FAQ: What is parkour?
Parkour is an art/discipline in which its practitioners, called traceurs and traceuses, maneuver through their environments using efficient movements, such as running, jumping, climbing, and vaulting, in order to overcome obstacles.
FAQ: What is freerunning?
Freerunning was originally supposed to be the English word for parkour, but the two developed different meanings over time. Today, freerunning is an offshoot of parkour that focuses more on the creative side of movement, and often uses more flipping and twisting movements for the sake of style and difficulty.
FAQ: So is this basically Ninja Warrior?
Yes and no. Ninja Warrior is based on an obstacle-course, and we will likely be running some sort of obstacle course at some point. The two also share some similar movements, and many of our friends have actually been competitors on the show. However, Ninja Warrior emphasizes climbing more than anything in the later stages, and while this is relevant to parkour, we generally do not train it to the extent necessary to conquer Mt. Midoriyama.
FAQ: What is the highest building we’ll be jumping off of?
Sorry, that’s not really what we do unless we absolutely HAVE to. Also, it is against club and University rules to climb on campus roofs.
FAQ: What should I wear?
Luckily, parkour doesn’t have a very high entry price. In fact, you likely already have everything you need to start training.
Clothes: Anything that is comfortable and doesn’t restrict your movement. The club president likes to train in shorts, joggers, and baggy sweatpants, but others might prefer to wear track pants. You do you.
Shoes: Shoes have a few more requirements than general clothing. It’s generally a good idea to wear shoes that are light, have only 1 piece of rubber to their bottoms, and do NOT have a plastic piece in the arch. We recommend beginners use feiyues. They are cheap, comfy, light, grippy, and help teach proper landing technique. Here’s a link:
Of course, you don’t actually need to wear shoes. In fact, bare feet have great grip, allow for amazing tactile sense and promote proper technique!
FAQ: How fit do I have to be to do parkour?
The club president likes to say “I don’t do parkour because I am strong, I am strong because I do parkour.” Fitness level should not be a deciding factor in whether or not you do parkour. Instead, it will determine the scale of your movements, and as you progress, you can increase the size and difficulty of your movements.
FAQ: Isn’t parkour dangerous?
That depends. If you have crappy technique, you don’t check your surfaces, and you habitually go for moves that are beyond your level, then yes, it is dangerous. However, we at UMD stress the importance of safe and sustainable training. This includes proper landing and rolling technique, checking your surfaces, and appropriate progressions.
FAQ: Where can I do parkour?
We here at University of Maryland are incredibly fortunate to have one of the greatest places in the world to train parkour. The members of the club will walk around the campus and see opportunities for movement everywhere. However, we are also working on a comprehensive map of all of the major parkour spots on campus. We will post it on the Orgsync page once we have it finished.