CO
NT
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42 InspirationalGod of Fire
12
23
Departments
37
Do It YourselfDIY Practice Course
Safe PracticesStretching
Parkour LingoFor everyday practice
40 Featured GroupMissoula
48 Difficult MovesFor the advanced
50 InterviewTommy Mullen
3 Easy MovesTo train your body
54 Parkour StyleThe newest gear
6
Artist Profile Jon Burns
InspirationalGod of Fire
Features
14
26
46
Annual Parkour Conference, San Diego
The ParkuettesAll-girl Parkour group
David BelleFounder of Parkour
YamakasiMovie Review 18
36
About the CoverThe outer cover of the magazine is a stencil with 360 magazine’s logo.Photo by: KCFitnessLink
pg 360 Magazine
Department NameGod of Fire
Phot
ogra
phy
by: N
icol
e Pa
ge
42 April 2012
Insp
iratio
nal
When practicing rural Parkour, improvising is the key.In this innovative Parkour session, fire was used as grounding for a cat’s jump.
Continued on page 44...
Phot
ogra
phy
by: N
icol
e Pa
ge
Parkour with fire is an intriguing but
dangerous task. Take the proper pre-
cautions and have a fire extinguisher
or bucket of water ready just in case.
A good way to start is to place a board
down on top of the fire for emergency
landing.
In the opening picture, we see the
tracer vaulting over the fire. This gives
you more lift to have a greater impact
on your audience.
The reason for using fire is not
only for the cool effects, fire brings
some urgency to your tricks and
forces you to perform well in order
to avoid burns. For this reason fire
jumping should only be attempted by
advanced Traceurs who are confident
in their moves.
“Fear is a street run-ner’s ultimate enemy. Fire is an ultimate source of fear.” -Tommy Mullen
Tommy Mullen, a seasoned Tra-
ceur, finds the experience of fire jump-
ing to be exhilarating not only because
of the adrenaline rush but because of
the literal heat pushing all of the hair
on your body in an upward motion.
This is a physical exhilaration.
People who are most success-
ful in the obstacle of fire jumping are
those who have practiced track or
long jumps. This gives them a better
understanding of how to approach the
jump. When making large jumps, it is
important to know which foot to jump
off of to create a smooth jump.
44 April 2012
Continued on page 44...
Photography by: Nicole Page
DIY Practice CourseRural Parkour is more difficult that urban Parkour because of the lack of obstacles. Here are some ideas for creating your own practice course.
Trampolines are the best
way to start training. They allow you to
experience flips and learn the ways in
which your body can move and rotate.
The chance of injury is fairly small on
trampolines and even children can
practice Parkour moves with a net at-
tached for security.
Trampolines are made with dif-
ferent spring counts. The trampolines
made specifically for gymnastics
are the best for practicing Parkour
because they allow higher jumps.
Cheaper trampolines become looser
after a couple months of use, as the
strings and rubber stretch.
Empty playgrounds are also good
obstacles for Parkour. Monkey bars
are particularly effective for practic-
ing swing moves and cat jumps, if the
bars are low enough. They can also be
used to improve balance by walking
along the top of the bars.
Once you have mastered basic
moves you may be ready to build an
obstacle course in your own backyard.
Be critical of the obstacles include, as
building an obstacle course will take
some time and money. Here are a
couple options for quick and easy ob-
stacles to build in your own backyard.
12 April 2012
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Things you’ll need:• wood• benches• metal bars• old tires• trampoline• tables
Do
It Yo
urse
lf
Benches are easy to find and
require no assembly. They are good
for upwards-precision jumps and can
be used for vaulting. Make sure the
bench is extremely study, or add sand
bags or weights around the legs of
your bench.
Old car tires can be used for a
make-shift practice course. Tires can
be stacked for climbing practice or
spaced out for muscle training. What
is particularly useful about tires is that
they have some bounce and can be
used similar to a trampoline.
You can find supplies by taking a
quick trip to Lowes or Home Depot. If
you are handy with tools, wood and
Almost as important as the equip-
ment is the placement of obstacles.
Sketch out a design, focusing on
the moves you will practice on each
obstacle. You will need a minimum of
three obstacles in order to create a
flow in your moves.
If all else fails, look around you!
Parkour is the art of improvising, so if
you can improvise in the most difficult
of locations, then you have an advan-
tage over most advanced Traceurs.
360 Magazine 13
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polinereviewsclub.com
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nails can be transformed into all sorts
of mouting and jumping obstacles.
“Tires can be stacked for climbing practice or spaced out for muscle training.”
You can also find obstacles in a
sports training store. Traditional vaults
used in gymnastics and pull-up bars
are fairly inexpensive and extremely
useful in Parkour. In fact, when placed
next to each other, practicing a pull
through onto a vault is a very useful
skill.
3 easy moves
Precision Jump
The place for all aspiring Parkour runners to startis with these three easy moves that willtrain your body in Parkour.
1
Start with feet together on the edge
of your take-off point.
As you prepare to jump, bring your
legs into a semi-crouch.
Your arms move behind you and
your weight is shifted to the balls
of your feet.
As you jump throw your arms
forwards and upwards.
From this point, bring the knees
forward and push your feet
towards the landing point.
Spot the landing and extend your
legs to meet the line. Depending
on how much force and how high
you jump, you might bring your
legs in front of your body to com-
pensate the force.
As you make contact with the land-
ing destination, land on the balls
of your feet. If you happen to slip
across the landing surface you can
drop your heel and avoid further
slippage and possible falls.
6 April 2012
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Phot
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by: N
icol
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A precision jump involves jumping from one small area to another small.The jump is great for situations where you need, you guessed it, precise jumping!
Lear
ning
3 easy moves
2
Do not bend your knees past a
90 degree angle. This keeps the
momentum forward and allows for
a proper roll.
Allow the forearm to lower to
the ground. This should stop a
common mistake people make,
where they fall onto and hurt their
shoulder. Keep the left leg on the
outside of the left arm. If you let it
track inwards you run the risk of
kneeling on your forearm.
From here push with the left leg
for forward momentum. You will
roll over the left arm and onto
your shoulder. As the back of your
shoulder makes contact with the
ground, tuck your right heel to your
backside. Roll diagonally across
the back, from left shoulder to right
hip and then onto your feet.
Be Aware. When you start to prog-
ress with this roll off heights and
with speed the technique will need
to change, you will need to land
with feet closer together and be
more adaptable and dynamic with
the arms.
Keep your legs at a 90 degree angle.
360 Magazine 7
Proper Rolls
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Phot
ogra
phy
by: N
icol
e Pa
ge
A basic roll is one of the most fundamental moves in parkour (the art of dis-placement). It's often used in landings, absorbing the impact of the fall and making it essential for practicing proper safety precautions.
Photography by: Nicole Page
3
Like rolls, if the knees are bent a
lot, there is no forward momentum.
It is important to focus on the
placement of the feet on the
ground. Aim to land with the ball of
the foot down (between the toes
and the arch of the foot). Do not
land on the toes, the heels, or on
flat feet.
Because the ball of the foot is
placed down, the heels can roll
down towards the ground. De-
pending on the impact absorbed
through the feet, this may or may
not be necessary (a drop, for
example, would be a good time
to roll the heel down, as opposed
to landing from a vault without a
significant drop afterwards, where
it may not be quite as important).
When using hands in a landing be
careful not to use them to absorb
large amounts of shock, they are
mostly for guidance.
Some Tracers will use their hands when landing
a jump to absorb some of the shock.
360 Magazine 9
Proper Landings
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Photography by: Nicole Page
Landing properly can save you from serious injury. Learning the proper ways to land after various chains and techniques is one of the most important areas for practitioners to focus on.
36 April 2012
360 Magazine 37
Jonathan Burns
Photography by: Nicole Page
38 April 2012
“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move.” -Jon Burns
Photography by: Nicole Page
“Obstacles are found everywhere, and in overcoming them we nourish ourselves.” -Jon Burns
360 Magazine 39
Jon Burns has been involved in
track and soccer since his youth. The
son of a high-ranking military pilot, Jon
grew up in rural Maryland and attended
Huntingtown High School, where his
track records still holds.
Jon’s passion for Parkour comes
from his older brother David, who has
been teaching Jon the ways of Parkour
since he was 15. David was in a car
accident that damaged his legs and
prevented him from continuing with the
sport. He has passed on to Jon a love
of graceful movement and strength.
Jon stands out as an extraordi-
nary Tracuer because of his youth and
creativity. He is known for inventing
moves such as the cat jump (dem-
onstrated below). These moves have
been incorporated into the runs of
Traceurs such as David Belle in award
winning meets around the world.
Jon believes that although most
Traceurs are built like wrestlers, his
small build allows him to move more
smoothly and jump higher. The only
disadvantage it that he is not able to
do tricks that require more muscle.
His graceful movements allowed by
his slender body have inspired rural
Parkourists around the world.
Currently, Jon is part of the Calvert
County Parkour group, which has come
a long way since it started in 2004.
There are five members of the group,
and all have performed in competitions
such as the Annual Parkour Confer-
ence. In 2010, the Calvert County
Parkour group received top prize in the
conference.
Jon is now mentoring to Windy
Hill’s Junior High School’s Parkour
Born: November 15, 1990
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 140 pounds
Hometown: Calvert County, Maryland
Career: 2008 - Present
Photography by: Nicole Page
group. The group of ten young boys
and girls formed after they saw
him win the Annual Parkour Confer-
ence. They were so inspired by his
moves, that they found him through
Facebook and asked him to give a
workshop. This turned into a weekly
afterschool activity, sponsored by the
football coach. The group practices
in Dunkirk Park which offers a vari-
ety of dynamic obstacles. Jon plans
to coach them again next year, and
already has a waiting list of young
Junior High School enthusiasts.
18 April 2012 Photo by: Luc Besson
360 Magazine 19
Yamakasi Les Samurai Des Temps modernais
20 April 2012
Photo by: Luc Besson
The Yamakasi are a real-life
group of French daredevils who can
scramble up the side of tall buildings
and other urban structures as easily
as most people can climb a flight of
stairs; filmmaker Luc Besson saw a
television report on the Yamakasi and
was so impressed that he wrote and
produced this project as a vehicle for
putting their unusual talents onscreen.
A nine-year-old boy named Jamel
(Nassim Faid) has a weak heart, and
after he tries to climb a tree with his
friends, he has an attack and his
parents are told he'll need a heart
transplant within a few days or else
the boy will die. The operation will
cost over 400,000 francs, money the
boy's parents don't have, but the Heart
Transplant Corporation, the company
who can provide the boy with a fresh
heart, are not willing to negotiate on
the price.
When the Yamakasi hear about
Jamel's plight, they swing into action,
planning a daring raid in which they'll
raise the money for the surgery by
staging split-second robberies of the
homes of seven of the wealthiest men
in Paris -- all of whom happen to work
for the Heart Transplant Corporation.
Shortly before Yamakasi was
to premiere, director Julien Seri and
screenwriter Philippe Lyon filed suit
against Luc Besson and his produc-
tion company, claiming their work had
been unfairly tampered with; the suit
didn't prevent the film from becoming
an immediate box-office success in
France.
Written by: Mark Deming, Rovi
360 Magazine 21
Photo by: Luc Besson
Above: Front cover of the movieBelow: Still from the movieLeft: Jamel, mid jump