Most people nowadays train in cool Martial Arts. Karate, Judo, Taekwondo! Yeah! Go self defense!
But there’s a secret art that many people don’t know about! And that is Parkour. When Parkour is mentioned, we often think about the people who do backflips off buildings and roll all over the place. The cool montages on Youtube are what often come to mind. However, Parkour is much more – and much less than what you think it is.
However, I can attest to the fact that it is hilariously fun, and it is readily available to be taught right over here: http://nolimitsafc.com/
It’s not just the sport that makes it fun. The way classes are taught and the whole theme of the building literally screams “COME AT ME BRO.” It’s massively different from traditional lessons! It’s a massive changeable obstacle course where fun, expression, and freedom of movement thrive.
I was originally trained in Wushu, but one of the reasons why I left was because of the environment. It was stressful. I hardly knew anyone for the four years I trained in Wushu. Each class was constantly a competition, with the teacher praising and selecting whoever he thought was the best. Talking was not permitted, and people were often yelled at for many different reasons, including being late or goofing around. I love Wushu, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t stay in that environment anymore.
No Limits AFC is completely the opposite. Instead of focusing on being the best, they literally tell you: leave your ego at the door. It’s not about competition, it’s about expressing yourself through moving, jumping and vaulting in creative ways. The building is splattered with graffiti, there’s loads of different obstacles, poles and bars to climb around on and the whole place is extremely chill.
I have to say that the sport is tough to get into. Be warned: if you want to fully enjoy Parkour, you’re going to have to take the necessary precautions. Every sport is dangerous to a certain extent, but Parkour can seriously injure you. It’s not for kids who want to jump straight into tricks. You need to pound the basics into your body, literally, because if you’re inexperienced and you try to do a vault outside on HARD concrete, you are going to hurt yourself.
However, don’t be put off by this. Spend a good amount of time in No Limits AFC. You may think that the first few classes are boring because all you’re doing is rolling and clumsily jumping over gymnastic blocks but trust me, what you will experience in the future is worth it. I can’t even land a front flip, but just trying one was absolutely thrilling. Finally being able to wall run consistently and smoothly vault over objects is an awesome feeling. It definitely pays off.
Plus, it’s UNIQUE. Do you want to stand out among your friends when you announce your hobbies? Saying “yeah I do parkour” is pretty bad ass.
Also, running away is probably the most useful human survival skill. Training it is a good idea. People may train in Karate and be able to kick some serious ass, but there’s always a chance of being out-punched. You could be knifed. Someone could send a gang against you. Someone just might be plain better at you than in Karate.
But hey, you can’t hit what you can’t catch!
I encourage you to try it out! Be open and friendly, don’t think about competition. Just think about fun and self improvement, and the rest will follow.
THE FIRST CLASS IS FREE