
      

   
     


-    
           "

   
 
 -  
  
     *          

       

     



When your front foot makes contact with the wall, most of your weight should be on the ball of your foot. Begin absorbing as your leaping leg comes forward but don't absorb too much or you will take a lot of the punch out of the leap down. Also the angle of your foot on the wall will vary depending on what comes after the tic tac but generally the direction of the toes will range from 9:00 to 12:00.

Looking at your landing spot, kick off the wall powerfully while bringing your other leg up bent in front of you. Also, straighten your body up to meet the ground vertically. The term "leap down" is a little misleading because you can often get additional height and distance, so think of it as more of a leap out.

Follow the steps for any good landing, extending towards the ground to absorb into a crouch or prepare to roll and continue on your way.