Parkour, a discipline focused on moving through environments efficiently, includes flips as one of its more advanced and challenging elements. This guide is aimed at both beginners and experienced practitioners, offering step-by-step instructions on performing flips in parkour. We’ll cover the basics, safety precautions, and training techniques necessary to execute flips effectively and safely. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a clear understanding of how to add flips to your parkour skills in a safe and controlled manner. Let’s get started on your journey to mastering flips in parkour.
Within the context of our guide on mastering flipping techniques and acrobatics, we will also cover the practical skill of wall running, ensuring you have all the necessary information to enhance your athleticism.
Getting Started with Parkour Flips: Step-by-Step Guide
Parkour, often confused with freerunning, is essentially about efficiency in movement, while freerunning adds stylistic elements like flips and other dynamic movements. However, in this article, we’ll use the term ‘parkour’ broadly to encompass both disciplines, focusing on the exciting aspect of performing flips.
You’ve probably seen exhilarating flips in parkour on TV, online, or in movies – from massive diving front flips to breathtaking backflips off buildings and intricate ground flips. These might seem daunting, but they’re attainable skills you can learn, even if you’re not a gymnast or martial artist. Here, we’ll provide a comprehensive approach to integrate flips into your parkour practice, ensuring safety, efficiency, and style.
Train to Become an Athlete:
- Muscle Conditioning: Engage in workouts that strengthen and make your muscles more responsive. Strong, agile muscles are crucial for learning flips quickly and safely;
- Coordination and Agility Drills: Enhance your body coordination with exercises like cone drills and suicides.
- Jumping Drills: Focus on exercises that improve your jumping ability;
- Core Strength: Engage in core-strengthening exercises like planks and hanging knee raises to support your flipping movements.
Master Basic Parkour Movements:
- Develop Muscle Coordination: Basic parkour movements like wall runs, parkour rolls, and jumps from ledges will further enhance muscle coordination;
- Familiarization with Urban Terrain: Training these movements helps your body and mind adapt to moving through urban environments, crucial for integrating flips later.
Start with Basic Flips in a Safe Environment:
- Gradual Progression: Begin with simpler movements like back rolls, front rolls, handsprings, and cartwheels, and gradually progress to more complex flips;
- Comfortable Settings: Practice in safe, soft environments like grassy areas, backyards, gyms, sand pits, or on trampolines to build confidence and technique.
Integrate Basic Flips with Parkour:
- Combining Techniques: Start incorporating basic flips with parkour movements. For instance, combine wall runs with backflips;
- Gradual Integration: Maintain a gradual approach, staying within your comfort zone, to seamlessly blend flips into your parkour routine.
By following this structured approach, you can safely and efficiently incorporate flips into your parkour skills, rapidly advancing your capabilities. Remember, the key to mastering parkour flips lies in building a strong foundational skill set, both physically and mentally, and then progressively integrating more complex movements.
How to Do a Butterfly Kick
The Butterfly Kick, while not a flip, is an excellent move for building coordination and serves as a stepping stone to more complex flips like the B-twist and Aerial. Commonly seen in martial arts films, it’s a visually impressive move that requires control and the ability to get your body parallel to the ground.
Here’s a simple guide to mastering the Butterfly Kick:
- Step 1: Find a soft grassy area;
- Step 2: Stand with your legs slightly wider than shoulder-width. Keep your arms up, ready to swing;
- Step 3: Wind your arms and pivot on your right foot to build momentum;
- Step 4: Dip down, swinging your upper body in a “U” motion towards your left leg;
- Step 5: Jump off your left leg, using your upper body and opposite leg to gain height. You’ll face backwards mid-jump;
- Step6: Land on your right leg, returning to your starting position.
Key Tips:
- Shift your jumping foot as you swing your upper body to ease the kick and protect your knee.
- Improved flexibility, particularly splits and pike stretches, makes this move easier.
Progression Steps:
- Start with a cartwheel, keeping legs slightly forward;
- Move to a one-handed cartwheel;
- Try the kick with support from a ledge or sturdy object;
- Perform the full Butterfly Kick.
Now you’re ready to show off your Butterfly Kick skills – safely, of course!
How to Do an Aerial Flip
The Aerial flip, a no-hands cartwheel, doubles the cool factor of a regular cartwheel or round off. It’s a staple in ninja movies, looking incredibly impressive and leaving you thinking, “I need to learn that!” Imagine doing an aerial flip in various scenarios – on your way to class, hanging out with friends, or just to impress someone special.
Ready to elevate your cartwheel game and become a ninja rockstar? Let’s dive in!
Location: Choose a soft grassy area for practice.
- Step 1: Start with a good run to build momentum;
- Step 2: Plant your left foot firmly, using a strong stomp to block and gain more height;
- Step 3: Jump off your left leg, simultaneously swinging your right leg, both arms, and upper body upwards for maximum height;
- Step 4: Drive your right heel upwards as you invert, then bring it down forcefully;
- Step 5: Land on your right foot.
Key Points:
- Your aerial direction and landing will likely mirror the way you do a cartwheel or round off;
- Flexibility enhances your ability to perform an aerial flip. Focus on splits and pike stretches.
Super FAST Progression Steps:
There are two styles of aerials – the ninja style and the regular straight style. Choose the one that feels more comfortable for you.
Style 1: Ninja Aerial
- Master the cartwheel;
- Practice a one-handed cartwheel or b-kick;
- Progress to a B-kick;
- Invert the B-kick into a martial arts aerial.
Style 2: Regular Aerial
- Perform a round off;
- Run and attempt the aerial form, using your hands for support initially;
- Graduate to a clean, straight aerial without using hands;
- Congratulations, you’re now a NINJA Rockstar! It’s time to take your new skill to the world stage!
How to Do a Backflip
Mastering the backflip, often regarded as the most intimidating of flips, comes with its fair share of fears. The apprehension surrounding backflips is well-founded, as the risk of injury, including serious harm such as neck injuries, is high in case of a mistake. A simple search for “backflip fails” on YouTube is enough to deter many from attempting this daring move.
One of the primary dangers of a backflip lies in the body’s unfamiliarity with inversion and being upside down. In a backflip, the body’s natural instinct is often to abort the move or lose control, a reaction borne out of the fear of being inverted.
Another challenge is the lack of visual orientation during a backflip. The backward rotation means you can’t see your landing until the very end of the flip, contributing to the apprehension. This contrasts with front flips, where the direction of rotation allows for better visual tracking of the landing, making them less daunting.
So, how does one conquer the fear associated with backflips?
Contrary to the notion of simply ‘manning up’ and attempting the flip, the key to overcoming this fear lies in systematic and gradual training. Just as learning to walk involved a progression from crawling to walking with support and then independently, backflip training should follow a similar incremental approach.
For support, enlist a reliable spotter to assist with rotation. Utilize mats or an old mattress to cushion falls, enhancing safety and comfort during practice. This approach not only builds physical readiness but also mental confidence in performing the backflip.
- Begin with simpler flips to gain confidence. Start with cartwheels and front handsprings before progressing to backflips;
- This step-by-step progression, coupled with adequate support, allows your body and mind to adapt to the backflip movement, gradually diminishing the fear;
- Implement these techniques thoughtfully to effectively alleviate the fear associated with backflips, paving the way for a safe and confident mastery of this challenging skill.
How to Perform a Wall Flip in Parkour
The wall spin, a dynamic and visually impressive flip, is an excellent starting point for those keen to delve into the world of parkour flips. Its allure lies in its seemingly complex nature, yet it is achievable through easy, incremental steps. As the first wall flip I mastered, it holds a special place in my parkour journey.
This move often leaves onlookers amazed, wondering about its feasibility. The wall spin involves jumping towards a wall, using your hands for a full circular spin, akin to a side flip. During this flip, your hands are the only point of contact with the wall.
So, what makes this flip achievable, and how does one learn it?
The key to executing a wall spin lies in the right amount of force used to jump towards the wall. This force should be sufficient to allow your hands to grip the wall, aiding in the spin. Simultaneously, maintaining your body at an optimal angle is crucial. This angle should be nearly parallel to the wall you are spinning off, preventing your feet from colliding with the wall.
- The safest and most effective method to learn this flip is to start with the “palm spin.” Gradually increase the angle of your palm spin, moving towards a more vertical position with each attempt;
- Next, practice the wall spin on a slanted wall or tree. This intermediate step helps in transitioning to a vertical wall;
- Finally, you progress to executing the wall spin on a completely vertical wall. By following these steps, you can master this intriguing and exciting parkour flip, adding a spectacular move to your repertoire.
Conclusion
Becoming a flipping pro can seem like a lofty goal initially. However, with step-by-step guidance, gradual progression, and consistent practice, you’ll be executing impressive flips in no time. Remember, every flip, from the intimidation of the backflip to the thrill of the Aerial, can be mastered with the right approach. So lay out a soft patch of grass, gather your courage, and flip away.