Parkour

Parkour – French for an “obstacle course”.- promotes a healthy lifestyle, excellent physical shape, a combination of speed and strength. Parkour, rather than a specific sport, is a philosophy, whose core conviction is that there are no borders, only obstacles, and any obstacle can be overcome. When we say obstacles, we mean both physical (fences, parapets, railings, etc.) and mental (fear, depression, frustration) obstacles.

In parkour, you train your mind and body to navigate any urban or natural environment safely and efficiently. You run, jump, climb, vault, swing, and balance to overcome obstacles.

As a movement discipline, parkour originated in the outskirts of Paris in the mid-1980s. A group of youngsters—the core group of whom called themselves the “Yamakasi”—named their practice l’art du déplacement, French for the art and way of movement.

They gathered together and devised practical challenges to push their limits to higher physical and mental mastery levels. That got media attention through documentaries and films.

But parkour has existed since the beginning of humanity. As hunter-gatherers, our ancestors needed agility to navigate rough terrains.

Parkour encourages three things: developing a strong body, fortifying the mind to tackle challenges, and the most important, having fun while doing it all.

Most of us - when young - did at least a bit of parkour. At one point in your life, you climbed a tree, a rock, a rooftop. You jumped and tumbled off furniture because it was fun.

Remember “floor-is-lava?” If you like(d) that game, you might enjoy parkour too. If you have ne idea what that game is, go to Youtube.

Our society has never been more sedentary and out of shape. All too many in the UK are obese or overweight.

The Health Survey for England 2021 estimates that25.9%of adults in England are obese and a further 37.9% are overweight but not obese.

Obesity levels among children starting their first year of school have increased to almost one in ten, according to new - 6th November 2024 - NHS figures.

TheNational Child Measurement Programme, which measures the height and weight of school children in England each year, found that the proportion of four and five-year-olds who are obese rose to 9.6% in 2023/24, from 9.2% in 2022/23. Levels of obesity in reception-

aged children living in the most deprivedareas (12.9%) were more than double those in the least deprived areas (6.0%).

Why has our health suffered so greatly? One reason is a lack of movement and/or physical play in our daily lives. I’m not here to convince you that everyone should do parkour, but I am here to challenge how you view exercise.

Have you ever thought, “Working out is too hard/boring/etc” or “I don’t have time/energy/motivation/etc”? Try not to see it as something negative. Instead, try to reframe exercise as fun and playful. The next time you see a child swinging on monkey bars, watch their process of exploration.

Children – typically - don’t count calories or time workouts. They move because it’s fun, challenging, and exciting. They want to explore their surroundings, and their own potential, through movement. Parkour can help you achieve that which seems impossible for most, if

not all humans.

Parkour at its root is about self-improvement, through movement. It doesn’t matter if you’re learning to squat or double backflip. What matters most is that you safely explore your limits or even advance yourself. Even if you have little desire to become a world-class parkour

athlete/artist, my simple challenge to you is this: just move more often.

Nowadays there are competitions among tracers (a Traceur is a person engaged in Parkour).

Parkour is becoming more popular among teenagers who try to learn from videos on YouTube. According toEssay Shark - one of the best websites to write essays without stress - the majority of parents fear that their children’s interest in Parkour may lead to some injuries.

However, we believe that the integration of this discipline into a school program is an excellent idea.

A list of games that work for children ages 5-12. Because most of these games are geared towards non-stop motion, they can be quite strenuous and make great warm ups or end of training conditioning for traceurs and traceusses of all ages.

The goal is to keep players engaged and active. In order to minimize sitting out waiting for the next round, it is good to play games that don’t have winners and losers. It is also very important to talk with children about safety before playing these games – some kids are willing to risk life and limb to avoid getting tagged!

Ultimately you will see sweaty, smiling kids who will be creatively using their environment and body to have a blast. If there are obstacles in the area, players are sure to use them to their advantage, whether running around, over, or under – so the more objects for them to use

in the environment, the better. If you don’t have any obstacles, buy some sidewalk chalk and make imaginary ones.

Use these ideas as a starting point. Be creative. Change the names. Change the rules. Be inspired by tv. shows, movies, and random things you notice. I once read an article about chimpanzees and bonobos, so that evening, I made a game with teams of primates competing

for bananas.

10. Lose a Limb

1. This one is a bit of a free for all and makes for a good warm up. Circle up in a big empty area with 5-10 people. If someone touches your leg you must hop on one leg. If they get the remaining leg then go do five burpees to come back in. This can also be played QM style on hands and feet - extra limb to lose. (A burpee is a physical exercise consisting of a squat thrust made from and ending in a standing position.)

9. Monkey Tag

This is basically tag, but everyone is on hands and feet. It can be combined with lava tag, freeze tag, or any other version of tag. Keep in mind that this game can be pretty tiring and strenuous for children if played more than 5 minutes.

8. Add On

Set up some obstacles. Someone starts with one or two moves. Everyone goes through and copies the same movement. The next person in line completes that first move and adds on another move. Getting children to pay attention while waiting and not getting confused can

be an issue depending on the group/age. Keeping it to 4-6 moves is advised for those with short attention spans.

7. Chase the ball

A Wawooba ball is good, but any bouncy ball works great. Throw the ball. Everyone chases it. Whoever gets it, gets to throw the ball. Repeat. The enjoyment goes up greatly if there are multiple areas for the ball to ricochet off of to increase the element of surprise and agility.

6. Quiet Ninja

Set up some precision trainers in an area that is within arm’s reach around a sitting individual. Call on two students to go around a circle in opposite directions while staying on the trainers. The person in the middle must be blindfolded. If you make noise, the blindfolded person reaches out and touches you with a penalty of 5 burpees. The goal is to walk ninja style around the trainers without being touched.

5. Tunnel Taburpe

This is a game of freeze tag that allows for maximum workout. If tagged, you must hold plank or downward dog until someone crawls under you so you can be unfrozen.

4. Parkour Musical Chairs

Set up obstacles in a circle. They could also be skill stations (jumps, cartwheels, rolls). Put precision trainers in the middle. Play music, watch the children move, and watch them rush to the trainers when you press pause. It is nice to have only one person “out” per round and then they can decide when to stop the music, although some children purposely lose so they can control the music.

3. Timed Obstacle Course

There is wait time for this, but when doing 30 seconds of linked parkour movements, it is okay to catch your breath for a minute or so afterwards. Set up a course of obstacles and/or skills. Allow a practice run, and then time each player. To keep in the spirit of parkour,

don’t announce a winner for the fastest runner. Instead have them complete the course a third or fourth time in order to attempt to beat their own time. This motivates them to try their best.

2. Zombie Tag

Start with one person on the ground. They then rise from the dead and must say “brains!” continuously. If they tag a player, that person lies down and rises from the dead to say “brains!” It goes until the zombie horde swarms on the last survivor. The survivor is then chosen to be the first undead in the next round. Aliens and astronauts is a variation of zombie tag that is also a hit.

1. Lava Tag

This is the tried and true staple of parkour training in general. Set up a course, make clear what is lava and play tag! Having one person “it” at a time works best, and they can count to five if tagged. Variations include giving the person who is it “lava boots” (especially if they are having a hard time tagging friends). This can also be a crocodile vs. frogs on lily pads type of tag.

Parkour training helps to get rid of the fear of heights. After a month of training, a child will cease to have an unreasonable fear, which often prevents us from feeling free not only in life but also in various sports disciplines.

Parkour for children is an excellent experience in forming the ability to own their body in severe environmental conditions, and most importantly, to fall in the right way. This is what often saves from serious injuries.

Training takes place in an exciting atmosphere, which means that the motivation to engage will appear by itself. Students involved in Parkour classes are always in an excellent sports shape.

Elements of parkour help to practice complex acrobatic skills. If sports acrobatics seems boring for your child, you should definitely try Parkour.

In addition to the development of physical abilities, Parkour develops the strength of spirit, character, and courage.

To avoid injuries, it is best to learn techniques with a competent coach. When a child trains with an experienced coach, he – or she - will get the necessary support, sports equipment, and facilities.

Parkour for beginners consists of elements of gymnastics and acrobatics. Successful Traceurs are often those who have good experience in these two sports.

Parkour offers a completely new, fascinating, and effective method of sophisticated training, which includes strength and cardio load in combination with performing complex coordination exercises.

In order to prepare muscles for safe Parkour exercises, a workout must be complex, where you can not only master complicated acrobatic elements but also work on stretching, strengthening muscles, weight loss, maintaining excellent athletic shape.

The class consists of a warm-up, pumping all muscle groups, training various acrobatic elements, trampoline jumps, including in foam pit, engaging exercises on tools, and stretching.

Teenagers who often have too much stress, pressure, and problems with excepting themselves have an excellent opportunity to relax during the classes. The complex coordination exercises have a positive effect on the nervous system, helping to switch the mind off from the current problems and fully concentrate on managing your body.

Moreover, Parkour is also a philosophy of freedom. It helps to develop a moral sense of success. It is not a victory over any opponent, but a victory over yourself, which is extremely rewarding. Parkour develops such qualities as determination, faith in your strength, confidence, willpower, patience, fortitude, humility, positive mindset and teaches to bear the pain.

People who practice Parkour learn to work with the weight of their own body, thus learning to control each muscle group. In order to exercise it, you need to develop continually. To begin with, learn to fight your own fears, weaknesses, to know yourself, and learn to live in harmony with body and spirit.

Teenagers need to study and develop in a friendly environment. The non-competitive Parkour is a perfect option for those who suffer from much peer-pressure. I am not talking about replacing traditional sports training with this discipline. However, the integration of some primary principles and workout elements can definitely benefit the school curriculum and children’s development.

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