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New video, old footage... this video was originally planned to be around 5 minutes long with a lot more content. It's tough for me to focus on making videos. One of the things that bothers me most in the global Parkour "scene" is the poor representation of our discipline on YouTube. Too often we see videos filled with huge jumps, massive drops, flashy tricks, dangerous stunts, and obnoxiously egotistical behavior. Nothing you see in this video will likely be very impressive or "big", but that is not the point. This video is comprised of simple shots of myself doing some night training. I believe night training is important, and that we don't see it enough in video form (probably because it's tougher to see things, of course).

Night Missions and Journeys

We've updated our class types! Check out the new lineup:

Discovery
To get acquainted to our training methods, teaching style, and terminology. Beginners should start here, but these classes are great for all skill levels as well. DO NOT be afraid to come try it out!

Standard
Our standard class is great for all skill levels, but may be a bit intense for beginners or those new to fitness.

Journey
NEW! Journey classes start at one point and end at another, finding challenges along the way. Don't be late, or you may not find us! See the map for Journey classes here.

Night Mission
NEW! Night Missions are more focused on conditioning exercises and challenging movement drills. See the Night Missions map here.

Art du Déplacement
ADD is heavily focused on creativity and play as well as the strong spirit to "never give up", and finding and developing strength to help others... "we start together, we finish together!"

1st Look Segment on NBC

Here it is, our segment from 1stLook on NBC that aired this past Saturday:

Financial Hardships

FINANCIAL HARDSHIP: It has been a big part of my life and it is something I have come to understand well. I want my classes and services to be available to anyone who may need them. Art du déplacement can CHANGE LIVES and that's exactly what I'm setting out to do with my teaching, with Parkour Ways.

To all current, prospective, and future students: if you're in a state of financial hardship, feel free to reach out to me and I will work with you. I teach this for a LIVING, not to make MONEY. I'm not in the business of ripping people off or getting rich. I want to help others.

You can send me an email to kurt@ParkourWays.com to inquire about this. Please be honest about your situation and what you can afford, as I too am in a state of financial hardship and have been for the past 12 years.

NBC's "1st Look"

Tonight I had the pleasure of shooting a segment for NBC's new lifestyle/travel show with host Audrina Patridge (MTV's The Hills, Dancing with the Stars). The episode won't air for another couple of months (around January, I was told), but I'm very excited to see it all put together! Audrina joined me and a few of my adult students outdoors in the cool evening for a beginner's look into what parkour is and is all about! She was excited to get started and learn more about the discipline, and it was great to see that genuine interest in what I do and teach from her. She's a great girl!

As with every class or event I teach, we started with a warm-up. I think Audrina quickly realized that this was going to be a bit tougher than she expected! After the warm-up, we moved to some other areas and started showing her some of the movement training that we do with our beginners. We started simple with balance, walking on a rail. Audrina tackled that one quite well, showed great control in her steps and really had her mind on what she was doing as she moved down the rail. Next, I took her over to a wall and a rail to show her the Safety Vault. She picked this one up pretty fast and was moving over those obstacles in no time!

The NBC team had quite a few questions about parkour for myself, Travis Tetting (a fellow instructor from Wisconsin Parkour who came down to help with the segment) and a few of my students, too. I can't wait to see the finished product! See what else we did and the rest of what Audrina tried in January on NBC!

Spreading Reach

Lattof YMCA in Des Plaines, Thomas Middle School in Arlington Heights, the new 32 Forty community center in Bridgeport... I'm very busy setting up classes and workshops all over the place!

This one will be big: I had a meeting at the Chicago Waldorf School this morning. We're rolling things forward to get me teaching a legitimate parkour/Art du Déplacement class to their high school kids during their school day. If we can't make that happen, we will push forward to make it an extra-curricular activity option!

My next scheduled meeting is with the Munster, Indiana Parks Department. I look forward to figuring out how and where I can provide my classes to the Munster area through their recreational program.

Do you want parkour/ADD classes somewhere? Shoot us an email with your suggestions and information to: contact@ParkourWays.com

Small Bits (Video)

This is just a short and very simple little video I threw together with a few clips recorded while out for a photo shoot with my good friend, David Joseph Gall. Check out the photos as well here: www.ParkourWays.com/gallery?album=sandw

LaSalle Language Academy Parkour Workshops

Both classes of sixth graders (32 kids in each class) at LaSalle Language Academy in Chicago will be skipping class (with teachers and parents, of course) to join me for a one-hour mid-week parkour workshop (outdoors and away from the school) for three weeks - starting next Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Teachers have already started prepping the students with videos and other materials. Very excited to get these kids introduced to the discipline.

LaSalle sixth graders... get ready to work harder than you ever imagined you could or would during school hours. ;)

I'm excited to work with LaSalle Language Academy, especially after reading their mission statement:

"The LaSalle Language Academy community will create an environment that inspires in every child a love of learning, global understanding and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. LaSalle will develop graduates who are life-long, resourceful learners, and reflective, contributing citizens of the world."

Being a globally growing discipline, parkour definitely inspires one to learn about their body, their mind, their role in society and the world, and about other communities and cultures across the planet. Some of the common mottoes in parkour, "Être fort pour être utile" ("Be Strong to Be Useful", adopted from Georges Hébert) and "Être et Durer" ("To Be and To Last") seem to align perfectly with the Academy's desire to create those life-long, contributing citizens.

Would you like Parkour Ways to come to your school or facility and put on some workshops? Send an email to kurt@parkourways.com with your inquiries.

Ruins

Jeffrey Strening and David Yip came out from Chicago to train with myself and John Conway out in Indiana last Friday and my good friend David Gall came along to snag some shots. A large number of great photos in this set, click here to see the full gallery at the site!











Photos by David J. Gall

American Rendezvous 3

American Rendezvous - one of the biggest and most exciting events of the year for traceurs and traceuses! Parkour Horizons (www.ParkourHorizons.org) hosts this event annually and brings out some very admirable coaches from across the pond to help us all learn and get stronger together. This year's Rendezvous was led by a generous amount of Yamakasi (www.ADD-Academy.com), and Parkour Generations (www.ParkourGenerations.com) instructors from abroad: Chau Belle, Ben Odoyer, Francois 'Forrest' Mahop, Dan Edwardes, Chris 'Blane' Rowat, Tony Thich, Thomas Couetdic, Chris Keighley, Annty Marais, and Dominic Willoughby. Julie Angel and Andy "Kiell" Day also made the trip out for the event and gave some very interesting presentations. Julie Angel has a PhD in parkour. That's right! She makes parkour documentary films and has a book out on the subject as well. Andy "Kiell" Day is a photographer who takes some stunning shots of parkour practitioners. Andy also enjoys rock climbing and he even ran a climbing session during the training on Monday.

The event was a huge success with a great turnout on all 3 days! Everyone put hard work and strong effort into the warmups and all of the drills throughout the weekend, we start together - WE FINISH TOGETHER!

Thanks to Parkour Horizons, Parkour Generations, and the Yamakasi for putting the event together and making us all train extra hard!

More Classes!

Great news! Outdoor classes are now being added to the schedule for Chicago AND Northwest Indiana! We're excited to get more classes going and we can't wait to start things up outdoors again! Outdoor classes in Chicago run at $15, and they're just $10 in Northwest Indiana. Keep an eye on our schedule - you should start to see more and more of the outdoor classes popping up for various locations around these areas. Check out the new schedule by clicking here!!

Chicago Locations:
- Lincoln Park Neighborhood
- Grant/Millennium Park
- Elmwood Park Neighborhood
- Logan Square Neighborhood
- Lakefront Area (Museum Campus)


Northwest Indiana Locations:
- Hammond, Indiana
- Highland, Indiana
- Munster, Indiana
- Calumet City, Illinois
- Lansing, Illinois
- Hobart, Indiana


At the moment, outdoor classes are all ages 12 and above, including adults!

I hope to see you out there soon!

-Blaze

Closed Easter Weekend

There won't be any classes or open gym this weekend for Easter! If you bought a one month open gym package, your expiration date has already been extended by one weekend to make up for this. Happy Easter!

04/02/2012 Clip of the Day

4/1/2012 Clips of the Day

Outdoor Classes Coming Soon!

It's that time of year... the skies are blue again and the sun will be showing its face more often. The concrete will stay dry longer and the heat will keep our bodies nice and warm while we train. This also means we'll soon be starting our outdoor classes. Not only will we be setting up the equipment outdoors at the gym, but we will also be holding classes outdoors in various locations. We've already got some locations in mind - but we are open to ideas and suggestions! Know a place that's great to train at here in the city? Want us to come to your town/area to hold a class? Let us know! Shoot us an email to contact(at)ParkourWays.com! Feel free to include pictures!