American Parkour - Parkour and Freerunning - An Injury

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An Injury - But not Parkour

Sunday, 05 July 2009

Recently, "a 14-year-old boy was taken to hospital last night with serious head injuries after falling 30 foot from a roof in a 'free running' stunt gone wrong. The teenager fell from the roof of a flat on Richmond Place, Southsea, as he attempted to jump a 10 foot gap between two buildings." (The News, an English news website.)

This accident was attributed to an accident while practicing a "Free running stunt." This was not, however, Freerunning. This was simply a case of a misinformed teenage boy trying to emulate videos he saw on Youtube.

American Parkour wants to take this opportunity to remind people of two things: 1) Parkour and Freerunning should not be trained on rooftops or over big, dangerous gaps. it is dangerous and reckless. 2) Take care when producing videos of your own. By showing dangerous techniques without the proper warning, disclaimer, and explanation of how much you have trained for this technique, you might be inspiring someone who doesn't know any better to do something that could injure them.

Remember, Parkour and Freerunning should be practiced safely, at ground level, and whenever possible, while under the supervision of other experienced traceurs. American Parkour is saddened by this event, but does not condone the activity during which it took place.

Users' Comments

Display 16 of 16 comments

1. 07-05-2009 18:06

wow.. it said the kid landed on his face.. wow

thats a bad day..

jimjim25000

2. 07-05-2009 18:26

I guess he couldn't roll properly. That goes to show you that parkour is not for stupid people....

Zoron

3. 07-05-2009 18:50

wow i kinda feel half bad for the kids but they are total morons it
it stops being parkour or free running when people get stupid then i consider it jackass

JFOX

4. 07-05-2009 19:28

Yeah it does seem stupid, however I remember when I first started how "cool" stunts like roof jumping seemed. Its our part to help teach people ESPECIALLY children that parkour takes years of safe practice and isn't about being wreckless. Feel sorry for the kid though, I hope that this is a good lesson learned.

PrinceTAB

5. 07-05-2009 20:01

like Ron White said, you can't fix stupid. sympathy goes out to the kid, i guess, but come on. and please, please, please, do not even think of blaming people for making videos or even showing off. i've seen hundreds of videos of stuff that was really dangerous, and i've never even contemplated jumping around on roof tops. i can't even fathom how someone could ever think of doing that without training forever.

morgvanny

6. 07-06-2009 01:59

*sigh*

Just *sigh*

WoodlandGhillie

7. 07-06-2009 07:59

That's a shame.... I'm pointing back up at the article to remind those who might go and do just the same thing, parkour and free-running are not recommended for and are discouraged on rooftops and such immensely dangerous places.

Also, a ten foot jump is actually something to work up to. It's not any easy jump for me, and I've only ever done it with markers on the ground, and it required a roll afterwards for me.

deadlyMETAL

8. 07-06-2009 08:30

There is a world of difference between stupid and misguided. Berating someone for doing something irresponsible and dangerous won't help anyone improve or learn from this unfortunate incident, instead I hope that we can work together as a community to improve people's understanding of what freerunning is to avoid the spread of unsafe and inaccurate ideas which lead to sad stories like this one.
Best wishes for a safe recovery.

Frosti

9. 07-06-2009 10:24

Things like this is what is going to give Parkour/Freerunning a bad name. We must inform people on proper trainning and progression. Although when I first started I liked taking 5 foot drops, until I found out how devastating it is to our knees :S

swap01

10. 07-06-2009 10:36

I definitely agree with Frosti towards the negativity at the boy. Just getting the meaning out there is all we can do to prevent these happenings.
I keep thinking if stuff like this goes on will we have isolated parks like skaters?! That would suck. @.@

ThAGRiZZ45

11. 07-07-2009 02:25

Frosti's got it: how do we improve people's understanding? There are hundreds of videos that associate parkour with roof jumping. Is there anything out there that dispels that misconception? Maybe our obligation is to put more videos out there showing what parkour is, emphasizing the continual practice of safe techniques, the community of non-competition, checking our environments... let's do something positive. I'm teaching my son that parkour is good hard fun with no roof jumping.

TimothyChenAllen

12. 07-07-2009 04:45

it is rely upsetting that such a young boy would attempt such a dangerous stunt like that with such little training, or if so none at all, i have just started a few days ago and watching all the vids i just want to learn tic tack and getting up on a roof with out a ladder and such like those 15ft walls and that is wat i prity much want and the balance. but i hope this kid learned some thing from his stupidity to not follow what a pro has trained for.

aquilinajake

13. 07-07-2009 12:19

Has anyone written a letter to the editor of the site this was published in? Although tragic, some good might come out of this if it helps get word out about safe and proper training and prevents similar mishaps.

I hope he recovers quickly and with no permanent damage.

drewbaye

14. 07-08-2009 14:13

I don't feelt bad one bit. It should be obvious that you shouldn't do big stunts you are entirely unprepared for. How do you land on your head anyway? Isn't most of your weight in your legs. Eh guess he shoulda rolled properlike ^_^

Instinct

15. 07-09-2009 05:12

It's unfortunate that this kid attempted a jump like this and ended up seriously injured. Whilst we all do our best to spread accurate information about the proper practice of parkour & free running, there will always be a small minority of kids like this, who see a few videos and take it upon themselves to replicate what they think they've seen.

I was annoyed, but not surprised to see another news website using the phrase 'parkour, also known as free running'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ news/article-1197747/Boy-14- fighting-life-plunging-30ft- free-running- stunt.html#comments

obsidian

16. 07-13-2009 21:04

All I can say is that this guy is a dumbass. It doesn't take half a braincell to know that it takes time to work up to this point. He should've researched Parkour/Free Running so he understood what it really is so he knows the safe procedures of training. Parkour/Free Running needs an extemely high level of fitness and strength...

Btw, isolated Parkour parks could be a good idea. Like a place made specifically for Parkour...

Rai289