A few months back, I started learning some beginner parkour moves, such as precision jumps and underbars. I’ve been practicing a lot since then and I recently began incorporating some more difficult moves into my repertoire, like cat jumps and rail walking.
Cat Jumps
Cat jumps involve jumping up onto an obstacle like a fence or a wall that is too tall to climb. When the traceur (a parkour practitioner) is separated from an obstacle by a body of water or other uncrossable terrain, a cat jump becomes a necessary skill. For practice, however, it’s okay to cat jump without clearing any hurdles. After cat jumping onto an object, it is typical to continue climbing the rest of the object or to push off and reverse direction.
Rail Walking
Rail walking is a balance challenge that involves walking across a narrow bar or rail. It’s best to practice this on a relatively low surface, so that if you lose your footing, you can safely jump down.
360 Underbars
My parkour mentor, Rick Seedman, has also given me a new variation on the basic underbar – the 360 degree underbar, a fun “spin” on the basic move that involves rotating your body as you pass in between two parallel bars.
In addition to these new challenges, I’ve continued practicing the fundamentals; my precision jumping is getting better, although it’s still a work in progress!
Watch the video below for more!