Topic: training before parkour

[Deft]

I am interested as to what all previous training people have before they started parkour like martial arts, sports, and such. I think it helps give a understanding as to what all elements composed each traceur. If you have the time to give a nice little explanation of how it affects you now (in the pk world) that woudl be great.

Martial Arts:
 2+ yrs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
 2 yrs Muay Thai       
 1  1/2 yrs Capoeira (Angola)

Sports:
  2 yrs soccer
  1/2 yr skateboard
  1 yr  tennis (mostly just to be around the ladies )
         
Even though I may not actively train all this in a dojo or school, the elements are still within me and are applied when relevant.
I started doing "monkey walking" on a regular basis and I always incorporate Capoeira movements when doing that. I do Muay Thai exercises because of its many leg conditioning benefits. BJJ, Capoeira, and skateboarding have all helped increase my balance, stamina, and coordination.

[kaos]

None...other than going out and climbing and running around with my friends, which is what I still do for the most part.

[Deft]

Isn't that kind of like parkour?

[Skipper]

7 years of competitive platform diving. this helped me 'find' my body. I leaned how to control myself and make it do whatever i wanted it to.

[Brian Belida]

5 years of dedicated aggressive in-line skating! This definitely helped me with controlling my body position in the air, and awareness of where exactly my feets are landing.

[Gearsighted]

4 years of Shito Ryu Karate
~7 years competitive swimming- 100 fly, 200 IM
~7 years off and on skateboarding and inline skating
4 years off and on climbing

Same as above, improved coordination, balance, body-awereness, stamina etc.

[Josh Klute]

4+ years of running (track)
2 years on and off of wakeboarding (really just whenever I could go)
Some climbing, but really not much else.

Running has helped me develope an excellent running form as well as a lot of leg strength and stamina.  Wakeboarding has helped me with balance a lot (even though I still don't have very good balance ) and it was also insanely fun! .  I guess that I've just always had a passion for clambering around on things, this has probably helped me in parkour more than I realize, I guess that the main thing it has helped me with is upper body strength.   

[Ryan Ford]

8 yrs. soccer
4 yrs football
3 yrs track
and a few yrs of baseball, basketball, tennis, swimming, and more when i was pretty young.

also about 4 yrs of serious lifting just on my own.

[Ando]

breakdancing was the kicker for me.  it got my balance and coordination better than any sport i've played.

[Asa]

16 years of checked rage

[klaymen]

10 years of baseball (ended 3 years ago)
4 years of basketball
a few years of football a while ago
skateboarding for a few years off and on

i hate baseball now. football is meh. i love basketball however, i am not very good on offense, but i will take anyone on defense. covering people in basketball really helps with learning to move in any direction and being able to anticipate any situation.

[Altimot]

going down my huge hill (i mean HUGE) on anything that had wheels (skates, blades, 14 wheel skateboard, bike, scooter, motorized scooter, tricycle, wheel barrow, shoes with wheels, anything you can think of i have done it with quazar) 6 weeks o' Judo, 5 years of soccer, 3 years of baseball, 2 years of basketball, 2 years of track, 1.5 years of football, and i used to skate around playin hockey with some neighbor friends (quazar being one of them). I also have explored a ton in the foot hill area around my house.   i am wanting to start a new martial art, but i don't know them that well. I am looking for one that has the most kicking, punching, and flippy spinny stuff, so if any of you guys have any suggestions.

[Flippusmn]

OK I guess I will list my most faved previous activities.
1. 7 years snowboarding/skiing do both now
2. 6 years skatboarding
3. 10 years inline skating at rinks and parks
4. 5 years basketball
5. 3 years track
6. 3 years DDR
7. 1/2 year in some martial arts class but I can't even remember it lol.
8. 4 years baseball
9. 1 year of acting like and idiot
10. and 2 years of serious weight lifting


thats all I want to put. This is interesting.

[Matthew Lee Willis]

klaymen you are definilty the exception to this.  I have never seen someone with your background get into parkour.  (that I have heard of anyway)  Cool though.

4yrs- Gymnastics (classicly trained) (life time of doing untrained gymnastics)
5yrs- Inline Skate
1yr- Soaping (yea..didnt last long lol)
8yrs- Music training (you know for rythmn in your flow...you know lol (I think it helped)

[Rafe]

1. 11 years martial arts 2 years tang soo do, 2 year aikido, 4 years kung fu 4 years Jujitsu mixed with kickboxing.
2. 5 Years of Gymnastics

I also played soccer as kid, lots of pick up basketball through my teens up untill parkour, spent most of my childhood tromping around the woods at one point we went through a phase were we built a obstacle courses in the woods and ran through them.

[The Fallen]

When i went through the wood phase we threw humongous logs at each other....i still miss my brother....anyways.

Umm never really played any sports besides baseball. Good runner in that. Ive just always been looking for a good active thing to do when i found parkour i thought YES! OMG PWNT! 1337 like a mofo. Then i got serious and started training. Train now from 4 to 5 everyday.

[trACEur]

1 year Karate
Year and a half European fencing
7 years snowboaring
16 years of acting like a ninja

[Thomas Edwards]

roughly 2 years of chuan fa (kung fu)
13 years of skiing
3 years of recreational soccer as a wee lad
3 weeks of track so far
bouldering/messing around 15 years
skateboarding for a few months, it was not my bag
i've been climbing things my whole life, my mom often teases me for having to clean my handprints from ceilings by door jams when i was 2-3 years old
mountain biking on and off 5 years