Parkour Christmas Gifts

A Very Merry Traceur Christmas

Santa Claus is the pinnacle of  efficiency. Delivering capitalism to children worldwide at an  unprecedented pace. Like it or not Christmas is a time for giving  (spending money) for most of us, so why not support the community while  you at it?

We’ve put together a wish list for a  merry traceur Christmas. Listing our favorite parkour products and gifts  with a few extra bells and whistles to boot. The list is in no  particular order and represents our favorite finds with a price range  from free to a few hundred euros.

If you have an item you would like to  be added send us a mail. Be warned though if it’s a fruit of the loom  t-shirt with just a logo on it you will be ridiculed and laughed at.

Books

A book is a kindle made from a tree.  Although most of these are downloadable we’ve always preferred printed  versions. Words can’t jump but these reads get pretty close. From the  history of parkour to conditioning advice here is the Ukemis top picks.

Breaking the Jump

The parkour and freerunning community don’t have a holy book to go with the Christmas season. Breaking the Jump by Julie Angel, however, is the closest thing we have for now.

Breaking  the Jump tells the unknown story behind Parkour’s rise, and asks what  is it that drives those who stand on the edge and think ‘go’.

Parkour Roadmap

When Max Hendry wrote Parkour Roadmap they didn’t set out to expand on a single topic  or idea. Instead, they looked at the discipline holistically and  provided insight into everything from our history/culture to  mental/physical training. This consideration extends into purchases  also, with a range of options for traceurs to access the material  whether you are on a low income or ballin’ hard with your own gym. Click  here to see all the options.

The  book “The Parkour Roadmap”, provides an in-depth and entertaining  investigation into Parkour history, culture, and technique.   Gathering  information from the world’s best Parkour athletes and coaches, it is an  indispensable tool for practitioners of all levels.

Toys

Traceurs continue to understand play  more than most into adulthood and old age. With a methodology and  imagination to boot, we can make the most out of any situation. Here are  our top picks on how you can keep things playful over the Christmas  period whether your confined to a family gathering in a small room or  taking them outside to share your parkour practice with them.

Kendama

A Kendama is a Japanese skill toy  that we like to call the advanced ball in a cup. Every jam has ‘that  person’ who rocks up does a full physical warm up and then proceeds to  just play with their ken instead. There is a good reason for that, get  one of these and we promise you will have a ken-damn good time.

Ukemi Card Game

This is the world’s first parkour and  freerunning card game. Developed by traceurs for traceurs it is the  perfect stocking filler for practitioners. It comes with a variety of  play styles and can be used for group games, coaching, warm-ups and  generating choreography.

Equipment

As with the toys, there aren’t much  retail level things for average Joe and Joanne going about when it comes  to equipment. So we’ve taken one we really like and combined it with  something you all should really already have.

Jiyo Blocks

Enable yourself to jump to things,  off of things and move across things anywhere. This lightweight, none  slip and stackable piece of kit is the perfect piece of portable parkour  equipment. If you have a few bob (money) and can’t be arsed making  something, or have the know-how to DIY it, yourself let the Jiyo team do it for you.

For coaches, especially those who work in a variety of schools/community centers, the Jiyo blocks are an excellent piece of kit to recommend when the client asks about  getting in some equipment for the sessions. Say goodbye to dragging out  the 35-year-old horse and strange colorful/flimsy bar things and hello  the these flashy little fella’s.

You can buy them by clicking here – prices start at €97

Foam Roller/Peanut

If you got yourself a traceur in  secret Santa this year but you actually hate them then mobility gear is  an excellent thing to buy. Years of jumps and climb-ups make these  babies particularly brutal on the anterior (front) muscles of the body.

The foam roller and the peanut are  the holy grail of self-massage equipment. We’ve given some links to  providers but if it’s out your price range you can always DIY it and use  two hard balls and some tape instead, as seen in the image above. See this guide for how to make a peanut yourself that you can give to a friend – it’s the thought that counts innit.

Technology

URBN Jumpers (app)

A user-based training spot finding app is not a new thing for the  parkour community and there are some really high-quality apps floating  about for the parkour community at the moment. Out of all the ones we  check out, URBN Jumpers was the one that stood out as our favorite. URBN  Jumpers not only gives you the standard add and explore features of  previous similar apps but it also includes gyms, the ability to post  jams and share media content.

Call a Christmas or boxing day jam, add your friend’s favorite spots  and get your area set up as a gift to your community this year and then  share the results.

We believe that parkour, art du deplacement and freerunning are community sports where people should be able to easily train  together and share their passion. Amazing things occur when you see  beginners moving with experts, kids with elders, boys with girls, you  get the idea. The fraternal approach and the mutual respect that exists  within these disciplines are the proof that everyone stands as one big  worldwide family.