The next to arrive were Caroline and Julian. I had met Julian the week before at sand boarding, and we had given him a very brief demo at the News Cafe in Benoni. We continued basic training and soon saw most of us nailing vaults. We then moved onto wall runs and tic-tacs. Everyone was doing really well especially the guys who had arrived for their first jam.
Eager to find some structure like the wheelchair ramp at Potch University I had been eyeing a similar structure at the Intercare building over the road. So we duly packed up and went over there. On closer inspection it was very similar but the building cladding was different. We proceeded to bound up this new obstacle, which presented the same type of precision jumps and vaults that the Potch structure had. In addition to this piece of heaven there was a steel staircase on the one side which presented some new opportunities to nail some rail flips to a drop off of about 2 meters. Julian did an impressive monkey from this structure to ground. Impressive because it was his first time at a jam and the first day that he had to learn the monkey.
We unfortunately did not see too much action from the ladies but keep it up and the confidence will grow. So all in all a small jam but nice and personal and some very good learning opportunities were to be had. The after jam mints in the shape of beers were arranged at the local Calabash Pub. We parted ways feeling refreshed and invigorated eager to get together again for the next jam.
Thanks everyone I had a great time and we will be seeing you again. Keep checking the site because the pics are going to be up soon.
Posted by DC at 16:37These are all the jams we have had up until before the new face-lift on parkour.co.za. So read em and enjoy!
14th-15th August - Double-Header Whammy-Weekend Our very first official Kids Jam was held in South Africa on Saturday at the Magnolia Dell Trim Park in Brooklyn, and what a treat it was!!! With a whole bunch of little adults between the ages of 7 and 13, everyone had loads of fun. We went through the basics of Parkour and immediately started getting into the the nitty gritty of learning Vaults, Precision Jumps, Gap Jumps and runs. Seeing as we had the perfect setting of the obstacle course available to us, cuts and bruises were kept to a minimal and training ran rather smoothly. By the end of the day, there were kids already mastering the different types of Vaults and Precision Jumps. The pictures will be up as soon as I scan all of them in and edit them. The next day, Sunday, saw another small jam in Rivonia where Brandon, X-Ray, Viv, Steff, B.I.G., Bekks and DC all turned up for what ended up being a slow session. I was working on my Kash Vault (which is coming on slowly), B.I.G. was buying large pieces of property with his Tight-Jeaned Monkey Vault, X-Ray working up the courage to throw himself over to the King Kong, Bekks perfected his Lazy Vault and Brandon planted footprints around the buildings whilst working on his Gap Jumps. All in all the weekend definitively went off with a Blast!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th-9th August - Kyalami in Midrand, Formula1 two seater extreme sports expo Seeing as it WAS an extreme sports expo, I figured it only be right that I don my Parkour uniform and charge down any obstacles that crossed my path. Turns out that there were plenty of obstacles there, and by using Parkour I was able to dart through the huge crowds of people and get to where I wanted to go MUCH quicker!!! I clambered up the outside of some stairs (of which I have a picture), Vaulted pedestrian railings and barriers to take better pictures of the F1 cars, Bekks did gap jumps on the grandstand... and loads more. It just goes to show that you can Parkour absolutely anywhere! The gallery is being worked on, so be sure to come back soon to check them out. There were also plenty activities to keep me happy and out of trouble. Well, almost... Bungee-Trampolines: Where they secure you into a harness, which in turn is attached to bungee ropes, and catapult you HIGH into the air. Every now and again a guy would attach himself to your feet, to add extra weight, and pull you further down and then let go to launch you even higher into the air. Apart from the rope burn I received on the inside of my leg, it was quite a thrill. I even managed to do a few backflips while in the air... Rap-jumping: Which is abseiling down a building/structure/earth, but only this time it is face first. I figured this wasn't enough of a challenge, so I had the guys that organised this make sure that my girlfriend was right by the drop zone where I was going to land, and when I got there I presented her with a ring and asked her to marry me.... The jump itself was not scary at all as it was only from about 30 metres up, however the biggest thrill came when she said "Yes"!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st August - University of Pretoia, "Last Minute Jam" Arranged at the last minute (hence the name), we had Morgan, Tiny, Sanko, Ray, Viv, Steff, eLLLe and DC all attend this jam. That's 3 new faces again!! I asked Sanko to do the write-up in order to give you all a different view of what happens at a jam. It also happened to be his very first official Parkour session. So for those of you that are keen to try this out but are too afraid of what to expect, or have not idea what to do, make sure you read the following piece carefully. (Sanko, cheers for the write-up and see you soon at the next jam) xxxxxxxxxxxxx A PK Debut - Sanko Quite accidentally, a friend told me of a thing he saw on television: People who run through a city as if it’s their playground. They would jump from rooftops; climb walls and clear parapets like cats. Apparently these sinister people had as many lives as cats as well. Immediately I decided that I want to know more about this, apparently a French phenomenon. After a while of surfing the Net, I came across some groovy sites, downloaded excellent videos and, to my surprise, came across a link to a South African Parkour website. I contacted DC of Urban Freeflow South Africa, who immediately invited me to attend a jam in Pretoria. My brother and I went, having no idea what to expect; but we were warmly greeted by the guys (and gals). Soon we felt like old acquaintances. DC went through some warm-ups with us and started to show us the basics. We played about with precision jumps and cat leaps. After a few adjustments, DC had turned my martial art front-roll into a proper PK-roll. And before I knew it, he had me do various vaults, and all kinds of stuff I’m still to remember the names off. I had some crash landings, but nothing serious. Just one bruise in the palm of my left hand – weird?! I found out that Parkour is probably 90% mental and 10% physical. Most of the time, the hardest part of doing anything was getting over the initial fear. I caught myself spontaneously slamming the breaks in mid-run just before a jump or a leap. However, once I did it, there was no turning back. It was so much fun that I didn’t even realize what a great work-out I was getting. The day after, however, literally all my muscles ached. Being a martial artist I found Parkour perfect cross-training and would suggest it to all martial artist, irrespective of style. Parkour allows for complete individuality, and you can adjust the work-out to your own level of physical ability – and is therefore an excellent recreation for almost anyone; regardless of age, gender or skill. If I was asked to describe my first Parkour session in a few words I would go with: "Freakin’ exhilarating and heaps of (or rather buildings of) fun!" Sanko Lewis, 4 August 2004 xxxxxxxxxxxxx -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24th July - Avenues Office Park, Session #2 Last week jamming at this venue proved that it had some great potential for a listing on the Gauteng Hotspots. It's neat gap jumps, precision jumps and select drops makes it a great all-rounder for beginners as well as advanced Traceurs. This week just continued along that trend with yet another new face that joined us to try out the jumps. Although some of the regulars took a break to watch rugby, combat deathly illnessess and travelling the African Continent, we managed to pull off a great session with those that were there: Tyronne, B.I.G., Bekks, "L" and myself. We started off with some invaluable warm-up exercises, which got the muscles going and then moved onto the first session of Gaps and Precisions. Some cool pictures were taken which will be posted up as soon as. The second session had us practise some vaults over park benches. This is where Tyronne showed his true colours. After a brief run-through of what a Lazy Vault is, he quickly jumped right in to show us all how it's done! Nice one Tyronne!!! Bekks refined his reverse vaults and I practised my Dash Vaults while B.I.G. did a single handed vault right over the main table. Luckily "L" was there to capture all of this, so look out for the next gallery. As the session starting winding down, we ended up finding a brand new spin-off of Parkour .... called ParkQueen. Hopefully we can film some of this breath-taking new venture and show you all what it's about. Look forward to the next jam, and hope to see ya' all there! DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17th July - Avenues Office Park, Rivonia, Johannesburg This jam was in honour of two great events: 1) Abi's birthday and 2) Bekk's return from Namibia. So what better way to celebrate..... With a few new faces that promised to turn up we were sure to be in for an eventful day. First Brandon arrived and we immediately started jamming! His martial arts skills played to his favour luckily. Next Dino joined in and we were set for some wicked gap jumps, precision jumps and drops. (The office park proved to be very tricky in some areas. Especially for Bekks who almost went head over heels while being attached to some stray rope that was lying about. ) Viv (or SUPERMOM as she is known), X-ray and Abi arrived with Egon not far behind, and were just in time to fill in with the king-kong and monkey vault training. Our last minute arrival was Mike who decided to join us for the last session at the Office Park, where I managed to conquer a 4.5mtr(about 14feet) wall climb (although I don't believe it to be any higher than 3mtrs, but hey). We then packed up and moved onto Rivonia Square area where we went for a scoping exercise so I could show everyone what basic urban obstacles to look out for next time they were in town on their own. It turned out to be a bit of a Run through town, which was brilliant!!! I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. Hope to see you all again next week Ciao 4 now DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27th and 4th July - Centurion Lake/Mall - (Gallery5) Sunday 27th started off with a brief run and scoping exercise of the Standard Bank area. With some great spectacular railings and stairs, it proved to be a potentially great place to shoot a video sequence. We also noticed that we aren't the only ones you utilise the fantastic obstacle course, as there were clear indications of some mean-a$$ Grinds that were pulled along those railings. Whether they were from roller blades or skateboards, we weren't sure. After a few big gap jumps, wall runs and some neat precision jumps/runs using the railings we moved onto the Centurion Mall area. With a brief break for lunch, I went and scouted the area along the west-end of the waterfront and found an excellent run for us to do. Comprising of Gap Jumps, Cat Leaps, Precision Jumps and some fair sized drops, we were in for a real treat. Everyone outdid themselves, and a few daring moves were conquered by ALL. It just goes to show ..... it's all in the mind! I caught up with a few guys who were sitting around watching what we were up to, and AGAIN was asked the million dollar question: "What are you guys doing?" quickly followed by "...cause it's incredible!" :-) The best part is that people still have no idea what their capabilities are, and would rather very quickly say "Oh, I could NEVER do that.", and when it's those very people that get involved and end up loving it all the way and pull off some of the most amazing stuff. XXXX Thursday we had a mini jam in Rivonia where DC, Bekks and Abi sessioned an office park which turned out to be a fantastic jam. Abi who had never done PK before, pulled off some big gap jumps, while Bekks refined his techniques very nicely and ended up beating some of his personal best achievements. It turned out to be a great place for beginners and advanced Traceurs to session. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th & 6th June 2004 - Tukkies Grounds, Pretoria, Gauteng Seeing as very little interest was shown towards the Saturday jam, it was cancelled. However, Sundays jam (6th June) went off like a blast. With a terrain that caters for most types of moves and even short runs, Tukkies was a sure hit for the session. We started off with low level climbs, drops and also neat vaults against a cool backdrop. (Look in "Gallery3" under the "Cinema" section for the pics) Then headed out on towards an amphi theater where a few more advanced moves were dared. We also caught up with a naked PK-Chick who flashed across our run-path. Of which, a photo WAS taken and you guys can go view it. ;-p After an extreme rush of adrenaline doing some of the moves at the Amphi, most of us started to tone down and home-time beckoned for one of our youngest Traceurs to date, Steff. The few that were left, turned to scouting out a new area where some neat gap jumps, precision jumps, cat leaps and rail walks were found. Probably one of the best areas for both Newbies and Experienced Traceurs to jam. We also had an audience at one stage, and couldn't help but notice how intrigued they were at what we were doing. (Next time jump right in guys. You're more than welcome to) So till next time, Ciao, DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22nd May 2004 - Union Building, Pretoria, Gauteng After a short wait, those who said they were turning up eventually arrived. After having had an "All-nighters" the night before props go out to those who made the effort and actually turned up. I'm sure you'll all agree that it was worth it... A few of the "newbies" were quickly bitten by the PK-bug and joined in the action. Some great pictures were captured, and you can view them in the "Cinema" section. Two unsuspecting passers-by, saw the action and were compelled to ask what was going on. To Thomas and Kaizer, I hope you enjoyed what you saw and look forward to seeing you two at the next jam Again, the numbers were fewer than expected however those that were there, can witness to a great day had by all. We ended the session with a Braai (the South African term for a BBQ) and watched the infamous "Jump London" movie. To those who could not make it, we look forward to catching up with you at the next one. Ciáo 4 now, DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15th May 2004 - Union Building, Pretoria, Gauteng Not greatly attended, yet it turned out to be a good opening to what is yet to become the most popular Urban Sport in SA. To those that didn't make it (and I got a few calls saying they couldn't), make sure you get down to the next jam. Which is at the same venue, same time next Saturday. I was able to go through a few of the basic moves and the pictures should be up in the "Cinema" section. So go check them out. Till next week, Ciáo DC
