Archive |
News from June 2008
In The Meantime, Off The Wall... A massive thanks to all that made it down to Sunday's Off The Wall yesterday, as well as the residents of Lewisham and Greenwich for having such an overwhelmingly positive attitude. Monday 30th of June 2008 
Yesterday we ran another highly successful workshop for the Wiltshire Alternative Youth Sports organisation, this one being held in Trowbridge and running all day as part of a sports festival. Highlight of the day was a 10 year old girl outdoing boys much older than her in the catleap training..! Thanks to Nick Thrower of WAYS for his continuing efforts to raise awareness of fitness and physicality among the young people of Wiltshire. Sunday 29th of June 2008 
London Jam Imminent: Sunday 29th June A reminder that this month's Off The Wall open gathering will be held on Sunday June 29th in Greenwich. Although not a very well documented spot, its renowned for its elevated walls which lead up to one of the clearest views of London. To get there, we'll be meeting slightly earlier than usual at Lewisham Station as part of the Jam will be taking the journey to the station itself. For those that wish to, there's a long stretch of road along the way that can be taken with minimal need to touch the ground at all. To meet, come out of the station, and walk down the hill on the left hand side towards the main road, and we'll gather there! Friday 27th of June 2008 
Although there are newspaper and magazine articles happening all the time, every now and again a decent and truly positive one shows up..! The July issue of German style and sports publication Rausch Magazine features a long interview with Team Member Tracey, which touches on the simple truths of the discipline of parkour and the pure joy it can bring to all practitioners. Worth a look if you can get hold of a copy outside of Germany! Thursday 26th of June 2008 
Healthy Living Festivals for Schools On Friday 27th June we are running workshops at Rotherfield Primary School and on Friday 4th July we are at Newington Green Primary as part of the Healthy Living Festivals, which aim to promote the many benefits of active and healthy lifestyles. Getting children involved in the discipline from a young age has proven to be extremely powerful in encouraging in them a positive and health-oriented mindset, and is something we are very much supportive of. Thursday 26th of June 2008 
First Scientific Research On Parkour Begins In July of this year we will be working closely with the renowned Sport Performance Assessment and Rehabilitation Centre at Roehampton University (SPARC) to carry out the first physiological tests into the effects and benefits of parkour training. Several of the Parkour Generations team will be involved in the tests, which will utilise the latest physical analysis equipment to measure all aspects of the traceur's profile during practise. Quite unprecedented, these tests should provide an excellent insight into what goes on in the body when we push ourselves through parkour. More details will follow as the tests get underway. Wednesday 25th of June 2008 
Due to Kazuma being away for the next two weeks, his Advanced Class on Tuesday evenings will not be running on the 1st or 8th of July. The class will recommence as usual on Tuesday 15th July, and anyone wishing to book a place should email Kazuma on Kazuma(at)parkourgenerations.com. Wednesday 25th of June 2008 
The new Friday Academy Class got off to a good start last week, and continues every Friday from 7.30-9.30pm at Moberly Sports Centre on Kilburn Lane. Taught by Forrest and Chris, the class is focussing on all the fundamental aspects of parkour training just as with the long-standing Monday night class. All are welcome, no need to book, just turn up and dive in..! Wednesday 25th of June 2008 
A very short commercial shot for Kodak featuring Dom and Tracey can now be seen on our YouTube Channel - filmed late last year in the freezing cold, the final edit was limited to a 30 second slot and so 95% of the action shot was left on the cutting room floor as so often happens with these projects..! Director Antonis Bakopoulos managed to make a snappy little piece though, and it can be seen by clicking here. Wednesday 25th of June 2008 
Yesterday's parkour workshops we ran at the annual Proactive Islington Festival of Sports in Arsenal's renowned Emirates Stadium in London were a great success, with high levels of engagement among the young people who attended the festival. The workshops, led by Coaches Peter and Yao, certainly struck a chord with the organisers and attendees and have once brough the discipline to a whole new audience. Several projects are already off-shooting from the day - more details here soon... Sunday 22nd of June 2008 
The shoot for Canon at District 13 is now done, with Julie capturing some of the best action footage to date. Seb and Steph were both on top form, breaking massive new jumps at the famous location, and the finished edit should be something very special... We will let you know here first where and when the commercial can be seen. Saturday 21st of June 2008 
Channel 4's 'Bite' Features Women's Class Yesterday saw Channel 4's online tv show, Bite, covering our Women's Class, with presenter Ami boldly throwing herself into the training. The piece will air soon at the Channel 4 sitelink above. Huge thanks to all the students for allowing themselves to be filmed during the class! Friday 20th of June 2008 
Proactive Festival Workshops - June 21 This Saturday will see us running workshops from 1-3pm at the annual Proactive Islington Festival of Sports in Arsenal's renowned Emirates Stadium in London. Entry to the festival is totally free, and the entire event runs from 12-6 that day with lots of sports and activities going on. Please come on down and join in! Thursday 19th of June 2008 
This week on June 19th and 20th we will be shooting a commercial for Canon and their 'Freecording' Campaign in District 13 of Paris, one of the most famous parkour spots in the world. Julie Angel will be directing and shooting the piece, with Seb and Stephane providing the action. Unlike the standard advert format, this piece will have more of a documentary feel to it to go along with the inevitable explosive action.. Wednesday 18th of June 2008 
Behind The Jump: Vol 5 - Now Online! The latest in our 'Insights Into Training' series, Behind The Jump, is now online and can be seen on this website or on the Parkour Generations YouTube Channel. This episode focuses on one aspect of the simplest yet most beneficial conditioning exercises in parkour, quadrupedie, and looks at the benefits and method of practising it upon a railing. Simple, yet very effective. Wednesday 18th of June 2008 
Off The Wall: June's Open London Jam - Sunday 29th This month's Off The Wall open gathering will be held on Sunday June 29th in Greenwich. Although not a very well documented spot, its renowned for its elevated walls which lead up to one of the clearest views of London. To get there, we'll be meeting slightly earlier than usual at Lewisham Station as part of the Jam will be taking the journey to the station itself. For those that wish to, there's a long stretch of road along the way that can be taken with minimal need to touch the ground at all. To meet, come out of the station, and walk down the hill on the left hand side towards the main road, and we'll gather there! Tuesday 17th of June 2008 
Premiere Screening of 'The Making of Traceurs' - 21st June This Saturday will see the first screening, in association with Westminster City Council, Futurecity and the London Festival of Architecture, of 'The Making of Traceurs: to trace, to draw, to go fast', a documentary by our own Julie Angel following the making of a series of artist's films by Layla Curtis. Curtis uses heat-seeking cameras to trace the navigation of the urban landscape by traceurs revealing an unconventional view of the city. Featuring Stephane & Johann Vigroux, Forrest, Thomas Couetdic and many more from Parkour Generations.Entrance is free but numbers are limited and there is no booking system. Entry will be on a first come first come first served basis: the showings will be held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London on Saturday 21st June from 2pm and Thursday 26th June from 2pm. Tuesday 17th of June 2008 
PKGEN and Feral: Candid Edit Now Online A couple of weeks ago we spent a day shooting a promotional video for Feral (UK) Ltd, an environmental awareness orgnaisation that makes ecologically sound clothing - while the shoot proper was going on we also managed to film some behind-the-scenes footage and talk to the director of Feral as well as the team members who were taking part. This candid edit can now be seen on our YouTube Channel here. Environmental awareness is something we are very enthusiastic about and initiatives such as this can help build towards the critical mass of understanding that is necessary to move the planet's health in a positive direction. Tuesday 17th of June 2008 
Behind The Jump: Vol 5 - almost wrapped... Filming for Behind The Jump Volume 5 has been ongoing this week and the last few shots are set to be done tomorrow - meaning this latest instalment in our 'Insights into Training' series will be released in the coming week and can be seen first on our official YouTube channel. Keep 'em peeled..! Friday 13th of June 2008 
We were recently approached by the inspirational Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK (Charity Registration No.(England & Wales) 295672 Charity Registration No.(Scotland) SC037479) regarding a young man from America living with Synovial Sarcoma whose dream is to learn parkour in the UK with Parkour Generations. Drake, only 17, will be coming all the way from the States to London between the 19-26 of July and will be cramming in as much training as is possible for that week..! We very much look forward to meeting him and helping him achieve this dream. Wednesday 11th of June 2008 
As of June 20th we will be opening up our Indoor Academy Class at Moberly Sports Centre on Friday nights as well as the regular Monday And Thursday sessions. On Thursdays we will be concentrating more on developing the fitness and physical attributes necessary for parkour, with the Mondays and Fridays touching on all aspects of parkour training. Tuesday 10th of June 2008 
Positive Futures through Parkour Today sees another in the Positive Futures Workshops programme, with two of our team running a session for young people from 'at risk' areas in conjunction with Westminster Sports Unit. Positive Futures is a national partnership between Sport England, UK Anti-Drugs Co-ordination Unit and the Youth Justice Board. The project aims to use sport to reduce anti-social behavior, crime and drug misuse among 10 - 19 year olds from selected and disadvantaged neighborhoods. The Positive Futures programme is ongoing throughout the summer and always prove to be a great success and extremely beneficial for the children who take part. Monday 09th of June 2008 
Parkour Generations meets Feral (UK) Ltd This weekend saw us begin forging a relationship with the ethical clothing company Feral (UK) Ltd, starting with a shoot on the 7th Of June with Claire Cunden, Feral's director. The video will help promote their very worthwhile cause of providing a way for people to demonstrate care for nature while looking and feeling good too! Thanks to Stephane, Johann, Brian, Alex, James, Andy, Naomi, Peter, Chris and Dom who were happy and motivated to help. Video edit to come soon... Sunday 08th of June 2008 
Behind The Jump: Volume 4 Now Online! Volume 4 in our 'Insights Into Training' series, Behind The Jump, has just gone online and can now be seen on our YouTube channel here. This particular volume focuses on simple movement training, incorporating foot placement, precision, fluidity, speed, and touch. You can see all previous Volumes in our Videos Section. Friday 06th of June 2008 
Men About Town..! New Video Shoot Today has seen Johann, Dan and Kazuma in action all over central London for a new video edit commissioned by Austrian marketing agency, Draftfcb to create a piece that follows on from last year's City Gents project shot for Italian fashion company Il Ponte. As before this video is being directed and shot exclusively by our own Julie Angel, and is already looking to be another great action edit. Thursday 05th of June 2008 
Reminder: June Women's Jam - 8th A reminder that this Sunday, June 8th, there will be a Women's Jam in London. These training days are open to any women of any level of ability for practise, learning, sharing knowledge and experience and are completely free to attend. Always great fun too! For more information email Tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com Thursday 05th of June 2008 
Summer Teaching: All Hands On Deck... This Summer is shaping up to be the busiest yet, with enormous demand for our coaching and workshop programmes both around the UK and internationally. With ongoing courses planned for local authorities including Westminster, Norfolk, Brent, Kensington and Chelsea, Wiltshire, Camden, Barnett, West Berkshire, etc as well as programmes for Edutain, Positive Futures, the Summer University, the Metropolitan Police, Roehampton University, all on top of our own regular Academy classes (set to expand as well) and various international teaching events, we will certainly have all hands on deck for the next few months! Added to that there will be some groundbreaking projects including funded research into the physiological and psychological effects of parkour and large-scale developments for the status of the discipline itself, plus a host of new films and other media projects. Things continue to go from strength to strength, and as usual everything will be detailed here in advance.. Wednesday 04th of June 2008 
On June 19th and 20th we will be shooting a commercial for Canon and their 'Freecording' Campaign in Distrcit 13 of Paris, one of the most famous parkour spots in the world. Julie Angel will be directing and shooting the piece, with Seb and Stephane providing the action. Should be a great piece and we are very excited about shooting in District 13 again... Tuesday 03rd of June 2008 
Yesterday saw the beginning of a long roadtrip by three Parkour Generations Team Members - Thomas, Andy Day (aka Kiell) and Blane - across the continent from the little town of Tours in France to and around Italy. Travelling in Thomas' ancient yet trusty Citroen 2CV, the guys will be meeting up with parkour communities all around Italy as they travel to train and pass on their knowledge with Kiell capturing the whole trip for posterity on his camera as they go. Big thanks to all the Italian traceurs who have already offered to look after the team as they travel, and we look forward to seeing the results of the adventure in a few weeks' time. For timely updates, check out Thomas' blog here. Tuesday 03rd of June 2008 
Roehampton University Workshops Tuesday 3rd June will see us running a day of workshops for Roehampton University's Festival event, which marks the beginning of a series of projects we will be engaging in over the summer with the university's Sport and Wellbeing Department. The workshops will run from 10-12 and from 2-4 tomorrow, and will be held on Froebel College grounds. Monday 02nd of June 2008 
A new video by the Brazilian PKMAX group has just gone online, featuring Parkour Generations Team Member Thomas as he leads training at a seminar in Brazil and talks about how he got started in parkour and gives some advice for those keen to take up the discipline now. Click here to watch the video. Very well put together, with some sage words from Thomas des Bois.. Monday 02nd of June 2008 
This month the Women's Outdoor Classes, run by Tracey, Stephane and Kazuma, fall on Thursdays June 5th and 19th, and there are a couple of spaces still available for reservation. To book one of these spots, email Tracey on Tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com. As always, first come first served! Monday 02nd of June 2008 
This month's GQ Magazine will be featuring an advertorial shot in Amsterdam with Stephane and Seb. The magazine goes on sale this week, June 5th, so be sure to pick up a copy. Monday 02nd of June 2008 |
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