Archive |
News from September 2009
Many thanks again to everyone that participated around the world in the One Giant Leap Jam on Saturday 26th! It was a huge success and we will keep you updated with any news from Sandbag.org.uk and the whole campaign. In the mean time, two photos that were taken by our very own team member, Brian, have gone up on the gallery pages showing the amazing turn out for the London Jam. Click HERE to see the gallery. Wednesday 30th of September 2009 
The class pages have had a much needed revamp to fit in all the new classes, workshops and tuition Parkour Generations are now running. We can also now officially announce that we run at least one public class every single day of the week, sometimes with two classes a day. With this unprecedented level of accessibility, no matter your current situation there is something available for you! Head over to the new class pages HERE to browse through whats on offer. Tuesday 29th of September 2009 
Kazuma now runs two special classes per week, on Tuesday evening and Saturday morning, devised to pass on a wide range of parkour and parkour-related skills and attributes. Held outdoors at set locations each month, the classes do not require any booking and it is advised that more experienced practitioners attend the Tuesday class and those with less experience attend the Saturday class. For more information click HERE to go to the class page. Tuesday 29th of September 2009 
Check out Dom's new blog post which covers our recently injured friend Naoki Ishiyama. After reading the article, head over to the webpage we set up HERE that details the specifics of Naoki's situation and gives you the opportunity to donate to help his plight. Monday 28th of September 2009 
One Giant Leap Explodes Around the World..! The global jam against climate change, One Giant Leap, is now in full swing with all of Asia, Australasia and Europe's events now complete! The UK Jam just has finished in central London, where the UK's Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, came down to support the day and help raise awareness alongside hundreds of traceurs. North and South America's jams are soon to commence, and we and environmental action group Sandbag are already collecting photo and video footage of the events from around in order to show the scale of what the community has achieved today. Huge thanks to everyone who came down to be involved, and to all the PKGen team for helping things run so smoothly. An incredible effort all round, and we are now registering the event as an official world record for the largest simultaneous training day in parkour history..! Saturday 26th of September 2009 
Ashford Arts Parkour Performance Over the past few weeks we have bee training and choreographing a body of young traceurs in Ashford, Kent, for a public performance that will bring the streets of the city of Ashford to life as part of the Ashford Arts and Architecture Festival, entitled Hidden Passages. A number of art works will form the 2009 Festival tomorrow, and will be coupled with an outdoor performance that draws together local groups in celebrating Ashford's Hidden Passages and the town's unique make up. It begins with a series of site specific performance elements that thread and weave through the streets of Ashford, all joining together at a town centre venue and culminating in a finale performance, animating these spaces and the town centre. The performance route will take in Lower High St, Middle Row, Churchyard, North St and High St areas. The bells of St Mary's will sound ten minutes before the start of the performance at 3pm, so if you are in the area please come along and enjoy the ride... Friday 25th of September 2009 
The Guardian newspaper have just released an article on their website covering the details of the "One Giant Leap" Jam and campaign being held tomorrow. You can read the article by Adam Vaughan HERE. If you haven't heard yet, we are hosting a world-wide jam alongside sandbag.org.uk to raise awareness of climate change and the upcoming meetings being held in Copenhagen. The parkour jams are being held at over 100 cities around the world and the London one will be at IMAX Cinema in Waterloo from 11am until 3pm on Saturday 26th September. (Tomorrow!) Friday 25th of September 2009 
In conjunction with our 'One Giant Leap' global jam against climate change, team-member Dom, comedians 'We Are Klang' and our partners Sandbag.org.uk have created this cool promo video highlighting the inspiration and motivations behind the event. Head over to YouTube and check out the video HERE. The worldwide event happens this Saturday, September 26th, and there will be jams occurring in over 100 cities to raise awareness of this great cause. The UK's Jam kicks off in London, at the Imax area next to Waterloo station at 11am. Everyone is welcome, so come along and have some fun! Wednesday 23rd of September 2009 
Following a very successful camp that Blane ran in Geneva last month, the guys from Try'n'Trace ( www.parkourtnt.ch ) have released a great YouTube video covering all the fun they had training that particular weekend. You can check out the video HERE! Wednesday 23rd of September 2009 
Youth Academy and School Classes on BBC News BBC News recently visited our London Youth Academy, and the very positive video piece can be seen here. The Youth Academy in conjunction with the City of Westminster has made huge waves for the development of the discipline with 'at risk' young people, and continues to go from strength to strength. There is also a great look at our work in London schools, also on the BBC here. For details on attending our free Youth Academy on Friday evenings, click here. Wednesday 23rd of September 2009 
Just in case you haven't seen it, Parkour was prominently parodied in America's version of hit TV series 'The Office' last week. The episode began with the main characters elegantly gliding across the office furniture displaying some pretty impressive skills all round. Seems nowhere escapes the touch of parkour these days..! Click here to check it out. Well worth a watch ;) Tuesday 22nd of September 2009 
The global jam against climate change, One Giant Leap, now the largest single communal parkour event in history, takes place this week on Saturday 26th September... and it promises to be an historic day. Recent additions to be holding jams on the day include Arizona USA, Fujian China and Guam! Tomorrow we will be shooting a short video that will be featured by The Guardian, and the UK Jam will kick off at Imax, Waterloo from 11am onwards this Saturday, where we will be giving out free event t-shirts to all who attend to support this very good cause. For more details hit the top link, and please come along and join in! Monday 21st of September 2009 
New Blog Post: Weekend Warm-up Blane has just posted a new Team Blog Post on the recently initiated 'Weekend Wake-up Class' that happens on Sunday mornings around the parks of London. The class has got off to a great start, with surprising amounts of people committing to it no matter how hard the ngiht before may have been... For more details on the class, click here. Monday 21st of September 2009 
Next month we will be teaching a seminar in Rome as a fundraising event for injured traceur Naoki, in conjunction with the Italian parkour communities, and we are happy to announce that it will now be a two-day event and will happen on the 17th and 18th of October. More details can be found on the Parkour.it website, and all proceeds will go towards halping cover the extensive costs of Naoki's repatriation and treatment. We would like to thank all the Italian communities for coming together to put on such a great event! Sunday 20th of September 2009 
We are very pleased to say that injured traceur Naoki Ishiyama has now been repatriated to Japan where he has just had a successful operation on his back, and is now preparing for a lengthy rehab period. It seems likely that Naoki will make a full recovery, which is fantastic news, and he is adamant that the support of the community both in the UK and around the world has been a hugely significant factor is his ability to pull through this incredibly difficult situation. Of course the costs of all this are considerable, and the fundraising for Naoki continues apace - to find out more about how you can help, click the link above. Ganbatte Naoki! Sunday 20th of September 2009 
Our gallery section has just been updated to include a spectacular collection of images from photographers Paul Holmes and Alex Shah at our Rendezvous IV Event in August. Click HERE to jump on over to the gallery. Friday 18th of September 2009 
As of Wednesday September 23rd we will be starting an ongoing course of classes at Elthorne Park high School in Ealing, West London. Elthorne Park is the latest school to join our Parkour for Schools Programme, and having run a couple of sessions there already and seen the enthusiasm and energy of the students we know the course will be a great success and a lot of fun. For more details on the Schools Programme, contact us directly on contact(at)parkourgenerations.com. Friday 18th of September 2009 
Grey Coat Hospital School Workshop Day Tomorrow, Friday September 18th, we will be running a day of workshops for the Grey Coat Hospital School in South West London. Our highly successful Parkour for Schools Programme continues to expand in this new academic year with several new schools joining for regular sessions. For more information on the Programme and to see what we can offer for your school, click here. Thursday 17th of September 2009 
Next month we will be teaching at a fundraising seminar in Rome, Italy, organised by the gathered Italian parkour associations who wish to contribute to injured traceur Naoki's operation and repatriation costs. The event has been named 'Naoki's Day' and wil be held on October 17th in central Rome, and should be a great day of training. More details will be available soon, but if you are in Italy at that time, put the 17th in your diary..! Thursday 17th of September 2009 
Team Member Blane has just begun writing a regular blog for extreme sports magazine, Spiked. Spiked is a great magazine, very high quality and totally free to subscribe to, and Blane will be posting a special blog there over the coming months so do check it out. This first post is a look at what it takes to begin training in parkour and how important it is to look after your 'machine', the human body. Tuesday 15th of September 2009 
Copenhagen Seminar: Street Camp IV Next month from October 15-17 we will be guest instructing at the latest of the Street movement training camps in conjunction with Denmark's Street Movement team. These seminars are always a pleasure to run, and are held on the bespoke training facility just outside Copenhagen which is fantastic to use. The European gatherings in Denmark always have a great spirit to them, with highly experienced practitioners both instructing and attending from all over. Photos from the last time we were out there can be seen HERE. More details soon! Monday 14th of September 2009 
One Giant Leap: Still Coming!! And the global communities continue to roll in to take part in the largest communal parkour event in history, One Giant Leap! Recently registered are Malaysia, Ecuador, San Francisco, Dundee, Scotland and Alberta, Canada. The event, aimed at raising awareness of the importance of reducing pollutant emissions around the world, has become truly global and is now represented in over 30 countries and some 80 cities all holding jams on September 26th, ranging from 5 to 500 practitioners at each one. Incredible. We will be distributing the official event t-shirt for free to the practitioners who take part, and hopefully do our bit to raise awareness for this very worthy cause ahead of the vital Copenhagen Summit in December. For more details, click here or find out more about attending the UK JAM, held in London at the iconic Imax centre. Get involved! Sunday 13th of September 2009 
London Girls Jam! Sunday 13th September This Sunday, September 13th, sees our regular Girls' Jam happening at the Vauxhall training area in central London. Open to any and all female practitioners, no matter the level of ability, and free to attend these jams provide a great way to get together, share ideas and training methods, relax and have some fun. Several experienced traceuses are always in attendance, along with one or two of the Parkour Generations team to help anyone who should want it. The jam this month meets at 12 at Vauxhall train/tube station, gathering just outside the Royal Vauxhall Tavern pub beside the railbridge, and then moves on to the training areas. For more information contact Tracey on tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com and come along! Saturday 12th of September 2009 
We are now offering huge discounts on our highly popular Outdoor Classes when you book for a month or more at a time. These block bookings can be bought at our Online Store or by emailing us directly on contact(at)parkourgenerations.com. The classes run every Wednesday and Friday evening from 7.00pm, and we take a limited number of people per class so you must reserve your place in advance. The classes are open to practitioners of all levels, from novice to veteran, and are held at a different London training hotspot each week. Get involved! Thursday 10th of September 2009 
A new gallery of the Morzine camp experience has now been uploaded to the website and viewable HERE. All photos are courtesy of Mick Mason. Thursday 10th of September 2009 
Our friends over at traceurproject.com/ have just posted a complete review of our Morzine camp that happened back in June with Forrest and Blane. The review is in Spanish but there are some great photos to see also! Check out the review HERE. Thursday 10th of September 2009 
(Very) Limited edition RDV4 Tees. Following our hugely successful Rendezvous 4 event, we now have some very limited edition RDV4 T-Shirts available on our store. This is the perfect opportunity to grab one of these great tops if you missed them at the event or just want to have a great looking tee! This will be the only batch ever made so make sure you get one while stocks last. You can jump to the store page and make your purchase using paypal HERE. Wednesday 09th of September 2009 
For the past couple of weeks we have been working hard to find a solution to injured Japanese traceur Naoki Ishiyama's situation, and now it seems that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Naoki is now set to be repatriated to Japan from the UK for his operation and rehabilitation, and will be leaving the UK Thursday morning, September 10th. The support of the community for Naoki has been simply inspirational, and all funds that are being donated so generously will go to helping his family cover the considerable costs of repatriating Naoki and getting him the treatment he needs. Everyone wants to see Naoki up and on his feet again, and training hard as ever, which is what he wants more than anything else. We can't thank everyone enough for the support you are continuing to give him at this very challenging time. To donate, click here, and to send Naoki a message visit our dedicated Facebook Page now. Wednesday 09th of September 2009 
Hidden Passages: Ashford Arts Festival Performance Over the past few weeks we have bee training and choreographing a body of young traceurs in Ashford, Kent, for a public performance that will bring the streets of the city of Ashford to life as part of the Ashford Arts and Architecture Festival, entitled Hidden Passages. A number of art works will form the 2009 Festival on September 26th, and will be coupled with an outdoor performance that draws together local groups in celebrating Ashford's Hidden Passages and the town's unique make up. It begins with a series of site specific performance elements that thread and weave through the streets of Ashford, all joining together at a town centre venue and culminating in a finale performance, animating these spaces and the town centre. The performance route will take in Lower High St, Middle Row, Churchyard, North St and High St areas. The bells of St Mary's will sound ten minutes before the start of the performance at 3pm, so if you are in the area please come along and enjoy the ride... Tuesday 08th of September 2009 
For all of our female practitioners, you can now register for Nike Training Club Total Workout, the final live training session this summer. This intense, well-rounded conditioning workout proves that no matter who or where you are, you can always find ways to get fit. For more info go to the NikeWomens website HERE. Athletes, Live DJ' s and exclusive Tees too! Monday 07th of September 2009 
RDV4 Review on girlparkour.com One of the attendees of Rendezvous 4, Nadia, has written a great event review over at girlparkour.com. Jump on over to the website and read the post HERE. Monday 07th of September 2009 
Parkour Feature in Spiked Magazine New free extreme sports magazine, SPIKED, is set to include an 8-page feature on parkour in its next issue - and will also be adding Blane from the Parkour Generations Team to its online blog roster! The magazine is totally free to subscribe to, and keeps you up to date with all the latest news and developments in the world of extreme sports and physical activities. The mag has a great ethos of helping make extreme sports as inclusive as possible so that anyone can get involved, an approach very close to our hearts, and it will be well worth subscribing via their website for your free copy. Hit the link above for more details. Sunday 06th of September 2009 
Weekend Wake-Up Class Continues Our brand new 'Weekend Wake-up' outdoor classes continue tomorrow, Sunday morning 11am-1pm, and meets at Vauxhall station, across the road outside the Royal Vauxhall Tavern pub on Goding Street. These classes rotate around four different park locations in London every Sunday morning. No need to book, just come along for a fine way to start your Sunday with Blane and Andy... All details can be found at the above link! Saturday 05th of September 2009 
With the upcoming One Giant Leap global jam against climate change now officially the largest communal jam the world has ever seen, with over 3000 traceurs registered to lead the events in more than 60 cities worldwide(!!), we are now happy to announce that the UK jam will be held at the iconic Imax location near London's Southbank on Saturday, September 26th. The jam will kick off late morning and run as long as it wants, with Parkour Generations and other well-known traceurs present to lead the charge. We will be distributing the official event t-shirt for free to the practitioners who take part, and hopefully do our bit to raise awareness for this very worthy cause ahead of the vital Copenhagen Summit in December. For more details, click here or visit the event's Facebook Page, or just come along on the day! Nearest station is Waterloo, just look for the Imax building and you won't be able to miss us... ;) Friday 04th of September 2009 
Lambeth Festival of Sport: Workshops A major 'Festival of Sport' that will kick off Lambeth's countdown to the 2012 Olympic Games is being held tomorrow, on Saturday 5 September, and we will be running parkour workshops throughout the day as one of the many sports on offer. Kennington Park will play host to Lambeth's first annual borough-wide sport and cultural festival, called Activate 2009, and the day runs from 12-5 and is entirely free to attend - so come along and have a go! All details can be found on the link above. Friday 04th of September 2009 
The overwhelming support for Naoki Ishiyama from the parkour community has been absolutely phenomenal. Now Naoki and his family need your support more than ever to overcome this very difficult situation. We are calling on anyone who can help to raise money to be put towards paying for Naoki's UK hospital bills and to help his family pay for the extensive costs of repatriation to Japan. We have created a donation page HERE for any donations you wish to make. Your generosity and kindness will be greatly appreciated in this very difficult time. Friday 04th of September 2009 
In 3 weeks time we will launch the One Giant Leap global jam against climate change, the largest global parkour initiative ever seen, and it has now grown to become something quite special... Dozens of parkour communities from over 20 countries will be holding their own jam on September 26th in order to raise awareness of the planet's climate problems before the vital Copenhagen summit in December. A great example of a community that has dived in with both feet is that of Mexico, organised by TraceurProject, which can be seen here. There is still time to get involved and hold your own jam, and we will soon announce the details of the UK's jam which will happen in London. Anyone wanting to support this very good cause with us should click here now! Thursday 03rd of September 2009 
RDV4 Photos Available to Download One of the photographers we had present on the first day of Rendezvous 4 was Alex Shah, and you can now browse and download his photos directly for your personal collection here. He took hundreds of shots so there is a good chance if you attended the event you will be in one or two of them! Some fantastic images, well worth a browse, and the download cost has been set at $0.01 (the cheapest it can be) so they are essentially free. More photos from Paul Holmes and Kiell will soon be online right here on parkourgenerations.com ;) Wednesday 02nd of September 2009 
At long last, and due to enormous demand, we are proud to present the official Parkour Generations Online Store. For the first time and from anywhere in the world you can now purchase authentic and high-quality Parkour Generations clothing, along with books, DVDs and soon other items such as limited edition poster prints by legendary parkour photographer Kiell. You can also purchase block bookings for classes on the Store, for those who are able to attend classes regularly in London. Hit the link above to have a browse, and keep an eye on the store for regular updates such as a forthcoming new design range for clothing... Enjoy! Tuesday 01st of September 2009 |
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