This is not a survival activity!
Very high risk in doing or training, ok if you have an ambo to wisk you of to a hospital and you have insurance!
PA maybe good to have done so you can read the landscape better but too high risk to actually do!
And mostly you will be humping a load of some sort so can you do it safely with a loaded backpack??????

NO!

 

We have guys posting about video games on this site. I say this is a great fitness regime!

YES!

 

Sebastien makes the whole thing look like water, he is so fluid when he does it.

 

Well, I see the good thing about learnign how to properly break a fall and over all get a good cardio, but in most cases I doubt that this is a really useful since it assumes that you are inside a city with things possible to climb, hasn't got anyone else with you that doesn't know how to climb and that you are not carrying any gear.

Don't get me wrong - there are many good uses for parkour, but when it comes to focusing on survival, there are better things to spend your time learning. Proper Self defence for example!

I'd recommend Krav Maga. I've practiced both Jujutsu and Karate and Tae-Kwon do but the only martial art that actually taught me anything useful was Krav Maga.

 

Well, I see the good thing about learnign how to properly break a fall and over all get a good cardio, but in most cases I doubt that this is a really useful since it assumes that you are inside a city with things possible to climb, hasn't got anyone else with you that doesn't know how to climb and that you are not carrying any gear.

Don't get me wrong - there are many good uses for parkour, but when it comes to focusing on survival, there are better things to spend your time learning. Proper Self defence for example!

I'd recommend Krav Maga. I've practiced both Jujutsu and Karate and Tae-Kwon do but the only martial art that actually taught me anything useful was Krav Maga.
kravmaga israel - 3 (IKMF) - YouTube

A knowledge of self defence is indespensible, but so is the ability to bug out quick if you have to.

 

the risk of mechanical injury is too high to justify it.

Learn how to hop a fence efficiently and how to fall properly, the rest will be skills to impress the girls.

 

Sorry but I must intervene here, Parkour and freerunning are different in ethos. Parkour is about moving through an environment trough obstacles in the most efficient way, freerunning is about the same but involves more unnecessary flourishes, flips, showing off moves etc. Parkour would be useful and is useful to me every day, I can move around the city with such ease ignoring minor obstacles that most people feel forces to obey.

I was lucky enough to live in Paris when I was 15-17 and ran with David Bell and the Yamakazi in the banlieu and learnt a lot from them, before Parkour got big. A genuine traceur would not attempt a new move/jump etc without having practiced and assessed it first in a less extreme environment, it's not 100% safe but you don't just climb a roof ad start running around, you practice stuff at low level etc first before applying it in the stuff you see on film there.

 

I would rather our kids do this than just hanging around doing drugs and getting into trouble.

It's high risk sure...but as teenagers we all saw ourselves as bulletproof. Better for them to expend their energy this way than in destructive ways.

 

Many Humans don't realize this or have forgotten this: Humans are naturally going to do ALL of this, Human children naturally want to climb every thing and go every where and do any thing, it's in our nature to explore, learn, challenge ourselves, experience every thing, and to have fun!~<--This is the essence of Parkour: PARKOUR IS NOT A "SPORT" UNLESS YOU MAKE IT A SPORT, IT IS NOT MEANT TO BE A COMPETITION!~

"Parkour" is just a relatively "new" "word" for some thing every thing has been doing since the beginning of life: movement, that's it!~

You don't "need" ANYTHING EXCEPT A "BODY" TO "MOVE" to do "Parkour", because all "Parkour" is is a French word for "movement".~

"Parkour" is not about "learning specific moves to do certain things", that's the OPPOSITE OF PARKOUR, "Parkour" is about "moving how ever you want adapting to your environment as you go", ANYONE can do Parkour ANYWHERE, "Parkour is about freedom of movement with literally no limits at all".~

You are running from a predator that can't climb, so you climb a tree, guess what, you just did "Parkour": you saw an opportunity to use your environment to your advantage and you took it.~

Every thing that lives and breathes does "Parkour" in the wild, we as a species are no less capable, and "Parkour" or "movement" literally has limitless uses for all survival situations.~

 

And just say it, it looks like a lot of fun!

Better get that core up to full strength.

Awesome videos.

 

What the videos do not show is the 1000 times these guys wiped out and busted themselves up before they perfected their craft.

I dunno about this one. It might be a possible "survival skill" but it's more form than function. If it gets so bad that you have to jump off a building to escape trouble, you probably already waited too long. It seems like the last resort of a person who is too slow and dumb to know that the best time to leave a dangerous area is when it can be done walking on the ground like a normal person.

Also, I too agree that bouncing over cars is better for kids than drugs and crime (and I bet it impresses the chix, too! :thumb: ), but that's not the point of this topic.

Parkour as a workout/recreational activity= absolutely yes. As a realistic escape method= no.

 

I've taken a few parkour classes(I have a very athletic and acrobatic friend who dragged me along) and I have to say that this is potentially a very valuable skill in a survival situation. Potentially, to a real expert it represents an ability to ignore obstacles and to move quickly in environments not conducive to it.

I like watching this sport. But are there any videos of 40 year old parkour practitioners? : All the vids I see are of 20 year olds in peak conditions who heal fast I bet.

What I will say is that it gives people the opportunity to re-think boundaries and options. Is that wall really a boundary? Are these guardrails? What are the other escape options that many may miss or not see?

The other aspect to keep in mind... those "fantastic jumps" are often rehearsed and practiced in the mind over and over and over again before they are attempted. Of course the better you get, the faster you can visualize it. But for the most part, the most important skill to learn would be to jump and take a fall correctly.

 

I'm 39. David Belle and Sebastien Foucan are about my age(They are 39 and 38). I know that video of Sebastein Foucan was made recently.

You're right about the amount of practice experts in Parkour engage in. They condition the mind and the body constantly to eliminate risk.

 

I don't see this as having anything to do with survival. Just another extreme sport for very young in shape grown up skate boarders. Try it with a pack on your back or holding onto a rifle.

 

Where do you think the fundamentals of Parkour originated?

 

Combat fitness training and fight training, hand to hand and running and gunning would make a more practical use of time and would give you greater benefits.

 

There is only one explanation for this. These guys are half vampire, half spider monkey. LOL! Seriously, though, I think in a SHTF situation it could be a useful skill - how to take a fall without injuring oneself, or to outrun someone without minor obstacles being an issue. Obviously no one is going to be doing backflips off a building with a full pack on. But the very basics of it - being in shape, taking a fall, hurdling minor obstacles - wouldn't be a bad thing to have practiced.

 

So let's say shtf, Katrina part 2 "now its personal"

You have on a super well thought out bob (28 pounds) how pray tell is this going to help you?

Take it from me (mexican heritage) hopping a fence is really the only skill you need, now add scaling a wall and toss in some falling and tumbling lessons and your set.

Learn to scale up something, add a measure of paracord to your bob something coils at the top of the handle. So you can pull it up.

May it rain barely dressed bitches for you.

 

These guys doing this stuff have the opportunity to study the environment and terrain/obstacles before they attempt their stunts. For this to be a great benefit, you would have to know the layout pretty well. This stuff could get you injured badly or killed if attempted off the cuff. You also increase the risk by carrying a pack and other gear even if you do know the layout of your route.

Fun workout I'm sure, but an unnecessary risk to take when evading or in a survival situation.

 

It seems to me that knowing your neighborhood in an urban setting inside and out is a valuable thing. While self-defense is an important skill to learn, it's not going to help you against large gangs of thugs. It seems to me that not being seen and/or a quick escape that your followers are unlikely to pursue are valuable commodities in an urban environment. Not to mention climbing fences and walls. There are always fences to climb.

I don't see why, in an Urban Survival forum, so many people assume that one is always going to be out and about with 50 lbs of gear strapped to their backs. We're talking urban survival here. That mostly revolves around hunkering down, keeping a low profile and knowing where to find what you need without attracting attention. Nobody knows a neighborhood the way a parkour traceur does.

If you think parkour is likely to lead to mechanical injuries, wait til the street gangs catch you.

 

You should be able to clear obstacles efficiently, but Parkour is an unnecessary risk even now. If you want to survive, you should not be taking risks like this at all.

 

I suggest learning a martial art that flows good with it. I do it myself because if I can make an escape from a gang that wants something I have, then I'll run out and do it. But I'll fight too if I have to.

 

I have always been intrigued with Parkour. You are brave for giving it a try.

Presenting it here (and the subsequent reaction) just proves how close-minded and ultimately ill-prepared some "preppers" really are.

 

Hey jma, there's tonnes of introductory parkour vids on youtube that cover the minutiae of even just proper jumping and landing, there's also some good *cough* torrents to be found. Very useful and helpful persons out there, hope some of these help. Nothing fancy, just climbs and landings.

For the second one, ignore the fact that it's a kid, his techinque is very good, very safe. Gotta take the skills were we can.
Also, take note, half way through the second vid, this young fellow clearly shows the difference between parkour and free running. Parkour is economy and is not about acrobatics.

 

Think about it this way. Your observing a gang as they are doing something for what ever reason. Your on a roof and they see you. There is a building behind the one your on, it's a five foot gap with a two foot height difference with your building being taller. Having the skill to make that jump could be the difference of getting away safely than having a shoot out in the hallway of the building you were spotted on.

 

Why not just hop off the opposite side of the building and run away on safer ground. Also why are you arbitrarily running into gangs while running on rooftops, better examples to be had.

I think it's a good skill to have, but only in it's rawest form. Understand though that you need to train as you fight, don't expect to be carrying a bunch of survival equipment around while doing that stuff.

 

It's a cute idea but as many have said, for anything more than a fun way of boosting your fitness and helping you to get laid it's too much of a risk. Sure, there are outlandish scenarios where this could help but realistically, you're much more likely to be looking at a 2 mile jog than a choice between back flipping off a 200ft building to escape a stereotypical street gang of dropping in and fighting them single handed like Jackie Chan.

 

This is one discussion what make me wonder what i should write about...
I just write and undo, then write more and undo it... :xeye:

Many people seem to bash parkour and how there is no use for it and how it is dangerous sport.

Lets face the reality: Sometimes you can win, but not always! Sometime you have to escape. Life isn't movie where you shoot your way out and at the end you stand middle of the dead boddies and steam rise from your guns...
Yeah... You have to have skills to escape too and you might have to escape fast. Not always through obstacles, but still fast!
For that, you have to be in good shape!

And if you have to go over some obstacles... Do you want to go over it when you have all the time what you want and there is no necessary need to go over it, or when someone is chasing you or your life might depend for it?
Practise make perfect... Even if you not go through obstacle with hurry, you have to practise. And you have to be in good shape!

And another fact:
You do not always carry your bob in your back. Sometimes S can happen when you do not have it!
Or if you bugging out of your home and you live on the road... You do not want to take your bag with you always! Sometime you hide it somewhere and scout with only light gears with you.

For many, preparing means only buying weapons and all the cool stuff and food...
But i think more important is your fitness, healthy and skills what you have. All stuff you can loose, but you do not loose your skills.
Fitness and healthy btw are most important in your life or you will die too soon in poor condition!

I would also like to talk about war and soldier skills, because bigger possible S what can hit my fan is invasion/war.

And there is connection between parkour and war.
If i remeber correctly David's father was in Vietnam and saw how vietnamese soldiers were good runners and went smoothly through obstacles... And he admire that kind of skills middle of the battlefield.
Another origin of parkour is military obstacle course.

So background is really in war/soldier skills!
These kind of moves are nice skill to have and parkour is one origin where to learn them.
I'm practising soldier skills, also about escaping... Why not?
If there is some skills what can help me to survive, i want to have them! I should ask why the heck you not want to have skills what can help you to survive?

In the name of fairness i have to say... There is alot of moves in parkour what you do not need...There is some mentality behind it what i really like alot, but there is alot of stuff what you do not need.
But atleast it keep you in good shape and it is safe hobby if you know your limits!

 

Lets face the reality: Sometimes you can win, but not always! Sometime you have to escape. Life isn't movie where you shoot your way out and at the end you stand middle of the dead boddies and steam rise from your guns...
Yeah... You have to have skills to escape too and you might have to escape fast. Not always through obstacles, but still fast!
For that, you have to be in good shape!

I'm with you on this. The connection to "survival" seems pretty obvious to me. These guys have evasive maneuvers down and that's 50% of what is known as fight or flight. Survivability is determined by ones ability to adapt to change. These guys appear to be far more than adaptable. Their skills could be applied for evading capture, fleeing a burning building, disastrous floods or attacks by dogs, etc. The best part of all of this is that they are way healthier than many and they are enjoying their journey. What could be better than that? Which reminds me, I need to go running again tonight. :

 

Wow, you're going to be in a Jackie Chan movie as stunt double?!
If I have to learn THAT to survive, I think I'm screwed....

 

The Parkour thing has more survival benefits than sitting around and being a fatass. Physical fitness is always a benefit. But, I will not be Parkour-ing any time soon. Learn how to climb a fence, jump off a car without blowing your knees out and I believe you will be fine.

In my youth I would jump over car hoods while running and trash cans etc but have not found it useful in 2 decades of military and LE experience. Plus my old ass would now blow out a knee jumping off house roofs with any sort of gear on. Mobility is key but blowing a joint out while doing fancy and unnecessary acrobatics is silly. Darwin will clothesline your ass.

 

I'm getting close to 50 and started working out using some extreme fitness techniques as in P90 and Insanity. My personal mix involves both running an core work: A good test: jog 2 miles. Each lap drop and do 20 sit ups, 20 crunches, 20 push ups, 20 lunges each leg, then go again for next quarter lap. Mix in bear crawls or crab walks instead of push ups. At 20 this would have been hard, but the whoel workout is about 30 minutes. Not bad.

Check this out: Its not real, but pretty awesome video:

 

Myself, i'm martial artist and i also hike and walk alot. I'm not so agile and i hate dynamic climbing! When i watch parkouring, they do alot dynamic climbing... Myself, i like much more static climbing because i feel i have much more control what i'm actually doing... And if you climb in urban enviroment, you have to know how strong your obstacle is! I have been reading too much how parkourers knocked some fences down and so on...
Still i envy what these guys do when they practise parkouring! It is fine skill to have!

Yeah i do know how to climb.
and i have been alot in street fights when i was younger...
So i know very well there isn't much possibilities that you can actually climb your way to escape! You either fight or run and you don't need so much other skills.
But still... It is nice to know, how to go over obstacles if you have to...
Even if there isn't benefit during fight or escaping, i can say i have been climbing alot over differend kind of things! And that is very good skill to have!

I'm dumpster diver and here we have laws what said even if some fences are locked, it might be legal to go over it and be inside of fenced area. Yeah it is stupid but laws are laws...
Forexample if you can walk to backyard of the shop, you can go there... And if there is small fenced area, you can go legally there! But if whole backyard area is fenced, you can not go there and so on... If there is fence around someones home yard, you cannot go there, but if someone have been fenced him forest, you right is climb over the fence and hike trough that fenced forest... :

So in some time when i see dumpster what is in fenced area, there isn't any laws what say i cannot go over or under fence. Stupid but very true in area where i'm living...
There even is some quidelines how climbing over fence is one of basic rights what you have, if you can climb without damaging the fence!

My option is this: Even if you need some skill even only one time, it was worth of practising!

And i can see alot of examples why you like to know how to climb!
Atleast if you practise climbing, you know your limits and how to do it in safe way if you have to!

 

I'd say this is an easy way to get really hurt and while it may be a fun sport I'd say avoid this if the shtf.