American Parkour Forum

Interesting, Redbeard. I think what you call the monkey vault, I personally like to call the kong vault. And what you describe as the kong vault, I actually call it the dive kong, or the long kong.

I'm the opposite, though. I can only do shorter kongs for now. And I'm still trying to see if I can relearn the split takeoff first before adding speed and/or distance, as I detailed in one of my earlier threads. (Honestly, can spring get here any sooner? Can't wait to get to build my own vault box! ^.^)

Another useful thread from the past! (I wonder how many other hidden gems the APK forums might still have. Thank you, Google search results.)

Interesting. Seems like the debate between combined and split take offs were still the rage even years ago. steve dahlin, that video you shared with that really high kong was pretty impressive. And Akayokaki, thank you for sharing your video. That's actually how I look like when I've been doing some of my kongs on a certain picnic table near my high school track. Although when trying it long ways, I of course don't do it with the intention of actually clearing the entire table. I just do it to see how far I can get on it, since at this point, it's really way too long to consider vaulting that far. The table I use is just under 8 ft. long from non-bench side to non-bench side, and I can only get about a third to a little less than half way on it.

I'm still trying to kong over said table on its bench sides, which isn't nearly as long, but I'm wondering if I should try other progressions first before finally attempting the whole thing (and I'm wondering if there are even any progressions for something like this at all). Maybe I should really practice diving and getting my butt up first; I've been rather lacking in those. And I should do it on a softer surface like our couch or my mom's bed just in case.

Man, I can still see a list of things that can go wrong with me trying to attempt to kong that far and fast. With the outer tips of bench to bench about 5 ft., one would have to be able to clear at least 6.5-7.5 ft. in less than a second. I did some conversion calculations, and that's at least a brisk jogging pace by now, not your strolling-through-the-park kind of jog.

Might was well do what I can while the weather's still nice. There's no guarantee I'll ever have the money to buy the materials for my own vault box, and next spring is a long time to wait.

Damn you, limited training spots...

Wait, this looks like the exact pdf vault box diagram I found recently. I never knew there was once a thread about it. Wow.

Okay, I know this thread is more than 3-6+ years old, but out of curiosity, has anyone else in these forums managed to build this particular model?

Also, I've got a few questions for this thread's original author(s). Why can't the #6 and #7 pieces all be 27" instead? That would place the two #1 pieces exactly in the middle of the box. And should the top plywood sheet always be 1" thick? I've looked, but neither Home Depot or Lowe's seem to have 1" sheets, only 3/4".

I've also begun trying to estimate the possible construction costs of this whole rig, and including all the 2x4s, the 2x6, the plywood sheets, and the paint and primer, I'm getting at least between $100 and $150. This is assuming you also already have nails/screws and a saw/drill. But costs for each of these materials might vary depending on where you live.

How's it going, Tim? Always refreshing to hear from you.

Me? Eh, not terrible, but could and should be much better. To say that I've been bored out of my mind from my same, old, crappy training spots doesn't begin to describe it anymore. Not to mention that I may have even been kicked out of two of my former spots. This past Monday morning, 8/3, I was approached by an official from my high school saying that I can't be jumping around those picnic tables and bike racks. The track/oval and football field were fine, but not there. They used the cliched "no insurance" reason. So just like that I'm two spots less. Didn't know my town could actually be "anti-parkour".

This is bad. My situation(s) could be worse than I ever first realized. If I ever have the money for it, I'm now even considering the possibility of one day actually buying the materials so I can try building my own vault box at home. It's sad that it would have to come down to that, but so be it. At least if I had my own obstacle specifically dedicated to parkour right in my very own yard, I wouldn't have to worry about driving 20 mins. to my college campus, wasting gas, or even using up a bit of my energy biking to my high school, which has even worse spots.

I wonder if there's a correlation between how obstacle dense/good of outdoor spots an area has, and if that area has a strong, tight-knit parkour group. While I have noticed there are at least a few/handful of traceurs scattered all about in my area, parkour is still pretty much unheard of in my county. And yet, right across the river in the city, there's the Movement Creative, who train/hold classes pretty much every/most days of every/most weeks. I think it's just a sad fact that my area is just not very conducive to parkour at all.

Those of you who do have good outdoor spots right nearby, a dedicated PK group who can meet and train regularly, a schedule that can still allow ample training time, and a town that supports parkour, I envy you. So badly. Just consider yourselves very, very, very lucky, because not everyone is nearly as fortunate as you.

Well, let's see what little I can still squeeze out of what I do have, if it can even still be considered parkour training at all. I know it'll get too busy again once the fall semester starts. And especially if we'll end up with another polar disruption for the winter of 2015-2016, we're out of luck.

Interesting selections. I know a few of these, but never imagined they could be parkour sounding. I'll have to look into the others.

I don't really listen to music while actually training, but occasionally might listen to something before I head out to train to try to set the mood. Here are some of the songs I have overall used the most in the past as part of my own parkour playlist(s).

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The Rafters, by Moby (can be heard as the ending theme to the documentary, Sharkwater, by biologist and underwater filmmaker Rob Stewart. Sounds like a good song for the summer time in general, as well.)

Pompeii, by Bastille

Extreme Ways, also by Moby (can be heard as the ending theme of the Jason Bourne films. These sound good to flow to, in my opinion. The Identity/Supremacy version sounds lighter, while the Ultimatum version seems a little more explosive.)

I'mma Shine, from the dance movie, Step Up (I recommend the instrumental version; the vocals just drown out much of the music)

300 Violin Orchestra, by Jorge Quintero

Journey through the Victory, by Instrumental Core

this orchestral remix of the Eight Melodies from Mother/Earthbound Zero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WgDqGrcblA

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The following songs may not exactly be directly parkour sounding, but I felt they sort of spoke to me and my early history in my training, and in some ways, I can still relate to them today. I hope songs like these might also touch those of you traceurs out there who might be going through tough times, be it parkour-related or not.

When Your Feet Don't Touch the Ground, from the new Broadway musical, Finding Neverland (I suggest the version sung by cast members Matthew Morrison and Aidan Gemme)

You'll Be In My Heart, by Phil Collins (heard in the Disney animated film, Tarzan)

All You Need is Love, by The Beatles (I recommend the Blackberry cover.)

(Just realized I forgot to say this in my earlier posts here.)

Besides my high school, I also occasionally train in the main campus of Bergen Community College in Paramus, which surprisingly still has some decent spots to do stuff on.

Calling all parkour hopefuls near the New Jersey-New York border, especially Bergen and Rockland counties: you have to come check this place out as soon as you can. http://highexposureclimbing.com/ High Exposure is Bergen county’s new premier rock climbing/parkour/ninja warrior facility. I was there the other day for a one-day pass, and I was pretty impressed. If you’re looking for something new, fresh, and unique, I highly suggest visiting if you ever have the chance, especially as our counties are not very obstacle dense.

Also, for any and all Bergen County traceurs who didn’t know, there is a group on meetup.com titled Bergen County Parkour and Freerunning: http://www.meetup.com/BCPKFR/. Come join! After a two year hiatus following a motorcycle injury and dealing with personal matters, our original host/organizer will be returning soon. Let’s make some meetup times and locations, get together, and see what we can do. The more we have, the more we can learn from each other! Plus, I'm curious as to what spots in our county you're currently using/have used to train!

So I've recently noticed some possible differences on whether one uses a single leg or both legs for the kong. Split takeoffs seem to flow into/from your run more, but combined takeoffs at least have more power behind them. However, with combined, when you bring both legs together to that one point just before you leap, it's like your momentum almost completely stops and you lose a bit of your forward motion.

I can't quite remember which way I was able to do my first ever kongs when I went to a gymnastics facility in October 2014, but I've preferred and have been doing the combined takeoff for the past few months, as they seem much safer. I just wanted to know what others have to chime in on these and which is the way one should probably be doing it.

Speaking from my experiences, I sort of wished my first school had a student parkour organization of some kind as well, but all other things considered, I’m now thinking it might just be added unnecessary work, and that which might not be possible to get done. I’d have to look for a faculty advisor, and some people to be the executive board (president, vice president, etc.). But since parkour is almost completely unheard of in my area, such individuals for this kind of club would be difficult to come by. In fact, I’m probably the only traceur in my entire campus, at least, that I know of at this time. (And no, I don’t think I would qualify to be the head of even a small parkour group of any kind at the moment.)

Now I can tell you that in my school, our Student Activities Board (SAB) allots $500 per main semester, fall and spring, to the budgets of all official clubs. So that’s $1000 per academic year (although any leftovers from the fall cannot carry over to the spring, for some strange reason I’ve yet to discover). I’ve also heard of certain rewards some clubs could earn from having been able to hold a number of their own successful events throughout the semester.

So I’d ask a similar question that Alvendam and Inari gave; are there certain perks to having an official club in your school? In addition, would you need people to fill in the executive positions? And if so, can you find individuals who can meet the expectations of those roles adequately?

I’ve just not too long ago found a few spots at my school that I can use to train, and my sessions have been going decently even without a student parkour group in my school. At least I might not be bound to possibly too many rules otherwise. Almost anything goes and I can train how I want to. I’m trying to take advantage of it right now during the summer where there’s not as many students and faculty as in the fall and spring, so not as many people might question me what I’m doing. I also try to do it where our Public Safety does not patrol nearly as much so that I won’t get in trouble with them.

Well, I'm not a dietitian or nutritionist, but I guess you can start with replacing sodas and sugary drinks with just water. It re-hydrates you much better, too. And instead of potato chips, candy, or other junk food, you can go for nuts and fruits.