What is Parkour?
Starting in France back in the 1980s, Parkour is a sport that encourages self-improvement on all levels, revealing one’s physical and mental limits while simultaneously offering ways to overcome them. It is a method of training one’s body and mind in order to be as completely functional, effective and liberated as possible in any environment.
The sport aims to build confidence, determination, self-discipline, self-reliance, and responsibility for one’s actions. It encourages humility, respect for others and for one’s environment, self-expression, community spirit, and the importance of play, discovery and safety at all times.
Parkour made its way over to the UK back in 2003 from the small French town of Lisses, following the popular Channel 4 documentary “Jump London”.
In the last 20 years, parkour has grown and developed with classes, facilities, brands, videos, competitions, and community organised events all becoming an integral part of the sport.
*The above definition is taken from the Parkour UK website*
How Can I Learn Parkour?
You can attend one of our Powerhouse Parkour sessions (View the timetable here) where our qualified Parkour UK coaches can help you learn and develop different movements and techniques seen within parkour.
Where Is Parkour Practiced?
Parkour can be practiced anywhere! When parkour first started in France, it was practiced in the streets of Lisses and Evry, where the founders grew up. It was also trained in the forests of Sarcelles.
Since 2003 (when parkour made its way over to the UK) parkour has been practiced in the urban landscape (towns and cities) as well as at indoor facilities, like gymnastic halls and indoor parkour facilities.
There is no limit to where parkour can be practiced, as long as you’re safe!
Why Attend a Parkour Class?
A lot of the early UK parkour scene developed their skills through trial and error. Back in 2003, websites like YouTube didn’t exist, and parkour videos online were few and far between, so a lot of parkour moves were discovered and created by experimenting with different styles and movement types.
Very quickly, parkour classes were created by individuals within the parkour community to offer a safe way for people to learn parkour, and avoid the mistakes they made in their early years of training.
By attending a parkour class, you learn how to practice parkour safely by developing different techniques and movements from qualified coaches, who have sat coaching qualifications delivered by Parkour UK, the national governing body of the sport.
What Do I Need To Do Parkour?
Unlike other sports, parkour has an incredibly low barrier to entry, as you do not need to invest a lot of money into equipment!
There is no set kit for parkour, however it is recommended that you get yourself a good pair of shoes for training. There are very few parkour specific shoes out there, so over the years people from the parkour community have found some shoes that they feel are perfect for parkour.
We recommend a flat, rubber soled shoe for good grip on our equipment!
What Do I Need To Bring to a Powerhouse Parkour Session?
As mentioned above, a good pair of shoes! We also suggest bringing a bottle of water, as we do a lot of moving around in the sessions! As mentioned above, parkour is a sport with a low barrier to entry, you don’t need to bring much with you!
Is Parkour Dangerous?
No – Parkour involves managed risk, and we teach this within our sessions. Any sporting activity involves some risks, but by training parkour, it allows us to learn and develop the tools and skills to keep ourselves safe.
Will My Child Be Jumping Off Buildings?
No! Parkour has risen in popularity in tandem with the rise of social media, and many people’s perception of the sport is that it is leaping from rooftop to rooftop. This is due to videos going viral online.
In our sessions, your child won’t be jumping off rooftops, and will not be encouraged to do so by our coaches in their own training.
Will You Take Your Sessions Outdoors?
Sometimes our sessions will be taken outdoors, where we will use a combination of our equipment and the environment around us. This adds a new layer to our sessions and training for our students, who will gain a wider understanding of how parkour is practiced outdoors, and allowing them to use everything they have learned to keep themselves safe, whilst also progressing. These sessions will be structured and run in the same way as our indoor sessions.
You will be notified of any class changes in advance.