Parkour: a popular extreme sport

Parkour is a young kind of sport that evolved from military training courses. Being the mix of gymnastics, athletics, martial arts and alpinism, this discipline is popular among many sportsmen all over the world. Here is an ultimate guide to parkour.

Discipline

Parkour is a discipline that follows the following principle: there are no limits; there are only obstacles. It is possible to overcome any obstacle and reach one’s goal. Parkour is not a competitive sport, at least not in the literal meaning. Each sportsman has to compete against his or her fears. To succeed in parkour, it is necessary to become a better version of yourself.

This sport involves overcoming various obstacles. Sportsmen have to rely on their body strength and endurance to finish the race. Tracers often climb the walls and jump from one roof onto another when practicing parkour. Sometimes they have to jump without any understanding of what is waiting for them on the ground.

This discipline is peculiar because tracers do not usually use any additional equipment to overcome obstacles. The only thing they use to make it easier to land on the ground after their jumps and feel steady is a pair of sneakers with special soles. However, even this is not a rule, which means that it is possible to opt for any footwear designed for sports. To start training, it is enough to opt for casual clothing that is comfortable and suitable for doing sports. Almost all tracers practice parkour with bare hands because it helps them to get tactile feedback.

Differences from free-run

In comparison with free-run and other sports concerned with overcoming various obstacles, parkour is a sport that aims for practicality and rationality rather than sense of showmanship. However, free-run is often used in advertisement, TV-shows, movies and video-clips, which is why it is more well-known. Those who do not know the main difference between these sports may not distinguish them from one another because the training is actually pretty similar. However, in parkour endurance and practicality are more important than beauty.

Training

Parkour is a sport for people who are ready to train hard and wisely. This discipline requires practicing all moves beforehand. Usually it takes place in the gym, where using mats is possible to prevent traumas and injuries after fallings. Apart from practicing all the moves, it is necessary to pay attention to the overall body strength. To increase it, it is recommendable to combine muscle building work-out with some cardio exercises. Remember: any work-out session must start with a workout preceding the training in general. In addition, it is important to keep track of the diet and drink a lot of water.

It is important to find a group of people who are as passionate about this sport as you to make sure that you have someone to rely on. Remember: this is not a competition, this is a challenge each tracer tosses to himself or herself. Not only will a good company motivate you to work harder, but also your teammates (if we can say so in terms of parkour) will help you in case of emergency. In addition, it is necessary to know your limits and possibilities. Before learning new tricks and stunts, ask yourself whether you are ready to do them or not. Moreover, it is crucial to make sure that the training area is clean and there is no glass or any other dangerous objects.

Movement

Although there are many moves that can be performed by tracers, some of them are considered fundamental. They serve as the basis of this sport. These include:

• Jumping onto vertical surfaces, landing on them in a vertical position while catching the top of them with the help of hands;
• Jumping onto small surfaces or obstacles;
• Changing the position from hanging on the top of a wall to standing on it;
• Rolling after jumping or doing any kinds of drops;
• Running towards a wall, pushing off it with one’s feet and reaching its top.

The main skills a tracer must have are the sense of balance, good running and jumping techniques, landing techniques and the ability to think fast in a situation that is changing rapidly. It is crucial to learn to land on two feet to prevent injuries and be able to stand firm on the ground. At first, you need to touch the ground with your toes and then slowly put the whole surface of the feet on the ground. Your knees should be bent.

Risks and health issues

This discipline requires a lot of training and preparation. People who have never practices sports on a regular basis are likely to fail due to the fact that parkour is concerned with physical strength, endurance, flexibility. It is better to have background experience in gymnastics, martial arts or alpinism. No matter how good a person is good in any other sport, they will still have to train hard in order to succeed in parkour and prevent themselves from being injured. Parkour is a dangerous sport concerned with many risks. Although any sportsman can train hard to prevent most of them, unexpected situations may happen. As a result, tracers can break their arms or legs or even get concussion.

Tracers usually give their preference to using urban facilities rather than building them especially for doing sports. They often do it in parks, gyms, abandoned structures or playgrounds. Sometimes they jump off high buildings, which is why they are at risk of being injured. However, since parkour follows the principle that is aimed at being able to control oneself, injuries can be considered as a deviation from true parkour. Mark Toorock who is known as a professional tracer said that in parkour serious injuries are quite rare due to the fact that sportsmen rely on themselves rather than something they can not control.

Organizations

There are several organizations that are concerned with parkour. The first one is the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation. This organization was established in 2007. It worked side by side with MTV in order to produce several shows, related to parkour. This sport was added into a list published by the International Gymnastics Federation. This happened in 2017, and since then several competitions have been launched by this organization, including the World Cup that took part in 2018.

That is it! As you can see, parkour is a discipline that requires a lot of experience and skill. However, those who train wisely can become professionals in this field and even use their skills in everyday life.