Last Week's POTW

American Parkour Picture of the Week Winner

Proud to be Sponsored by

K-SWISS

Newsletters

APK Newsletters
Sign up for Newsletters
The Free Runner - General Newsletter
WOD - Workout of the Day
EO - Events Only 
 

APK Login

APK Store

Hoodie - Perspective
Hoodie - Perspective
$40.00
Add to Cart
Home arrow Features arrow Demon's Drills arrow Demon's Drill of the Month arrow Duct Taped Underbars
Duct Taped Underbars PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 06 November 2005
 

So you are having trouble with underbars? This usually stems from one thing; a lack of committment due to fear. Getting over this fear takes practice, but what is a good way to practice? Well you know what they say about duct tape...If you can't duct it, fuuu, well, you know...

 The Method: Grab some duct tape from your house. Go to your local park or elementary school and find one of those individual standing monkey bars. You know, the kind you used to hang upside down on when you were a kid... 

Monkey Bars 

Take a long piece of duct tape and stick it across the two posts, parallel to the top bar.

Duct Tape

Presto. Your own homemade underbar. Adjust the tape (highlighted in the photo below) to any size underbar you feel like practicing.

Tape across bars highlighted

No matter how small you make it, a failed attempt is sure to be painless. With some solid practice, you should no longer have any excuse for noncommital underbars. Now why didn't you think of this? 

Note: This method has also proven to be successful with a rope substituting the duct tape.

Video Demonstration: Click on the thumbnail to watch the video.

Vid Thumbnail

Users' Comments  RSS feed comment
 

Display 42 of 42 comments

1. 01-04-2006 20:06

very helpful, thx a bunch! -zetti-
zetti

2. 02-13-2006 19:33

Thanks! I'm gonna try this next jam! 8)
WhiteDragon231

3. 03-27-2006 20:53

This idea really helped me. i was always scared to do an underbar... scared i would break my back or hit my face on the bar... but this helped... THANKS :grin
pk_sel

4. 04-21-2006 13:24

that is a great idea, Ican't wait to try it  
thank you :grin
Kewlguy213

5. 08-13-2006 02:13

This is perfect. Underbars were always something that freaked me out. I'll be sure to try this method out and get in lots of practice. 
 
Thanks!
crevan

6. 08-23-2006 23:34

i tryed it to day for 2 hours thanks alot man!!!!!
thepunishermjm

7. 08-26-2006 10:49

thanks! i have been having trouble finding good underbars and this is a great idea i never thought about
barnes

8. 10-11-2006 00:45

But couldn't you do the same with string? That way you don't have to waste precious duct tape (if you use it for everything, like you should :grin ) and the string can be used many times.
Excieo

9. 11-02-2006 17:33

This is confusing. Im not horrible at underbars, and this clears it up a bit, but do you all know each other in Real Life? Like I live in the USA, and thought you guys would be in the US, so are you? If you are IM me on AIM (aol instant messaging) on 'not a satanist' Thanks!! :grin
mmuir

10. 11-26-2006 11:27

thanks my wories r ova but howd u get gud at hard vaults plz i need 2 no :sigh
jim06

11. 11-28-2006 14:25

I think the reason you wouldn't use string is that it isn't very visible. Duct tape is similar in width to a standard railing bar. I think that would help with the muscle memory / commitment issue. Just a thought.
jutah2

12. 02-01-2007 19:12

by doing this (cuz there arn't that many places for me to practes under bars where I am)I got my under bar space to a 2ft hight!
HnRock

13. 02-06-2007 17:44

your sorta near my house 8)
Rock

14. 02-12-2007 16:15

This may be just what i need
Fly High

15. 03-12-2007 08:45

Thanks for the tip I'm going to use it the next time I'm out training. Duct tape holds the world together.
Rave

16. 04-09-2007 11:03

Thanks, I will try this today! >.
keyouse

17. 06-03-2007 16:37

just as you say...why the hell didn't I think of that?! I've killed by tailbone practicing on double rails with a 1.25' gap so many times ive been afraid to try them anymore. thanks
themantheycallJayne

18. 06-20-2007 15:27

:-) thanks , should come in handy. :grin :grin
houseman

19. 07-02-2007 10:15

thanks so much ,alot like the othor guy i got a sore tailbone from trying learn this daunting task i am going outside 2 do it rite now .ty
shadow runner13

20. 07-13-2007 20:53

Very good. Never woulda thought of that, even though you showed it to us in class =P. I'll try it next time.  
 
Thanks Ryan.
z3Ck

21. 07-20-2007 23:30

how do I conquer my fear of the railspring? :x
Crosseyes

22. 08-02-2007 19:57

Nice tip! i adjusted this to practice monkey vaults too. you just need to find a railing with a small break in it
cnewt35

23. 08-06-2007 18:14

Damn man. 
Thank you for this. 
It's great help.
PaddyOHayes

24. 09-07-2007 08:31

Very useful!~ :-) Thx for this man.
idkdown8

25. 10-29-2007 15:51

you my friend are a DYI/household genius 
thanks
sss24

26. 12-03-2007 20:09

One safety concern about string or twine is contact area and forward momentum,Thin BAD,Wide SAFER.just an observation...
scuppermiester

27. 12-03-2007 20:13

:x
scuppermiester

28. 12-07-2007 08:58

thx ill try that out when i get a chance.
siux

29. 01-03-2008 18:01

i just started learning underbars today using those exact same bars you described, but i never would have thought of tape. youre a genius
generic user name

30. 02-03-2008 07:22

Wow can't believe I didn't think of that, thanks for postin this, I just got into parkour and was scared to eat the rail with my back on an underbar...I'm gonna try this today.. :grin

31. 02-23-2008 20:44

I'm pretty hesitant about it cause I don't wanna nail my face (trying to get out of my braces faster), but I do have an idea. Take something like a thick blanket and wrap it around the upper bar (where your hands won't need to touch). Also, wear a mouthguard.

32. 02-28-2008 17:23

awesum thx :)

33. 03-19-2008 10:14

this is 2 years old but still the best fundamental way to work with underbars sickness times 12 :p

34. 03-19-2008 20:50

Sweet! Now I can practice these and get better without killing my back!

35. 05-26-2008 11:53

thnx this helps out alot 8)

36. 07-10-2008 02:06

This sort of helped after a long time but I after i realized that it wasn't as much as fear as no talent. Thx though.

37. 07-24-2008 20:17

duck tape is the answer to every thing 8)

38. 08-27-2008 15:13

so simple yet so genious 
freakin awesome thanks :grin :) :eek

39. 09-26-2008 12:10

when i saw this i laughed at its simplicity.... :p

40. 10-09-2008 12:54

alwys been to scared to do an under bar but i tried this and now im not

41. 10-11-2008 15:28

Ages ago I did this, then tried an underbar right next to it, managed to do it, then I did it again when my friend was watching, and I failed :grin

42. 11-11-2008 16:20

Great idea! I've been wanting something like this to practice underbars, since not only have I hit my head on the bar, I've also injured my back as well. This is guaranteed to help.

Display 42 of 42 comments

Only registered users can comment an article. Please login or register.

Add your comment



mXcomment 1.0.6 © 2007-2008 - visualclinic.fr
License Creative Commons - Some rights reserved
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]
© 2008 American Parkour - Parkour and Freerunning
Joomla! is Free Software released under the GNU/GPL License.