Kong Vault. Precision. Cat Leap. The essentials, the bread and butter, of most traceurs’ movement repertoire. There are certain movements that get the most practice, that get the most attention, and that get the most thought. This is understandable because they can be used in so many different situations without changing the basic technique all that much. But what about other situations, what about other movements? Surely there are other, lesser known ways of moving through the environment? Of course. And I’m going to highlight a few that I feel don’t get the respect they deserve.
---Hurdling---
Let me set the scene for you. You’re at the starting line of a running track, alongside seven other individuals. Ahead of you, ten obstacles stand in your way, each consisting of a thin plastic board attached to two metal pipes, forming what is essentially a mini floating wall. You take your mark, get set, and sprint out of the starting gate as fast as you can. But what about those obstacles? Are you going to vault them? How, they’re too flimsy to put a hand on, and you’re body can’t swing out beyond the lines that border your running lane. So what do you do hotshot? What do you do? Why, hurdle of course!
Hurdling is such a fast, efficient, and, with good practice, natural movement that it amazes me that I don’t see it more often in videos. To be clear, hurdling an object does not mean merely throwing your legs over an obstacle without touching it, or curling them to the side Jackie Chan style. It is a specific movement that it designed to maintain the greatest possible momentum coming out of clearing said obstacle. To give you an idea of how fast good hurdling technique can be, world record times for the 110 meter hurdle sprint are between 12 and 13 seconds. That’s fast.
So what is the hurdling technique then? And how can it be applied to parkour? Well, the best way to describe it is to show it. Visual aids please!
This is not hurdling.
This is.
The sprinting hurdle technique, as used in track and field events, is an exaggerated step that, when performed correctly, makes the runner appear as if they’ve never left the ground at all. To start the regular motion, some speed is required to carry you over the obstacle. When you are within leg’s length of the hurdle, your lead leg will jut out and, with the heel leading, push out and over the hurdle. The lead leg can be either leg though most people will have a preference for the right or left (for me it is my left). As you stab forward your trail leg pushes off the ground, leaving you in mid air for a moment. The trail leg will fold in half at the knee joint and swing outward, so that the inner thigh is facing the top of the obstacle. As the obstacle is passed the lead leg will come down and continue the running stride while the trail leg swings through underneath your hips and follows through with the next step. When done correctly, your running stride and speed will be almost completely unaffected.
(Slo-mo Hurdles)
(breakdown)
The above video will give you a fairly accurate breakdown of the desired movement and a slow motion scene of a professional hurdler. Now that I’ve described everything we can get to the other half of the question: what good is this in parkour training? Well, just look at it! If speed and power are your goals than your benefits are obvious. Any obstacle of knee to stomach height can be conquered in one swift motion, allowing you more momentum towards the next possible obstacle and leaving your hands free to operate as needed. Why waste time placing a hand on a low bench, throwing your center of gravity off, when you can just as easily hurdle it? Here are just a few things you can hurdle in your day-to-day.
-Fences of all types (Chain, Wood, Stone)
-Low Walls
-Fallen Trees/Rocks
-Trash Bins
-Benches
-Small Children
-Great Danes
So now the idea has been planted. All that’s left is to go out and give it a little practice. Obviously the best place to practice hurdles is at a running track with actual hurdles. But makeshift hurdles can be made with almost anything. Stretching a rope or tape between two posts or trees works just as well and can be adjusted as needed. The fastest way to get the technique down is to first run or walk alongside the hurdle and swing your trail leg over as you were actually stepping. Then switch sides and do it with the lead leg jutting out. The technique will not come naturally for some so just stay dedicated. It took me a year and a half to finally get mine right. Here some final tips on getting the technique down pat.
1) Don’t let your arms swing too wildly out to the sides. Keep them in close when you can and just far enough to keep balance. And keep them pumping, as if running in air.
2) Try not to stutter step up to the obstacle. It will rob you of needed speed and make the move awkward.
3) Keep your eyes forward! Don’t look down or around as you’ll lose your balance when you touch down on the other side.
4) Shoulders should stay square with the intended path. When they twist it makes you land crooked and then you have to fight to regain control.
5) The hurdle technique is a STEP, not a jump. Ideally, you should have barely an inch or more of space between your legs and the obstacle. The higher you jump, the longer you stay in the air, the more time is wasted.
6) Once you have the technique using one lead leg, switch it up and try it with the other. In time, you can make either one just as precise.
And just in case you think that only low obstacles can be hurdled, take a look at Stefan Holm…
(WHOA high)
Users' Comments
Display 36 of 36 comments
1.
01-16-2009 23:53
Hurdling in parkour is a terrible idea. Do you see how often the hit one of the hurdles? If that was a rail that would hurt like a bitch.
2.
01-17-2009 00:38
I remember when I was starting out in parkour. We used hurdles in order for us to understand the mechanics of the dash vault.
Hurdles are quite useful in parkour. The problem about it is that you need to master it in order to apply it in parkour. Nonetheless, I think it is good for any traceur to use hurdles.
3.
01-17-2009 04:00
I mostly agree with bigninjapimp about hitting your feet. I mean, those are professional guys who've presumably trained for years and they will still mess up a bit when trying to remain as fast as possible.
Why risk hurting yourself with a sloppy hurdle when a sloppy vault will usually just mean that you lose more momentum, or have to use a "safety tap"?
Also - forgive me if I'm wrong - but I feel that vaulting is a more efficient use of the body, in that it conserves more energy.
All in all, I can see hurdles being the best suited movement for some situations in parkour, but not many.
4.
01-17-2009 06:27
The runner hit the hurdles because he knows he's able to. Top hurdles often hit many of the hurdles because they are trying to stay so low. If you're using it in real life you'll obviously need to give yourself a little extra clearance.
I wrote the article to point out a particular movement that I think gets overlooked. Can it be used everywhere, all the time? No, certainly not. But in certain situations it can come in handy. Yeah it is a little more risky, but then again, the more advanced movements usually are. Just something to get everyone thinking and out of the "vaults only" mindset.
5.
01-17-2009 06:30
Double post sorry. In addition, a runner moving at a very fast pace will have to slow down, even just a little bit, if trying to place hands on a low obstacle, especially one that's thin and would be totally cleared by the time the arm comes down, even for a speed vault. With a hurdle, the speed remains intact.
6.
01-17-2009 08:06
Hurdling is not parkour.
7.
01-17-2009 08:36
Meshach, that's a very poor attitude. Hurdling can be extremely useful in certain situations.
8.
01-17-2009 08:36
@Meshach It is parkour. Hurdling is one of the most efficient ways to overcome a moderate height obstacle without sacrificing speed. Of course it will not be used always and at all times, also hurdlers are trying to win a gold medal so they will stay as low as possible knowing they can hit the hurdle without hurting themselves. for any of us however, we would generate more clearance and if perfected and we find ourselves in a situation where tricking is not appropriate, hurdling would be gravy. Vaulting may be more efficient than walking around an obstacle, but don't knock the hurdle.
9.
01-17-2009 09:23
I myself would probably not use the hurdle but this is still a great article. People who replied negatively only limit themselves and their abilities. Open your minds.
10.
01-17-2009 10:01
I'm really surprised at some of the reactions to this article. It describes in detail the absolute most efficient way to overcome a certain type of obstacle - you don't even break stride! - and yet people think this isn't useful or isn't parkour? That's absurd.
Thanks for the great insight into hurdling; I will definitely be training this. Can't wait for the rest of "The Forgotten Movements."
11.
01-17-2009 10:35
Ok guys sky is nto saying start hurdling rails all the time. But a traceur needs to be prepared to overcome ALL obstacles not just ones we train on. What about those wood/chicken wire fences they have at like beaches you know the ones that can hold about 10pounds of wieght. It would not be in the mindset of parkour to go around them, you could dive roll but thats not the fastest move, for a fence like that hurdling would be the mostefficient. even fenced that dont could suport your weight if its low it would be faster to hurdle then vault.David Belle said the sport closest parkour is hurdling.
12.
01-17-2009 10:58
I think bushes are a great example of something that could be hurdled over. I don't know if you've ever tried to kong a bush... but pro tip: Bad plan. You could jump super high over it, but hurdling would be a lot faster.
13.
01-17-2009 12:38
Yup, I think hurdling is a useful technique for traceurs to learn. It's great for those things that seem unstable or may be dangerous to touch(low spiked fences, unstable wood, broken wall, etc.)
14.
01-17-2009 13:20
I agree that hurdling is a great skill to learn. It will only help you understand what you can do anyway. Like others have said, you can't exactly vault razor wire, a bush, rusty fences, or flimsy fences. It's just like life, you constantly have to learn. Of course you wouldn't want to hurdle where it's better to vault, but again, it's a skill everyone should learn instead of wasting energy jumping too high to clear something.
15.
01-17-2009 15:51
haha!!! small children! thats funny! hurdling is parkour, parkour is getting somwhere as effiecently as possible, so i agree with Dozer!! altough if you can vault it, then knock yourself out! (not literally, reall, don't knock yourself out.)
16.
01-17-2009 16:20
i hurdle my beanbag chair every time i enter my room. Useful skill, although it seems to slip the mind when out training.
17.
01-17-2009 17:49
If you're going to jump higher to make absolutely sure you clear it, doesn't that defeat half the point of doing the hurdle? The reason we do running precisions is because we can lead with both feet, and more importantly, have both feet ready for the landing/bounding. It wouldn't hurt to learn this, but I honestly can't seeing it be used practically.
18.
01-17-2009 19:06
Dash vault isn't necessarily faster b/c the setup takes a bit longer. The dash vault is meant for landing on both feet when you reach the other side. If you don't need to land on both feet than the hurdle in many instances is much more efficient. Parkour essentially is getting from one point to another as fast as possible. So the hurdle should be just another move in our bag of tricks.
19.
01-18-2009 05:35
LOL to say hurdling is not parkour is like saying long jumping is not parkour. It's jumping folks, and parkour in a real world situation is mostly jumping with vaults and wallruns thrown in. You've probably found yourself at some point when you and your friends were training vaulting a particular wall just saying "well why don't you just jump over it, it's only like 3 feet high." only to dismiss the idea since it's not as cool looking. If you haven't said something like that then your efficiency is lacking severely.
20.
01-18-2009 07:42
Hey just saying i run track too, and yeah i've used hurdeling and vaulting in many of the same instances just cause i can throw some flavor in the kitchen lol, but seriously don't knock it. Hurdeling can get you through many situations just as other techniques so yeah as long as you guys have an open mind to the situtation as a Traceur is supposed to have then you'll understand.
21.
01-18-2009 15:04
i agree with the posts above that this is a useful skill to have, as far as hitting the hurdles, would they really care if they hit every single one of those, or ran under them, so the depiction of those hurdles is poor, it should show them under little pressure of competition, but still they were at their fastest. I plan to practice this enough to be able to do it, rather then waste time jumping too high To Meshach: Parkour is what ever we need it to be, a wall flip for example can be parkour rather then free running as shown in the "Extreme game of tag" video on youtube, where it is parkour
22.
01-19-2009 15:15
lol i agree with all those positive posts.... not the negative ones such a shame. Great idea to look into the forgotten or ignored moves, but just wondering, what if I drop kicked the wall by mistake when hurdling xD one fear I've always had when thinking about it.
23.
01-19-2009 16:59
Well, Hurdling I think would be useful only on obstacles that are to low to vault...
Other than that, I would not use it, it's not practical.
24.
01-19-2009 17:07
ahaha i've been looking for some tips on hurdling for my track team this actually helps cause we don't have a coach and i love parkour so hearing there one of a kind is great thing!
25.
01-19-2009 18:43
Excellent write up. Articles like this are the primary reason I'm on this site. A hurdle is, in essence, swiftly traversing an obstacle, making it applicable to parkour, anyone who says it's not doesn't know what parkour really is. Now as to whether or not we as practitioners should learn and use it? I would say that it all depends on whether you're satisfied with simply getting by in the art of parkour, whether all you're concerned with is being "good enough". Because if you want to be excellent at anything you will study every aspect of it, even techniques that are only occasionally useful
26.
01-28-2009 17:54
I was a hurdler in track. It is very fast but I feel like vaulting uses less energy and you usually dont have to worry about whether or not your feet are high enough to get over the rail/wall. It is ideal of course if you are going over light fences that cant support much weight, or those that are too low to vault. I don't really think it matters what moves you prefer as long as it gets you over whatever obstacle you are running at.
27.
01-30-2009 19:30
the reason those pro-hurdlers hit those hurdles was becaus eit wouldn't hurt them and the lower to the ground you stay, the faster you can keep going. if you honestly think hurdling isn't part of parkour, you have to remeber that parkour isn't defined as showing off to your friends, or trying to imppress the hot chicks (even though that's a great bonus ) parkour is getting from point a to poit b in the most efficient manner. hurdling is a grerat way to cross a low obstacle that may not support your weight. it conserves speed, momentum, and energy, so it's perfect.
28.
02-04-2009 16:55
Isn't the philosophy move the through your environment in the most efficient way applicable to that environment. Hurdles seem like an excellent way to get over certain obstacles, especially when too short to vault or too flimsy. How do you get over something only two feet tall? Just jumping over while running isn't that far from the hurdle.
29.
02-04-2009 16:58
I, for one, like these forgotten movements tutorials and would like to see more of them! How do parkour trainees move through environments that are large bodies of water? You've got swim whether you like it or not. And it seems like people don't talk about basic leaping (jumping while running with one foot out) much, even though you can jump further and keep running. Lots of movements from other sports and disciplines have their use in parkour philosophy.
30.
04-27-2009 17:06
The basic philosophy of parkour is to get somewhere as quickly and efficiently as possible without wasting energy. If hurdling can serve that purpose, it's parkour. You can also use your hands on more solid objects to guide yourself over the obstacle and give yourself a little extra push. Whether you use them before or after the jump (probably after), then it just ends up being a modified version of the monkey or kong vault.
31.
06-26-2009 11:58
Anyone who says that hurdling an obstacle is more dangerous or less effective obviously hasn't hurdled in track. Once you get to a competitive level with hurdling, you maintain nearly 100% momentum. I find that when out training, I have to make myself do various vaults over obstacles that could be easily cleared without touching them. If you get good at it, Hurdling is one of the MOST effective ways to get over an obstacle.
32.
07-12-2009 17:30
i agree with bigninjapimp, just do a vault!
why....oh why....
33.
07-16-2009 13:57
parkour is efficent movement from point a to point b so why bash a hurdling when you probably use it anyway. the hurdling movement is really useful because it happens in stride much faster. try running at the front of a car taking a step on the front and hurdling the whole thing, remember you gottat go real fast, like a full sprint fast, like no pussys allowed to try this. and one more comment parkour and pessimisim dont intermingle
34.
08-12-2009 05:37
i use hurtles all the time...im skilled at it so i put it in
35.
08-23-2009 11:30
I'd say the real advantage to hurdles and why it is useful to know is: what happens when you've got an obstacle in the way that wont support any real weight and yet you want to clear it in a hurry? Sure you could try and vault it and deal with the sloppy landing from the collapsing obstacle, or instead find a way over it without putting weight on it. So you could tic tac over it (if there's a wall near by) or you could hurdle it. I can hurdle about 4 feet without losing momentum if I do it right.
36.
10-21-2009 08:30
is it a bad thing if i actually have hurdled a small child?
Display 36 of 36 comments
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small children! thats funny! 
hurdling is parkour, parkour is getting somwhere as effiecently as possible, so i agree with Dozer!! altough if you can vault it, then knock yourself out! (not literally, reall, don't knock yourself out.) 
