TrainingForParkour.org

5 Steps to Get Started with Parkour

I'm glad you've found your way to this guide! Parkour is a fantastic discipline that has the potential to positively affect your fitness, strength, confidence, athletic ability and many other aspects of your life. It can be difficult when starting out, to find the right information and get started on the right foot, (no pun intended) so let me help

you get going!

Who am I? My name is Ben Krueger and I started Training For Parkour and created this guide to

help spread the discipline to people that are interested in parkour. I have been training for over four years now, am an A.D.A.P.T. Level 1 Certified parkour coach and have taught parkour for over two years. To learn more about

me, check out the website at TrainingForParkour.org

This Guide will cover:

Table of Contents Step 1: How to Find Other Practitioners in Your Area ...................................................... 2 Step 2: Finding A Location ............................................................................................... 3 Step 3: Get the Right Gear ................................................................................................ 5

Parkour Shoes ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Parkour Clothing ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Parkour Pack ............................................................................................................................................ 8

Step 4: Planning Your First Parkour Session .................................................................. 10 Step 5: Time to Try It Out!....... ........................................................................................ 11

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Step 1: How to Find Other Practitioners in Your Area When starting out with parkour, there is undoubtedly no substitute for seeking out experienced traceurs (parkour practitioners) that can teach you in person. Knowing this, the first step is to figure out whether there are people already training in your area, and if so, whether they are 'qualified' to teach you. I use the term 'qualified' in quotes because it seems that every person out there that has been practicing parkour for two weeks is already trying to teach someone else

the art without much experience themselves. Because of this, I'll advise this; if you meet up with someone to have them teach you, and they don't seem to have a good grasp on basic parkour skillsets to begin with, you might not want to learn from them. To find out whether there are people training in your area, here are some resources to check.

United States: www.americanparkour.com/directory - You will have to create an account to post here- Scroll down to the "Local Connections" section and select your region. - Within your state's thread, write a post introducing yourself and ask if there is a group that trains in your area. You might be surprised to find that traceurs are everywhere these days.

Rest of the World: www.urbanfreeflow.com/directory - Unfortunately, this resource isn't very detailed, but check to see if there are groups in your country, and then contact them directly.

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Can't Find A Group? So what do you do if you can't find someone locally to teach you? Training For Parkour is specifically designed with the absolute beginner in mind. Go to TrainingForParkour.org to get started with lessons, tutorials and more. The site also has a growing community where you can interact with other beginners and help each other learn and improve!

Step 2: Finding A Location Now, we have to find a spot to have your first parkour training session. There is something to be said for practicing in any environment, however, it can drastically help you get started if you have a good location. An area with any of these things can make a good parkour spot:

! Walls ! Ledges ! Park Benches ! Railings ! Stairways ! Handicap Ramps ! Boulders ! Trees ! Any abnormal terrain

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Places that are generally good for parkour and contain the things above can usually be found in or near any of these places:

! Parks ! Playgrounds ! University Campuses ! Schools ! Down Town ! Woods

Many people will notice good parkour spots when they are out walking around, and forget where they were. I do this all the time. Here is my suggestion, if you have a smart phone or a map of your area, walk around any areas of interest (especially the ones listed just above) and mark these spots on your map. This way you will have a map with multiple spots to come back to and you can have a variety of training spots for future use.

*Quick Tip: When walking around, take back alleys and side roads to find hidden gems. These places are often great because there isn't much pedestrian traffic.

Now I have to say this, public areas are generally okay but anything that is private or government owned is off limits unless you have explicit permission from that person, business or entity. Use your best judgment and if you are asked to leave from any area, kindly apologize for disturbing them and leave. If we are respectful, we can avoid the 'skater punk' image, and eventually be allowed to train in more places rather than being chased off and thought of as hooligans.

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Step 3: Get the Right Gear Just to be clear, this section is largely opinion based, however the basic characteristics of good parkour gear shown below will get you started. One of the great things about parkour is that you really don't need much, as far as gear goes, to start practicing. There are many parkour specific clothing lines, shoes etc, but you really don’t need any of that to get started. I will mention them, but know that they aren't necessary in any way.

Parkour Shoes

The first thing you'll need is a good pair of shoes. There are some differences in opinion here among the community, but it really comes down to personal preference and what works for you. Generally though, a good parkour shoe is:

! Light weight ! Grippy rubber sole ! Durable ! Flexible

In this light, a cheap pair of running shoes will often do the trick. Especially to get you started. Down the road, you can do some more research and find a pair you really like, but for now you just need to get moving! Here are general some things to avoid:

! Plastic soles under your arches ! Open toed shoes ! Anything with "springs" in them

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Now that you know what will work, here are a few recommended parkour specific shoes and other shoe models that are especially good for parkour. Click on the images to check them out and learn more on Amazon.com.

Recommended Parkour Shoes

These two types of shoe are regular running shoes that work very well for parkour. They are light, flexible, ��������������������with a good sole and they get the job done.

Nike Darts 9

These are the shoes that I personally use. These are Nike Dart 9s but I have been using all the Dart series since I

first started with Dart 6s. They are pretty much a normal running shoe. Relatively light weight, comfortable, and provide enough cushion without being over supportive.

Nike Free Runs

Nike Free Runs are also great shoes with fantastic grip for rail work, wall runs and other climbing. There are

multiple different thicknesses and flexibility levels for these shoes as well. These shoes are setup on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most like a normal running shoe and 1

being very similar to running bare foot. I would recommend starting in the middle somewhere with +5 or

+3.

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These two types of parkour shoe are more minimalist and provide less cushion. That being said, they allow you to really feel the ground and obstacles beneath your feet. They also promote quality, controlled

movements because a big jump with a poor landing will hurt with these shoes on.

Vibrams

Feiyue

This shoe is a popular choice among the naturalists and

those that like to train in the woods, rocks, trees, etc. They are also great for concrete but they promote a more

barefoot feel so be sure to work your way into these shoes.

Feiyues are actually a martial arts shoe but are once again a favorite among accomplished traceurs because of their

good grip, flexibility, and 'barefoot' feel. They are basically slippers but work great for parkour.

When it comes down to it, the shoes you pick for parkour are personal preference. If you try a pair and don't like them, that's okay, you can always change down the road.

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Parkour Clothing I'll first say that any workout clothes that you own (or get at the thrift store) will do just fine. There are, once again, a few parkour specific clothing brands out there that add some style. They all have tee shirts, sweat pants, hoodies and other parkour types of clothing and gear. Here are some of the most prominent. Click on the image to check out their store!

Take Flight

Parkour Generations

American Parkour

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Parkour Pack While this isn't a necessity in any way, I've found that using a small, light-weight back pack is very helpful. You can carry extra clothes, water bottle, keys, phone, wallet and the essentials without having everything bouncing around in your pockets. Small, lightweight packs with a chest strap are what I've found to work best. Click on each option below to learn more about the bag on Amazon.com:

CamelBak

The 50-70 liter Camelbak bags are fantastic for parkour. They have the built in liquid bladder for holding your

water and small pockets for all your other essentials. It's also small and compact to the body so it doesn't flop

around when you run.

Eddie Bauer Bag

This Eddie Bauer backpack is what I personally use because it has a little bit more space to hold an extra

sweatshirt, your sandwich, or whatever you want to take with you. It can also strap tight so it doesn't flop around

much.

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Step 4: Planning Your First Parkour Session

So you've found the parkour spot, you've got the necessary gear, and you're ready to go. Now comes the fun part! Let's get out there and start moving! If you were able to find a group of people that train locally, contact them directly and ask if you can come out with them. Almost all groups that I've trained with are more than happy to teach newcomers and usually enjoy it quite a bit. If you were unable to find a local group to train with, then head over to Trainingforparkour.org and click on the lessons tab. You will notice there are five free lessons to get you going on the right path. Go through the lesson one material, then follow the instructions and lesson plan to begin learning the basics. There is also a Community page where other beginners like yourself can share videos, stories and generally have other people to talk about parkour with. What fun is doing it all by yourself? If you have any questions, you can always ask other beginners on the Community page or ask me directly at ben@trainingforparkour.org.

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Step 5: Time to Try It Out! <RXUH�DOO�VHWXS�WR�WU\�SDUNRXU���&OLFN�RQ�WKH�OLQN�EHORZ�WR�JHW�D�IUHH�OHVVRQ�DQG�JHW�VWDUWHG�OHDUQLQJ�SDUNRXU�WRGD\� If you devote some time and energy you will see fast LPSURYHPHQWV�

If you don't have any desire to improve and only practice once every third week, you won't ever be able to perform the impressive movements that attracted you to parkour in the first place. If you choose to train parkour as a social event or something that you can use to show off, then you are certainly welcome to do that.

At Training For Parkour, I promote parkour as a long-term, holistic discipline and something to practiced for years to come. Obviously, you are just starting your journey, but I've personally experienced the incredible transformations that parkour can have on your body, mind and confidence, and I seek to spread that to as many people as I can.

Those are the five steps to get started with parkour! Be safe and have some fun! If you found this guide helpful, share it with someone that is interested in parkour!