Pros and Cons of Parkour

Here are a few of my thoughts on why someone shouldn’t or should do parkour. Hopefully this helps someone decide whether or not to start training.

Pros:
-no gym membership. If you’re looking for a great way to get fit without having to travel to the gym and pay those pesky gym memberships then look no further.

-fun. Unlike traditional sports or exercise, parkour forces you to think outside the box. You are forced to move your body in different ways then you normally do. You can be creative and express yourself through movement while also running, jumping, and getting fit.

-no special equipment needed. Other then a loose tee, some sweatpants, and sneakers, you don’t need any special gear to do parkour. As for sneakers, regular running shoes can work, but if you’re looking for a good quality shoe that’s also pretty cheap, I wear feiyues which are a martial art shoe that work excellently for parkour because of their flexibility. The only downside is that they do wear down quickly. (Mine lasted about a year with me doing hardcore training at least twice a week, but I know people who say they last only a few months). Fortunately, you can get them for about $15 on amazon. There are also other more expensive, and better shoes that you can get if you choose.

-it can change your life. For me when I first started doing parkour, it was like I found the missing piece in my life. There are plenty of stories out there of people who say parkour helped change there life around and make it better.

-possible job opportunity? Through the ADAPT program parkour generations teaches, you can become certified to teach parkour to others which could mean you starting your own community and earning money. It takes years of hard work and dedication to earn the ADAPT certification.

-stress relief. Exercise is the best form of stress relief, and parkour is an excellent source of exercise. When you’re stressed about a test or a project at work, nothing’s better then going outside and practicing precision jumps or monkey vaults to clear your head.

-philosophy. The founders of parkour and the people who truly practice it have such a great outlook on life that you can’t help but to be happy when you’re around them.

-anyone can do it. As long as you don’t have any serious health problems then you can do parkour. I’ve seen at 3 year old do it, and a 53 year old do it. Age doesn’t matter.

-freedom: when jumping through the air or over an obstacle you get this feeling of freedom and excitement that is thrilling.

Cons:

Winter weather: if you’re like me and were you live it snows a few months out of the year the training during half the year can be difficult. It’s too cold to train outside which means you have to find someplace inside to train for the winter which can be hard and expensive. Not to mention, who likes training inside?

Starting: if you’re completely new to the activity then it can be hard to get started. You don’t know what you’re doing and all you have is a few YouTube videos to go off of. It can be confusing and not to mention dangerous if you don’t know what to do and just go jumping around like an idiot.

Finding people to train with: luckily for me there’s a class near me who I train with every week, but if you can’t find anyone in your area to train with it can be difficult to not only motivate yourself but also challenge yourself and get experience.

Injuries: a long as you’re careful injuries shouldn’t be a big problem. Expect a couple of bruises and cuts when you first start, but broken bones shouldn’t be a problem. As long as you don’t do something stupid or something you’re not prepared for then you shouldn’t get any serious injuries.

Fear: for me the fear of injury is something that is very real. I know that it doesn’t endanger my life but that doesn’t stop me from holding back. Mental barriers like this can prevent you from doing movements that you would like to.

Pros and Cons:

No competition/not a team sport: this can be both a good and a bad thing for some people. You are constantly competing against yourself which means you sometimes have to motivate yourself to push harder and jump farther. If you have no one to train with it can become difficult to motivate yourself.

Parkour is different for everyone who does it: there are many different stories on how parkour got started and people have very different views in what parkour is and what it should be. This can become an issue if the people you train with have different views then you. However it’s nice to see what other people think and you may agree with them.

That’s all I have for now, feel free to comment any pros or cons that you can think of and I’ll add them in!

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