These pages describe the various Instructor Qualifications, referred to as the A.D.A.P.T Qualification Programme, administered and approved by Parkour UK and delivered by Parkour Generations and Majestic Force.
The qualification programme provides the industry benchmark for parkour/art du deplacement instruction and is recognised across Europe as a vocational qualification. ADAPT has been formulated over several years by many of the founding figures of the discipline of parkour/art du deplacement.
To receive an ADAPT Instructor Qualification is to be approved to teach the discipline of parkour/art du deplacement by the foremost practitioners and teachers in the world, including the original Yamakasi and the traceurs from Lisses, Paris - the birthplace of parkour.
The first name for the discipline, born in France in the 1980s, was Art du Deplacement; best translated in English as the Art of Movement. Over time other names were used to describe it, including Parkour - derived from the French parcours, meaning 'route' or 'course' - and later Freerunning. However, the name has never been as important as the methods and spirit of practise which remain at its core today. For the sake of convenience, these pages will refer to the discipline as Parkour.
Parkour focuses on developing the fundamental attributes required for movement, which include balance, strength, dynamism, endurance, precision, spatial awareness and creative vision. It is a way of training one’s body and mind in order to be as completely functional, effective and liberated as possible in the physical realm, and a way of thinking based on rigorous self-discipline, autonomous action and self-will.
Beyond this simple explanation, however, parkour is a discipline of self-improvement on all levels, an art that reveals to the practitioner his or her own physical and mental limits and simultaneously offers a method to surpass them.
A practitioner of parkour aims to be self-reliant and physically capable; fit, strong and healthy; honest and sincere; disciplined; focussed; creative and always useful and helpful to others.
Throughout the assessment the candidate will be questioned thoroughly by the assessors on all aspects of the discipline. Only upon completing all sections of the assessment can the candidate achieve an ADAPT Qualification and become an Affiliated Instructor.
Passing an ADAPT qualification is to have achieved a level of physical and mental excellence both as a coach and as a practitioner. This is not something that can be assessed in one single examination or even several hours. The ADAPT Qualification Assessments usually last between three to four days and comprise of a physical test, a technical test, and an observed teaching test.
Becoming an instructor of parkour is not easy. The discipline presents one of the most complete physical activities in the world, and if practiced or taught incorrectly can be extremely dangerous.
