Well, you should probably be away from your computer celebrating the start of another brave new year... but seeing as you are here, we'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy New Year! Thanks to all those who made 2009 what it was - you know who you are. Classes recommence on Sunday January 3rd and we hope to catch as many of you as possible in 2010, to train, learn, grow... and most importantly share a whole lot of fun with!

Best wishes from Parkour Generations!

Early in the new year we will be starting sessions for Epping Forest Council in East London at three local schools on a weekly basis. Epping Forest is the latest council to get involved with our Parkour for Schools Programme, which continues to expand at a rapid rate. Click the link above for more information on our schools programme.

The latest computer game to be based on parkour movement, Assassin's Creed II, is proving a big hit amongst gamers and has some great movement action to boot. Following in the footsteps of Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Prototype, Mirror's Edge and a host of other high-profile games that revolve around stylised parkour action, this one is a fine addition to the growing club and worth a look if gaming is your thing. Click here for an example review.

We would like to take this opportunity to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone from all of us here at PKGen - huge thanks to all the people who have made this past year what it was, in the UK, France and further afield, and to all the great people we met in the practising communities around the world. Keep training, and Happy New Year!

This summer the annual international gathering held by Parkour Generations and Majestic Force in London, Rendezvous IV, happened on a beautiful weekend with practitioners from all over the world, including Yamakasi founders Yann Hnautra and Williams Belle and all of the PKGen collective. Julie Angel was there to capture the goings on, as always, and we are now happy to release the first of two edits - this one showing Day 1 at London's iconic Southbank Centre, which officially hosted the event.

Our latest short film, Intentions by renowned film-maker Julie Angel, has just been featured on Youtube's sports homepage. Youtube has been a very visual reference for the huge growth in popularity of parkour around the world, with parkour videos now the most uploaded type of video in the sporting category... Incredible. Expect more soon from us and Julie, including the much anticipated edit of Rendezvous IV, Day 1..!

We have now opened the January Outdoor Classes for booking, which can be done online here. Places on these Wednesday and Friday evening classes must be reserved in advance, and we only take a limited number per class so please book early to nail down a spot! Last outdoor class of this year is tomorrow, Wednesday 23rd December and will be held at Waterloo Imax location.

The national gathering in Mexico has just ended, and Blane and Thomas had a great time teaching and running the warm-up sessions for the 350 or so attendants, inclduing a very well attended women's workshop. Everyone put in great effort and brought incredible enthusiasm to the event, and big thanks to Urban Runners for organising the event over there and making it run so smoothly, and for welcoming the guys so warmly. And well done to everyone who took part! Click here to visit the event's official site.

A new short film from Julie Angel has just been released online, called Intentions... and can be seen here. The film is a motion montage captured when Julie accompanied some of the Parkour Generations collective during a few night training sessions over the summer in central London. We think it captures the almost tribal essence of these sessions, where there is little communication other than the experience of movement and the environment. Click the link above to watch.

Earlier this year we worked on the St Trinians 2 movie providing parkour choreography and stunt doubling for the main roles, and the film has just premiered in London and now opens in cinemas across the country today. The project was in tandem with Mike Christie (he of Jump London/Jump Britain directorial fame) who directed the action sequences, as Dan choreographed and Tracey and Agota provided the stunt doubling for the lead actresses.

Earlier this year one of our Developing Athletes and ADD Nation members, Naoki Ishiyama, suffered a broken back after a tree branch broke beneath him in London. The global community rallied incredibly, supporting him throughout his ordeal and raising funds to help repatriate him to Japan and treat him. Now, incredibly, after only three months, Naoki is up and about and even beginning to train..! Take a look at this video put up by good friend Hajime Uchimura... Naoki's back!

As is tradition at our London Academy, the last classes of the year - 21st and 22nd December - will be the famed 'Christmas Classes'... Which means all are encouraged to come wearing ridiculous festive fancy dress and train for the entire class in said get-up. The best-dressed guy and girl will win the coveted PKGen goody-bags, and be warned that the standards are always pretty darn high! So make an effort, win some prizes and see out the year in style...

Since winter is now upon us and the weather has taken a turn for the worst, its ever more important to make sure that you're keeping warm while training. To help you combat the harsh climate we are now selling our first headwear product on the store. A black unisex beanie hat with our PKGen swirl embroidered over the left temple is available for only £6.50! Head over to the store HERE to order yours today.

Our very own Julie Angel has just uploaded the first part of the Q&A with Stephane Vigroux, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra and other members of Parkour Generations and Majestic Force team. You can watch the video on her YouTube channel by clicking the link HERE. Keep your eyes peeled for more very soon!

The new Sutton Academy classes on Wednesday evenings are now in full swing, and well worth attending if you are local to that area or within reach and want an evening of hard training... They are held at Westcroft Leisure Centre in Carshalton and are supported by Sutton Borough Council. The first lesson at 4pm is open to anyone under the age of 16, followed by a second class for over 16s from 5.30pm.

The end of another busy week for us, with extra workshops being run for PE teacher trainees at Gloucester University on behalf of Parkour UK, and sessions yesterday for Attlee Commmunity Centre on top of three days of training delivered for schools that have installed our new permanent training facility, 'Free:D'. Today sees the 3 year anniversary of our monthly Girl Jams, this one being the 36th!! Also the last of 2009, so come on out and train... Elephant and Castle tube station for a 12pm start. ;)

Continuing from the research we undertook last year with Roehampton University's sports research department, SPARC, today 6 of our team are taking part in further physiological tests in the labs to get a better understanding of the long-term effects of parkour training. So far the results have shown hugely positive long-term benefits, and we look forward to seeing what the geniuses at SPARC end up producing. More details to follow!

Due to popular demand from the community across the pond, early next year we will be releasing out training edits DVD Once is Never in NTSC format..! For those of you who are happy with PAL format, click the link above to be taken to our online store where you can pick up a copy now...

The last Girls Jam of 2009 will take place this weekend, Sunday December 13th, and will be held at the Elephant and Castle training location - the large, condemned estate behind the shopping centre at the tube station. The jam will start around midday and go on until no is left standing... Totally free, open to women of all levels of expereience and ability, from beginner to veteran, these Jams are a great way to meet like-minded practitioners and learn from the whole community.

This month on the 19-20th December Team Members Blane and Thomas will be running a seminar in Mexico City, Mexico, organised in conjunction with the local group, Urban Runners, for the country's national gathering event. The seminar is open to all and more details can be found on the website linked to above. The guys will be there a few days in advance to get used to the city and the community, and it should be a fine event all round.

As reported earlier in the week, Spiked magazine has placed a six page article featuring parkour and Parkour Generations in this months release. Notably, it includes interviews from both team members Alli and Thomas regarding their journey and experiences within the discipline.

This week, Tuesday 8th December, sees the official launch of our new unprecedented in-school training facility developed in conjunction with leading innovative sporting and play equipment manufacturers, Education and Special Projects. This concept, known as Free: D, has been in development for some time and will make parkour teaching in schools far more accessible and beneficial all round for both qualified instructors and the young people themselves.

This Saturday, December 5th, we will be performing and taking part in London's Phiz N Biz launch event, running from 3:00pm till 7:00pm at Highgate Newtown Community Centre. The event is expecting to host thousands of young people from north London, and will showcase a number of activities they are encouraged to get involved in following the launch, including Parkour, Capoeira, Breakdance/Poppin, Martial Arts, Trapeze, Cheer leading, MC’s, Singers, Poets, Comedians, DJ’s, and Football freestylers.

This month, December 18th, sees the release of the new St Trinian's movie which features a parkour-based action scene that was choreographed and performed by a team from Parkour Generations. The scene was directed by Mike Christie of Jump London fame, and contained Tracey and Agota providing all the stunt doubling for the two main actresses of the film - Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud and Montserrat Lombard. All shot on location at London's iconic Southbank, we hope the edited scene lives up to the great action that was captured on the day!

December is proving to be just as busy a month as any other, with workshops having been going on all this week on top of our regular classes. Several for Westminster's Pupil Referral Unit, the Sutton Academy on Wednesday evenings, tomorrow's workshop at Attlee Community Centre and a taster earlier in the week for Archbishop Tenison School where we are looking to help instal some new training facilities. Non-stop as ever, and next year is only going to be busier...

A new blog post has just gone up by Johann Vigroux, in which he talks about his introduction to parkour via David Belle, Stephane and the other Lisses traceurs. Revealing stuff, and a good reminder of how simple and honest parkour training should really be - done for nothing more than the love and the challenge. Well worth reading, so click here now!