Parkour

Obviously off-bike, but this is the most likely place I could think of to start my search. Anyone do it or know someone who does. I would like to try and get some schoolkids involved...

Yep, me and mark did it while drunk. He climbed on top of a phone box then jumped on the overhanging roof bit of house of frasier. would have made an awesome photo. He saw some free parkour lessons advertised somewhere, maybe king's heath, i can try and find out more info if you want.

But I must ask, why do you want to get your schoolkids involved in jumping on and off stuff?! Aren't schoolkids interested in non-daft hobbies anymore? ;)

You do-gooder community concious types! Turning every dangerous & bad youth culture into something suprvised and responsible!

First with graffiti, then parkour, what next? .. Teenage pregnancy youth club? Smoking class?

There was a Parkour club in Reading. They looked like fools.

I'm partaken in a spot of "urban aggressive" in my time. Much better than Parkour as you can't hurt yourself. Generally it involves flatland skills on pavement cracks, bin holds, kurb hops/fakies, Seating grinds, etc. The trick is to walk away with as much attitude and public respect as possible, it helps to have some mates around though or you come across as a bit of a weirdo.

(Shouting "urban aggressive" like a game-show host when pulling off a move really gets the crowds in.)

They look like they have lost their skateboards.

It looks good if you are french and good, but it is not something the english should be aspiring to. We should do some thing similar were instead of vulting the fence gracefully we just crash through it with the bigest bang. That is more our style.

I agree some of the top videos are pretty amazing...

PGM, English folk wouldnt crash through the fence, they would piss on it on the way home from the pub.

i can try and find out more info if you want.

But I must ask, why do you want to get your schoolkids involved in jumping on and off stuff?! Aren't schoolkids interested in non-daft hobbies anymore? ;)

Yes please and
This year we have had to abandon the longer races for our secondary sports day because kids can't do it. While running is good for them they are less likely to take up cross country or athletics. We have alot of kids who might well be interested in this because the urban cool factor fits in with their image.

Similarly the kids at my school are more likely to be interested in bmx than 60 mile country rides with the CTC.

Unfortunately I know zilch about parkour and have never bmxed.

Hello - I worked on freerunning / Parkour for two years and basically had to hang out with 15 year old kids in various cities across the UK, as my client (kswiss) released a freerunning shoe and worked with Sebastien Foucan (french freerunning guru of james bond fame).. Anyway, aside from a traumatic three day visit watching kids jump over buildings in a parisian suburb, I think it is brilliant activity to get Kids involved in ( don't call it a sport as its non competitive - my knowledge knows no bounds) ...these guys are some of the most strongest and fittest guys I've worked with. And its free...

To save my street cred, or whats left of it, I'll DM you with details of contacts, people etc.

Yes please and
This year we have had to abandon the longer races for our secondary sports day because kids can't do it. While running is good for them they are less likely to take up cross country or athletics.

If your thinking parkour will be a more inclusive sport you are out of your mind. Its only the really skinny but muscular/athletic kids (scallys) that have even got a chance at making an unembarassing attempt. If they cannot do the longer runs on sports day they are either incredibly lazy or fat/not athletically gifted and I doubt they can even climb a wall. Youll end up getting them to do forward rolls and itll turn into a bad bad year 7 expressive gymnastics p.e class, .. not very macho.

In terms of bikey stuff you could contact Mark sleigh at birmingham wheels, he does bmx/dirtjump/mtb kinda riding at the park with "rough yoots"

I do a three hour course in Pubkour, it teaches kids the basics of 'rounds', it's a strictly bring your own crisps affair.

Pubkour? Is that what you call jumping over the bar and sneakily pulling your own pint when the landlord's not looking?

"This year we have had to abandon the longer races for our secondary sports day because kids can't do it. While running is good for them they are less likely to take up cross country or athletics. We have alot of kids who might well be interested in this because the urban cool factor fits in with their image."

dont unwittingly feed the culture of low expectation.
I work in schools as well and get sick of teachers wrapping kids up, its a tough world out there, we need to HTFU, when they leave school there aint no one telling them they can go and sit in the 'chill out' zone if they feel stressed,
theres jobs to get, competitions to win, risks to take,
with the upmost respect meant- get them out of their comfort zone.

emmeff, I'm a science teacher. 90% of the kids in my class abandon comfort zone at the door, it's a constant battle for them to feel safe enough with the material to attempt it.
I do use your point alot, but then again when you have 3rd generation unemplyed kids who's parents have low expectations (my last school) it's hard to "scare" them into doing the right thing.
dfp, I have no image of parkour being an easy thing that i can get the fat kids at my school doing in a couple hours. I do see it as something that will have "wow" factor and that the able may do, which would then inspire the others. I reckon the best way to get the non-sporting motivated (I would have counted myself in that bracket as a kid) is to give them an activity that is it's own reward without a need for compettition. So not a game you can let your team down in, or come last in a race. I reckon alot of cycling disciplines will fall into this opennes factor. Parkour looks cool and is low cost as far as equipment/space is concerned.

i think it sounds cool. will it be pe or science? or are you some kind of super teacher?

shouldn't you be teaching now?

I thought roller blading was lame until I saw Parkour/free running.... wow it's so bad. Get'em out on bikes instead.

@belgian goth, point taken, these arent easy things to crack- especially as you say there are generations of kids like this especially in cities.
youre bang on about cycling being inclusive, we have had some great successes with people that have fairly low self esteem before starting in school clubs, getting into rides, training, mechanics, etc and then even getting into club level. even without that much involvement its a level playing field as long as they can ride.

The headache as you know is that starting anything new will stimulate a load of where, what, who- questions from superiors.
Is there someplace in school youre lot are already 'doing' Parkour?
gap jumps,railings,step jumps etc, if so could be easy to just start planting the seeds with a few d.v.d.s then formalising later, along the lines of 'they were already doing it we just embraced it' type thing.

Im presuming youve seen both 'jump londons'?

To my outlook Parkour is just mucking about thats been made cool by cool French people and jumped on by cool hunters anyway. thats another conversation bringing in lifestyle, commodification blah blah I wont bore you now.

Check out this guy YouTube - Damien Walters Showreel 2009
Damian Walters

LOL I've just remembered my brother does 'urban gymnastics' although he doesn't call it that. He just does it:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B3DB69A7E2FBCE00

Fucking mentalist

thats cool^ I admire the discipline and practice of all these variations, another favourite (a good watch):-
YouTube - CAPOEIRA GIRL

that video is so fucking annoying... takes too long to start!

i got some cool photo sequences of people doing that shit at glastonbury in '04 i think, but i had no idea what it was called so up until now i havent been able to look it up :(

Is that lee/pastry lover, is that really your brother doing all that leaping around? Flippin amazing (excuse the pun)

You should get him on one of those springy tumbling surfaces they use in gymnastics, he would be incredible.

yeahman, he bluetoothed me the vids last summer so i felt it necessary to put them on youtube. dont see him much anymore what with him living in walsall... to be fair i'd rather he did 'proper' gymnastics, at least then he'd be under supervision and maybe less likely to snap his bloody neck. i worry about that 'un i tell ya