My students learn tons of new skills during parkour class. However, many hesitate to take it upon themselves to train on their own.
I hope this passage is your green light to venture out, try something new, and discover the movement potential hiding in your local surroundings.
There may be some knee jerk resistance coming to mind right about now:
“Doing parkour without the coach and his equipment is dangerous”, “It might not be allowed”, “my child has no motivation to practice on their own.”
These are all valid points.
I want to share some fresh perspectives on each of these common objections.
Life is inherently dangerous.
Hopping in the car every morning is dangerous.
Going in the ocean is dangerous.
But life is meant to be experienced.
Having a sense of adventure is part of what makes life worth living!
There are ways to mitigate the risks associated with trying parkour on one’s own.
The remedy here is simple, train within one’s limits. Focus more on sharpening already learned techniques and just having fun, rather than showing off.
Also remember, if a student has taken multiple classes, having a healthy dose of confidence in their abilities is a beautiful thing. It builds self esteem in the child, and teaches the virtue of letting go for the parent.
Respectfully find out if parkour is allowed
Parkour as we know it, was born out of the streets. It is an artistic and athletic reinterpretation of common physical structures.
In my 13 years of experience, I have found that it is ok to explore a space unless explicitly asked to leave.
It is of paramount importance that we heed property owner’s and other official’s wishes. Sometimes they will simply be curious of this unique activity which I am doing, and let me keep doing my thing.
The golden rule here is respect.
Motivation is momentum.
Many students will feel unmotivated, or embarrassed to try parkour outside of a class environment.
While yes, this is part of the magic of taking parkour classes, it’s not a good excuse to avoid practice.
The remedy here is to just get started! Momentum is everything. Habits are always hardest in the beginning, but once the ball gets rolling and the fun is happening, there’s no stopping it!
Phew, all that is out of the way now. Lets get to scouting!
Scouting: The Art of Discovering Parkour Spots
In order to scout and train on our own, we have to develop a sense of parkour vision.
Parkour vision is the creative ability to see physical structures as ripe with movement opportunities.
It’s the same phenomenon as seeing items as able to fit together after playing a lot of Tetris.
Common structures which stimulate parkour vision include playgrounds, workout stations, trees, boulders, barrier walls, handicap ramps, concrete planters and staircases.
In other words, they’re EVERYWHERE!
Scouting is exploring an area, such as a park, college campus, mall, shopping center or downtown plaza through the lense of parkour vision.
Once you get the hang of seeing the world in this new light, it becomes second nature.
The City Legends app, found on the app store, has a bounty of parkour spots already listed on it for you to check out. As you discover your towns’ local gems, I highly suggest sharing them on the app so more people can enjoy them as well!
So what are you waiting for? Get Scouting!
If you want to learn parkour with me, World Freerunning and Parkour Federation Certified coach, Seth Rubin, hit the link below.
