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Basic Techniques In parkour, there are many techniques which you need to learn before you go out and try them yourselves. What you don't want is to go out and get yourself killed. Firstly there are the basic techniques: Bending - it is essential to know how to bend without difficulty. You need to make sure that you are flexible to some extent as this does reduce the impact on landings and leads onto the style you produce in action. There are two types of bends: - one being similar to a squat, while the other being like a sprint start. When in these positions, bounce up and down without moving your feet, get used to this and it'll be your starting point. Rolling - this is not like a roll in gymnastics or the sort you used to do as a kid. Rolling needs practice, that is, constant repetition, so when you do perform, you can do the roll smoothly. The purpose of the roll is to disperse the impact from your legs throughout your body. When you hit the ground, your knees should be slightly bent, leaning forward, landing on the ball of your foot. The momentum should then bring you forward, because you should be leaning forward, and so either bend your right or left shoulder down towards the ground so your fall. The roll is done at and angle and not straight forward over your head. Then just let the roll flow and when you reach your bending position you should be able to stand up and keep running. Run Up - having a good run up is essential for a good jump. Practice does make perfect and so have a routine before you do any jumps. You should have an idea of where you are going to put your feet before you jump. Make sure that the area is clear so you do not slip, and make sure what you are jumping off is stable. Once that is done, it should be quite easy to just run and jump, but make sure the jump isn't the same as your long jump, they are not the same. Landing - knowing how to land is essential as well. You need to know how to land properly so to not hurt yourself and you should be able to land as easy as a cat dropped out of a building. When the impact is small, bend your knees to absorb shock, make sure you do this. When the impact is larger, go into a roll. You have to roll, or in the long run, or short run, you will injure your knees and believe me, you do not want that happening. There are three types of landing (not including rolling). One being for an easy jump. You need to know that landings in parkour do not occur on flat feet, nearly everything is done on the tips of your feet. This landing is the first where you do land on the balls of your feet as your feet, ankles and knees all work together quite well in absorbing the shock. The second is for a precise jump where you want to land on an edge, rail or another small target. You need to land on the middle of your feet this time being between the ball and the start of the arch on your foot. The last is the landing of an arm jump. We will discuss arm jumps in another article. The absorption occurs with the feet together so to produce a good landing. It is also good to note that the feet should be slightly apart to aid stability. Trees - the last technique you need to know concerns are trees. You will encounter trees in your sessions, and so you should be able to calculate the strength of a branch. The closer you are to the trunk of the tree, the stronger that branch will be. Make sure you get as close as you can to the trunk without hitting yourself or the branch may break. lil'millie |