American Parkour

American Parkour is a company that teaches an out-of-the-box system for getting through an urban landscape creatively and efficiently. Imagine running from the cops like a monkey who has just escaped from the zoo. So long, suckers!

Parkour, originally from France, trains people to climb over balconies and to jump walls and park benches with perfect precision and efficiency. Parkour is focused on getting from point A to point B in the most efficient manner possible.  Parkour practitioners, or "traceurs", often use vaulting, jumping, climbing and running to reach their destinations. The side effects of Parkour training include an increased confidence to creatively tackle challenges and obstacles of any kind.

There is no set of particular moves in Parkour. There are thousands of different ways to interact with obstacles in your environment, and each individual has a personal way of relating to these things. American Parkour students learn techniques to enhance spacial awareness, suppleness and the ability to be completely open minded with the roles of various objects in the environment. American Parkour students also learn methods of weight distribution, landing after jumping from high places, rolling, jumping, climbing and balancing. With practice, traceurs use all these skills to get past urban obstacles without a break in momentum. 

American Parkour has a website which boasted 43,000 members in late 2008. The website has a forum, instruction videos, tutorials, a "workout of the day" and even an online store with related clothing and training supplies. There is also a limited number of American Parkour training centers in affiliate gyms across the United States.

Do all you city slickers really want to be confined by the conventional reality of sidewalks, crosswalks and those pesky buildings that slow down your commute? Cities are designed to keep your life moving through constrained chennels. It may be time to start thinking and acting more like a monkey. Stop wasting expensive gas and get to work quicker. For details about American Parkour training, visit www.AmericanParkour.com.