http://caltv.org/episodes/2010/calconnect-parkour

Beginner’s Class
Saturday, February 13, 2010 at 12 noon @ UC Berkeley
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3596
The Beginner’s Class is geared towards first timers, and lasts 1.5 hours. The emphasis will be on controlled progression and will cover: philosophy of parkour, training, conditioning and safety tips, and basic movements such as vaults, landings and rolls. Taking photos/videos at this session is discouraged. Check out the sample agenda for details. Attendees are also welcome to hang out, continue training or have an open jam after the class ends. Remember, classes are always FREE!

Monthly Jam
February 21, 2010 - 11:30AM @ San Jose
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3601
Hosted by the San Jose Parkour Team!  Will start early for breakfast and will be roaming all over San Jose with specific checkpoints at certain times if you want to skip some parts and still meet up with the group.  Check the thread for details and contacts.

The Monthly Jam is all about connecting with other traceurs, whether from other areas, cities, or communities around the Bay… and beyond! This is essentially a “National Jam” for the Bay Area. There are always regulars as well as new faces. Beginners are always welcome! Jams typically last 3-4+ hours, and while unstructured and open will still begin with a meet’n'greet and warmup, then end with a clean up time. Participants are encouraged to jam, condition, drill, have parkour-related discussions, get help from others, teach Beginners and just hang out.

Other Info

There are several weekly training sessions led by SFPK community members in San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and elsewhere around the Bay. Check out the Standing Jams and Classes & Instruction forums, as well as the 2010 Schedule for SF Parkour Beginner’s Classes & Monthly Jams for more info!

We need your input! Help shape and grow the SFPK community by contributing ideas to the 2010 Planning thread.

To find out how to get your free passes, please visit the forum thread at - http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3557

Beginner’s Class
Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 12 noon @ San Francisco
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3528
The Beginner’s Class is geared towards first timers, and lasts 1.5 hours. The emphasis will be on controlled progression and will cover: philosophy of parkour, training, conditioning and safety tips, and basic movements such as vaults, landings and rolls. Taking photos/videos at this session is discouraged. Check out the sample agenda for details. Attendees are also welcome to hang out, continue training or have an open jam after the class ends. Remember, classes are always FREE!

Monthly Jam
Sunday, January 17, 2010 - 12 Noon @ Oak Ridge High School, Sacramento
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3526
The Monthly Jam is all about connecting with other traceurs, whether from other areas, cities, or communities around the Bay… and beyond! This is essentially a “National Jam” for the Bay Area. There are always regulars as well as new faces. Beginners are always welcome! Jams typically last 3-4+ hours, and while unstructured and open will still begin with a meet’n'greet and warmup, then end with a clean up time. Participants are encouraged to jam, condition, drill, have parkour-related discussions, get help from others, teach Beginners and just hang out.

Other Info

There are several weekly training sessions led by SFPK community members in San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and elsewhere around the Bay. Check out the Standing Jams and Classes & Instruction forums, as well as the 2010 Schedule for SF Parkour Beginner’s Classes & Monthly Jams for more info!

For a recap of 2009 read the SF Parkour Monthly Jams - 2009 Year in Review and SFPK Year in Review 2009 threads.

We need your input!  Help shape and grow the SFPK community by contributing ideas to the 2010 Planning thread.

The SF Parkour Community - SFPK Year in Review 2009

Well, it’s been another great year for the SFPK community! We’ve made a lot of great memories, a lot of friendships, and discovered many new places to jam at. As 2009 draws to a close and we begin to plan for 2010, it’s good to take a look back to where we started last year (point A) and where we finished (point B).

If 2008 was a year of outreach and putting a public face on parkour in the Bay Area, 2009 was the year of strengthening connections between communities. There was a big contingent that traveled by train out to Colorado for the National Jam, and many in the community participated in the Massive West Coast Jam, the Washington State Jam and BEAST Coast Jam. Traceurs from all over the country and beyond came here to jam and stay with us. The SFPK community worked closely with APK to come up with APK’s updated definition of parkour.

All the classes that were around in 2008 were still going strong at the end of 2009, and many new, free instructional sessions have been established all over the region. Through charity work and demos we have reached out beyond the parkour community to make some great connections with parks, gyms, local government and some nonprofits.

Monthlies continue to grow, membership is on the rise, people are starting more projects on their own, and there’s lots of cool stuff on the horizon in 2010. We have a varied and diverse community, full of motivated and creative people bursting with talent and energy. It’s all of you who make the community what it is, and we hope you stop for a moment and reflect back at all the wonderful achievements you were a part of in the past year before looking ahead to what’s in store for 2010.

We hope your path through 2009 was as fun as it was for us who tune the cogs at SFPK, and hope you will help make 2010 the best year yet for SFPK community.

Happy Holidays,

SFPK Admins & Area Reps

P.S. A little housekeeping notice: Any accounts with zero posts that haven’t logged in within the past six months will be deleted, so come and say hi! Become a fan of our Facebook page and a friend of our YouTube channel. Also please contribute to 2010 planning thread – your ideas are important!

Beginner’s Class
Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 12 noon @ San Francisco
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3448
Please note - Rain may cancel this class, please see thread for updates.
The Beginner’s Class is geared towards first timers, and lasts 1.5 hours. The emphasis will be on controlled progression and will cover: philosophy of parkour, training, conditioning and safety tips, and basic movements such as vaults, landings and rolls. Taking photos/videos at this session is discouraged. Check out the sample agenda for details. Attendees are also welcome to hang out, continue training or have an open jam after the class ends. Remember, classes are always FREE!

Monthly Jam
Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 12 Noon @ Capuchino High School, San Bruno
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3451
The Monthly Jam is all about connecting with other traceurs, whether from other areas, cities, or communities around the Bay… and beyond! There are always regulars, as well as new faces. Beginners are always welcome. Jams typically last 3-4+ hours, and while unstructured and open will still include introductions, warmup, cooldown and clean up time. Participants are encouraged to jam, condition, drill, have parkour-related discussions, get help from others, teach Beginners and just hang out.

Ongoing Weekly Sessions
There are several daily and weekly training sessions led by SFPK community members in San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and elsewhere. Check out the Upcoming Jams forum and the 2009 Schedule for SF Parkour: Beginner’s Class, Monthly Jam and Weekly Sessions for more info!

Also, participants can also spend the night at the gym for the Monthly Jam on Sunday!

Beginner’s Class
Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 12 noon @ UC Berkeley
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3347
The Beginner’s Class is geared towards first timers, and lasts 1.5 hours. The emphasis will be on controlled progression and will cover: philosophy of parkour, training, conditioning and safety tips, and basic movements such as vaults, landings and rolls. Taking photos/videos at this session is discouraged. Check out the sample agenda for details. Attendees are also welcome to hang out, continue training or have an open jam after the class ends. Remember, classes are always FREE!

Monthly Jam
Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 12 Noon @ Santa Rosa
http://www.sfparkour.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3364
The Monthly Jam is all about connecting with other traceurs, whether from other areas, cities, or communities around the Bay… and beyond! There are always regulars, as well as new faces. Beginners are always welcome. Jams typically last 3-4+ hours, and while unstructured and open will still include introductions, warmup, cooldown and clean up time. Participants are encouraged to jam, condition, drill, have parkour-related discussions, get help from others, teach Beginners and just hang out.

Ongoing Weekly Sessions
There are several daily and weekly training sessions led by SFPK community members in San Francisco, Berkeley, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, and elsewhere. Check out the Upcoming Jams forum and the 2009 Schedule for SF Parkour: Beginner’s Class, Monthly Jam and Weekly Sessions for more info!

Please download the “Vault Box Construction” pdf at - http://www.sfparkour.com/Vault_Box_Construction_by_SFParkour.pdf
Feel free to share and distribute this link!

We welcome all comments, suggestions, improvements etc. that anyone wants to share. If we incorporate your tips we will add “credits” into the doc. We’d love to get feedback such as cost to build, time to build, build photos at each step and more. Help us improve this “how to” guide for everyone!

Enjoy, and happy vaulting!

As a brief intro, here’s Brian’s promo vid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIpCWbNqAWg .

For more details on the official announcement, how this was created, and further discussion, please read the SFPK forum thread.

What is Parkour?

Parkour is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment.

• Parkour requires… consistent, disciplined training with an emphasis on functional strength, physical conditioning, balance, creativity, fluidity, control, precision, spatial awareness, and looking beyond the traditional use of objects.
• Parkour movements typically include… running, jumping, vaulting, climbing, balancing, and quadrupedal movement. Movements from other physical disciplines are often incorporated, but acrobatics or tricking alone do not constitute parkour.
• Parkour training focuses on… safety, longevity, personal responsibility, and self-improvement. It discourages reckless behavior, showing off, and dangerous stunts.
• Parkour practitioners value… community, humility, positive collaboration, sharing of knowledge, and the importance of play in human life, while demonstrating respect for all people, places, and spaces.