How do I Choose the Best Parkour Lessons?

Learning parkour by yourself is difficult, which is why many practitioners take lessons. When choosing the best parkour lessons, you need to consider whether you want to take lessons in person or from a book or video, if you want to go to a gym to train, the age level of the lessons and the experience level of the lessons. Parkour takes time to learn, and you want to make sure you get started right so you don't hurt yourself.

Many people who want to learn something new aren’t comfortable doing so around other people. Learning in private is possible, though, because there are many videos offering lessons in parkour, and there are books to show you how to do the moves. These parkour lessons may be best from the standpoint of allowing you to learn the art of parkour without feeling humiliated if you mess up while learning the basics. One drawback to such private lessons is that parkour is an intense exercise with a high chance of hurting yourself, and a real trainer might be better equipped to help you avoid injury.

Those who are more open to being around people may want to consider parkour classes in which many people come together to learn how to do parkour. Unlike books and videos, such classes offer you a professional trainer who can provide hands-on instruction while helping to keep you from hurting yourself. Try not to feel bad if you mess up in such classes, because chances are good that every student is going to fall at least once.

Gyms often offer parkour classes, but scope out the gym first to ensure it is equipped for parkour lessons. Gyms equipped for the best parkour lessons will have small ledges and walls — similar to what you would find when doing parkour outside the gym — so you can get a real training experience. The instructors should also be able to teach you what other exercises to do to maximize your parkour abilities.

The age group of the lessons is a large factor, because you don’t want to be too young or too old for the particular lessons. Being in the wrong age category can also dampen your enthusiasm, because teaching a 12-year-old to do parkour will be much different than teaching a 20- or 30-year-old. To receive the best parkour lessons, find a class, book or video that is geared to your age group.

At the same time, you want to ensure the parkour lessons are geared to your experience level; otherwise the experience could be unpleasant, you could hurt yourself, or both. You may be physically fit and flexible, but it would still be best to start with a beginner’s class if you have had no experience with parkour. The best parkour lessons will be suited to your experience so you learn at a good pace without hurting yourself or becoming discouraged.