Topic: I'm new to parkour and i was just wondering when i should start adding in flips?

[ninjax21]

I know that there a different flips but can you tell me when i should start practicing the different flips and how long it will take to do the flips.  Also should i just go to a gym and learn the flips?

[Jeremy Osborn]

How new to Parkour?,
and yes you should go to a gym to practice flips

[Janine]

Hey there!  Welcome to the art, and congrats on finding APK.  This is a great place to start.

So, let's have a chat.  Flips are pretty awesome, agreed?  They look really impressive, and are an honest display of coordination and strength.  Which means that you need both coordination and strength to perform them.

I don't know you, I don't know what your athletic background is, and I definitely don't know what you're capable of right now. So, I am unqualified to tell you (as is everyone else on the board) whether or not you are physically ready to start learning acrobatics.  My best advice to you would be to find the nearest gymnastics gym, and speak with one of their coaches. They would be most qualified to judge where you should start, and teach you how to progress safely. 

On another note, acrobatics aren't required to be a traceur.  Some of the most talented traceurs I know only focus on flow and complex ground techniques, never taking to the air.  Don't feel pressured to work tricks if you don't feel ready, you can still train Parkour effectively without them. 

[Rowe]

This is a bit of a 'chicken before the egg' dilemma. You'll find many gymnasts that became traceurs, and many traceurs that became gymnasts. Do you see yourself practicing more in the gym or on the street? If you answered, "street," I recommend waiting on the flips. Build up a solid set of core skills and work on increasing body-awareness. The obvious reason for this is safety. Concrete is far less forgiving than gym mats when you fail and land upside-down.

As for the less-obvious reason, I feel that concentrating on flips can inhibit your progression. Hardly a week goes by without a video on YouTube of someone performing decent flips, but landing and rolling with horrendous form. Equally as common, if not more-so, is the person who has nailed precisions-to-flips, but can't seem to string two basic obstacles together. All that person sees is the flip. I am reminded of a group in Milwaukee that practices strictly indoors, because, "Milwaukee has too much concrete." By first acclimating yourself to the street and building core skills, you will be in better shape (if not already) and possess better flow when it comes time to learn.

[Gage E.]

Id liek to refer back to something Rowe said. He claimed that they have bad form landing, and when your doing tricks on the street I dont really see how form matters, its not like your being judge and flips go under the catogory of Free Running wich is the same as Parkour only with of course flips and acrobatics. I dont see how form should matter on the streets if its called FREE Running, you should be free and not be limited to the rules of form. And ive been doing Parkour for a good 3 years now and JUST went to my first gymnastics gym yesterday, and its helped alot so I highly recomend going to a gym.

[Jeremy Osborn]

Id liek to refer back to something Rowe said. He claimed that they have bad form landing, and when your doing tricks on the street I dont really see how form matters, its not like your being judge and flips go under the catogory of Free Running wich is the same as Parkour only with of course flips and acrobatics. I dont see how form should matter on the streets if its called FREE Running, you should be free and not be limited to the rules of form. And ive been doing Parkour for a good 3 years now and JUST went to my first gymnastics gym yesterday, and its helped alot so I highly recomend going to a gym.

good form is the difference between a broken bone and coming out fine

[Andy Keller]

Id liek to refer back to something Rowe said. He claimed that they have bad form landing, and when your doing tricks on the street I dont really see how form matters, its not like your being judge and flips go under the catogory of Free Running wich is the same as Parkour only with of course flips and acrobatics. I dont see how form should matter on the streets if its called FREE Running, you should be free and not be limited to the rules of form. And ive been doing Parkour for a good 3 years now and JUST went to my first gymnastics gym yesterday, and its helped alot so I highly recomend going to a gym.

When we talk about good form, we don't necessarily mean pretty or graceful form. Often times, we are specifically talking about landing form. A flip could be super ugly, yet be completely safe. That is, however, very rare. There is a strong correlation between aerial grace and clean, safe landing form.

Usually, the smoother a move is performed, the better.

[Gage E.]

I agree, but I should have made myself more clear. What I meant by form was all that flat-footed landing with putting up the arms that gymnists do after completeing a flip. Sorry for not explaining myself better   

[Rowe]

Oh no, I don't care about toe pointing and all that. I'm talking about people who look like they might break an ankle at any moment. People who haven't developed the body awareness to do extremely simple precisions and vaults. As I've said many times before, there is a huge difference between throwing yourself over an obstacle, and knowing where each part of your body is and what it is doing.

[Hamish West]

Flips are not parkour, Their Freerunning (Freerunning being the trick IE Flips)

[Scared Doggy]

I'm going to be learning to do flips in the snow this winter seeing as how Minnesota winters, I'm sure, will limit what kind of parkour techniques I can do.

[Casey Boatwright]

Flips are not parkour, Their Freerunning (Freerunning being the trick IE Flips)

hamish is right, flips aren't parkour,      starting out most likely you shouldn't start doing flips,   not until you're comfortable and have proper coaching and safety   and if you want to stick with the pure parkour motif    then flips won't really be a part of you're life, not saying that people who do parkour shouldn't learn to do at least a flip or two, not  for show offy purposes but to develope a better command over their body,   however since you're new check the home page    it has tutorials for free running tricks and what not as well all tutorials for parkour movements.   but good luck and have safe and happy training,    welcome to the community.     look all around at all the forums and see what section interests you.  post around make some friends enjoy life.