It is hard not to be left breathless after seeing traceurs running and jumping from one obstacle to another with such ease. But don’t let their effortless moves deceive you.
Parkour is a very hard sports activity, and it requires a lot of regular practice. But, what is the secret of good parkour jumpers?
Jumping is one of the most commonly used techniques in parkour. To jump high, parkour practitioners combine different elements that allow them to safely perform their tricks. Knowing the right jumping and landing technique as well as being in good shape, makes performing high jumps easier.
In this article, we will discuss some parkour jumping techniques, and how someone can jump so high.
Table of Contents
Is Parkour Hard to Learn?
Parkour is hard to learn, but if you have an instructor and a good indoor parkour place, you can learn parkour easier. The most important part is safety and persistency. Just train regularly and results will eventually come, like in any other sport.
Parkour Safety Rules
Before you even consider taking the next steps in your parkour training, you should do at least 100 or so proper landings, just on the ground, and that’s just before you want to jump off anything that’s 1 foot (30 cm) tall.
After that, you’ll need to do 100 proper landing-offs that are 1 foot tall before jumping anything that’s 2 feet (60 cm) tall.
How to Jump High in Parkour?
Jumping may be the most used technique in parkour. There are a few elements traceur must combine to achieve a high jump.
As some experienced traceurs say, the rolling method is really important. But besides that, training and routine are essential, as well as strong leg muscles.
By doing regular training sessions you do smaller jumps and train your body, joints, and muscles to get used to the impacts and motions.
Landing from a high place regularly includes rolling out of it. During this process, you spread out the distance you need to slow yourself down. It takes longer to slow down, and the force that is on the body is less. The roll also allows traceurs to redirect fall.
Instead of using all their strength to make them stop moving, they use less of it while turning a falling motion into a forward motion. As a result, they also put less strain on their bodies.
To jump higher while doing parkour, besides the technique, you will need to strengthen your legs. So doing exercise like the ones below can help.
- Depth drops
- Depth jumps
- Box jumps
- Calf raises
- Squats
- Lunges
- Jumping lunges
- Pistol squats
- Jumping pistol squats
Longest Parkour Jump Ever
The longest-standing jump between two obstacles is 3.15 m (10 ft, 4 in). It was achieved by Lorenz Wetscher from Austria. The event took place in Cologne, Germany, on 12 April 2015 during the 2015 FIBO Trade Show.
Types of Parkour Jumps for Beginners
If you’ve recently started to do parkour and love finding out information about parkour, you will probably need to learn basic techniques before advancing. Here are some basic types of parkour jumps you can try.
Jumping Up and Down
Harder parkour moves mostly have a jump integrated into them, so mastering jumping skills is essential. You can start by jumping from the ground to some higher level, a bench has a nice height to start with. Jump with both feet and land lightly. Keep repeating to master this move.
After this, try to jump with one foot leading you, make sure your landing is light and in control. Make sure to switch the lead foot with every repetition, that way your jumping skills will be more balanced.
Jumping Over
Being ready to jump over some obstacle without touching it or stopping is a very important move in parkour.
The same obstacles you used to learn jumping onto, might be good choices for jumping over. When it comes to jumping over objects, you need to know two ways to jump.
- Jumping vertically – jumping over a tall obstacle
- Jumping horizontally – jumping over a large or long obstacle
You should take a small run-up towards an object and try to leap completely over it, without slowing down or touching it. You should lead with one foot and lift both legs to clear it and continue running afterward.
Vaulting
Vaulting represents a jumping technique during which you can clear obstacles with a single touch of the hands. At the basic level, a vault consists of leaping with the body up and to one side while using hands to direct a body over the obstacle.
You should pick up the hand on the same side that the rest of your body is on. The other very similar vaulting move is the monkey vault.
In this technique, you go straight over the obstacle while having your feet and the rest of the body going between both your hands while crossing it.
Cat Leap
The cat leap technique requires jumping onto a wall or some other vertical object and landing with both hands on top of the objects and your feet against the barrier in front of you. To start, you’ll need to find an object with a top you can grab and hang from.
Make sure the top is not sharp, dirty, or too high. The point is to land with your arms in the chin-up position, and not to hang straight down.
While standing a little bit away, jump with your hands slightly leading you. After that, you’ll need to land with both hands on top and your arms bent. The bottom of your feet should be against the wall.
Swinging Through
Swinging on the jungle gym during childhood is very similar to swinging through technique. The difference is that you are not only moving during a jump to grab a bar, but you’re also jumping and swinging with the rest of the body, and finally landing on your feet.
To practice this move, begin by running up to a bar, jump and grab a bar with your hands, and swing your body below you. Make sure to land away from the bar.
After you learned to catch the bar and swing under it with confidence, you can try to mark out an area away from the bar and try to land in it.
This move can be tricky because it has major potential for blistering your hands if you’re not used to parkour. So, take it easy at the beginning and wear some light gloves, but be sure to avoid any material which would make your hands slippery.
Does Parkour Hurt?
Although anyone can learn parkour, training it can be painful and hurt you. To avoid this you must be extra cautious and learn all the parkour moves slowly and with a professional trainer if possible.
Make sure to learn rolling and crouching techniques to avoid hurting yourself.
How to Land Parkour Jump?
Before you decide to land a parkour jump, you will need to prepare for the landing. Start with level ground. Mark a spot for landing, or choose the existent spot (a basketball court is a great option). Stand about 30 inches (76 cm) from the landing spot.
- Land Onto Balls of Your Feet. Make sure your back is straight during your landing. Keep your heel off the ground, only touch the ground with the balls of your feet.
- Make Sure Your Legs Are Bent. Don’t lock your knees, that can injure them. Keep a soft bend in your legs.
- Put Your Arms Out for Additional Balance. By doing this you helping your body to stay in balance during the jump.
Once you’re sure you can maintain the balance you can set your heels to the ground, and make sure you are standing with both feet on the ground. You reached your goal.
How Does Rolling Help Break a Long Fall?
Rolling helps in parkour because it diffuses kinetic energy. During rolling, your body transfers force going downward into force that’s going forward. Long story short, this means most of the generated force from long falls during landing isn’t being absorbed by joints and bones.
Parkour Movements
If you have wondered what are the names of the most common parkour movements, here you can check a shortlist:
Vaults
- Dash Vault
- Kong Vault
- Kash Vault
- Side Vault
- Turn Vault
Landings
- Precision
- Cat
- Crane
- Safety Tap
- Roll
- Quadrupedal landing
Bar Techniques
- Lache
- Underbar
- Bar kip
- Muscle-up
Wall Techniques
- Climb up
- Cat
- Wallrun
- Tic tac
- Quadrupedal Landing
Combinations
- Double Kong
- Pop Vault
- Cat to cat
What to Consider When Learning Parkour Jumping?
If you decide to start learning parkour jumps make sure you have the basic parkour knowledge and that you can safely control the movement of your body.
You must be physically capable to do a lot of hard body workouts and have strong legs, arms, and joints. Under no conditions, you should try training parkour if you have some medical issue. Be sure to check with your doctor before any physical activity.
When you start with parkour training, be sure not to skip basic training techniques, you’ll need them later when more complicated moves come along.
So, take it easy, stay safe, and enjoy parkour.
