Tutorial Library
We live in the age of information. All knowledge is available at our fingertips and it’s possible to learn any skill by yourself by following tutorials and guides. The problem is, there’s so much out there that it’s hard to sort through all of them and find what’s useful and what’s not. Below is my attempt to curate a library of tutorials that break down the movements to be accessible for any experience level.
Typically parkour tutorials teach a specific technique. However I argue that parkour is not a collection of techniques, rather it is learning to overcome obstacles in the environment. As such, the techniques we learn can be seen as solutions to overcome those obstacles. So, I’ve categorized the skills in the tutorials by the obstacle they overcome. For example a vault technique can be found in the “Vaulting a Small or Medium Sized Obstacle” category. You may find the same technique in more than one category, as it may be used to overcome more than one obstacle.
*This is a work in progress, I will update it over time. Also, this is not meant to be a complete list of every technique or skill in parkour. But if you think something important is missing, feel free to contact me to let me know.
Vaulting a small/medium obstacle
There are so many vaults out there, but here are what I would consider the fundamental vaults:
Kash - I can’t find a tutorial I’m happy with yet.
Crossing Gaps
Jumping is an extensive topic all on its own. I’ve divided videos into technique tip videos and drills.
Techniques:
Landing Continuum - This is an awesome way to think about several different types of landings when jumping to a wall.
Drills:
Falling and bailing safely (ukemi/randori)
Whether you’re practicing basic movements, or challenging jumps at height, being safe means being prepared. Below are just a few fundamental falling and bailing techniques.
Shoulder Roll - You won’t find gymnastics style rolls in parkour. Instead it closely resembles and originates from martial arts rolling styles. Also see part two of this video.
Bounce-Backs, Crane, Overshoot, Back fall, Side fall, and Tips - This is an extensive overview of some concepts of how to “fail” a jump or movement safely. Essential viewing!
Swing Peel-Out - Peeling out on bars can be one of the most devastating bails in parkour. The tips and drills outlined here are a MUST if you plan to do some swinging.
How To Overcome Fear of Running Precisions - Different terms, but same concepts as above.
Landing Continuum - Same concepts, different way to think about it.
Parkour Ukemi - Longer video talking about ukemi applied to parkour. Highly recommended viewing.
Climbing a Tall wall
Some walls can be jumped over directly. Others require a different sort of technique to get on or over.
Wall run - to gain height on a wall or (mostly) vertical surface.
Introducing the Climb-Up - Climb ups are challenging in terms of strength, mobility, and technique. Start off by practicing it in situations that don’t need as much strength.
Climb Up Deep Dive (In Two Parts) - A bit more in depth approach.
Top Out (Finishing a Climb Up) - The first progression he talks about is what is often called a top out. The other progressions are only useful if you already have a good amount of strength and mobility. I recommend doing progressions 2 and 3 in reverse; get down from on top of the wall instead of getting up.
balancing on thin obstacles
Balance is a fundamental skill that applies to everything in parkour. It also is a frequently used technique.
Introducing Balance - Some drills and practice to improve balance. Same concepts can be applied to walking on a rail.
Quadrupedal Movement: Forward Crawl - Balancing on all fours is just as important as balancing on two feet.
Perpendicular Rail Balance - balancing standing on a rail
Quadrupedal Movement On a Rail - Taking quadrupedal movement to the next level
Fitting Through gaps
Depending on the specific situation, various techniques can be used to fit between obstacles.
Underbar Progressions - I haven’t found a tutorial that breaks down the underbar and its pieces, but here are some progressions you can follow.
Underbar Drill - Ryan demonstrates how to practice safely using tape, but other options include loosely tied string/rope, shoe laces, sweaters, etc.
Quadrupedal Movement To Get Under/Through - This movement can be used to get under or through small spaces.
Duck Under - A movement that doesn’t necessarily use the hands.
Dive Rolls - I’ve watched a bunch of dive roll ‘tutorials’ that I’m not satisfied with. I recommend finding a soft surface (mats ideally, but use what you got such as grass) and practice rolling over an obstacle, similar to the underbar drill above.
Flow
Flow is a word that has multiple meanings, but in this case I primarily mean combining movements seamlessly and fluidly. Here are some games to get you started:
10 Second Drill - A nice way to start getting into flowing without planning.
Add-on - This game can be played in a number of ways. In the video they repeat the each section until they’ve got it just right. Another way is to only do each move once before adding another. There are two people in this video, but it can be played with any number or even solo.