How to Practice Parkour

Parkour has become one of the most recognizable physical activities in the world today. Though some classify it as an extreme sport, its practicians prefer to view it less as a sport and more as a form of self-defense emphasizing free movement. In the words of its originator David Belle, "Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move."

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Practice landing from low jumps. This sounds boring, but learning to absorb the impact of a jump is one of the most crucial parts of parkour.

2. Learn to roll out of a landing. The is the essential technique you need to know to avoid injury and enjoy the thrills of performing drops, regardless of their height.

3. Learn the basic methods of clearing vertical obstacles, like the vault and the wall hop. It's best to try these movements out after you've mastered landing, however, so that you can safely get down from whatever object you've climbed.

4. Find an area in a park, city or other space with room for you to move around and obstacles for you to clear. If you're a beginner, pick an environment with a variety of obstacles that aren't too challenging, like picnic tables, trash cans and low fences.

5. Allow yourself freedom of movement when clearing obstacles and running between them. There are only a few moves in parkour that are truly standard, like the roll and the precision leap. These are only used so frequently because they form the basic elements of safe parkour. Your goal should be to express yourself and find the path over or through an obstacle that makes you feel happy and satisfied.

6. Find a group of people in you area who are also into parkour. Practicing with other people is a good way to learn new techniques and ensures someone will be around to call for help if you get hurt.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't perform a technique with which you're uncomfortable. If you're not confident you can land the technique, you're more likely to be injured in trying it.
• Avoid practicing in crowded, public places.

Who Can Help:

• Tired of Being Tired? Fight Fatigue and Try FRS for FREE!