For those interested in Parkour - Train with the founders.

[Ayfa'liyä omumyu]

OK fine parkour is good but since the stuff that is most of the moves that can be done by walking are not that hard and are normaly naturaly done by instinct

I didn't start this topic to debate the usefulness of Parkour to your tribe, but merely in the interest of disseminating information to potentially interested individuals.

As to your above comment, I think many would disagree. Besides which, there is always room for improvement! Most of us do not move well through the forest "by instinct" or any other means, and quite frankly move pretty poorly in the concrete jungle as well. Training to better ourselves in the way we interface with the world and practicing this in environmental-specific applications comes about through practice, not assumption and instinct.

[Zalorticus]

Heh, I haven't heard about this on the APK forums yet. Another plus for LearnNa'vi!

[Txon Taronyu]

Yes I know and now I remember that not everybody has been in a forest as much as me so yes It is a good thing to do

[muhammad]

Hey guys, nice forum, cool movie - saw it at least five times at the theater already.

This thread was pointed out to me by a training partner of mine. My name is Muhammad Howell, and I'm a co-founder of Parkour Horizons, the group who is organizing the American Rendezvous parkour event in Ohio. After reading through the posts in this thread, I have noticed there are quite a few misconceptions about Parkour. If any of you have any questions, you are welcome to direct them to me and I will try to help you.

One of the many things I found appealing about the movie Avatar were the action scenes, which contained many direct examples of parkour type movements, such as; the climbing sequences to the lair of the ikran, and the parkour-style shoulder rolls used by Jake Sully to reduce impact when he jumped from the back of his turuk onto the battleship, or the lâchés from branch to branch. Also the scenes where you find them running on narrow footing, at high altitudes is reminiscent of the types of balance work we do to sharpen our skills in the art of movement, (l'art du deplacement). Overall, those of us who train in parkour would probably agree that the lifestyle portrayal of the Na'vi is very much in tune with the practice and philosophy of our discipline.

The roots of Parkour are to be found in the works of Georges Hébert, a pioneering French physical educator, theorist and instructor.

An officer in the French Navy prior to the First World War, Hébert was stationed in the town of St. Pierre in Martinique. In 1902 the town fell victim to a catastrophic volcanic eruption and Hébert heroically co-ordinated the escape and rescue of some seven hundred people from this disaster. This experience had a profound effect on him, and reinforced his belief that athletic skill must be combined with courage and altruism. He eventually developed this ethos into his personal motto, "Être fort pour être utile"--"Be strong to be useful."

Hébert had traveled extensively throughout the world and was impressed by the physical development and movement skills of indigenous peoples in Africa and elsewhere:

   "Their bodies were splendid, flexible, nimble, skillful, enduring, resistant and yet they had no other tutor but their lives in Nature."

While still at sea, Hébert began to systematize a method of physical culture training patterned on the abilities of the indigenous peoples he had encountered.

Upon his return to France, Hebert became a physical education tutor at the College of Reims, where he began to define the principles of his own system of physical education and to create apparatus and exercises to teach his "Méthode Naturelle".

During World War I and World War II, Hébert's teaching continued to expand, becoming the standard system of French military education and training. Thus, Hébert was one of the proponents of parcours — an obstacle course, developed by a Swiss architect, which is standard in the military training and led to the development of civilian fitness trails and confidence  courses. Also, French soldiers and firefighters developed their obstacle courses known as parcours du combattant and parcours.

Take a look at this video of Erwan Le Corre, who is a parkour practitioner who trained with the original founders of Parkour in France, and also studied extensively Hébert's Méthode Naturelle. If this doesn't remind you of the lifestyle of the Na'vi, then I don't know what would.

MovNat - Erwan Le Corre - The Workout The World Forgot

[muhammad]

Here is a video of the people who will be flying to Ohio to run the three day seminar on Memorial Day weekend..

A.D.A.P.T. Parkour & L'art du Deplacement

[Ikranä mokri]

where can you do parkour in the UK? Iv heard of parkour generations in london but are they the only one/

[muhammad]

Parkour is EVERYWHERE in the UK. It's one of the best places in the world to train. Every city has a group of practitioners, which most likely could be located via the internet, through the various forums, etc. Where are you located? Perhaps I could connect you with the people in your area.

[Ikranä mokri]

hampshire wiltshire area.

im a total beginner but willing to learn

[Nanaki]

I'm impressed, they move really fast and they aren't scared ^^
Thanks for sharing videos

[muhammad]

Nanaki, you hit the nail on the head. The entire point of parkour training is to learn how to move quickly and efficiently in ANY terrain, over any obstacles, and to overcome your fear of doing so in a slow gradual process - which over time results in the ability to perform what looks like superhuman feats of agility. This is the way the human body was meant to be!

Ikranä mokri, here is the Parkour Generations Forum, which is a great place to get started because there are very knowledgeable and experienced people there who will be able to help you.
http://www.parkourgenerations.com/forum/

Another good place to hook up with people in the UK is the UK Parkour Association. They have boards on their forum for many places, including Hampshire and Wiltshire. There are some wicked talented people in the UK to train with. I hope to be moving there sometime this year, so perhaps I will run into you in the future one day
http://parkouruk.proboards.com/

To give you guys some inspiration, check out this video. At scene 4:30 is an excellent demonstration of parkour in a rural environment:
Impedimentum

And of course, here is some of England's finest talent:
Daniel Ilabaca - Take My Strong Hand

[Fnua Atxkxe]

Wow, this is certainly impressive stuff and definitely something I will be looking at doing in the near future, if nothing else then the muscle and stamina that you will build up from doing parkour will be a great asset in the tribe, it also looks like great fun!

[muhammad]

Wow, this is certainly impressive stuff and definitely something I will be looking at doing in the near future, if nothing else then the muscle and stamina that you will build up from doing parkour will be a great asset in the tribe, it also looks like great fun!

I started training myself just three years ago, at the age of 33, and it's done a lot of good for me. It's definitely a fun and rewarding way to keep yourself in peak physical condition, and it sure beats jogging and lifting weights. It will change the way you view things eventually, because every day you go out training, you must confront your fear HEAD ON. Once it becomes a habit overcoming basic fear in training, you will find that you can apply that experience to any other facet of life, which is a very valuable mental skill to have.

The best way to get into training is to locate the traceurs in your local area, and hook up with them when they meet up. You will find they are probably a very tight-knit group, who will welcome you in and encourage you to learn. I will forewarn you though, the first few times you train, your muscles will probably get sore like you've never experienced before, but after a while your body just gets used to it.

Some of the side benefits of regular parkour training is that over time, your ligaments and tendons become very strong and elastic, and your bone density increases a great deal. I'm sure you've noticed how ripped the guys look in the videos when they have their shirts off. They've got that whole primal fitness thing going on, having full-body strength without getting too bulky or losing flexibility.

So to give you a little more inspiration, check out this amazing video of Max Runham. You saw him at the end of the last video I posted. Max has only one arm, and wears a prosthetic, but his strength and skill in parkour are absolutely astounding considering the extra obstacle he has to overcome. Everytime I watch this it makes me want to get out there and train harder, so check it out:

Project PS 4

[Txon Taronyu]

I would do it but there is no places to do it around here

also did you know the chinese had a thing like parkour called Qing Gong (light body skill)

[muhammad]

I would do it but there is no places to do it around here

also did you know the chinese had a thing like parkour called Qing Gong (light body skill)

parkour can be practiced anywhere, so I'm not sure what you mean by there are no places to do it. if you are looking for a gym or a parkour park, that is not necessary. it's more about adapting and developing your movement skills to your environment, whatever environment that is.

Qing Gong is not the same as parkour.. although they have some training practices that are similar perhaps.

[Txon Taronyu]

I know Qing Gong is not the same but I was reading about it and it is does have similaritys

[guest2859]

I tried parkour with some friends. I had trouble getting onto a house. XD

[muhammad]

I tried parkour with some friends. I had trouble getting onto a house. XD

Parkour is not about getting onto the roofs of buildings. This is a common misconception caused by poorly made videos on the internet.

[Fnua Atxkxe]

Well thankfully we have someone on here like you to keep us right Seriously though, this looks like a great form of excersise and one that everyone who plans on being part of the tribe should consider taking up! The skills and stamina you must get will be incredibly useful for survivng out there.

[Txon Taronyu]

I found the best spot to do it its in a forest near my house I did some vaults and other moves it was so fun

[Nanaki]

I found the best spot to do it its in a forest near my house I did some vaults and other moves it was so fun

wow :p Need some pics