CONTENTS
Departments
12
Do It Yourself
23
Safe Practices
37
Parkour Lingo
DIY Practice Course
Stretching
For everyday practice
6 3 Easy Moves
40 48
Featured Group
To train your body
Missoula
Difficult Moves
50
Interview
54
Parkour Style
Tommy Mullen
For the advanced
42
The newest gear
Inspirational God of Fire
Features
14 36 26
Annual Parkour Conference, San Diego
The Parkuettes All-girl Parkour group
Artist Profile Jon Burns
About the Cover
The outer cover of the magazine is a stencil with 360 magazine’s logo. Photo by: KCFitnessLink
Yamakasi Movie Review
46
18
David Belle
Founder of Parkour
God of Fire
Continued on page 44...
Department Name
Photography by: Nicole Page
Inspirational
When practicing rural Parkour, improvising is the key. In this innovative Parkour session, fire was used as grounding for a cat’s jump.
42 April 2012360 pg
Magazine
A good way to start is to place a board
“Fear is a street runner’s ultimate enemy. Fire is an ultimate source of fear.”
down on top of the fire for emergency
-Tommy Mullen
jump. When making large jumps, it is
landing.
important to know which foot to jump
Parkour with fire is an intriguing but dangerous task. Take the proper precautions and have a fire extinguisher or bucket of water ready just in case.
In the opening picture, we see the tracer vaulting over the fire. This gives you more lift to have a greater impact on your audience. The reason for using fire is not only for the cool effects, fire brings some urgency to your tricks and forces you to perform well in order to avoid burns. For this reason fire jumping should only be attempted by advanced Traceurs who are confident in their moves.
Photography by: Nicole Page
44 April 2012
Tommy Mullen, a seasoned Traceur, finds the experience of fire jumping to be exhilarating not only because of the adrenaline rush but because of the literal heat pushing all of the hair on your body in an upward motion. This is a physical exhilaration.
People who are most successful in the obstacle of fire jumping are those who have practiced track or long jumps. This gives them a better understanding of how to approach the
off of to create a smooth jump.
DIY Practice Course
T
rampolines are the best
Empty playgrounds are also good
way to start training. They allow you to
obstacles for Parkour. Monkey bars
experience flips and learn the ways in
are particularly effective for practic-
which your body can move and rotate.
ing swing moves and cat jumps, if the
The chance of injury is fairly small on
bars are low enough. They can also be
trampolines and even children can
used to improve balance by walking
practice Parkour moves with a net at-
along the top of the bars.
tached for security. Trampolines are made with dif-
Once you have mastered basic moves you may be ready to build an
ferent spring counts. The trampolines
obstacle course in your own backyard.
made specifically for gymnastics
Be critical of the obstacles include, as
are the best for practicing Parkour
building an obstacle course will take
because they allow higher jumps.
some time and money. Here are a
Cheaper trampolines become looser
couple options for quick and easy ob-
after a couple months of use, as the
stacles to build in your own backyard.
Do It Yourself
strings and rubber stretch.
12 April 2012
Things you’ll need: • wood • benches • metal bars • old tires • trampoline • tables
http://frekk93.deviantart.com/art/Backflip-176075394
Rural Parkour is more difficult that urban Parkour because of the lack of obstacles. Here are some ideas for creating your own practice course.
Benches are easy to find and require no assembly. They are good
nails can be transformed into all sorts of mouting and jumping obstacles.
for upwards-precision jumps and can be used for vaulting. Make sure the bench is extremely study, or add sand bags or weights around the legs of your bench. Old car tires can be used for a
Almost as important as the equipment is the placement of obstacles. Sketch out a design, focusing on
“Tires can be stacked for climbing practice or spaced out for muscle training.�
the moves you will practice on each obstacle. You will need a minimum of three obstacles in order to create a flow in your moves. If all else fails, look around you! Parkour is the art of improvising, so if
make-shift practice course. Tires can You can also find obstacles in a
be stacked for climbing practice or
you can improvise in the most difficult
spaced out for muscle training. What
sports training store. Traditional vaults
of locations, then you have an advan-
is particularly useful about tires is that
used in gymnastics and pull-up bars
tage over most advanced Traceurs.
they have some bounce and can be
are fairly inexpensive and extremely
used similar to a trampoline.
useful in Parkour. In fact, when placed
You can find supplies by taking a
next to each other, practicing a pull
quick trip to Lowes or Home Depot. If
through onto a vault is a very useful
you are handy with tools, wood and
skill.
http://www.trampolinereviewsclub.com/pure-fun-12-foot-trampoline-review/
360
Magazine
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3 easy moves The place for all aspiring Parkour runners to start is with these three easy moves that will train your body in Parkour.
1
Precision Jump
>
From this point, bring the knees forward and push your feet towards the landing point.
>
Spot the landing and extend your legs to meet the line. Depending on how much force and how high you jump, you might bring your legs in front of your body to compensate the force.
>
As you make contact with the landing destination, land on the balls of your feet. If you happen to slip across the landing surface you can drop your heel and avoid further slippage and possible falls.
A precision jump involves jumping from one small area to another small. The jump is great for situations where you need, you guessed it, precise jumping! Start with feet together on the edge of your take-off point.
>
As you prepare to jump, bring your legs into a semi-crouch.
>
Your arms move behind you and your weight is shifted to the balls of your feet.
>
As you jump throw your arms forwards and upwards.
Photography by: Nicole Page
Learning
>
6 April 2012
2
Proper Rolls
A basic roll is one of the most fundamental moves in parkour (the art of displacement). It's often used in landings, absorbing the impact of the fall and making it essential for practicing proper safety precautions.
>
Do not bend your knees past a 90 degree angle. This keeps the momentum forward and allows for a proper roll.
>
Allow the forearm to lower to the ground. This should stop a common mistake people make, where they fall onto and hurt their shoulder. Keep the left leg on the outside of the left arm. If you let it track inwards you run the risk of kneeling on your forearm.
>
From here push with the left leg for forward momentum. You will roll over the left arm and onto your shoulder. As the back of your shoulder makes contact with the ground, tuck your right heel to your backside. Roll diagonally across the back, from left shoulder to right hip and then onto your feet.
>
Be Aware. When you start to progress with this roll off heights and with speed the technique will need to change, you will need to land
with feet closer together and be more adaptable and dynamic with the arms.
Keep your legs at a 90 degree angle.
360
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Photography by: Nicole Page
3
Proper Landings
Landing properly can save you from serious injury. Learning the proper ways to land after various chains and techniques is one of the most important areas for practitioners to focus on.
>
Like rolls, if the knees are bent a lot, there is no forward momentum.
>
It is important to focus on the placement of the feet on the ground. Aim to land with the ball of the foot down (between the toes and the arch of the foot). Do not land on the toes, the heels, or on flat feet.
>
Because the ball of the foot is placed down, the heels can roll down towards the ground. De-
pending on the impact absorbed through the feet, this may or may not be necessary (a drop, for example, would be a good time to roll the heel down, as opposed to landing from a vault without a significant drop afterwards, where it may not be quite as important).
>
Some Tracers will use their hands when landing a jump to absorb some of the shock.
When using hands in a landing be careful not to use them to absorb large amounts of shock, they are mostly for guidance. 360
Magazine
9
36 April 2012
Photography by: Nicole Page
Jonathan Burns
360
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“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move.� -Jon Burns
38 April 2012
Jon Burns has been involved in track and soccer since his youth. The
winning meets around the world. Jon believes that although most
Born: November 15, 1990 Height: 6’ 2”
son of a high-ranking military pilot, Jon
Traceurs are built like wrestlers, his
Weight: 140 pounds
grew up in rural Maryland and attended
small build allows him to move more
Hometown: Calvert County, Maryland
Huntingtown High School, where his
smoothly and jump higher. The only
Career: 2008 - Present
track records still holds.
disadvantage it that he is not able to
Photography by: Nicole Page
Jon’s passion for Parkour comes
do tricks that require more muscle.
group. The group of ten young boys
from his older brother David, who has
His graceful movements allowed by
and girls formed after they saw
been teaching Jon the ways of Parkour
his slender body have inspired rural
him win the Annual Parkour Confer-
since he was 15. David was in a car
Parkourists around the world.
ence. They were so inspired by his
accident that damaged his legs and
Currently, Jon is part of the Calvert
moves, that they found him through
prevented him from continuing with the
County Parkour group, which has come
Facebook and asked him to give a
sport. He has passed on to Jon a love
a long way since it started in 2004.
workshop. This turned into a weekly
of graceful movement and strength.
There are five members of the group,
afterschool activity, sponsored by the
and all have performed in competitions
football coach. The group practices
nary Tracuer because of his youth and
such as the Annual Parkour Confer-
in Dunkirk Park which offers a vari-
creativity. He is known for inventing
ence. In 2010, the Calvert County
ety of dynamic obstacles. Jon plans
moves such as the cat jump (dem-
Parkour group received top prize in the
to coach them again next year, and
onstrated below). These moves have
conference.
already has a waiting list of young
Jon stands out as an extraordi-
been incorporated into the runs of Traceurs such as David Belle in award
Jon is now mentoring to Windy
Junior High School enthusiasts.
Hill’s Junior High School’s Parkour
“Obstacles are found everywhere, and in overcoming them we nourish ourselves.” -Jon Burns
360
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18 April 2012
Photo by: Luc Besson
Yamakasi Les Samurai Des Temps modernais
360
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20 April 2012
The Yamakasi are a real-life
When the Yamakasi hear about
group of French daredevils who can
Jamel's plight, they swing into action,
scramble up the side of tall buildings
planning a daring raid in which they'll
and other urban structures as easily
raise the money for the surgery by
as most people can climb a flight of
staging split-second robberies of the
stairs; filmmaker Luc Besson saw a
homes of seven of the wealthiest men
television report on the Yamakasi and
in Paris -- all of whom happen to work
was so impressed that he wrote and
for the Heart Transplant Corporation.
Photo by: Luc Besson
produced this project as a vehicle for putting their unusual talents onscreen. A nine-year-old boy named Jamel
Shortly before Yamakasi was to premiere, director Julien Seri and screenwriter Philippe Lyon filed suit
(Nassim Faid) has a weak heart, and
against Luc Besson and his produc-
after he tries to climb a tree with his
tion company, claiming their work had
friends, he has an attack and his
been unfairly tampered with; the suit
parents are told he'll need a heart
didn't prevent the film from becoming
transplant within a few days or else
an immediate box-office success in
the boy will die. The operation will
France.
cost over 400,000 francs, money the boy's parents don't have, but the Heart
Written by: Mark Deming, Rovi
Transplant Corporation, the company who can provide the boy with a fresh heart, are not willing to negotiate on
Above: Front cover of the movie Below: Still from the movie Left: Jamel, mid jump
the price.
360
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