Parkour is a truly unique sport and a discipline so many people around the globe enjoy tremendously. Some people even turn parkour into a lifestyle and dedicate their lives to mastering the skills, tricks, and moves of parkour. If you’re a parkour enthusiast and enjoy practicing it, you can consider becoming a certified parkour instructor.

To obtain your certification, you’ll need to find a certification program and finish a course. We’ll help you understand what the course is all about and what can you expect. Let’s take a closer look at the process of becoming a certified parkour instructor.

1.     Gain Experience

We all know that experience is the best teacher. Gaining experience in parkour should be your personal condition before you decide to apply for getting certified.

This is because only through experience will you be able to understand:

• how to overcome fears, weaknesses, and obstacles
• how much practice do you need for each trick
• what’s the best way to do a trick
• how to approach a problem

“Your personal experience will help you understand parkour better and become a better teacher for your potential future students. That’s why you should practice and work hard before you become an instructor,” says Josh King, a parkour enthusiast and an editor at Studyker.

Therefore, push yourself forward and try practicing parkour as much as possible. Once you feel you’ve got the confidence, and experience necessary for taking it to the next level, go ahead and look for a certification program.

2.     Join a Course

The next step in becoming a certified parkour instructor is finding a certification program that will provide the course and certification.

If you’re not sure what to expect from a course, we’ll break it down together and help you gain a better understanding of what’s in front of you.

The certification program will most likely be held in a gym that is well-equipped with everything necessary for parkour training and teaching.

For example, the World Freerunning Parkour Federation certification program is a three-day course or a 20-hours course.

Every certification program that you take will teach you:

• how to demonstrate
• how to assist with practicing
• how to teach and explain
• how to break down tricks and moves to a step-by-step process
• how to encourage others
• how to guide your students to success

These are the most important things you’ll have to learn. Those skills will help you become a better parkour practitioner and instructor.

However, that’s not everything you’re going to learn. Let’s dig a bit deeper and see what’s covered in most certification programs.

3.     Lesson Materials

“Taking a parkour trainer certification course is valuable for you as a parkour practitioner, not just as a teacher. This is because the lessons the course covers are helpful, informative, and beneficial for your development as a parkour practitioner,” says Daniel Green, a parkour instructor and a writer at Subjecto.

The lessons will focus on several major areas of learning about parkour:

• parkour history, philosophy, and mindset
• basic parkour techniques
• different types of obstacles such as a wall, floor, vaults, bars, and trampoline
• breaking down a skill to fit the level of the students
• freerunning techniques
• adding your own tricks
• the pedagogical approach
• presenting a lesson to the students

It’s important to remember that the students don’t have to be physically capable of doing every trick. But, the instructor needs to know how to break it down to the students and help them practice the trick until they master it.

As you can see, the course will make sure you’ve got everything under your belt and know how to act, react, and position yourself in any given situation.

4.     The Test

Once the course is over, you’ll take a test to showcase your teaching skills. You’ll be judged based on skills such as:

• safety such as setting up the mats, spotting, and testing the equipment
• explanations
• demonstrations

The test will be a recapitulation of everything you’ve learned during the course and proof you’re ready to become an instructor.

5.     Go Advanced

If you successfully obtain your instructor certification you can take things a step further. You can take an additional course and get certified as an advanced instructor.

That means that you’ll learn how to teach technically advanced tricks and use all your previously gathered knowledge to teach more advanced parkour practitioners.

This will give you additional confidence to keep working on your parkour skills and teaching methods.

6.     Use Your Certification

Now that you’ve taken the course and passed it, you’ll receive your parkour instructor certification. As a certified instructor, you’ll be able to further work on your parkour skills and make deeper connections within the parkour community.

You can:

• get a job at a parkour gym
• advance further to become a certified judge
• teach and spread the love for parkour

Your certification will also help you establish contacts within the world of parkour. You’ll meet all kinds of people, share your skills with them and learn something new every day.

That’s the true essence of being a parkour athlete and a teacher.

Final Thoughts

Personal development and growth are important. Pushing yourself further and working on self-improvement is a part of becoming a better person. This is why you should consider taking your passion for parkour to the next level.

If you’re considering becoming a certified instructor, we suggest you wait no longer. Just go for it and make it your next challenge.

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Kristin Savage is a writer and a blogger who uses the power of the written word to inspire, motivate, inform, and encourage her readers. She’s skilled and passionate about her job, and enjoys covering topics that range from lifestyle to professional growth. She works as a writer at Top Essay Writing and
Classy Essay. She’s also an editor at Write Scout.

In this article we take a look at a few reasons why training Parkour could the perfect option for building all round fitness. We also take a look at the benefits that training in a class or group with friends can have to our wellbeing and mindset.

The most evident reason that Parkour can be a great exercise for building all-round fitness, is that the movements in the discipline helps improve a variety of traditional training fundamentals. For example, the aspect of Parkour of moving from A to B naturally usually involves running over a fair distance. This leads to you collecting a substantial step count per training session. In this way Parkour can be used as a tool to help build your cardio-vascular fitness.

On the other hand, Parkour can also be a great way to improve your strength and build muscle. Aspects of training Parkour such as vaulting over obstacles and pulling your body weight upwards to reach a new destination, inadvertently uses many of the same muscles as doing traditional body weight exercises. For example, it is widely acknowledged in the Parkour community that Calisthenics exercises such as pull ups and push ups can improve your ability in Parkour and vice versa.

Furthermore, training Parkour is also likely to improve your co-ordination and balance. For example, through practicing jumping from one obstacle to the next. Additionally, the positive impact that Parkour can have to your wellbeing is enhanced by the social aspect that comes from practicing the discipline in a group or by attending a class. Surrounding yourself with other people that have similar interests to yourself, all supporting each other to achieve your goals, is a great way to relieve stress and be sociable. Furthermore, by attending a class at one of our indoor Parkour gyms you also benefit from having a qualified trainer help and encourage you to reach your goals. In this way the reduced time in which you can pick up new skills can also be a great boost to your confidence.

Parkour is a fluid discipline that differs substantially depending on how an individual chooses to approach their training. One week you could choose to do more running, whereas another week you could choose to focus on building strength by doing more vaulting. In this way, adapting your Parkour training is a great way to achieve specific fitness goals as well, depending on how you choose to focus your approach. The examples mentioned in this weeks, article are by no means a comprehensive list of all of the ways that Parkour can improve your all-round fitness. But hopefully has provided some useful examples that demonstrate the numerous benefits that training the fluid discipline of Parkour can have to your overall health and wellbeing.

Parkour is becoming more popular among teenagers who try to learn from videos on YouTube. According to Essay Shark, the majority of parents fear that their children’s interest in Parkour may lead to some injuries. However, we believe that the integration of this discipline into a school program is an excellent idea.
What is Parkour? In French, it stands for an “obstacle course”.
First of all, Parkour is a philosophy,
and its central idea is that there are no borders, only obstacles, and any obstacle can be overcome. When
we say obstacles, we mean both physical (fences, parapets, railings, etc.) and mental (fear, depression,
frustration) obstacles.
Some Traceurs work in the rescue service, and their skills help in the profession, for example, to quickly get to the scene of the accident in the mountains, in the forest, buildings.
Why is Parkour useful, and what are the risks?
What are the benefits and dangers of Parkour for children? Let’s start with a wide range of positive
aspects.

● Training helps to get rid of the fear of heights. After a month of training, your child will not have
an unreasonable fear, which often prevents us from feeling free not only in life but also in various sports disciplines.

● Parkour for children is an excellent experience in forming the ability to own their body in severe
environmental conditions, and most importantly, to fall in the right way. This is what often saves from serious injuries.

● Training takes place in an exciting atmosphere, which means that the motivation to engage will
appear by itself. Students involved in Parkour classes are always in an excellent sports shape.

● Elements of parkour help to practice complex acrobatic skills. If sports acrobatics seems boring
for your child, you should definitely try Parkour.

● In addition to the development of physical abilities, Parkour develops the strength of spirit,
character, and courage.

This discipline is most dangerous when you learn it on your own. The disadvantages of Parkour
appear only when students use the wrong techniques. That’s why many people associate Parkour with
injuries. When your child trains with an experienced coach, he will get the necessary support, sports
equipment, and facilities.

Parkour for beginners consists of elements of gymnastics and acrobatics. Successful Traceurs are often
those who have good experience in these two sports.
Gymnastics and Parkour, in comparison with typical fitness, offer a completely new, fascinating, and effective method of sophisticated training, which includes strength and cardio load in combination with performing complex coordination exercises.
In order to prepare muscles for safe Parkour exercises, a workout must be complex, where you can
not only master complicated acrobatic elements but also work on stretching, strengthening muscles,
weight loss, maintaining excellent athletic shape.
The class consists of a warm-up, pumping all muscle groups, training various acrobatic elements, trampoline jumps, including in foam pit, engaging exercises on tools, and stretching.

Teenagers who often have too much stress, pressure, and problems with excepting themselves have
an excellent opportunity to relax during the classes. The complex coordination exercises have a positive
effect on the nervous system, helping to switch the mind off from the current problems and fully
concentrate on managing your body.
Moreover, Parkour is also a philosophy of freedom. It helps to develop a moral sense of success. It
is not a victory over any opponent, but a victory over yourself, which is extremely rewarding. Parkour
develops such qualities as determination, faith in your strength, confidence, willpower, patience, fortitude,
humility, positive mindset and teaches to bear the pain. Moreover, people who practice Parkour learn to
work with the weight of their own body, thus learning to control each muscle group. In order to exercise
it, you need to develop continually. To begin with, learn to fight your own fears, weaknesses, to know
yourself, and learn to live in harmony with body and spirit.
Teenagers need to study and develop in a friendly environment. The non-competitive Parkour is a
perfect option for those who suffer from much peer-pressure. We are not talking about replacing
traditional sports training with this discipline. However, the integration of some primary principles and
workout elements can definitely benefit the school curriculum and children’s development.

As expected, ALL age groups fully exceeded expectations across the FreeStyle and Speed Events in the Regional Qualifiers. All age groups are stacked and it is impossible to say who is going to be at the top in the USA Parkour Championship.

Fernando Arce and Joey Adrian on hand to host, Tampa, FL is about to play host to the TOP Parkour FreeRunning athletes in the United States.

This year’s Parkour Championship event will once again feature the Parkour Alive After 5 and Best Skills fan favourite rounds.
We are expecting to see some insane high level tricks as the competitors battle it out to reach the final rounds.

The course provided by Integrated Obstacles will feature a number of changes throughout the weekend as the events progress catering for bigger leaps, larger drops and higher level skill requirements.

The 2020 USA Parkour Cup is sanctioned by the rules from the International Parkour Federation and sponsored by Pure Kick Energy.
Combining the United States’ best competitive Parkour athletes with an evolving course is going to provide an explosive event.

Needless to say, 2020 Parkour calendar is starting out with a bang.

Schedule and details can be found here: https://wfpf.com/usa-parkour-cup-2020/

It can be easy for someone who is new to understanding the Free Running and Parkour Movement to overlook the practice to be just vaulting over obstacles or doing flips. However, over time it becomes evident to anyone who has trained Parkour that dedicating oneself to progressing in the discipline brings skills and benefits far beyond just this. Indeed, training Parkour and Free Running provides an amazing foundation of skills that can help you achieve good wellbeing regardless of your age and current ability. For example, skills such as coordination, balance, self-respect and confidence all come as a by-product of training Parkour in a safe environment and guided by an experienced coach.

However often finding safe places to train can be difficult to find, particularly in colder climates across the world in the winter months. Safe places to train and safe education on the best practices is essential to anyone looking to progress in Parkour and especially to beginners who are starting out. Therefore, communities and federations such as the WFPF academy become critical to the safe growth and expansion of the Parkour/Free Running movement as they provide worldwide infrastructure for a sport that continues to grow.

Since the formation of WFPF in 2007:

“WFPF is dedicated to the safe and responsible advancement of the parkour/freerunning discipline throughout the world, providing leadership, products and services that keep barriers to entry low and grass roots enthusiasm high. Together with our athlete partners, we strive to faithfully bring this philosophy of movement to the growing numbers of young people who believe that through camaraderie, self-expression and service to others, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome.”

To help achieve this the WFPF Certification Program was carefully developed to encourage the creative, grass roots nature of parkour, while also establishing safe practices and a common vocabulary of movement for progressive instruction to students of all ages. As of 2019, WFPF has certified approximately 900 instructors around the Globe. The WFPF Certification Program, the only parkour certification developed in partnership with a major insurance underwriter, is the gold standard for the safe and practical instruction of parkour.

Furthermore, the WFPF also offers the opportunity for gyms to become a ‘A WFPF Parkour Academy Gym’. Providing, these gyms with:

• 8-Level Parkour curriculum, including our trademarked Parkidz and Ninjas
• Children’s Program, for students age 4 and up
• NO UPPER AGE RESTRICTIONS!
• Monthly curriculum and marketing updates for all programs
• Exclusive eligibility to host WFPF Sanctioned competitions
• Ongoing equipment consultation to fit your growing program
• Right to use WFPF and Parkidz and Ninjas branding in all promotional and business materials
• Regular Exposure on WFPF and USA Parkour social media platforms

Furthermore, WFPF Academy Gyms also Receive Discounts on:

• WFPF Instructor Certifications

• Preferred prices on WFPF and KO Parkour Shoes and Apparel

To find more extensive information on these services and relevant contact details please use the links below:

1) Where is my closest ‘WFPF Parkour Academy Gym’?:
https://gym.wfpfparkouracademy.com/locations/

2) More information on becoming an Academy Gym:
https://wfpfparkouracademy.com/become-an-academy-gym/

3) More information on WFPF Certification Program:
https://wfpf.com/parkour-certifications/

In this article we look at some of the most creative and unique cross-referencing of Parkour and Free Running with other movement related disciplines.

• Freestyle Football and Free Running/Parkour –

In this video pro Free Runner Mike Wilson combines soccer/football tricks with beautiful acrobatic flips and calisthenic bar work, showcasing an incredible display of movement and creativity. A video like this would do well for a World Cup Advert campaign we reckon…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUYTfndyYeo

• Skateboarding and Parkour

San Francisco provides a beautiful setting for this incredible expression of movement incorporating two of the most popular urban sports in the modern day. The creativity of filming in this piece is a masterpiece, 2.2 million views for a reason…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIkWDLHOD9w

• Capoeira and Free Running

Throwing it back to 2011 with this one… Fabio Santos combines the worlds of Capoeira and Free Running together showcasing a spectacle of unique movement and even throws in a bit of diving in this epic showreel too…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgcVQmtyEqw

If you have your own favourite examples of mixing Parkour/ Free Running with other disciplines that we haven’t covered here, then feel free to add them to the comments below to share with this community we’re building…

Since then numerous shows with a similar format have sprung up across the world. These shows have featured many notable Parkour athletes testing their skills across the various Ninja Warrior obstacle courses around the globe. The presence of notable Parkour athletes on such TV shows has gained favourable attention and recognition towards the sport.

An example of this is one of the founding members of the WFPF movement Tim Sheiff, who was the ‘Last Man Standing’ in the UK version of the TV Show in 2015:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoQoJ9zBabI

It has also helped encourage a generation to try and overcome obstacles in a way that incorporate a lot of Parkour fundamental movements. Furthermore, the setting for Ninja Warrior includes many obstacles that would not naturally exist in the urban environment and would more typically be seen in an indoor training environment such as gymnastic or parkour movement training gyms. This in part explains the spark that has ignited the desire for a greater demand in Parkour classes in an indoor environment in recent years.

The success of movement gyms in Los Angeles such as ‘Joining All Movement – JAM’ and Tempest typifies this. Furthermore, with athletes attending such gyms with large social media followings, posting a lot of content from these indoor training environments this also helps make people aware of the existence of environments in which training Parkour indoors has become possible.

The forerunner of Parkour was a French Naval officer Georges Herbert, who before the First World War advocated for athletic skill based on the model of Tribes he met in Africa. He set up a “natural method” session when he was a Physical education tutor that consists of ten fundamental groups: walking, lifting, self-defense, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, throwing, and swimming.

These sessions were intended to develop “the three primary forces” of Parkour.

These forces are:

• Energetic (willpower, courage, coolness, and firmness).
• Moral (benevolence, assistance, honor, and honesty).
• Physical (muscle and breath).

If you are interested in learning Parkour, you will have to understand the benefits of these three forces.

The man credited with creating modern-day Parkour: David Belle learned of the sport from his father before, training with friends in the area including the Yamakasi, who embodied these three fundamental forces during their training sessions.

A practitioner of Parkour is called a Traceur (Feminine: Traceuse). Traceurs spend a lot of time training to do death-defying stunts, with their guiding principle being freedom. Watching a Traceur in action can sometimes be intimidating, but anyone can become a free runner once they are ready to put in the time and effort required.

You can start learning Parkour on your own or with a group of friends; you will, however, see more significant improvements in training with others. The first step to take in learning free running is to teach yourself. To do that you will have to:

• Work On Your Physical Shape: Jumping from one rooftop to another, or climbing the top of a wall requires that you are physically fit. You need physical endurance to get started with learning Parkour. It could be advises that you should be able to comfortably perform multiple reps of push-ups, pull-ups, and squats before getting started with Parkour.
• Perfect Your Landing From Vertical Jumps: There is a lot of jumping in Parkour; learning how best to land will ensure you do not get injured. Once you can imbibe the energetic force of coolness, you will not see the distance you are leaping as an obstacle. Learning how to land correctly involves alertness and keeping your feet and shoulders in shape, so the landing does not harm your joints.
• Regularly Practice Vaulting, Climbing, and Jumping Manoeuvres: Free movements like jumping, vaulting, and climbing are actions that will help you manoeuvres obstacles common to urban landscapes. By practicing these movements regularly, you will know the manoeuvres you prefer as well as creating your style of practicing them. Ensure you practice between two and three times a week to perfect your necessary skills before moving on to harder manoeuvres.
• Know What Works Best For You: When you continuously train yourself on the basic Parkour manoeuvres, you will be able to create new movement by experimenting and finding new environments to master. You are the one who understands your body best, so making decisions on the training regimen to follow should be your own choice. You do not necessarily have to follow the regular movements employed by others.

If you have perfected these fundamental steps, and wish to go further in developing your Parkour skills, you should hire the services a Parkour coach. If you find a Parkour coach, who does not speak the same language as you do, translating services like Google Translate, and The Word Point will help aid communication.

Finding the right Parkour Trainer can be difficult; there are a lot of factors you need to consider when choosing the right instructor such as your location, the Traceur teaching style, years of experience, and so on. Below, we have outlined three things you should look out for when searching for a perfect Parkour trainer:

• LOOK FOR A TRAINER WHO CAN UNDERSTAND AND HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR WEAK POINTS. Once you get used to the first rudimentary steps (getting in shape, regularly practicing, learning how to land after jumps, and knowing what is best for you), there may still be some weak points in your technique that need improvement. An experienced Traceur will easily spot weak points in your technique and offer you other training methods that will improve any deficiency in your free running technique.
• LOOK FOR A TRAINER WHO HAS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN FREE RUNNING. Free running has become very popular, especially in Europe, which has resulted in more Free Runners groups being formed. Most Parkour athletes are usually in a group, so you should be looking at joining a group rather than just hiring a personal trainer. Joining a group will ensure that the individual masters the three primary forces of Parkour.
• WFPF PARKOUR ACADEMIES.
  As Parkour and Freerunning has become more rounded as a Sport and Discipline, WFPF as well as other prominent organizations in the community have sought to further reduce barriers to entry by creating Academies across the globe that have safe consistent standards and coaching availability. These can be found on the WFPF Parkour Academy Page.
• LOOK FOR A TRAINER WHO IS NOT ARROGANT AND IS WILLING TO TAKE TIME TO GET YOUR MOVES PERFECTED.
  If you join a group that understands the basic tenets of Parkour, you will not have to worry about them being arrogant. Most groups emphasize on each Traceur progressing and developing independently – “to create the means to be yourself.” Every Traceur is ideally required to encourage others and show confidence through their behavior.

Conclusion

Parkour is an exciting physical activity that involves the consistent practice of basic manoeuvres like jumping, vaulting, and climbing to attain perfection. It is essential to understand your body and what works best for you when learning the rudimentary of the sport. However, hiring the services of a trainer or practicing at an Academy will improve your weaknesses in technique and help to perfect your moves. 

About the Author:

Frank Hamilton is a blogger and translator from Manchester. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education.
He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

The definitions of Parkour and Free Running have been debated amongst the community since the earliest beginnings of the movement. Naturally this has also led to debates surrounding the way in which “Parkour competitions” should be judged, as the sport’s popularity continues to increase.

However, we could argue that this debate brings huge benefits for the sport, as this fluid definition of Parkour and Free Running presents a great opportunity for its interest to be maintained in the public eye.
Indeed, the flexibility of the definition means that athletes approach the Sport from different angles and often mix their movements with different disciplines such as Break Dancing, Tricking, Capoeira etc…
This has resulted in “Parkour competitions” of various types appearing across the world.

For example, Speed Competitions where competitors have to move from point A to point B in the fastest time possible, overcoming obstacles along the way.

Didi Alaoui at RedBull Art Of Motion

In contrast, other competitions focus more on the ‘freestyle’ aspect of Free Running; judging the difficulty of individual moves put together in a sequence performed within a certain area. – The recent RedBull Art Of Motion is a good example of this.

This variety encourages an abundance of creativity towards Parkour and its competitions, sparking new interest from people who may not have been initially drawn to the sport. This is reflected through the popularity of a new Show recently, where Parkour is mixed with the traditional childhood past time of ‘tag’.
World Chase Tag.
It’ll be interesting as the popularity of Parkour and Free Running continues to grow, how new ways to judge the competition emerge too.

Steadily however, awareness to the movement of Parkour continues to grow, which means that this is no longer the case. The popularity of Parkour is on the rise and is instantly recognisable to audiences across the world. 
As a result, now is a great opportunity to open a Parkour gym either from scratch or in addition to your existing facilities.

This is as a result of several factors. The role that film and television campaigns in the 2000’s has played in bringing awareness to the sport is a crucial one. Parkour chase scenes in films such as Casino Royale brought attention to the Parkour and Ninja movement while film and television advert campaigns are now abundant with examples of scenes including Parkour. 

Since then as social media has become the most popular way in which to consume information, Parkour athletes have created celebrity-like statuses for themselves gaining the attention on hundreds of thousands of people across the world.
Furthermore, the popularity of TV shows like Ninja Warrior has left many kids/parents looking for ‘Ninja Classes’ or ‘Ninja Gymnastics’.
Our programmes of Parkidz and Ninjas feature a Ninja Program that develops Parkour foundational movement. 

Accordingly, this means that a safe environment for Parkour and Ninja training, has been steadily growing for parents who have kids who want to learn and train Parkour. Plus, for adults looking to train Parkour and Ninja on a consistent basis. Adding a section to practice Parkour to your gym can be a great way to attract the growing proportion of people out there who want to give these exciting movements a go. Not to mention, it can be an option as part of your facility that can help differentiate your gym from others in the local area to really attract new demographics.