Zachary Cohn and Charles Moreland of Rochester Parkour are hosting a Leave No Trace Initiative and Beginner Parkour Workshop on Saturday, December 6th in Manhattan Square Park. The Leave No Trace cleanup will start at 2pm and will last approximately 90 minutes. Afterwards, the more experienced traceurs of Rochester Parkour will assist Zac in teaching the 90 minute beginner workshop to all of the attendees. This will be a great event for new people interested in learning Parkour, for fairly new traceurs who need to review the basics, and for experienced traceurs who need experience teaching.
Details:
Who: Rochester Parkour
What: Leave No Trace Cleanup/Beginner Parkour Workshop
Where: Manhattan Square Park, Rochester, New York
When: 2pm, Saturday December 6th, 2008
Why: To clean up a popular training location and to instruct newcomers on the basics of Parkour
Cost: Free!
The side-flip is one of the easiest acrobatics to learn and
perform. Physically, it is one of the least demanding, and mentally it poses
less of a fear barrier than a front-flip or back-flip since it is possible to
spot the landing during the entire flip. It is extremely versatile and, best of
all, when done correctly has a very gentle landing.
This is not meant to be a fully comprehensive tutorial on
the “side-flip” but rather a collection of tips on a couple of key elements of
the flip. The reason for this presentation is because when learning the flip
(and any movement), there is no substitute for training and the trial &
error process.
Start the flip with a few powerful strides to build
momentum. It is not necessary to take a full sprint into the take-off but some
speed is required. Take a low, long skip and punch upward. Let yourself travel upward before pulling into a tight
tuck. Open up to slow the rotation and get ready to land. Knowing when to open
is a skill that simply takes practice and repetition to gain air-awareness.
Land on the balls of the feet, back leg first, and then rock to the front leg a
split second later. This style of landing cuts impact considerably.
For the purposes of this article the side-flip will be
defined and a flip with sideways rotation. The body position (see video) will determine
if the flip is truly a side-flip (straight-body position) or a double-leg
(doubled-over position). Both have their
merits, and it is advisable to learn both techniques. The straight-body type keeps the ground in
view throughout the flip, while the doubled-over style will often allow for
bigger height.
The two basic take-off styles for the side-flip are 1-2 and
punch. The “1-2” style refers to one foot taking off slightly before the other.
This allows for the side-flip to be adapted to a raised-object take-off, for
instance flipping off of a ledge or bench. Punching on the take-off often
translates into a higher side-flip.
Tucking the side-flip can be done at the knees or the
hamstrings. The straight-body side-flip lends itself best to tucking on the
knees, and the doubled-over style is most compatible with tucking on the
hamstrings. This is not a strict rule by
any means, so test both methods.
As a general point of advice, great care should be taken
when learning this flip as well as all other movements. Build up slowly by
using the method shown at the end of the video to gain comfort with the feeling
of the flip, and try to find a gym with competent instructors that will offer
their guidance (and their foam pit). Barring that, try to learn on the softest
possible landing surface.
Men's Health hosted an Urbanathlon, similar to the ones in NYC and Chicago earlier this fall, in the UP Diliman, Phillipines. They invited the Philippine FreeRunners to participate in a demonstration.
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