2009

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Saturday, 18th October 2009

Women's Parkour Workshop

Location: Apex Movement , Denver, Colorado

Although I have been doing parkour for the past three years, I've found that teaching it is an entirely different thing; it's not just giving a skilled traceur/traceuse advice on how to do a trick/movement better, it's taking a beginner or intermediate through the progressions of how to simply do the move.  At the women's workshop that we recently had, as one of the instructors, what I found most challenging was introducing the basic moves of parkour, but having to change my advice to each person depending on their skill level and background.

I taught the two hour workshop alongside two other women, Risa and Brenda, both active members of the COPK (Colorado Parkour) community.  We had a fairly good turnout of women from the Boulder/Denver area with three women, Adrianne, Heather, and Shannon, who had been taking the classes that COPK offers, and three newcomers, Kourtney, Lindsey, and Holly.

We started out with some fundamental movements, such as QM, broad jumps, rolls, simple rail work, and basic vaults.  All of the participants picked up on the moves fairly quickly; backgrounds ranging from dance to rock climbing to firefighting definitely helped.  The only difficulties we had were with the vaults, which were hard for both the participants as well as the instructors.  The only thing holding most of the women back from the vaults was their fear of crashing into the vault box.  As instructors, it's very easy to tell everyone to just run a little faster and jump a little higher, but as participants it's not quite that simple.  As a result we backed up a little, and went through the progression of the vaults.  For example, for a speed vault, we started with a two hand safety vault where you tap your outside foot down on top of the box and then, once people got comfortable with that, we moved on to not tapping a foot on the box and then finally using only one hand.

After the learning the basic moves, we split the participants up into two groups and one did the 10-second drill while the other did add-on.  The 10-second drill is where there are a bunch of different obstacles in a small space and you just spend 10 seconds moving through the environment as smoothly and efficiently as possible.  We had two areas, one with a bunch of scaffolding and the other with a few boxes set up, and both groups got to do the two drills with both sets of obstacles.  I was really impressed with how well the women executed various movements; even the women who had just started parkour were coming up with creative and smooth combos.

Lastly, we set up an obstacle course and ran through it for practice and then for time.  It started with some rail precisions, then you had to climb over a rolled up mat and then vault two 3 ft. boxes (they were about five feet apart).  Next, you sprinted back to the other end of the mats and, without touching the ground, got through the scaffolding as efficiently as possible.

To finish up the workshop, we had a discussion about what everyone liked about parkour, what makes women so hesitant to try it, and how to get more women involved.  Overall, I think everything went very well and we successfully introduced a few more women to parkour.  As for the instructors, we all learned a lot about teaching parkour, especially to other women, and we can't wait to do it again!

- Carolynn Grigsby

Apex Movement is Colorado's first and largest Parkour, Freerunning, and CrossFit gym. Located in downtown Denver, with satellite programs in Boulder and Colorado Springs, we offer professional training centered around natural, functional movement.

Colorado Parkour is an organization in which traceurs from Colorado can come together to share ideas and plan events.

Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th August 2009

Rendezvous IV

Location: Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank, London.

I tried not to have any grandiose expectations of what the day was going to bring or if I was going to learn, see or hear anything new at Rendezvous, but to go there with an open mind and enjoy the experience and come away with some knowledge of Parkour and its roots.

As I got off at Waterloo station and met Jen, we made our way to the Queen Elizabeth Building at Southbank. Upon entering I was profoundly struck with the notion that Parkour is a male dominated sport and I am just a spectator here to enjoy the show. Slowly the hall began to fill up and as I chatted to a couple of guys from the classes I had attended, my heart lifted upon seeing some of the girls from my Thursday evening class! At last! Jen and I are not the only girls! Hoorah! There was a great sense of camaraderie about the place and guys and girls swapping stories, tips and general buzz about the place. A great start to a great weekend. We all made our way to the roof top for the warm up and being warned beforehand about the intensity of the Yamakasi's warm up's, I had no misconceptions about what to expect and went with the flow.

...A little over an hour in and I can already feel the familiar burning pain in my thighs as we're encouraged to do the monkey crawl... With Nicky gripping the back of my ankles we look like a couple of monkeys crawling backwards. Being the last ones left as is pretty usual for me as I tend to always be the one struggling the most, I hear Brian and Johann shouting encouragement. Next thing I know they are both there, doing the crawl with us and at the same time providing some much needed moral support so we don't feel like the only ones left.

'Start as a team, finish as a team' that was the motto of the day, but never has it rang so true, feeling that support, no one gets left behind, no matter what.

Photo by Chris Grant

As I struggled on with the rest of the day, trying to keep up with the limber boys or experienced traceurs and traceuses, with my heart pounding, my palms sweaty and my mouth all dry from the nervous tension as I tried to hit that cat leap or weighed up jumping down 10 flights of stairs, no one made me feel inadequate, no one said, 'what do you think your doing? You can't hit that jump...' Only things I heard were words of encouragement and support, a feeling that I wasn't alone and that someone is always there ready to catch me if I should fall or there to give a lift so I can clamber up that wall.

'One heart, one crew' we'd chant that all day up and down Southbank to the amusements of all the tourists, Londoners and general public, but to us it meant something, that we were all in this together. It kept me going all day, the enthusiasm the buzz, we all bonded in our love for the l'art du déplacement, we felt special, 'our Parkour community' that old community spirit that most people have either forgotten or never had...

Standing a full head shorter than me, was Williams Belle. I suddenly came over all humble and looked on in awe as this small but immensely powerful individual showed us how to move with style and grace of one that is completely as ease with his environment, flowing like water over obstacles with such simplicity that I have no hope of emulating and can only clamber over like Bambi on ice instead. Still I persevered and kept on and every now and again I would feel someone steady my foot or see a hand reaching out to me so I can grasp and get over that wall, always with a smile and a nod of encouragement... Suddenly it was me who felt small and Williams Belle was the giant, someone for me to look up to and aspire to be like if only by a 1/3 that would be good enough.

'Remember, why you are doing Parkour, to over come the obstacle your first need to have a clear understanding of why you are here, what you want to achieve today, otherwise you will struggle to overcome the obstacle not only physically but mentally' (para phrasing here) was one of the many teachings of Williams on the day to help and encourage us to use Parkour for the good of our minds as well as our bodies, after all it may take hours maybe days to nail down a that fancy flip or series of complicated jumps, but if you cant get over the barrier in your mind, how can you overcome a barrier that's right in front of you...

Although I didn't get to train with Yann Hnautra, Stephane Vigroux, Kazuma, Thomas Couetdic or any of the other amazing traceurs, the Q&A confirmed that they all feel the same about Parkour and are more than happy to pass on the knowledge to the next generation.. As well as the girls!!

Photos by Andy "Kiell" Day www.kiell.com  www.parkourgenerations.com

At the end of the day, my body much worse for wear, new bruises and scratches to add to my list and aches and pains in various places I had no idea harboured muscles, having only learned maybe one new move all day, I felt the sense of community, love, family, friendship, camaraderie all around me and again I get this feeling of belonging. It doesn't matter that I'm a girl or if I'm going at a slower pace than the others or that I might bottle out of doing a particular movement, or that its taken me all day to perfect one move, its not about the big jumps or fantastic flips nor how big a show you put on for the public but its all about the 'one crew - one heart' we're in this together. We support one another, we don't want to see each other fail or fall but to succeed and fly with the spirit of what Parkour is all about.

With that in mind, I suddenly feel all the weariness leave my body and a big goofy grin appear on my face as I head for my train home, already looking forward to next weeks class.

  - Nadia Yaseen

Parkour Generations holds indoor and outdoor classes for men and women in London. For monthly girls' jams in London, please email tracey (at) parkourgenerations (dot) com . For more information on their next women's class or jam, check out their website or our Links page.

Majestic Force  is the website of some of the Yamakasi founders and l'art du deplacement. For information about their classes in Paris, go to www.add-academy.com

Summer 2009

 US Summer Jam Review 2009

Locations: All over the USA

Colorado Jam. Photo by Sandar.

Chicago Jam. Photo by Sainaa Sabol

Ladies at the Colorado Jam. Photo by Carolyn Steele.

There was time in the itinerary at the Colorado jam for a Women's jam, which was nice. We headed off to Apex for a few hours to work on skills, learn from one another, and get to know each other better. All the ladies were impressive, regardless of their level of experience with parkour. I am always amazed when I see traceuses training. There is so much focus, encouragement, and courage in the room! Perhaps most impressive was Brenda, who is expecting a baby and still trained! That's definitely something our traceur colleagues will never experience! 

Cat Fountain. Photo by American Parkour www.americanparkour.com

Carolyn Grigsby. Photo by Sandar.

The fountain, Colorado. Photo by Carolyn Steele.

In all, it was a great jam season this summer in the US. I'd love to hear from other traceuses about how the other jams, which I could not attend, went. My overall impression is that the number of women is steadily increasing in parkour (if slowly), and also that the quality of skill is much increased among traceuses as well. We're now very definitely at a point where it would be difficult for someone to claim that women "can't" do parkour. I think it's a huge testament to our discipline that the guys seem to have welcomed us as equals since the start. Now we're reaching the point where those who don't practice parkour will begin to recognize that equality as the discipline gains more exposure. It's an exciting time.

 - Alissa Bratz

 Madison Parkour promotes the practice and philosophies of parkour/freerunning in the Madison and Dane County areas.

American Parkour is the hub that connects the many parkour communities across America into one; for exchanging ideas and disseminating accurate information about the disciplines of Parkour and Freerunning. It was founded and is run by Mark Toorock with the help of many community leaders throughout the country.

27 au 31 juillet 2009

Stage d'art du déplacement 

Location: Evry, Paris et Sarcelles France
 

Le jour précédant le stage j'étais un peu anxieuse, je ne savais pas qui participait, qui encadrerait, si j'allais pouvoir suivre le rythme, si les exercices allaient être adaptés à mes capacités, si j'allais pouvoir vraiment en profiter…

Je suivais depuis 4 mois les cours de l'add nation dispensés par Chau, Tony, Anoulak, Kevin et Ben à Bercy tous les jeudis soirs. J'ai décidé de participer à ce stage parce que je sentais que mon niveau n'évoluait pas aussi vite que celui des garçons et cela me frustrait quelque peu.

Le stage s'adressait aux débutants mais je savais que la plupart des participants avait déjà un niveau moyen, voir bon et surtout que la majorité allaient être des hommes... J'avais décidé de suivre de ce stage pour m'améliorer mais je voulais aussi en profiter, m'amuser en pratiquant, enlever ma peur et sentir que j'étais capable de passer plusieurs techniques. 

Le point de rendez-vous le premier jour se situait devant la cathédrale d'Évry.

En arrivant, j'ai reconnu Jérémy, un participant des cours du jeudi à Bercy. Cela m'a plutôt rassurée et j'étais contente de le revoir, depuis le début des cours une vraie complicité s'était installée entre les pratiquants.

Puis Anoulak et Tony (deux des encadrants) sont arrivés.

Je me demandais si des filles allaient venir.

Et Yasmine est arrivée ! Elle était totalement débutante mais elle venait avec une réelle motivation et était décidée à tenir cette semaine de stage.

Nous étions donc deux filles, et il y avait Jérémy, Baptiste qui venait du sud de la France et qui pratiquait déjà depuis 4 ans, Chris qui venait de Londres et pratiquait depuis de nombreuses années, et les plus jeunes : Jino et Mehdi.

Les deux premiers jours ont été consacrés à la présentation de la naissance de la pratique et la découvertes des lieux cultes d'Évry. 

Lundi

Nous avons effectué  une visite de la ville en courant et en effectuant un circuit piéton à la façon des Yamakasi (en marchant sur les bordures des trottoirs, les plots, en circulant entre les barrières, en utilisant les bancs publics), cela a permis d'évaluer les capacités de chacun. Nous sommes arrivés dans une forêt et avons commencé le parcours de santé. A travers les différents exercices nous avons commencé à faire connaissance et à souder le groupe. Nous avons fini ce circuit par le lac de Lisses. 

L'après midi, nous nous sommes rendus dans un gymnase. Le cadre plus sécurisé nous a permis d'expérimenter plus de techniques comme le passé-chat par exemple ou les saltos. Le travail s'est déroulé sous forme de jeu. Et comme cela allait se passer à chaque fin de séance nous avons fini par des étirements. 

Mardi

Photo de Bruno Girard, Majestic Force

Après un café  pris en commun, nous avons rejoint le gymnase pour une séance d'échauffements et de réveil du corps puis nous avons repris les exercices de la veille afin d'améliorer nos techniques de déplacement (sauts et franchissements, motricité au sol). L'après midi, nous nous sommes rendus à la cathédrale pour faire des exercices en petits groupes de niveaux. Nous avons aussi testé le « crève cœur » un exercice de résistance cardiovasculaire qui était basé sur des sauts de précision et le franchissement d'obstacle. 

Yann nous a enseigné  des techniques pour nous redresser et nous sentir mieux au quotidien. 

S'en est suivi une visite des lieux mythiques d'Evry et de l'Agora. 

Mercredi a été un jour très difficile physiquement pour moi, j'avais beaucoup de courbatures et je me sentais fatiguée. Heureusement l'entraînement s'est déroulé à Bercy, un lieu que je connais bien grâce aux cours habituels de l'année. Nous nous sommes entraînés à faire des demi-tours, des sauts de bancs, franchissements de table de ping pong.  

Le jeudi nous sommes allés aux buttes chaumont (un parc parisien) et nous nous sommes entraînés au franchissement d'obstacles. J'ai vraiment senti que le groupe était formé, que nous étions plus solidaires, plus attentifs aux autres. 

L'après midi nous sommes allés au parc de la villette pour un entraînement complet. A la fin de la journée j'ai eu une contracture musculaire qui m'a stoppée net dans mon entraînement. Heureusement Chau a réussi à délier le muscle et j'ai pu rentrer chez moi en marchant à peu près normalement. Mais j'avais peur de ne pas pouvoir assurer la journée de vendredi.  

Le vendredi matin ma cuisse ne me faisait plus souffrir, tout le groupe s'est retrouvé à gare du nord et nous sommes partis pour Sarcelles, le lieu où Chau et William BELLE se sont entraînés étant enfant. Nous avons utilisé tout le mobilier urbain le long du chemin pour travailler l'équilibre, les tics tacs, les demi-tours. 

Photo de Bruno Girard, Majestic Force

Et lors d'un tic tac sur un mur ma contracture est revenue… même si cela n'était rien de grave je savais que ma cuisse allait m'handicaper tout au long de la journée. Cependant les entraîneurs de l'Add nation ont su me dire ce que je pouvais faire et surtout ne pas faire et adapter les exercices pour que je ne me sente pas délaissée. C'était agréable pour cette dernière journée de tous se retrouver en forêt. L'ambiance était très bonne. 

Et le soir il a fallu se quitter, nous avions tous vécu ensemble pendant 5 jours de 9h à  18h, tous traversés les épreuves physiques mais aussi mentales ensemble, c'était dur de se quitter.

Samedi j'ai retrouvé Baptiste pour une séance d'étirement et dès lundi je retrouvais Yasmine pour un petit entraînement ! Je suis admirative devant le courage dont elle a su faire preuve, elle n'avait jamais pratiqué et pourtant elle s'est accrochée, elle a toujours terminé tous les exercices même s'ils pouvaient être difficiles pour une novice. Elle a vraiment aimé ce stage et veut persévérer et évoluer au sein de l'add. 

L'avantage de cette semaine de stage c'est que nous avons pu reprendre toutes les bases, l'équipe qui encadrait était nombreuse et pouvait nous consacrer du temps si nous avions des peurs ou des problèmes. Ils étaient tous très à l'écoute. L'ambiance au sein du groupe de stagiaires a aussi eu son importance, nous étions tous animés par la même passion et les mêmes envies.

- Charlene Leglise

ADD (Art Du'Deplacement) Academy www.add-academy.com est un programme pédagogique global conçu et dévelopé par Majestic Force www.majesticforce.com sous la direction de Yann Hnautra, Châu Belle et Laurent Piemontesi (fondateurs Yamakasi), associés à Bruno Girard. ADD Academy propose des cours de la semaine, Stages Découverte et Initiation et Stages Perfectionnement Technique à Paris.

Monday 20th to Sunday 26th July 2009

Worldwide Traceuse Gathering

Location: all over London.

I arrived in London with an open mind about the gathering. I honestly did not know what to expect, but I was certainly excited about what was yet to come. I had 'googled' and 'youtubed' my future traceuse training partners, and assessed that I would be very much behind everyone else when it comes to my abilities. Funnily enough, this did not make me anxious. I felt really happy that I would get the chance to train with women who had put so much into their training: women who had reached this impressive standard.

On the arrivals day (Monday) myself and Annty made our way to the Southbank to meet Liv. Only a handful of us were there on Monday, but it was a lovely sunny day and we all just enjoyed getting acquainted, followed by some light training…and closing with yummy pizza!

Naturally our conversation leaned towards our personal Parkour experiences and the injuries we had obtained along the way, and we began to realise that only few of us were actually unscathed! Liv's foot was still badly injured, as was Elly's arm, and as the gathering continued through the week I discovered that I was not the only traceuse with a busted knee. I found out that a couple of the women had ankle injuries, and throw in a collar bone and a wrist or two and then you're getting the idea. Yes, we all seemed a bit rough around the edges but we were wired up and ready to go!

I felt that the atmosphere between everyone on the first big training day was a little uneasy to start with, but I later realised that this was because most of us were strangers to each other. However, we collectively had Parkour as our icebreaker, and we were all getting along and chatting like old friends within the hour!

I was a bit wary at the start of my training because I had just taken a month off Parkour before this event for recovery purposes, so I was very unconfident about testing my limits, but Andrea and Kirsty helped me build up my confidence by taking me through some vaults and helping me get my landings nice.

After warming up and 'waking up the touch' we went to IMAX. There's not a lot I can say on this…other than: BIG! I found it hard to have any flow here, but I managed to do a couple of cheeky speed vaults and some (totally noob) clambering. I think that most of us had trouble, or at least a lack of confidence, when it came to tackling IMAX but we all managed to do a fairly hefty wall run intertwined with avoiding oncoming bus traffic. An achievement of which we should all be proud!
…and then it rained.

 

Justine, wall-flip. Photo by Elly                                     Kirsty, Flag. Photo by Elly

So we went to Earlsfield - a partially sheltered collection of spots containing many a rail.  At this spot Carolin and Isabel really let loose with speedy underbars and catpass-to-cats. I was forever impressed by how these very tall ladies could fit so cleanly through these underbars. When I tried it, I was all elbows and kneecaps! Justine and Kirsty were very strong ladies who powered their way through double-taps, muscle-ups and just kept on moving throughout Earlsfield. Justine did a commendably high wall flip and Kirsty did an impressive full flag, and although both feats were pretty awesome to witness both traceuses seemed dissatisfied with their achievements, so would try over and over until they got these tiring manoeuvres up to personal expectation. 

                          Rachel, wall run. Photo by Shi                                              Carolin, cat pass Photo by Shi                        

On Monday Agota had been helping me with cat leaps and she had also been helping me with building up to the climb up; a motion which I have been trying in vain to achieve for a long time.  I watched as Liv did a climb up on one of the Earlsfield walls, and in my head something must have finally clicked into place. So, tired from the full day of training I decided to use the last of my strength and energy resources on this climb up attempt. The wall was what would be described as nice to grip. I got into cat leap position and convinced myself mentally that I could do it. I remembered the advice from Agota, and from the guys I train with in Leicester, and then……I did it! My feet didn't slip. Both arms had shifted symmetrically and evenly. My chest had made it over without touching the wall. I made the final push up to get myself properly above the wall, and let out a loud "Aaaarggghhh!" as my muscles burned. I was absolutely shot and ready to call it a day when Liv said "Can you do it again so I get it on camera?" So I did. Ouch!

At the close of the day we resided to the Earlsfield playground where Marie, Elly and Carolin continued to show so much energy after a hard days training. I watched as they did some underbars through a bit of a climbing frame, and although I was really tired, I thought: "Go on then!" and joined in. Then tomorrow promised training around Vauxhall.

Most people from the previous day were there, but many more also turned up to join the fun that Vauxhall promises. This had to be my favourite day because there was so much to do, and it definitely went down very well with everyone else. For the first time in my training I felt confidence in my flow, and I found it a treat to string together my vaults and think about my foot placement in addition to my next execution. It was also great to sit back and watch Isabel and Carolin going for a cat-pass precision, Nicky doing wall runs, Shi doing stride missions to cat leap, AnnSofie and Annty going for some large precisions…everyone was moving and it was fantastic to watch and be inspired by the different approaches towards the obstacles. I think everyone really got a lot out of this day. I know a lot of people broke jumps and problems over the course of the day, and the atmosphere was really positive and encouraging…and the sun was shining too, which all in all made it a fantastic day of training! 

This brings us around to Latimer Road training on Thursday. We trained with a large group of guys on this day, and we were all stuffed into one of the playgrounds for pretty much the duration of the day's training. Although it wasn't the roomiest of sessions, it was still a good day. By this point my body had started to shut down though, and the smallest precisions felt massive, and my legs felt stringy and heavy. I didn't break a lot of jumps this day because I was feeling so feeble, so I spent most of the session balancing on a rail to condition my knees. By this point, a lot of people seemed very tired, but Mojo, Marie and Elly still pushed on perfecting their vaults and precisions.

Unfortunately this heavy feeling got worse through the week for me. For Friday and Saturday we were back at Earlsfield and the Southbank, but by this point I had hit the wall, and although I tried I was no where near on form to do any Parkour. Most other ladies managed to keep moving beautifully despite their tiredness, which I honestly find incredible, as I cannot recall another time in my life where I had ever felt that tired, worn out, and even a bit sick from the sheer volume of training. I find it harder to write about the final days of our training, partly because I was just so tired that I found it difficult to focus properly on myself and the people around me. Also, everyone was dispersing, and by Saturday there were only 5 of us left.

Overall, it was a great experience and was well worth doing. Although there was no direct teaching in any of the sessions I still feel like I learned a lot from everyone around me. I feel that I achieved what I came out to do, and more. I also surprised myself in what I could do, strength and technical-wise, which was a fantastic sensation. The only suggestions I can really think of noting if we have another gathering next year would be perhaps another session at Vauxhall could be added. Maybe a day of rest to lick our wounds and enjoy London mid-week could be on the cards. I don't know if anyone else will agree with me, but I found it very intense to train 5 days in a row!

Despite the hindrance of injuries, I really hope that the other ladies got a lot out of training in London. I know it must have been very frustrating for Liv and Elly in particular, and I'd like to wish them all the best in their recoveries.  Also, very big thanks to Liv for organising this event, and well done to everyone who took part in the gathering. I had a great time and it would be fantastic to meet up with you all and train again!

Sunday 21st - 28th June 2009

Morzine Parkour Camp

Location: Morzine, Switzerland.

Morzine, a small town in the French Alps left me fascinated by its beautiful scenery. Everything looks so fresh, the mountains, the snow on the top, the trees, the big open space, the river, the fresh water from the well which tastes so delicious, the chalet with its rustic and cosy interior and the pure air that I had to adapt to after spending so much time in a polluted environment.

 One week intense but enjoyable training (7 -9 hours with Forrest and Blane) in such an environment is refreshing for body and soul and it changes the perception of the usual urban training. There is no place where parkour can`t be practised, but training in both, the natural and the urban environment makes the training more complete.

We were 21 guys and two girls sharing the same experience, no matter of our level, experience, gender or age. It was a real pleasure to see that we as a "group" became a real "team" in just a few days. Together we went through all aspects of the training (joy, achievement, pain, frustration, disappointment, progression, individual and collective improvement, game etc.) but always ending the day with a smile.

One particular game I really enjoyed was "Blane`s tag game". I still remember him coming closer and closer trying to catch me but....... :-)

Thank you for everybody involved, it was a great time.

 - Agota

Photo by http://traceurproject.com/

You can also email Tracey at tracey (at) parkourgenerations (dot) com  and read the original blog here.

Location: Kilburn Park, London.

14th June saw the 30th Women's Jam taking place on another beautifully warm and sunny day...

Congregating in great spirits at our well known and well loved spot in Kilburn Park, instructors Annty, Andy and Tracey were present to kick-start the session with warm-up and training guidance to those that needed it. We were pleased to see new faces as well as regular practioners from the Parkour Academy! Also joining us for the day was Shi Ong - webmaster of girlparkour.com - a now well-seasoned female practitioner fully dedicated to travelling the world and spreading love and word in the female community!

Starting with core fundamental techniques, enthusiastic balance practise ensued with various challenges beginning at base level - staying in balance, working up to turns, crouches, routes, and rail precisions... It's always so cool to see confidence growing and techniques improving with a little persistence and everyone did great stuff - particularly Preetha and Tracey, both new to Parkour but gutsy and determined ;)

Moving onto a new spot and some wall-runs and cat-leaps, everyone beasted their arms and shoulders working on the endless goal of efficient upper body strength and the much coveted smooth climb-up! Again, the persistence of all the ladies present was impressive so we moved on to some nice lil cat leaps with some height to work the mind.... And the real challenges begin!!

Now your senses start to really try and tell you that this is dangerous. You look down and the ground seems so far away. What if you fall, what if you miss the wall you aim for and drop down all that way?! What if... Endless scenarios playing out in the mind trying to steal your concentration. You jump down and view your starting position from a more usual and rational place - and realise its not even very high! You see aren't going to hurt yourself and jump back up to try again. But it seems you are in a different and much higher place again! Damn! You fight back the fear, you focus only on your landing point, everything else quietens and becomes another world to your current place in time and you jump............ You land! All is well, and there's elation and applause as everyone who knows that journey so well feels your joy and joins you in your acheivement. Hell yeah! Lets do that again!!!

Everyone pushed through boundaries and fear, making some great jumps and feeling a little of that sweet airtime before you stick strangely easily to a wall - the things that makes cat-leaps probably my favorite thing in the world to do!!! (No kidding!)

Warming down, breathing deeply with focus, stretching hard-worked muscles, relaxing, giving your body some attention after a good training session... It serves us well and we leave smiling and satisfied - happy in the knowledge of todays acheivements and increased strength from some good dedicated training. Thank you to all that came for a great day!

 - Tracey Tiltman

You can also email Tracey at tracey (at) parkourgenerations (dot) com  and read the original blog here.

Saturday 30th May 2009

 Girls' Jam in Colombia

Location: Simon Bolivar Park, Bogota Colombia

 - Isa

PKGirlz is is a group to exchange, share and to tell traceuses' experiences and a project of the FamiliaAire organization, the concept of it, is to work in cause of the women's physical education about parkour and free running. The traceuses are young women of many ages, basing their training and philosophy in parkour and local groups as Legion Del Mandril, Monkey's School and Familiare.

Sunday 10th May 2009

London Girl Jam XXIX

Location: Latimer Road, London.

I've suspected it for a while now but now I'm absolutely sure of it… We ladies-of-the-Parkour are definitely blessed!

Checking the forecast, every day, always starting a week before and seeing only cloud, rain, crap temperatures, I never cease to be amazed when I wake up on the second Sunday of each month to see blue skies and sweet sunshine… It always makes me smile! The same was true on the morning of Sunday 10th May - the day of the 29th London Girl Jam.

Marvelling at our luck, we congregated at the wonderful playground that is Latimer, with Blane leading us in a monkey-warm-up! Continuing with some light upper body conditioning we managed to combine the push-up variations with a game of 'dodge the parking car' when someone decided they wanted to park where we were training! We moved, then they wanted to park where we had moved to, so we moved a little more all the while in press-up position… This went back and forth for a bit before they managed to park and we finished our exercise! (Congratulations to Emma for definitely winning the 'dodge' game!)

Moving across a route was next - a little balance, conquering of safe heights, a small gap to negotiate along with a cat leap, climb-up and small drop back to earth where some underbars awaited our attention… Repetition, refinement and fluid success were to follow and we moved on to our next playground…
Ropes!!! So many ropes to play on and challenge ourselves with in so many ways, working the fundamentally important level of balance in Parkour - as well as the calves and the shoulders and every SINGLE muscle of the foot and ankle! Walking back and forward, sideways, cat-balancing, precision jumps, squats and balancing at height - in a strong wind!!! All these challenges ensued on the ropes (and everyone moved just a little closer to preventing a stupid ankle sprain because of the time spent strengthening the joint). Always time well spent!


We spent the rest of the afternoon with various challenges set by each other! Routes and technical challenges kept some of us busy, the beautiful sunshine kept others blissfully occupied for a bit (BUSTED Shirley!!! ;D) but the highlight was watching Nicky in the struggle (so well known to us all) to break a jump she had been fighting with during the session! Massive congratulations and respect to you for pushing aside the fear, taking a breath, quietening the mind and showing your brain and body that sometimes your spirit knows best.

   - Tracey Tiltman

Saturday 9th May 2009

 Bay Area Parkour Women's May Jam V

Location: San Francisco

 The weather was kind to us and we had a lot of fun today!  Today we had a small group of 8 consisting of new and old faces.  We started off with light QM conditioning exercises then worked our way to progressing through kongs, followed by speed and lazy vaults.  We tried pop vaults and wall runs.  Most of us could accomplish everything we were working on.

 Afterward, we hiked to a rock formation and climbed up on the rocks. I think everyone met their goals today.

  - Pim

Photographs by Jodie Rodriguez

To find out about the details of the next practise, you can contact Jodie at  jmmalarkey (at) gmail (dot) com

Bay Area Parkour(BAPK) has the largest number of active parkour practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area. When you come to a BAPK session, you can expect a friendly and inviting group of people who are always willing to help beginners. We would love for you to come train with us!

Saturday 25th April 2009 

 Bay Area Parkour Women's April Jam IV

Location: Christopher Park Playground, San Francisco, USA

We got down to the nitty gritty basic skills at this jam, all within good progression!  After stretches, warm up, and a lot of QM-ing, we practiced our jumping power (on, around, on top, you name it)!  Then we went onto some nice bar work and working on that flow!  Kong movements were a focus and then onto the wall where we practiced getting higher and higher... all to end with the popular kick ups!  Did I mention we practiced everything with "the other" foot as well?

Go girls!

Sunday 19th April 2009

Bay Area Parkour Women's April Conditioning I

Location: West Sunset Community Center, San Francisco, USA

A couple of newbies and some regular faces made for a great mix of levels!  There was a ton of encouragement and sharing of pointers!  We got a lot accomplished including some new conditioning exercises that Ina brought back from visiting and training with PK Generations in London!  This location always provides us with something new too; we were able to gently arrange a picnic table so that we could practice on it.  After the jam we put everything back exactly where we found it leaving no trace! 

 - Jodie

To find out about the details of the next practise, you can contact Jodie at  jmmalarkey (at) gmail.com

Sunday 29th March 2009

- By Shi

Any girls interested in Parkour who are living in Sydney should check out Sydney Women's Parkour on facebook - a great way to get in the loop of what's happening in the area, and meet fellow traceuses. You can also email sydneywomensparkour (at) gmail.com

Saturday 28th February 2009

Bay Area Parkour Women's February Jam III

Location: Christopher Park Playground, San Francisco, USA

I really liked the girl jam on Saturday. It was in a park which had two playgrounds, although we only used one. The park and playground had a lot of obstacles to practice on that were beginner friendly as well as advanced for the not so beginner traceur. All in all, there was something for everyone.   

We worked on our progressions that would hopefully lead us to completing kongs, doing lazy vaults, side vaults, climbing walls of different heights, distance jumping. Those who are more advanced worked on perfecting their moves or trying more difficult obstacles. I think we all accomplished some moves that we have been working on.   

 - By Natasha

To find out about the details of the next practise, you can contact Jodie at  jmmalarkey (at) gmail.com

Thank you to Angelique Augereau for the great photographs.

Saturday 7th March 2009

- By Rebecca McCarthy

Sunday 8th March 2009

Location: Toronto, Canada

The next meet will be on May 10th.

- Mandy

Past girls' meet video at the Monkey Vault

 Sunday 8th March 2009

Bay Area Parkour Women's February Jam III

Location: San Francisco, USA

- By Jodie Rodriguez

To find out about the details of the next practise, you can contact Jodie at  jmmalarkey (at) gmail (dot) com

Bay Area Parkour(BAPK) has the largest number of active parkour practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area. When you come to a BAPK session, you can expect a friendly and inviting group of people who are always willing to help beginners. We would love for you to come train with us!

Sunday 1st March 2009

Location: Sydney. Australia

- Nikki Fitzherbert