This video was just released today. It features Damien Walters, one of the greatest acrobats and free runners alive today.
Want to see more? Check out these two videos as well.
Damien Walters 2010
Damien Walters 2009
To get to this level you’ll need lots of practice. Having a facility like his wouldn’t hurt either. And professional coaching would be best.
But to get you started I’d recommend this Tumbling book and Parkour Crash Course.
If you have ever jumped in your life, you may have noticed that it is only the beginning of your journey. Depending on the length of your jump in the air you might need to change balance or reposition yourself. Once gravity starts pulling you down, you need to think about how you want to land.
If you are performing a long or high jump, landing is the most important part because executing it properly will keep you safe from injuries. In the video, you are able to see one of the Parkour pioneers David Belle, perform some of his jumps and effectively executing the roll.
The important thing to notice is that after landing on his feet, he rolls over his shoulder. This way, he effectively transfers the momentum and the energy that was used for his jump transfers to the roll.
By landing only only on his feet, he would risk injuring his ankles, feet and legs. The roll allows for flexibility that keeps him safe.
Try practicing on flat land, then from higher platforms and ultimately from a wall. Also work up to harder surfaces but start on something soft.
Even with these simple moves you can move up to a huge level of master. For more Parkour Training info click here.
No matter if you have seen it in movies, video games or on other videos, wallruns are always quite astonishing to look at. For a moment it appears as if though you are defying the laws of gravity, and anything that unnatural is certain to impress anyone.
The best way to go with this is to start off slowly by using only one foot and simply walking on the wall, pushing yourself away from it. Start off with the side you feel most comfortable with, and later as you progress you can practice both legs.
Once you have done a few tries with only one step, try incorporating the second one as shown on the video. This time you will need to gain more momentum. To do this, you need to start thinking of a Wallrun as a long jump, so the more speed you get the higher you go, and the longer your Wallrun will be.
However, be sure to start off slowly and only progress as you become comfortable with the way you are going. This is a pretty easy skill to learn with just a little practice.
While Parkour and acrobatic tricks may seem difficult, all of the people doing it had to start somewhere. By starting out with simple tricks and advancing later on, you build up confidence, skill and acquire a decent amount of tricks up your sleeve.
In the video, you are able to see that wall climbups are not that difficult to perform, and while looking cool are actually also quite functional. Even if you do not want to show off your skills, you might find yourself facing a wall that you would need to climb, by learning how to do it, you will be able to.
While climbing up, try to keep your hands straight, because by bending them you lose all the power you had. While performing 180s you should be kick yourself in the opposite direction only when you’re high enough. It’s rather simple, just needs a little bit of practice. Fun thing about is, you can go outside and practice right now.
For more parkour skills like these check out this DVD or the online course.
As I was browsing for some interesting videos on Youtube, I ended up being glued on this one. The video is a compilation of vaults, jumps and flips done by these inhuman like individuals. I cannot help but think how in the world did they come up with this?
I quickly pulled up another tab and searched about Parkour. I read the definition and upon going through the lines, it definitely made sense. It is an alternative way to fighting. In other words, this is how you suppose to run away from danger effectively and with style.
Anyways, these individuals are showing us what we are capable of. Indeed, a lot is still to be discovered in the human physical ability. After watching the video, I now think that the world would be 5% to 10% peaceful if people would only choose to “Parkour” their way out of trouble.
I will be looking to search for more of these videos which for me, sends a positive image and a unique way to promote a trouble free environment. That’s what I call art of motion.
You can spend a lot of time on Youtube looking around at videos on many cool things. Parkour and Free running are two such things.
But instead of you looking I’ll highlight a few of the best in the coming weeks here on the blog. This first one is long but has tons of great tricks as it s a compilation of the best.
You’ll find all kinds of acrobatics as well as a little bit of hand balancing and strength moves, like the human flag, thrown in.
And if you want to get started learning Parkour and many of these skills yourself I recommend you check out the Parkour Crash Course.
This is put out by the Tapp Brothers of which I recommended their Backflip program and it was hugely popular.
Good Luck and Good Free Running,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you know of any great videos I should check out either enter them in the comments below or shoot me an email. Thanks!
Another part of the Motor Moron series.
There was some confusion about how to go about rolling in 8 directions. This video should clear that up.
Basically there are 3 types of rolls here. Straight forward (and backwards) somersaults. Diagonal rolls commonly done in martial arts and parkour. And then the sideways roll. All are pretty easy to do and can be done with a little practice.
All these basics can be expanded upon for further body awareness, control and skill. I recommend you check out Tumbling Illustrated for more details.
I saw this video over at Gymnastics Coaching and thought it was worth sharing. While I’m not surprised like the hosts of the shows seem to be it is a fun watch.
Want to gain these skills? Then I highly suggest you check out the Parkour Crash Course.
There’s just something about old hand balancing pictures that I really enjoy. Maybe its hearkening back to a time when physical culture was simpler (…when everything was simpler.)
When you see a group of guys and gals doing some hand to hand balancing you know that they were having a blast doing that. Having fun while becoming stronger and more skilled then before.
Here are a few photo’s from Rafael Guerrero’s collection with him and two friends doing all the above at the beach.
In case you haven’t seen this video, check out one of the greatest athletes out there, Damien Walters.
One thing I think you can take away from this video is that much practice is done in a gymnastics center as well as outside in ‘regular’ terrain. Build up your skills in the safer environment before going outside.
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