Parkour?

I still remember the moment I first heard of Parkour.

If my memory serves me well, it was early December in 2005. I was cycling towards Wigston town centre with Joe. We were riding along a narrow path and Joe was attempting to explain Parkour to me. At that time I had no idea what Parkour was, and believe me, Joe’s explanation was brief. Conversations often are when your cycling next to a main road! But it sounded like fun, for sure!

In January 2006, whilst in year 9 at high school, I had my first try at Parkour in my school playground at lunch time. It started off with me, Joe and a couple of our friends and we spent lunch time after lunchtime going over simple vaults in the playground. Even after learning one vault, I wanted to learn more. Although I wasn’t serious about it yet, I felt like a kid again, I just wanted to learn more about it. We progressed further as did my eagerness.

It was early February of 2006 when I first met other practitioners in Leicester. It was early on a Sunday afternoon; we meet up at the War Memorial outside Queen Elizabeth’s college. That day there was great weather and a great atmosphere! A few months back, I'd never heard of Parkour and now I'm here - seeing some incredible stuff from guys like Blane. It really boosted my confidence; it was proof that if you train properly, you will get you to where you want to be.

My confused views of Parkour were becoming clearer: I felt freedom.

Summer came and high school was over, I moved on to a different college to Joe. Throughout the majority of the first year at Beauchamp, I didn’t really have much contact with my old friends, such as Joe. I still trained Parkour, but just by myself. A few people noticed me training and were interested and I taught them what I knew.

During 2007, my training really began to become a huge part of my life; the passion grew and I began to take it far more serious than I did in the past. I decided that if I wanted to continue training Parkour and achieve a good level, I must develop a strong and healthy body. I turned from the casual practitioner into an athlete, building my strength and fitness as well as changing my diet. Even my mind changed too - I matured very quickly because of Parkour.

Around late 2007, whilst training at Leicester University, I bumped into Joe who was training with a few other guys. It was like a reunion, and since then, we’ve been training together a hell of a lot. Our friendship blossomed once again and we quickly became close friends. Joe trained a lot with the other regular Leicester guys (such as Blane, Callum, Alex, Tim and Dan) and they soon became my close friends too.

Since then, times have changed dramatically. Out of the original group, Blane moved to London to teach Parkour full time with Parkour Generations, Alex has moved away for University and a few others have stopped training, leaving myself, Joe, Dan and Tim. In recent years, we’ve also had some new arrivals, like Andeh and Jak - two very experienced practitioners who moved to Leicester for University.

Parkour has changed dramatically too - both globally and in Leicestershire. From an underground discipline that the majority had never heard of or witnessed, to one of the fastest rising sports in the world, often featured in films and on TV. Whilst most people have heard of the words “Parkour” or “free-running” very few understand what it means or know how to go about learning it. Even fewer understand how to teach it safety.

It is this rapid rise to fame that gave birth to the LPA. The organisation made up of the most experienced and skilled practitioners in Leicestershire. LPA aim to teach Parkour correctly, to represent the discipline responsibly and to maintain and grow the great community we have here in Leicester.

On a side note, through my 4+ years of training, I've found that your biggest challenge and greatest friend is your mind. Whether it is taking control of your fear and trusting in your skills, or just finding time to train whilst still making time for family, friends, college, work and Parkour... it’s all in the mind. It’s possible to train despite a busy life style, even if it is just for one day a week. If you’re passionate enough about it, you’ll find the time. It’s this commitment to do so, to better yourself, which means you’re already very much in the discipline.

So far my experiences in Parkour have been amazing; I've changed greatly for the better, I've progressed and I’ve met some amazing people. Here’s to many more good times in the future!

P.s. Our forum is currently proving to be a great place for the community to converge outside of training and talk - sign up and join in the fun!

“Experience is a great teacher.” - John Legend

-Sam