Rochester Parkour

Rochester Parkour Becomes Official

Mon, 31 May 2010 00:05:00 -0400

Today is a wonderful day. In fact, the events leading up to this day have been nothing short of amazing. I want to begin by saying that I appreciate all of you who continue to believe in what we are, what we do, and what we practice and teach.

As some of you heard already, several months ago I was presented with an opportunity to open my own gym in Henrietta. I have thought long and hard about this and have decided that this is an opportunity I cannot pass up. As many of you know, Rochester is not always as inviting as it is currently. Sun is a rare pleasure and reminds us to enjoy and appreciate each ray of sunshine. For the past two years, Rochester Parkour events have come almost to a standstill every season. This is difficult in many ways as many of our community members are college students who are only here during those select months. Because of this predicament, shelter that we can call our own is rather necessary.

The ability to claim a space of our own is challenging. For the past two years, Zac, Jeff, myself and many others have worked hard to make Parkour easily accessible, safe, and cheap (free). Because of this, Rochester Parkour as an organization has no funds to contribute to such a move. Thus, some creative fund raising must occur.

I am going to start things off by first presenting that I will be beginning a paid Rochester Parkour “class” in the park. This venue will have a structured curriculum and will encompass my close attention to a student’s technique, physicality, and condition. My services as an instructor, teacher, and guide will be donated to this cause and every penny that comes in from this venue will be put towards gym space. Details on this will come out in the next couple days with more information as well as my credentials to begin such a venue.

I understand that not everyone can pay for such classes, please do not think that I am abandoning you. Saturday jam sessions will continue as normal and I will continue to make myself and my knowledge of parkour and exercise science available to anyone who requires it.

This is only one small step. I am one person and I can only do so much. You all are such wonderfully creative people. Use those over-active imaginations and start bouncing some ideas together.

This is a community project, not just my own. This open letter to the community is to hopefully reach out and see how many people want to realize what I see; how many of you are ready to work hard for something you believe in and something you are passionate about. With your help, Rochester Parkour could see a gym space by Fall, before the harsh weather hits us once again, and halts whatever progress we make as a community.

There are no specifics currently on the structure of the gym. I am still researching how best to set this up, legally. However, to help get things started, this is what is going through my mind currently:

One of my favorite places to buy groceries is a small store near Manhattan Square Park called the Abundance Cooperative. The store is a community owned place where people can buy goods, but can also become members of the community and take part in political matters regarding how the store functions, what things to buy, etc.

This is how I picture a gym in my mind. A space owned by the community members of Rochester Parkour. In this way, the gym is a tool wielded by the community and the tool acts and services the needs of the community. If needs change, the tool changes with them.

To my knowledge nothing like this has really be set up before in this light and there is still a lot of research to be done on the matter. Please call me, text me, email me, use the APK forums, or ask me out to coffee (or training!) to give me your thoughts and ideas. I cannot make this work without any of you.

So here it is, out in the open. Rochester Parkour’s new goal - a gym space by Fall.

I will pump out more details as information is gathered and processed. Stay tuned and stay active. Any amount of help is useful whether it be monetary help, volunteering, or idea generation. Let’s make this idea a reality!

Charles Moreland
518.209.7262
cdmoreland2@gmail.com
CharlesMoreland.com
AIM CharlesMoreland2

Changes in Rochester Parkour

Tue, 25 May 2010 09:48:00 -0400

Greetings everyone and welcome Summer! I hope all of you are excited for the sun, warmth, and training!

This post here is to inform everyone that this last week marked a giant turning point for Rochester Parkour. Two very important members of the crew (Zac and Jeff) have graduated and left to pursue other opportunities. The work they did for this community does not go unrecognized and some of you who want things to run smoothly will need to take up responsibilities and fill their shoes.

Our normal training schedule is back on order:

Saturdays, Manhattan Square Park at 2:30pm Sundays, Zenith Gymnastics at 2pm until 3:30pm $5

There will also be at least two other structured meeting days either at Manhattan Square or High Falls. Check in at the end of this week for more information.

I will also be utilizing this site better to inform the public of our doings. To accomplish this, I will be photographing and documenting our doings more regularly and posting (hopefully) weekly updates. Check here for those.

Hope to see a good turnout, Happy training!

Charlie

Rochester Rocks New York State Jam Details!

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:39:00 -0400

So the Rochester Rocks New York State Jam is almost upon us… and now with the details!

If you’re driving up, you can meet at Ross’s house (157 Henrietta St, Rochester, NY 14620). Aim to get there sometime Friday afternoon, 4:30 or 5pm. If you’re going to get there earlier, or later, or you just want to call and let Zac know when you’re going to be around, give me a call: 410.370.8000.

The rough schedule is as follows:

Friday: Meet up at Ross’s house, small groups will go out to all our various smaller spots for small group jams. We’re going to try to mix people up best we can, so everyone gets to meet new people. We’ll come back that night for a cookout.

Saturday morning: get to High Falls (get directions to 64 Commercial street, once you arrive there keep going straight to the parking lot) by 10am. People not staying with Ross can either meet us at Ross’s house, or meet us at High Falls. Lunch at some point, and then the regular weekly jam at 2:30 at Manhattan Square Park. Dinner, and then two options: People can either go to more small local places in small groups, or Zac’ll be taking a group to a kick-ass Juggling/Circus Show at 7:30pm at Rush-Henrietta High School. Probably another cookout for dinner.

Sunday: We’ll have a slow morning, and then hit up Zenith Gymnastics from 2-3:30. And then we kick you out!

So that’s the jam guys. If you’re a local, I highly encourage you to stay at Ross’s house anyway! It’ll be a ton of fun, and a great time and place to meet other nearby traceurs and traceuses.

Just a sampling of who else is coming, there should be people from Buffalo, Ithaca, Albany, and NYC. Hopefully some people from Toronto and more, too!

Don’t forget: Please bring $5 or a canned good to donate to Foodlink. This will be an awesome jam for us, and it’ll be a great time to do some good, too!

Also, Jesse Danger will be here, and if you order a kick-ass shirt from his website (heartlesssleeves.com) before Tuesday, he’ll bring it to you personally and donate $5 of the proceeds to Foodlink.

Rochester Rocks Parkour Jam!

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:30:00 -0400

Rochester Parkour is holding it’s first Rochester Rocks Jam on April 16-18th! This jam is specifically for all New York traceurs, but we certainly welcome everyone to come!

This event should help everyone in the New York State parkour scene get to know each other a lot better, and see some of the great spots Rochester has to offer. We’ll be hitting up spots from Manhattan Square Park to High Falls, everywhere in between, and even some secret spots I can’t tell you about yet.

Housing will be provided, all you have to bring is:
-A sleeping bag,
-A water bottle,
-A few dollars to help cover food,
-We’re asking for $5 or at least one canned good per person to donate to a local food bank.

We’re trying to start an initiative to have a charity program attached to every major jam. A lot of us are coming together, so lets do some good while having a great time.

If you have any questions, contact Zac at zac@rochesterparkour.com. Experience is not an issue for this jam, so if you or someone you know is interested, BRING THEM ALONG! THE MORE THE FUNNER! You can RSVP by emailing Zac and/or on Facebook.

Winter is finally here!

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:09:51 -0500

Alright folks,

Sorry for not updating as often guys. I will be more pro-active from here on out in updating the site to make sure you guys have the latest up-to-date information.

So here go! Tomorrow, Saturday December, 12, we WILL be meeting at same place and time. This is mostly going to be an experiment to see how we deal with the winter cold. Please come bundled up with full winter gear. It will be 32 degrees and sunny.

Also, please check the website every Saturday morning in case something weather related happens. I will be canceling if the weather proves to be too dangerous.

See everyone there!

Charles

Parkour Easy Event Planning System

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:58:30 -0400

The weather here has stayed nice for a while, and I’ve heard a lot of talk about people wanting to train outside the usual Saturday sessions. In response, we started having stuff other days throughout the week. This is a good start, but I still wasn’t satisfied. What if it’s a nice day and you want to train, but nothing is planned? What if your plans got canceled and you’ve got a few hours to kill?

Before, there was no good way for you guys to contact people quickly, unless it was contacting people one-on-one by phone or instant messages. Until now!

I want to announce a new service I’ve created for you guys. It’s called the Parkour Easy Event Planning System (PEEPS).

It’s super simple to use - if you want to go train, you can send a text message to this system. Within 30 minutes, it will forward your text message and notify everyone else signed up for the system.

PEEPS is based on Twitter - but you never actually have to use it (after you set up your account). In order to sign up for the system, please follow these 7 simple steps:

1. Go to Twitter.com and sign up for a new account. I encourage you to use your real name, or at least your first name, so others will easily know who you are.

2. Go to the “Settings” menu, then “Devices,” then put in your phone number, check the checkbox that says it is okay for Twitter to send you text messages, and hit “Save.”

4. Go check your phone! It might take a few minutes, but you’ll get a text message from Twitter. Follow the directions.

5. Add the phone number you got a text message from to your phone book.

6. Go to www.twitter.com/rochesterpk and click the “Follow” button.

7. After you follow the account, click on the little circle with a

cell phone image inside that appears.

That’s it! You’re done! Now, if you want to jam, send a text message to 40404 (which is the phone number that Twitter texted you from) and tell people where and when (day and time) to meet. At the end of your message, you HAVE to put the following: #rocpkjams This is how the system knows who you are and that it should send the text message out to everyone else.

Please keep in mind - if this system gets abused I’ll have to shut it down. Please ONLY use it to report jams, and please keep the messages as short as possible. “Tuesday, outside the library, 5pm.” is good. “hey everyone who wants to train on tuesday? I think we should meet outside the library. I’m thinking 5pm but if that doesn’t work let me know.” is bad.

Twitter limits messages to 140 characters, but you really shouldn’t even need anything that long. So keep them short!

I think this is going to be a great way to have smaller stuff going on throughout the week. Saturday will still be the big jam day, but if you have free time and it’s a beautiful day… why not go train with some friends? In the next week or so, I should have a list of training locations up on the website for you guys. There are lots of great places around Rochester that most of you have never seen, but they just aren’t big enough to bring lots of people.

So sign up for PEEPS and use it! Lets get out there and train as much as we can!

Lady's Jams

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:33:22 -0400

Jessie Kirkwood has stepped up to start leading weekly Lady’s Jams. These jams are Girls-Only, and will help girls of any age learn the foundations of Parkour in a more comfortable environment.

The Lady’s Jams will be Saturday’s at 12:00 at Manhattan Square Park, and the attendees are encouraged to stick around for the main jam afterward at 2:30.

From Jessie:

“I am a firm believer that it is important to learn parkour as a community regardless of gender, but I also feel that having something in common can only strengthen friendships and then the community in turn. Meeting earlier on Saturday will allow us to bond as traceuses and still join up with the group afterward. This is also a great opportunity to bring any friends that have voiced interest in parkour but were uncomfortable starting up in a larger group. “

For more information or if you have any questions, email training@rochesterparkour.com.

Fall Training Sessions

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:40:38 -0400

Rochester Parkour is back in full swing. Regular training sessions are continuing at Manhattan Square Park at 2:30pm on Saturdays. Again, these are free to all, and we welcome people of any level of fitness or experience, any age, and any gender to attend.

Charles and Zac are also teaching a “Movement Games” workshop at the Strong Museum of Play on September 13th. This workshop is focusing on teaching kids different games they can play that involve movement and physical activity. We hope that these games will get kids outside and playing with their friends! If the first day of workshop is successful, we hope that this will become a regular monthly event at Strong.

Summer Training Sessions

Wed, 27 May 2009 23:19:39 -0400

The summer training schedule will remain unchanged. That means starting on June 6th, training will be on Saturdays at 2:30 at Manhattan Square Park.

Additional training times and locations might be added, so check this space for more details.

Training for May 30th is officially canceled due to Charlie and Zac being away… but that doesn’t mean you guys can’t go and train anyway!

New Rochester Parkour Shirts

Wed, 06 May 2009 14:22:00 -0400

Rochester Parkour has just designed and screenprinted a new T-shirt design. Jeff and Zac spent a few hours in an attic printing the shirts ourselves, and they came out looking pretty sweet.

They cost $10, and all of the profits Rochester Parkour makes goes back to the community. Our two main goals right now are to build more equipment to train on and purchasing more items to help out with our Leave No Trace Cleanup events.

If you’re interested in purchasing a shirt, you can come to one of the Saturday training sessions and see Zachary Cohn.

May 2nd - Imagine Parkour Session

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:46:07 -0400

On Saturday, May 2nd, RIT is hosting their 2nd annual Imagine RIT festival. A lot of people are attending, and a lot of families of RIT students are coming up to visit as well.

We will still be holding Parkour on Saturday, just like usual, but if your family is coming up we encourage you to bring them along! There are already a couple parents that we have confirmed are coming. This will be a cool chance to show your parents what you’re doing (and maybe even get them involved!).

Hope to see you all out on Saturday!

RIT SportsZone Media Piece

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:36:34 -0400

A crew from the RIT SportsZone attended the March workshop. This piece aired on Friday, April 10th, and now I’ve got it online for everyone to watch!

Saturday, April 11th

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:10:49 -0400

Parkour Training for Saturday, April 11th is ON. Last week was canceled due to terrible weather, but everything is looking good for tomorrow.

If the weather takes a turn for the worse, this space will be updated by 12:00 noon on Saturday with a cancellation message - otherwise I hope to see everyone out tomorrow at 2:30!

-Zac

Pictures from the March 28th Beginner's Workshop

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:31:00 -0400

Rochester Parkour would like to thank Michael McGowan for coming out and taking almost 200 pictures of the event. You can see some of his favorites in his gallery, or you can look at the dump of ALL the pictures he took. A few of my favorite shots are below.

Mr. McGowan was kind enough to allow everyone “personal use” of any of the photographs. This means that you can save them, post them on your Facebook, or whatever - as long as the copyright watermark stays in place. Also, he requests that none of the pictures be used for commercial use. We think that this is a MORE than generous request, so we ask that you all respect Mr. McGowan’s wishes in your usages of these photographs.

We had several photographer’s out, so as they send me links to their galleries, I’ll be letting you guys know.

Rochester Parkour on Facebook

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:09:03 -0400

If you’re on Facebook, and you haven’t joined the “Rochester Parkour” facebook group… do it! This website is updated often, but we send out a lot more information through the facebook group, and it’s a great way to meet the other local traceurs.

Write up - March 28th Beginner's Workshop

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:55:00 -0400

Rochester Parkour hosted their first “Beginner’s Parkour Workshop” in December. 35 people attended, mostly regulars. On Saturday, March 28^th, Rochester Parkour hosted their second “Beginner’s Parkour Workshop.” There was no definitive count, but the lower estimate was 100 people, mostly newcomers. During the first workshop, it was in the low 30s and starting to snow. This time, it was in the high 60s, sunny, and a beautiful day.

This was taken at the end of the workshop, after about half the attendees had already left.

The workshop was scheduled to start at 2:30, but Zac decided to go a little bit early. When he got there at 2:00, there was already a handful of people waiting. After some introductions and idle chit-chat, Zac noticed a police car pulling up and parking nearby. After watching for a bit, the officers got out of their car and started walking over. At this point, Zac was convinced that the workshop was going to get broken up 25 minutes before it even started! He started walking toward the officers to introduce himself. After a brief exchange of introductions, the officers asked if this was the Parkour thing they saw on the RNews (the local news station). Reluctantly, Zac replied that it was. At this point, everyone else was silent and staring. There was a ten second awkward silence, then one officer laughed and said “You guys aren’t in trouble! We just thought it was cool and wanted to check it out. We’re not even from around here, we’re from the next district over.”

Everyone talked with the officers for a bit, and they even said they’d try to stop back again during the workshop (although they weren’t able to). It was a stressful, but overall positive indication of how the day was going to go!

Over the course of the next 25 minutes, more and more people showed up. Introductions were made, a Frisbee game broke out. A lot of teenage boys were coming, but there was also at least 10 girls who came out to participate! There were some adults, and even a few families that came out to give it a try! There was a husband and a wife, and their three young children who did a fantastic job! People just kept pouring over the hill and onto the field, until it was about 2:40, and it was definitely time to get started. A quick estimate of the turnout resulted in over 100 people!

Zac led everyone to the field, and we started off with a brief discussion. Zac explained what was, and what wasn’t, parkour, and what was going to be covered in the workshop. Then random people in the audience were asked “Why are you here today? Why did you come to this workshop?” Everyone gave a different answer, ranging from “It’s better than sitting inside” to “I’ve watched a lot of videos, and I wanted to learn how to do that, but safely.” After the Q&A session… it was time to get started!

With 100+ people, the warm up was interesting. We ended up doing two laps around the field, alternating between running forwards, backwards, and side to side – all while trying really hard not to trample anyone. Everyone then lined up and was taught basic QM, forwards and backwards. Seeing 100 people on their hands and feet crawling across a field is quite the sight! Landings were next, and Zac used his step-by-step progression to teach everyone the basics fairly quickly.

From here, the best way to deal with 100 people is to make them… not 100 people. So Charles Moreland took 1/3^rd of the group to practice precisions, local traceur Zachary Leo took another 1/3^rd to work on rolling and QM, and Zac Cohn took the last 1/3^rd to learn basic vaults. The vaulting group started with the safety vault. After most people were comfortable with that, those who were ready learned reverse safety vaults. This was a bit different, but it ended up working really well. Benches were being used to vault over, so it was very easy to progress safely. The vault section ended with the Speed vault for those who were comfortable with the Safety vault, and that pretty much took up the rest of the time until the groups rotated.

After everyone hit every station, it was “free time.” People were free to work on whatever they felt they were weak in, or whatever was the most fun! Zac led a wallrun workshop, while his roommate Artem Sivak worked with people on climbups. This was a wildly successful station, with almost half the group coming over to learn.

After the free time was over, it was time for a game of Follow the Leader. Charles Moreland took the advanced/experienced group, while Zac led the beginners. QM, vaults, precisions, and some climbing were all utilized to give people a good workout, and to teach them about exploring their environment in new and interesting ways. Both games of Follow the Leader ended on the field, where everyone stretched out and chatted with their new friends.

All in all, there was beautiful weather, a huge and diverse turn out, and everyone had a ton of fun. There were many photographer’s there, and a news crew from the RIT ESPN Sports Zone. Check out the media section on Rochester Parkour for pictures and videos as they are released. Rochester Parkour wants to thank EACH AND EVERY PERSON who came out to participate. You guys are AWESOME!

Beginner's Parkour Workshop #2 - March 28th

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:01:00 -0400

Rochester Parkour is planning our second Beginner’s Parkour workshop. This is a free introduction, designed to inform and educate anyone interested in practicing Parkour. It’s targeted towards beginners, but we encourage more experienced members of the community to come as well.

We will be covering the basics of Parkour, including an introduction to proper conditioning, landings and precision jumps, quadrupedal movement, and basic vaulting. Rochester Parkour also emphasizes an importance on safety and slow, progressive training methodologies in all of our events and training sessions.

We encourage anyone interested in Parkour to attend. Whether it’s your first time out, or you’re already an experienced traceur, you’re sure to learn something - or at least have a good time!

Who can come: Anyone! Males or females of any age. Parents feel free to bring your kids. Kids, feel free to bring your parents!

Who is hosting: The event is being run by Zachary Cohn, one of the most experienced traceurs in the state. He is a member of the APK Alliance, a national group sponsored by American Parkour. He will be assisted by Charles Moreland and Jeff Whalley, two experienced and dedicated traceurs.

What: Workshop designed to teach beginners the fundamentals of Parkour training, while emphasizing safety and progression.

Where: The big field above the Ice Rink at Manhattan Square Park: 353 Court St. Rochester, New York, 14607.

When: March 28th, 2:30-4:00pm

Why: To learn about Parkour and to have a great time!

How much: This event is absolutely free! We will be selling Rochester Parkour T-shirts for $10 - all T-shirt sale proceeds will go toward building equipment (vaulting boxes, precision trainers) and our Spring trip to New York City (to be announced).

What you should bring: Bring comfortable clothing and layers. We can’t control the weather, and we will be outside! Bring comfortable but athletic shoes (sneakers, running shoes, skater shoes, etc). If you haven’t already filled out and turned in a waiver, please print out and fill out this waiver and bring it with you.

Most importantly, bring a positive attitude and the expectation of having a great time!!

For more information, email info@rochesterparkour.com.

Winter Training Schedule

Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:40:25 -0500

Parkour is a great activity. I, and many other experienced traceurs, train year round. However, due to our limited number of training locations and the current weather conditions, Rochester Parkour has decided that it is too dangerous to allow beginners to train outdoors. We’re putting outdoor practices on hold until the weather warms up a little bit.

As much as we don’t want to do this, we pretty much are forced to.

However - we do have a few other options.

Zachary teaches a Parkour and Obstacle Coursing class at Zenith Gymnastics for kids 8-14. If you or your child is in this age range, contact Zenith (you can find the information in our “Classes” page) and sign up!

For everyone else, RIT has a climbing gym, “The Red Barn” that is open to RIT students and non-students. There is a great bouldering area, and some top-roping (which is closed in the winter). It costs $3/session for RIT students, and $5/session for non-students.

Zachary and Charles go on Saturdays at 3:30. If we can’t train Parkour outside, bouldering is a GREAT method of cross-training and staying in shape through the winter.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email training@rochesterparkour.com!

Rochester Parkour Visitor's Weekend - by Zac

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:21:43 -0500

A month or so ago, Bryan Augstein (Maryland) and KC Parsons (Michigan) told me they wanted to come up to visit me in Rochester. I met both of them on my trip this summer, and (through the wonders of free verizon-to-verizon texts) texted back and forth quite a bit during long bus rides. We became good friends, and so of course I was enthusiastic about having them come up! KC Decided to bring a close friend of his, Nate Manly (Michigan), and soon Jesse Danger (NYPK) and Christopher Price (Michigan) were added to the list of attendees. Soon enough… we were having ourselves a Rochester jam!

Jesse arrived at the bus station Thursday night, and we hung out with some friends and watched The Dark Knight on our projector downstairs. We went to sleep late, and then got up early for a workout at the gym. We left straight from there to go back to the bus station KC and Nate arrived early the next morning. After a great (and cheap!) dinner at the local diner, we came back to my house and… immediately dropped to the floor and went to sleep. Jesse and I had 3 hours of sleep and a workout, and KC and Nate had a 14 hour bus ride under their belt. We woke up 5 hours later and went to the Red Barn, the local rock climbing gym (it’s a big red barn. Go figure!). Chris showed up, and we all packed in his pickup truck and went to the bus station to pick up Bryan.

Everyone was hungry again, so it was time for dinner. If it’s your first time in Rochester, there is only one meal your hosts will give you: a garbage plate:

Ingredients: hash browns, chili sauce, macaroni salad, 2 hamburger patties, American cheese, diced raw onions, mustard, ketchup.

So… I sort of kind of challenged Jesse to an eating contest, to see who could finish theirs faster. We decided on to have a good, old fashioned gentlemen’s wager: The loser had to eat a second one. Long story short, I didn’t lose. I got annihilated. Destroyed. Pummeled into the ground. I still hold that it would have been at least a fair fight if it hadn’t been for the mayo on the mac salad.. but alas. I ended up chickening out of the bet, but I accepted an alternate punishment: The Hundred Burpee Challenge. Outside. In the snow and wind and cold.

I have to say, I did fairly well. I’ve never actually done the Hundred Burpee Challenge before, and a time of 9:16 isn’t shabby (all things considered). I did it without vomiting, which was A) A nice perk, and B) means I didn’t try hard enough. This event gave rise to a series of challenges throughout the weekend, with a complex series of governing rules (such as the hundred burpee challenge is an acceptable alternative punishment for losing, but if you don’t “one up” the previous challenge in some way (ex. Faster time, fewer clothes, etc), you had to do the original punishment as well).

We got back to my house that night, and things kind of slowed down. We spent the next few hours laying around my living room, half-trying to find something to do, but really just trying to recover from the garbage plates. Then someone saw the slacklines on the staircase, and we had an idea.

We hopped in cars, drove to a nearby abandoned Kodak building with a huge secluded parking lot, and played in the snow for a while. We ran and slid and played tag, explored some woods, and had some epic snowball fights.

Saturday was Parkour day! We woke up, Happydud’s Emporium of Pancakes was once again visited, and then started piling on the layers. We drove up to campus to pick up the locals, and then drove over to Manhattan Square Park in downtown Rochester. After a good warm up (because it certainly was not warm out), we decided it was just too slippery and dangerous for Parkour training. Instead, we had a series of truly legendary snowball fights. We started in a field, then had a Capture the Flag match in another area that was a great mix of nature and urban environments, all the while snowballs flying everywhere. We wrapped up the day with a game of Humans vs Zombies – Snowball Style, then stopped by a coffee shop and a mexican resteraunt for dinner.

After warming back up at my house, we went to a playground for the night. While everyone else was either doing random strength training stuff (rings, muscle ups, finding routes through the playground), or having 2v1 wrestling matches (I still say it was a draw… if I can go that long without tapping out it has to count for something!), Jesse was busy constructing a sled out of two skis and a precision trainer he found in the back of my car.

Well, that was an awesome freaking sled. We went SO FAST. Graham, a local traceur and EMT (foreshadowing!), had brought a bunch of real sleds. We all took turns on the various sleds and picnic table (which, it turns out, makes a fantastic sled as long as you bail fast enough), until Chris went snowboarding on one of the sleds. Turns out, Grade 2 ankle sprains are the reason you use sleds as intended, and not as snowboards. Graham was able to wrap him up and make sure he was okay, but it was still a bummer.

The next day was gymnastics day! I went to our gym, Zenith Gymnastics, and taught my kids Parkour class, and then the visitors joined the RIT Gymnastics club in a gymnastics training session. It was loads of fun, people worked on everything from back tucks to side summis over things, from rings to jumping over things. It was a pretty productive session, and everyone had a lot of fun finally getting to run and jump and flip and horse around. We wrapped up the day with pizza and movies, and then I started shuttling people back to the bus station.

That wraps up the Rochester Parkour Visitor’s Weekend. Not much actual Parkour, but still great fun was had by all. I’m glad we could give Nate a great first jam-weekend, and it was great seeing all my old friends again. We’re already planning our next few gatherings!

Special Training Session

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:29:52 -0500

Rochester Parkour, following its extraordinarily popular Leave No Trace event, is announcing its last official training event of the year! Zachary Cohn and Charles Moreland are hosting five out of town traceurs - Jesse Danger (NJ), Bryan Augstein (MD), KC Parsons & Friend (MI), and Chris Price (MI). These are not only experienced traceurs, but they are also good friends of ours… so lets show them a good time!

Saturday, December 13th we will be going to Manhattan Square Park at the usual 2:30pm time. Hope to see you there!