|
By: Chris Kessler
More often than not, a group of friends will discover parkour at the same time. While it is great that a group such as this can find something that they are all interested in, it leads to one question: How do we learn?
I recently received an email from Ryu who lives in Malaysia. He has been put into a situation that countless others have been placed in, and that is in a place of leadership. Ryu has stepped up to the president’s chair, but, as any good leader knows, a little advice couldn’t hurt!
“Hi Chris, heard that you will help answer questions about Parkour. Will keep this short.
I'm Ryu, from Malaysia but originally a Japanese. Been inspired by Parkour a year ago and now I'm in college. So I formed a Parkour Club for students to train Parkour together. I know I am not qualified to teach Parkour and I am also aware of the risks that are involved.
I have been making up most of the things as I go along such as starting with the conditioning and then learning the roll and this week a basic vault. I'm just worried that I might be doing something wrong as I am just learning Parkour from online videos. In Malaysia there is hardly any Parkour although it is being recognised a little.
So as the President of this College Parkour Club, which is quite new, and as an unqualified instructor. What should I be doing? What should I not be doing?
Thanks
Ryu”
Hey Ryu,
Excellent questions! Also, you've done a great job so far. Right now, as you are learning parkour right along with your comrades, I urge you to focus on conditioning as much as possible. To do parkour we must be of the right mind and the right body. Training your bodies together will put you all in a much better position to become one as a group. Our bodies must learn how to move all over again when we are introduced to this new way of movement. Check the American Parkour WOD (Workout of the Day). Slowly add in "parkour movements."
Well done on starting with the roll. While teaching the roll in the beginning helps avoid injuries, it is also usually practiced the least throughout a traceur's training. I support the teaching of the roll in the beginning, but realize that as you grow stronger and your body gets smarter, you will need to reassess how your roll has developed. Keep the roll in your mind as you train; don't ever get overconfident about it! Remember, this is your safety net, don't let it fall into bad habits.
The safest transition from conditioning and rolling, in my opinion, is the precision. Keep this low to the ground at first. Practicing with lines in the dirt, or lines on a sidewalk is an excellent way to begin. Focus on your technique rather than on length. There is no reason for you to push yourselves to further lengths if you are not doing the movement correctly. Now, I'm no expert at tutorials, so I recommend looking around APK's site and forums for videos and tutorials. Also, AmericanParkour's YouTube page is full of good visuals!
From there I'd move onto basic vaults, as you have already planned to do. Just like your precisions, keep these low. This will build confidence as well as proper form. The vault I would begin with is the safety vault. The safety vault has the form of a speed vault, but with the addition of putting your outside foot on the wall. If your inclination in a safety vault is to place your left hand on the wall, then you will be putting your right foot on the wall to help balance (If you use your right hand, then use your left foot). Remember, keep it slow and low!
From there the movements that you will learn and train will all come flowing to you, but don't forget to drill the basics! The internet is a great resource, especially AmericanParkour.com. Use it to your advantage!
One last bit of advice for you, though. Being thrown into the leadership position can be very stressful. The best way to cope with this is to not see yourself as a leader, but rather a teacher and a friend. Help each other and respect each other. Our movements are our own and no one needs to be forced into anything. However, there is no harm in a friendly push now and then.
I look forward to hearing about Malaysia Parkour in the future! Search for more practitioners, there may be some near you and you don't even know it!
Thanks for your question!
Now it's YOUR turn. Please send all questions to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
-Chris
|
Learn 
