2007 was an incredible year for us and for parkour, but 2008 is already shaping up to hold some unprecedented developments for the discipline and we are looking forward to taking things to new heights right from the start. On New Year's Day the Team flies to Spain to display parkour as part of the national annual arts festival, ACTUAL, and then immediately heads to the United States for another live event.

With the festive frolics coming to a close, it's time to get serious again.. The first Outdoor Class of 2008 will be on Friday 4th January, and is already fully booked. Anyone wishing to book a last-minute place for January or February's classes should do so as soon as possible. Let the games begin again..!

Our friends in Finland have once again produced a festive video following the antics of Santa Claus as he utilises his well-honed parkour abilities to save Christmas. Bigger and better each year, this one can be seen in two parts here.

All of us at Parkour Generations would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you in what is lining up to be an amazing 2008. Now go eat, drink and... ah, you know the drill!

Well done to everyone who came out in the mist and ice for the final class of the year last night. Training in those sort of conditions is when you find out the most about yourself as a traceur, and Kazuma and Dan were glad to see that everyone acquitted themselves well. Expect more of the same for January and February's classes..!

Yesterday's Christmas Class was as horrendous as last year, with some of the regulars going all out to win the coveted Best-Dressed title. This year Andrzej the Elf was deposed by Sister Jacob, with Pimp Santa Andy coming in a close second. Fairy Godmother Amy cleaned up for the girls. Here we have Festive Forrest, Dan and Tracey with some of the regulars. Thanks to everyone for making the effort, and we'll see you all next year to burn off those mince pies..!

A new video featuring four of the Parkour Generations Team - Seb Goudot, Stephane, Forrest and Chris - as they go about their usual City life has just gone online and can be viewed here. Thanks to Julie Angel for directing, filming and post-producing and to Tom Strauch of Switchstance Recordings for the music.

As the Academy Classes pause for Christmas and New Year it is a good time to remind everyone that there is no need to push too far, too fast in their own training: shortcuts will only lead to injuries and damaged bodies. This article by our good friend Blane is spot on and should be required reading for all. Another reminder of these concepts can be found in the older article No Secrets. Train hard, but train smart!

Please note that there will be NO Academy Classes from 24th December until Jan 3rd. The first class in the new year will be Friday 4th's Outdoor Class for those who have booked a spot. January and February Outdoor Classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays are now open for booking via email or in person this week at the Academy.

Earlier this month UK veteran Blane visited Parkour Generations Team Member Thomas in his hometown of Tours in France for a week of training. The trip resulted in this short training edit, which shows just a little of what they got upto. Click here to view.

As ever, the last indoor Academy Class of the year - Thursday December 20th - will be the Christmas Class: anyone attending (and training) in festive fancy dress has the chance of winning Best Dressed Male/Female and receiving some juicy early gifts! Hard to top tonight's class though, with Christian living up to the forfeit of losing a bet with Dan and performing a full-length version of 'Billie Jean' by Michael Jackson in front of the entire class. Much respect!

This month Parkour Generations athlete Tracey will be featured in American magazine Cosmogirl as part of its 'Body and Soul' series, which will utilize images of her provided by parkour photographer extraordinaire Kiell.

Yesterday saw Dom and Tracey working very hard for almost 12 straight hours of shooting in the cold for the London Film Academy's television commercial for the Kodak Commercial Challenge. The shoot had to be completed in one day, and despite the freezing conditions and the many production obstacles that cropped up, both athletes did an amazing job and finished every shot. Well done to them, and we hope the final edit by the London Film Academy does the hard work justice!

At the end of our recent seminar, Rendezvous II, we held a Q&A session for the participants with our guest instructors, the Yamakasi. Everyone was very eager to talk to these founding figures of the discipline, and their words are extremely poignant and helpful for anyone attempting to understand the spirit and true meaning of the art of movement. In 3 parts, these unedited pieces can be viewed here. Unmissable.

Despite the current period of overcast, rain-filled London weather, it's good to remember that there are always things you can work on in training. Today Stephane, Forrest, Dan, Johann and Kazuma hit the now-famous 'Precision Castle' spot, which becomes a lot more interesting when damp..! For some advice on wet-weather training, read the article Rain-Running.

The shoot with artist Layla Curtis, utilising a thermal imaging camera to capture the heat traces or parkour on the city, was wrapped up this week and we are now eagerly awaiting the finished piece. Julie Angel covered the shoot from behind the scenes, and that film itself will be screened at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London in the new year. Many thanks to Layla and to the many locations that provided permission to shoot, and to everyone who worked so flexibly to manage the wet weather!

Out of the depths of the vaults comes a short edit by Julie Angel following our first ever Outdoor Class back at the start of 2006. In those days students were fewer and the training was geared towards just grasping the basics... classes are a little different these days! Dan and Forrest were teaching, and it can be seen here. Thanks to Andy Potterton of Perception Records for the music, and the one and only Julie Angel for being there from the start!

In early January, immediately following the live festival event in Spain, we will be sending a three-man team to Las Vegas to perform at an awards ceremony and shoot a video edit for the same project. 2008 is already looking to be busier than ever on all fronts, with some very positive developments for the discipline to come.

Yesterday a two-man team from Parkour Generations provided the action for a short television commercial around the hotspots of Birmingham, UK. The commercial is for a shopping channel - as soon as it has been released we wil have the footage here for all to see. Thanks to Paul Demers for taking care of the guys on the day!

A report of our recent December seminar, Rendezvous II, has just gone online in the articles section. Click here to read it.

Just added are two galleries of photographs from Kiell for your delectation. Firstly, Supreme Parkour Armageddon from our recent trip to Finland. Secondly, all the action from RendezVous II. Enjoy.

Today's Girl Jam was an interesting day for those who braved the wet and windy weather, with Thomas Couetdic invited along to share his considerable experience. Practising at one of the many covered spots in London, Thomas was impressed by the skill and determination of the traceuses and enjoyed working with them. For details of the next women-only training day, email Tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com.

Yesterday's seminar, Rendezvous II, was a great success and an amazing experience for all involved! The scaffold towers proved a big hit, and the numbers were just right for the size of the hall meaning everyone kept active the entire time. The Yamakasi led the day, with the rest of the team pitching in, and there were some great skills on display throughout. A full report will be on the site soon, along with photos from Kiell. Here we have Forrest, Laurent, Yann, Johann, Chau, Kaz, Williams and Stephane answering questions at the end.

A new article by UK veteran Blane has just gone up in the Resources section of the site. Blane's perspective on training has always been highly insightful and this latest article is no different - here he talks about how he has moved away from more 'traditional' isolated conditioning drills to return to training concepts found at the very heart of parkour. Well worth a read, especially for those starting out in the discipline. Click the link above to get there.

The last big seminar of the year, Rendezvous II, is just around the corner and the team has begun to assemble in London. The Yamakasi arrive tomorrow morning from Paris, ready for action on what should be an incredible day. The wealth of knowledge and experience gathered in one place will be quite unprecedented in the history of parkour, and for the lucky few who got a place before we closed the doors it should be a day long remembered. Our own Kiell and Julie Angel will be covering the event so expect some prime footage to be released before too long...

Every year Kodak puts on a competition for up and coming student film-makers to create a 30 second television commercial using state-of-the-art resources. This year the London Film Academy are entering a piece that focusses on Parkour Generations Team members Stephane and Tracey, which will be shooting next week. With the next big things in directing behind the shoot, the results should be quite special and will soon be shown here on the site.

We are pleased to announce officially that Thomas Couetdic has joined the Parkour Generations Team and will be involved in many of our forthcoming projects and helping to spread the teachings of parkour to all who want to learn. Thomas' skill and commitment are of the highest order, and we are very happy to have him on board!

Having Thomas around for the week leading up to the Rendezvous II seminar on Saturday is proving to be great fun, and he will be guest instructing at most of the classes this week too. Today Forrest, Dan, Agota and Thomas spent the afternoon practising, with Thomas spotting this running jump of the day from a stone block to a high wall. Academy students beware..!

This week we begin the shooting with artist Layla Curtis, who is creating a piece of video art filming parkour movements through the lens of a thermal imaging camera. The practise shoots have revealed some fascinating details regarding tactile traces left on the terrain by a practitioner, and the footage will provide a highly original perspective on the discipline. We can't wait to see the end results...

An article giving one woman's perspective on parkour by Lauren Stokes has just gone up in the Resources section of the site. Lauren is a diligent student of the Academy, one who travelled all the way from America purely to train in London with us. We look forward to her return early next year. Click here to read the article.

With the second Rendezvous Seminar almost here we are looking forward to what should be an excellent day. This time Chau, Laurent, Yann and Williams of the Yamakasi will all be present, along with Seb Goudot, Thomas des Bois, and the rest of the Parkour Generations team. Add in Danny Ilabaca, Blane, the Saiyans... all the usual suspects from the UK in fact, plus some groups from abroad, and we have a very rare gathering! Two scaffolding structures will be in place for the training, and everyone will also have some time outside.

Julie Angel has just finished a new short film following the training with Parkour Generations at a dark, wet outdoor class. With Kazuma and Johann teaching, the video shows the less glamorous side of parkour training - and this is where the real work is done by serious practitioners: the aim is always to be functional no matter the circumstances. You can watch the video here. Many thanks to Andy Potterton at Perception Records for the music, and more of Julie's work can be seen here.

Well done to the students who attended Friday's Outdoor Class with Johann, Kaz and Chris... horizontal rain and driving winds always make for interesting training conditions! Nothing strengthens the spirit like it - something to keep in mind as the snow and ice begin to move into view..!

Dan, Forrest and Stephane have just returned from a few days of rehearsals and location scouting in Logrono, Spain for the live event a 5-man team will be putting on at the annual Spanish Arts Festival, 'Actual', in January. The city provides some excellent terrain for parkour and the show should be quite a spectacle - here we can see Steph and Forrest sizing up an interesting jump..! We'd like to thank Cesar and Chuchi for their efforts to make us feel right at home, and we look forward to being back there in the new year.

The open workshop given today by several of our coaches as part of the Academy Sports Centre's Community Day was a huge success, with loads of youngsters trying their hand for the first time and getting a taste of what the classes hold in store for them. Thanks to everyone who pitched in, including several of the Academy regulars who showed up to share the pain!