Footwear for Parkour

Whilst the experienced Traceur may say it is down to the Traceur and not the trainers, I beleive the type of trainers play an important tool for a Traceur to move confidently, queitly and with sensitivity through his/her environment. It is important to be confident in the shoe you use.

Grip Confidence - Quietness - Sensitivity
I like to know there is little chance I will not slip/slide when I land on a rail or wall, which will free up any doubt in my mind. So a trainer with great grip is very high in my list.

I like to move and land as quietly as I can, and while landing properly is down to good technique. A good Traceur landing wearing DC's and a good Traceur wearing Nike Free's the sound of the landing will be much more quiet wearing Nike Free's.

When moving around in my environment, I like to feel what is beneath my feet through my shoes. I like to feel the friction of the surface as well as any curvature and edge of any given surface. This increased feeling heightens my overall sensitivity and impoves the feedback i need to move and feel my path.

At the beginning...
I remember the first time I done Pakrour with my DC Skate shoes, and thought they were good because they had a big flat chunky sole. Now looking back they were like running about with big rubber bricks on my feet.

After a month in the DC's, I went out and bought my first decent pair of trainers that were more suited to Parkour. They were Nike Air Pegasus 2005. They where light weight and had a superior grip, which improved my Parkour considerably.

As any Traceur who trains constantly will tell you, your trainers do not last long in Parkour. And since my early days in Parkour I have went through 5 pairs of trainers. And now I am onto the new Ariake trainer from KSWISS.

Below are the trainers I have used and what I thought the Pro's and Con's.

DC's
Pro's: Good for rail balancing due to flat sole

Con's: Heavy, lack of sensitivity & poor grip.


Nike Air Pegasus 2005
Pro's: Light weight, superior grip & good ventilation.

Con's: Plastic parts on sole can make rail work slippy and dangerous.


Nike Dart IV's
Pro's: Light weight, last long, good ventilation & price

Con's: The grip when new is waxy and takes a while to become good at traction.


Nike Dart III's

Pro's: Light weight, last long, good ventilation & price

Con's: The grip when new is waxy and takes a while to become good at traction & the stitching comes loose too quickly.

KSWISS Ariake
So now I am on to the Ariake from KSWISS, which is a trainer that is purposely built for Parkour/Free running and is endorsed by Sebastien Foucan.

My first impression of these trainers is, they are one of the best looking trainers with nice attention to detail. The sole from the middle to the front is smooth and reminds me of a tyre tread in a F1 racing car. I know for sure that these will be grippy despite being smooth, as the type of rubber on this sole has a sticky/gripping property to it.

KSwiss Ariake
Pro's: Stylish Looks (Although not important), Excellent Grip!!

Con's: Too rigid (will not wrap around rails), lack of sensitivty (for feeling edges and curves), the ventilation could be better & Expensive.

After testing these trainers for just less than 2 months this is what I thought. I really loved the grip on these trainers; they allowed me to forget any doubt of sliding and gave me confidence in trying bigger and more challenging things. However they are rigid in their construction, which made my landings recognisably louder and heavier. Also the lack of flexibility has not allowed me to wrap my feet on rails during precisions; which in turn has sacrificed the sensitivity from the shoe. I found my feet sweating a lot from the poor ventilation as well, although the white KSwiss Ariake have perforated holes in the side and so may have better ventilation.

***Update 10th January***
I originally found the K-Swiss trainers to be dangerous in the wet, however I have adapted by specifically training in the rain. And I have found by sharpening up my technique in the wet they are not as dangerous in the wet as I once thought. This is just my personal opinion and down to the way i train. So please be careful if you train in the wet.

***Update 8th February***

Nike Free 5.0 v2

I recently purchased my Nike Free's last week and love them!!!

I will give a proper write up of these trainers in a couple of months time.

Pro's: Amazing feedback on the sensitivity, Very Flexible, Ultra lightweight.

Con's: Not for the inexperienced Traceur who has not mastered their landings. Also... Due to the design flaw unsupporting of the foot, should the foot roll over sideways there is a very high chance of spraining or breaking your ankle. And this can be at ground level on uneven ground. And has happened to 3 of our experienced Traceurs at ground level.

Zeno

Fluidity and the creation of complex movements

Very often... I see lots of Parkour and online videos of Parkour, where Traceurs execute just lots of single moves.

It is very important to get into linking your moves and how you move between linking. Below is a clip of Traceurs Chris Grant and myself, showing with just a simple rail, small wall and bench. How you can be creative, by drilling your single moves, then linking them up to create a fluid and complex move.

The purpose of this clip is to help open your training spot and make you think of linking your single moves into one complex movement, that can be executed efficiently being fast and fluid.

Train Well

Zeno

If you are fairly new to Parkour please read.

When beginners start out in Parkour, a lot of them go for the big drops and jumps or want to make a video instantly. This mentality is the wrong way to approach Parkour.

Instead… Put down the camera and train on your vaults, jumps, rolls, climbs and balance at ground level. Perfect your technique first, get the body accustomed to Parkour. Develop your fitness, sense of vision, movement and sensitivity. Let your mind and body develop at the same time.

As a quote from a globally respected Traceur Blane "What will be the long-term effects of dropping 15ft to concrete when the legs haven't experienced 10,000, 5ft drops?" An article "Dilution" written by Blane of Team Traceur, in which he explains perfectly the “too much too soon” actions that plague our Traceurs in the discipline that is Parkour.

When starting off, try and always land on the balls of your feet, and avoid the heels of your feet from slapping on the ground, bend your knees no more than 90 degrees when you land, which will allow the muscles to take the impact and not the joints. Do your best to be as quiet as you can when landing. The more silent you are the better your technique will be.

Being a Traceur is about being on the path of self improvement, where your journey should ascend in the mastery of moves and development of a strong body and mind.

If your want to be strong and skilful in Parkour, you will have to discipline yourself. That means you will have to develop the technical knowledge through drilling your moves. As well as develop and adapt your body’s strength by conditioning it with functional body weight exercises coupled with sensible rest/recovery periods and quality nutrition. Only when the mind and body are strong will your Parkour vision and execution be greater, and your path to improvement will be so fulfilling.

A Traceur should effortlessly move through the obstacles in their environment efficiently and with great fluidity. Parkour is not about the check list of single moves, but the moves in between one obstacle and another, as well as the obstacle itself.

Say to you in your mind, “how can I get from here to there, in the most efficient way”.

Zeno

Calcium

It is important to have strong healthy bones when doing Parkour... Calcium is essential for maintaining healthy bones. The recommended calcium intake per day for an adult 19-50 years old is 1000mg, and a kid aged 12-18 years old is 1300mg.

(Dairy)
Low fat milk - 300 mg (1 cup 250ml or 8oz glass)
Tub of low fat yoghurt- 420 mg (1 tub 200g)
Cheddar Cheese - 310mg (40g cube)


(Non Dairy)
Calcium fortified Soya milk - 300 mg (8oz glass)
Calcium fortified Orange Juice - 300 mg (8oz glass)
Broccoli - 75mg (1 cup serving)
Orange - 60mg (1 Orange)
Spanish Clementines - 22mg (1 Clementine)
Almonds - 90mg (Quarter cup) 0r 50mg (15 almonds)
Cooked Spinach - 170mg (1 cup)

* 1oz = 28.4 grams

Sources of information from:
http://www.bonehealthforlife.org.au/content/view/18/480/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIF_Qnykaoc

Water

When I was Parkour training in London a couple of weeks ago, my performance suffered due to not drinking enough water. I usually drink bottles of water when I train, but I forgot to take into consideration it was a hot summer’s day. Therefore I did not consume enough water to replenish and I became dehydrated. By the evening, I was feeling light-headed and found it hard to focus on even the basic of moves, not to mention cramping of my calf muscles. So it was a mistake to learn from.

The Institute of Medicine advises that:
Men consume roughly 3.0 litres (13 cups) of total beverages a day.
Women consume 2.2 litres (9 cups) of total beverages a day.

Causes of dehydration are:
* Overall lack of fluid intake
* Lack of fluid before, during and after intensive training
* Through Persperation (especially on hot summer day)
* Through increased urination because of high Caffine intake
* Through increased urination because of high Protein intake

Signs and symptoms of dehydration include:
* Mild to excessive thirst
* Fatigue
* Little or no urination
* Muscle weakness
* Headache
* Dry mouth
* Dizziness / light-headedness

POSITIVE ATTITUDE

BE POSITIVE!!!
I feel in life as well as Parkour it is very important to be positive. The more positive you are, the more positive things will happen for you.

STAYING POSITIVE
To stay positive it is very important to surround yourself with inspiring and positive sources such as:
* Positive and inspiring people
* Creative and informative books
* Quality music (Stimulate your mind)
* Exercise and stretching (release stress)
* Good posture
* Good attitude
* Be passionate in what you love
* Decent sleep around 8hrs
* Good nutrition
* Travel (broaden your horizons)
* Share good knowledge

It is important help others, but do not let them wear you down.

AVOID OR OVERCOME NEGATIVE INFLUENCES
Keep negative things to the side, in small doses or even out of your life! Such as:
* Television... Get it the fuck out of your life!
* Tabloid newspapers... 8/10 times want to report misery and sensationalised stories.
* Junk Food and processed meals...
* Sad or depressing music, will affect you mood and creativity.
* Drug taking and excessive Alcohol.

DO IT TODAY!
You have a short life and an even shorter time being young and healthy, so make the most of it!

Do you have ideas in life where you want to be, what you want to do... Well do it!!!

Write down your goals, and plan/work to achieve them. Be Strong and Positive... And you will be in good shape to deal with negative issues when they come your way, within reason...

FAILING IS POSITIVE
If you fail.... Good!!! Learn and grow from failure, within reason!

MY PARKOUR SAMPLER 2007

Locations: Glasgow, Edinburgh, London and Lisses


Zeno [Glasgow Parkour] Sampler 2007

There is no music for copyright reasons.


The rest of my Parkour videos can be seen at:
http://www.youtube.com/TraceurZeno

If you are interested in the Parkour scene in Glasgow please visit:
http://www.glasgowparkour.co.uk/

Refinement of Goal Targets (Short, Medium & Long Term)

Short Term Goals (for September 30th 2007):

* Split foot kong over walls

* Split foot kong over rails.

* Muscle up without kipping

* Improve/tidy my technique in wall climbs.

* Improve my precision technique

Medium Term Goals (for December 31st 2007):

* 30 pull ups or 30 chin ups in a row.

* Full planche pushups

* Kong to rail Precision.

Long Term Goals (for Feb 1st 2008):

* One Arm Chin-up (OAC)

* Precision the 9.25 foot-steps at bottom of stairs at the Wellington Church

* The 9.25 foot-steps level cat at the Wellington church.

On Going Goals

* Improve fitness, strength, balance, flexibility & fluidity.

* Improve my handstand balancing.

* Explore and adapt to more locations and environments.

* Improve my nutrition

Acheivements and Targets

Recently accomplished goals:
* Parkour at London & Lisses & Edinburgh
* 12 Muscle ups in a row.
* Kong to lower precision.
* Kong to level precision.
* The 10 Foot-steps Level Cat at Rottenrow.
* Improved balance (with hands clasp behind back).
* Diagonal bollard Precision at Adam Smith.
* Rail precision.

Targets (for September 30th):
* 15 muscle ups in a row.
* Muscle up without kipping
* Improve/tidy my technique in wall climbs.
* Improve my precision technique
* Split foot kong to precision.
* 30 pull ups or 30 chin ups in a row.
* 1 Handed Chin up
* The Level Kong at the Uni library.
* Precision the 9.25 foot-steps at bottome of stair at the Wellington Church
* The 9.25 foot-steps level cat at the Wellington church.
* Improve fitness, strength, balance & fluidity.
* Kong to rail Precision.
* Improve my handstand balancing.
* Explore and adapt to more locations and environments.
* Improve my nutrition

BODY CONDITIONING FOR PARKOUR

Below are ideas that communicate different functional body weight exercises, which will benefit you as a Traceur in your discipline that is Parkour. You do the reps, sets and exercises that suit you.

Be creative and add your own.Bear this in mind... Your body tries to be lazy and will want to adapt to what ever exercise/movement as soon as possible, so it can use as little energy as possible... Do NOT let this happen! Keep your routines creative and richly varied!! Only then will you develop better Strength, Power, Endurance and Control.

Try your best to do your conditioning outside, regardless off season, weather, day or night... Be disciplined! Condition the mind as well as the body and spirit.

UPPERBODY CONDITIONING



LOWERBODY CONDITIONING


UPPERBODY AND CORE CONDITIONING

On the 7th June 2006 my journey begins...

My Parkour training starts...