Take Flight

Here is a superb Parkour mix tape from professional Tracer Adam Dunlap. In addition to being a very entertaining video filled with an incredibly diverse set of skills and Parkour techniques, there are two noticeable things that separate Adam’s demo from others. These two things are:

#1. Adam was somehow able to get a cameo appearance from the “Oregon State Women’s Gymnastics Team.” We have never seen a demo with any sort of cameo appearance before, much less from such a prestigious group of athletes (albeit not from the Parkour community so to speak).

#2. Adam shows a lighter and more playful side to Parkour by including rarely showcased bloopers at the end of his tape.

With great editing and an applicable musical accompaniment there is much to both enjoy and learn from this video. Both versions of the video are included below.

Short Version

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5795565376895770420

Long Version (with cameo and bloopers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SetL292wrHs

As the first post in the Training category we believed it was appropriate to address rolls. Rolls are arguably the most important technique in Parkour because they serve many important purposes. Two of the most critical purposes are as follow:

#1. Rolls allow Tracers to jump from extraordinary heights by distributing forces throughout the body.

#2. Rolls allow a Tracer to maintain momentum when jumping from an obstacle (unlike sticking a landing which almost always takes away all momentum).

This video features David Belle rolling after a variety of jumps, in both regular and slow motion. The best way to learn rolls is to practice. But no matter how good you are at rolling, watching this video will give you insight into David Belle’s flawless technique that will help improve your form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rekmYbFRbK0

The following post includes one of the first ever news features made on Parkour. Produced in France by TFI News (included here with English subtitles), the French news team follows David Belle and Sébastien Foucan around Lisses as they demonstrate and explain Parkour. The feature also spends some time with the Yamakasi.

Features like this provide a lot of information about Parkour, including insights into the arts origins and philosophy. But it won’t be possible to glean all the relevant information from this news feature in one sitting. As you start learning about Parkour this film will continually teach you new things about the art. As you grow in your knowledge of Parkour, you will start to recognize some of the intricacies and background detail that give even more insight into the beginnings of Parkour.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1996675427048738448&q=Parkour+David+Belle&total=2207&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=5