Practice your superhero skills with parkour & freerunning

Should you ever need to run from French gangsters, having a handle on parkour will definitely help you escape intact. Essentially the practice involves moving from point A to point B in the most efficient manner possible, hurling yourself under, over and around obstacles. Here’s the first part of a parkour documentary by a traceur (practitioner. “traceuse” is the feminine.):

The rest are here. A more acrobatic version that’s less rigorously martial-arts-like in its approach is freerunning. Here’s one that appears to be filmed in Marseilles:

This video features David Belle, one of the founders alongside Sebastien Foucan. I kinda dig the soundtrack too.

This one features some cool wall flips and whatnot. Wait until the credits roll where they interview unsuspecting spectators for some hilarity.

This one appears to be filmed in Russia / Eastern Europe. The shots of abandoned apartments are particularly cool:

I found a Chicago-based crew as well, if any other Chicago peeps are wondering how to get started.

And yes, while the majority of practitioners are traceurs, traceueses are also in existence. Check out Ann:

So now, if you’re almost sold on becoming a traceur/euse, you’re probably wondering what it takes to get stated. Well, you’ve got to be pretty strong, for one. Here’s what American Parkour recommends as a warmup. Notice the 10-15 pull-ups part. This could explain why there are more men involved. 😉 They also recommend that the first step is learning how to fall / roll out properly so you have a lesser chance of injuring yourself.

And if you like the idea of parkour but not the actual physical exertion part, there’s always Mirror’s Edge:

So far I haven’t seen any videos of traceurs(ues) using Soap shoes with a grind plate on the sole. I think that could really be awesome. Some models of Heelys also feature a grind plate (and I’ve got multiple pairs of those!). Apparently it’s used more in Freestyle Walking. So if I’ve convinced you to try it out, remember to start with the falls, and if you can find your local crew and ask them to help you get started. And there’s tutorials over at American Parkour.