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News from February 2009
You may be aware that Team Member Thomas is currently on a grand world journey, hitch-hiking across Eurasia. Thomas is keen to meet up with local practitioners wherever he goes, and he will next be surfacing in Greece in mid-March, and will certainly be stopping in Athens for a day or two. Any Greek traceurs who want to hook up with the man himself should just drop him a line by email on Thomas(at)parkourgenerations.com. He won't be staying long, so may not get the chance to meet everyone, but do try to track him down! Saturday 28th of February 2009 
Next weekend, March 7/8th sees us giving two separate seminars in Italy - one in Rome and one in Milan - and we are very much looking forward to seeing our Italian friends again at what should be very large gatherings. Stephane, Blane and Chris are heading to Rome while Dan, Thomas, Dom and Johann will be in Milan, with both seminars occurring on the Saturday, March 7th. Film-maker Julie Angel will be along to cover the Rome event, so expect to see some footage of the shenanigans in the not too distant future... Saturday 28th of February 2009 
Next month sees us entering the construction stage of the UK's first outdoor parkour training facilities, with 2 parks to be built in London's Westminster borough. A collaborative project with the City of Westminster, these parks will provide a dedicated space for large-scale seminars and events, and will also be used as part of our regular Academy Classes. Designed by some of the most experienced practitioners in the world, these parks will also provide a model for several more facilities planned in the UK. Friday 27th of February 2009 
April will see us running a seminar day for the "Jornadas de cultura Hip-Hop" event in Alicante, Spain. Now in its fifth year, the event has hosted shows, talks and workshops with personalities like Henry Chalfant, Ken Swift, DJ Q-Bert, DJ Marley Marl, Spinkings and the very best MCs and groups of the Spanish scene (Nach, Tote King, La Excepción, etc). The event explores the more cultural side of the Hip-Hop movement, and with parkour ever growing in popularity among young people in Spain for the first time it will be officially introduced to the programme. After the seminar we will be holding a Q&A at an evening conference, all set to happen on April 6th. Wednesday 25th of February 2009 
First Parkour Book Now Available! The first of two books to be published this half of the year, both written by Dan and the Parkour Generations collective, is now available on shelves and to order on Amazon in the USA, Japan and elsewhere. This book, simply entitled 'Parkour', is a book written for young people with a low reading age and is intended to encourage them to read more and to engage them with this phenomenal physical activity. The book's UK publishing date is April 30th and will be distributed also to schools and libraries. June sees the worlwide release of the main Handbook of Parkour, an introduction to all aspects of parkour training. Another, yet more comprehensive work is already in the works... Tuesday 24th of February 2009 
This week on top of the regular school and Parkour Academy classes we are also running workshops for Positive Futures at Moberly Sports Centre tonight 5.30-7.30pm and two workshops for the Comfort Zone programme with arts group 'All Change' analysing the science of fear. Further, two more schools are having taster sessions - Market Lavington in Wiltshire and Forest Gate school in East London. Non-stop as usual... Tuesday 24th of February 2009 
New Video: Light Training in Evry A new video has just gone live, this little edit capturing some action from a light movement training day in Evry, Paris for some of the team. Featuring Team Members Stephane, Seb and Kazuma in the famous Cathedrale spot in Evry, this cold day in December was a session of fun and play which is a vital component of parkour training. To watch the video, click here and enjoy! Tuesday 24th of February 2009 
London Files is a series of 5 minute films which has been commissioned by WDR, the BBC of Germany, and RAI Educational Italy, and today they have been following our teaching at the London Winter of Sports Parkour Camp and shooting some action outside. The aim of the series is to show events and issues of concern to young people in London, and our social inclusion workshop programmes with the City of Westminster provide a perfect focus for the project. Thursday 19th of February 2009 
Team Member and intrepid explorer Thomas is now in Milan for a few days as he passes through Italy on his way to the East on foot as part of his latest adventure. Any practitioners over there who want to hook up with Thomas and while he is in Milan should drop him an email on Thomas(at)parkourgenerations.com. We'll be posting regular updates on Thomas' travels so keep checking in..! Thursday 19th of February 2009 
Today we ran workshops for the launch event of the new sports pitch and facilities at the Jubilee Sports Centre in North West London, which was very well attended by local young people and children on the Positive Futures programme. Several news crews turned out to cover the event, which was a great success and a good day for all involved. Thanks to Cory and the ever-present Westminster Sports Unit for helping things run so smoothly. We also had the pleasure of the company of America's CBS News at our Outdoor Class tonight, who did a great job of capturing the action while staying out of the way! To book a place on an upcoming Outdoor Class, hit the link above. Wednesday 18th of February 2009 
Samsung Omnia Video Now Online A commercial video we shot a few weeks ago for Samsung's latest HD camera phone, the Onmia, has just gone online, entitled 'The Chase' on their site and can be viewed here. The concept for the video is to allow the audience to edit the chase sequence as it goes on, enabling you to choose which cameras you watch each part from, and we think it works very well. Thomas, Dan and Stephane provided the action while Johann choreographed the sequences on set. Take a look by hitting the link above... Tuesday 17th of February 2009 
New Video: Girl's Empowerment Day A new short film showing the first of London's Girls' Empowerment Day parkour workshops we are running, engaging 14-19 year old women from local schools, has just gone public and can be seen here. Filmed and produced by our very own Julie Angel, the film was commissioned by the City of Westminster and shows girls from the Westminster borough being introduced to the very basics of movement training for their first ever session. Monday 16th of February 2009 
London Winter of Sports Underway Today the London Winter of Sports Parkour Camp got underway, running every day from 10am to 1pm at Moberly Sports Centre. Two of our team will be coaching there every day, and the response has been huge on this first day with a great turnout from young people wanting to learn more about the discipline. Those attending the course can also qualify for the AQA Unit 1 in Parkour which we deliver for young people in schools and across the UK. Also starting today are the Edutain workshop programme for young people in disadvantaged areas and the Comfort Zone 'Science of Fear' 2nd round of workshops, both going on in London. Monday 16th of February 2009 
As of this week Team Member Blane will be based in London and pitching in with all the regular classes and workshops that go on in and around the capital. A true veteran of the discipline with a wealth of knowledge and experience to pass on, Blane is a welcome addition to the London coaching team. Sunday 15th of February 2009 
Free London Jam: Sunday Feb 22nd Sunday the 22nd of February sees the One Year Anniversary of our monthly Off The Wall jams, so we'll be heading back to where it all started in Latimer Road! We at Parkour Generations would like to take this moment to thank everyone that's made this happen month after month, and hope you can come down to share the vibe again this time. The meeting point will be right outside Latimer Road Underground Station on the Hammersmith and City Line at 12:45pm, so that we'll be ready to go at 1pm - we'll then head to one of the further, less visited spots for a group warm-up, then everyone is free to roam from there. More details can be found here, or by emailing Brian on brian(at)parkourgenerations.com. See you there! Friday 13th of February 2009 
This week Dan has been invited to head up to Scotland to observe the Glasgow Parkour Coaching classes in operation, one of the UK affiliate groups we are pleased to have close ties to. The classes there are going very well, run principally by Chris Grant, Zeno and BJ Lang, with a thriving female presence within the community. Expect to be seeing more of these guys in the future... Monday 09th of February 2009 
Behind The Jump: Vol 7 - Train and Play. Games are a vital part of parkour training and a great way to push yourself with your training partners. Stephane Vigroux, Seb Goudot and Thomas Couetdic play with a simple but effective rail precision challenge. Visit our video page here to see the latest in the series! Sunday 08th of February 2009 
Sunday 8th: London Women's Jam! This is a quick reminder to you all that the monthly women's jam will be held tomorrow in Vauxhall: we will congregate at 12pm next to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern pub on Goding Street, which is opposite one of the 2 mainline station exits... The jam will last 2-3 hours and will take place come rain (snow) or shine! The Jams are free of charge and open to all abilities from complete beginner to advanced. They are not structured classes but always start with a warmup and there are a great way to pick up training ideas and advice, and of course to have some fun! For more information contact Tracey by email on tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com. Saturday 07th of February 2009 
Recently the guys from Men's Fitness Magazine came down to an outdoor class to have a crack at some basic training. Their video edit of the class can be seen here, and the full article will be out in the magazine in March. Saturday 07th of February 2009 
Italy Charity Seminar: March 7th Saturday March 7th will see us collaborating with our partners Majestic Force from France to run a day-long seminar in Rome, Italy, in order to benefit children in hospital. The event is organised by the local Italian practitioners of AssociaZione Italiana Parkour with the theme being that every participant must bring a gift to donate to hospitalised children. It's a great cause, and a good way for us to meet more of the thriving Italian community of practitioners after creating sucha strong bond with the traceurs of the Italian Parkour Association, APKI. More information on the seminar can be found (in Italian) here. Friday 06th of February 2009 
Women's Empowerment Day a Big Hit The first of seven Empowerment Day workshops for women we are running throughout February and March was a huge success today, with girls aged 14-19 from several schools in the Westminster borough putting a great deal of energy and enthusiasm into the training sessions. News teams from CBS and Channel 5 covered the event, and are also covering our schools and regular Outdoor Classes next week. The next Empowerment Day will be in the Wandsworth borough of London on March 4th, and more details will follow nearer the time. Thanks to all the team who did such a great job, and to Karen and Shirley for diving in so fearlessly! Friday 06th of February 2009 
'Outside In' Film Award Finalist Another of Julie Angel's short films is receiving further critical acclaim, this time her study of Parkour Generations Academy veteran Karen Palmer called 'Outside In' becoming a finalist for the Images of Black Women Film Festival Award. Judges for this award include the BBC, Channel Four, Film London, UK Film Council, Lionsgate Films and Time Out. You can see the short film by clicking here. Thursday 05th of February 2009 
London Winter of Sports and Edutain Programmes One of the many courses we are running in February will be the London Winter of Sports programme for young people every day from 16-20 February at Moberly Sports Centre in Kilburn, London. The sessions run from 10am-1pm for those days, and we will be delivering the AQA Units 1 and 2 Accreditation in Parkour for those who attend the entire course. Alongside this for Westminster we will be running in February and April the Positive Futures Edutain programme across the borough. Wednesday 04th of February 2009 
Empowerment Day Draws Attention.. The spotlight is fixed firmly on the female scene this Friday for the Empowerment Day workshops we are running for 14-19 year old girls at Moberly Sports Centre in London. The event has drawn the eye of the world's media, and news crews from America's CBS News, the UK's Channel 5 as well as a Japanese news channel will be there to cover the training which will be run by a 6-strong team of Parkour Generations coaches. Film-maker Julie Angel will also be shooting the event for a commissioned mini-documentary for the City of Westminster. Following this one, we will be running Empowerment Day workshops throughout March for London boroughs including Brixton, Haringay, Wandsworth, Bromley and Barnet. Tuesday 03rd of February 2009 
New Film Selected for Arts Festival The recent Julie Angel film starring Thomas, entitled Feedback Loop, has been selected for the 2009 screening of the "Xtend III: Bodies In Flight" arts festival in south London run by Digital Media Centre. The unique film, shot entirely on POV, will be played on a loop as part of the Xtend selection from dusk-11pm each evening between Saturday 7th February to 5th April. Tuesday 03rd of February 2009 
Women's Jam and Classes: February With the women's scene thriving and Empowerment day this week, we are also running an open Women's Jam training day in London this Sunday 8th February. This gathering is open to any and all women, no matter the level of experience, and anyone wanting to come along should contact Tracey on tracey(at)parkourgenerations.com. Women's classes this month occur on Thursday 5th and 19th February at 7pm, and to book a place on either one email Tracey at the above address. Tuesday 03rd of February 2009 
As a few inches of snow now seems to herald the end of the world in England, Moberly Sports Centre is closed tonight which means there will be no Academy Class this evening. Hopefully all classes will be back on as per usual from tomorrow, Tuesday 3rd February. Meanwhile, try out some quadrupedie in the snow - quite an experience ;) Monday 02nd of February 2009 |
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