Tune Up

What's good parkour without good music? This week I have a few sites that offer free downloads of some absolute gems. I've been using these sites for about a year now and it never gets old. First one starting off with my personal favorite is TheChuckness.com. Chuck finds the diamonds in the rough and delivers nonstop. The second site makes their own mashups, mixing the most different tunes out there but seamlessly fusing them in greatness, TheWhitePanda.com. The third and final is more rap and hip-hop but still catches the mood, GoodMusicAllDay.com.

1. LearnParkour.com

2. AmericanParkour.com

3. Parkour.net

Lazy Vault with some Style:

The lazy vault is arguably the easiest of the vaults. If you asked someone to vault a wall with no direction, they would probably do something similar to the lazy vault. As seen in the picture, the legs are off to the side with one or two hands planted. Eventually, only one hand should be planted and the other only brushes the wall for balance if necessary. A great site with a bunch of tutorials is LearnParkour. Check them out for more info...

Thanks to Marco Gomes for the pic

Live Hardcore,

Christoph

Human Flag

The Human Flag:

The human flag is in no way associated to free running or parkour, but is a move that displays strength and discipline. Core strength, strong abs, is the most important component of the flag. Standing next to the pole get a firm grip on the pole. Righty's tend to have their right hand closer to the ground. With both hands secure, in one swift motion lift your lower body off the ground. It will seem like all your weight is pressing on your lower arm and this is mostly true. To relieve some of the weight, pull yourself toward the pole with the upper arm. You can see clearly in the pic that both upper arms are bent and pulling in. This helps keep your lower body parallel to the ground. Nonetheless, a cool trick to pull off and see how long you can hold it.

Thanks to Marco Gomes for the pic

Live Hardcore,

Christoph

Stretching:

Often disregarded as an exercise of the weak, stretching is a key ingredient to mastery of any sport. Stretching decreases chances of injury, increases flexibility, and helps blood flow. Parkour demands flexibility and fluid movements, none of which can be performed satisfactorily without stretching. Stretches as simple as the one depicted here help dramatically. Whether it be hand stands or vaults, stretching gets it done.

Thanks to garryknight for the pic

Live Hardcore, Christoph

Wall Flip:

The wall flip isn't so much parkour as it is just style or free running. It is however, definitely hardcore, earning its spot on the blog. When attempting a wall flip, run a comfortable speed, a little faster than a jog. Plant your stronger jumping leg on the wall first as high as comfortably possible, waist height or higher. Once more experienced you can try two steps on the wall. But for now with one step, plant your foot on the wall and push up, not out. Very important to push up not out. This gives makes it easier to rotate and allows more time to complete the flip. As you can see in the picture, this kid is about to spot his landing. It is good to spot your landing early as your body will be able to adjust the speed of your spin to land upright. For extra speed on the flip, tuck your knees to your chest. With experience, less of a tuck will be necessary and it will be easier to incorporate style.

Thanks to Chase Armitage (Professional Parkour/Free Run) for the picture

Live Hardcore, Christoph

Monkey Vault

The Monkey Vault can be used in clearing just about any obstacle. It is simple, but at the same time can be very difficult to learn. Many runners fear catching their feet on the wall or rail and inevitably face planting. The more timid you are approaching the vault, the greater the chance of failure. When just starting out, you should run at a pace slightly faster than a jog. Next, you want jump off both feet and plant both hands at a wider than a shoulder's width (look to picture) on the obstacle at the same time or even a little before. Now, the most important part is to tuck and lean forward. Leaning forward may seem scary at first, but it helps get your feet through your arms and over the obstacle. You should be pushing down with your shoulders throughout the plant and push off at the end to help maintain your momentum. It is important to keep tucked until you are practically past the obstacle. Do not untuck early in anticipation of landing as you might catch your feet. Once past the obstacle, your body should straighten out naturally with a little help from the push off. I recommend starting out vaulting over walls or rails at about waist height, no lower.

Thanks to pdeperio for the picture

Live Hardcore,
Christoph