Good parkour training will go some way to helping you reach your true potential and you will come to realize that your limits are far beyond what you could ever imagine.   – Dan Edwardes

For my second parkour-specific book review, I take a peek at Dan Edwarde’s “The Parkour and Freerunning Handbook.” If you’re unfamiliar with Dan, he is the co-founder of Parkour Generations, as well as the co-creator of the A.D.A.P.T. and Parkour Fitness Specialist certifications. 

What does that mean?

He doesn’t just teach people parkour. He founded an organization that teaches others how to teach parkour.

That’s a serious credential.

So, about the book: It’s a thin little volume, weighing in at 144 pages. Yet, don’t let the size fool you. Within the pages you’ll find a solid primer on the skills needed to get started in parkour.

One of the main things that really stands out is that Dan covers both the mental and philosophical framework for parkour, alongside the physical. For instance, after identifying running, jumping, climbing, and balancing as foundations, he singles out stealth and touch/sensitivity as two more skills that need cultivation. He goes on to mention how parkour is a transformative practice, in which you hone your inner self through targeted effort. And, my favorite part is that he includes enjoyment as just as important as exercise, rest, and proper nutrition for one’s overall well being. To take it a step further, the last page of the book has the heading “Philosophy and physicality”.

How cool is that?

He sounds like the type of guy we’d all want to hang out with, and his passion for the discipline captures why parkour is so popular.

Another aspect that I really appreciate is the discussion of the need to “forge your body” through specific conditioning. That’s the purpose of this Parkour Conditioning website, so his emphasis on toughening your tissues and building “body armor” out of your muscle really resonates.

Moving beyond the first chapter, the book dives into movement skills. There are three pages devoted to landing, with solid advice for injury avoidance.

Balls of feet, people!

Following that he instructs everything from rolls, standing jumps, running jumps, balancing, vaults, mounts, wall runs, drops, laches, and underbars. What we know as “cat leaps”, he refers to as “arm jumps”, and yes, they are highlighted as well.

Now, I consider myself an aficionado of exercise illustrations. Maybe it’s an attempt to reconnect with the picture books of my childhood? Perhaps it’s a natural interest for someone who prescribes exercise for a living?

Regardless of my reasons, I was excited to find that Dan uses illustrations to describe movements in the final tutorial section. On an image or two you have to squint your eyes to understand what is being shown, but the pictures are a unique addition and add style over regular photos.

Aside from the skills taught in the middle of the book, the tutorial section includes more complicated drills like the “Corkscrew Pop-up”, “Turn Vault” and “360 Tic Tac”.

It’s enough of a teaser that you are left with desire to start exploring more advanced skills on your own.

Bottom line: The book achieves what it states in its title — it’s a solid handbook for those looking to get acquainted with parkour/freerunning. With basic movements and a sampling of more advanced skills, it’s a well-written and easy to follow resource to help you get on your way.

Did I mention it’s super affordable?

At only $10 on Amazon.com, you’d better clear some space on your bookshelf for this gem!

Yet, it can be done.

Many months ago, I received a copy of the 2^nd edition of “The Ultimate Parkour and Freerunning Book”, by Jan Witfeld, Ilona E. Gerling, and Alexander Pach. Given the relatively recent release of Mad Skills, I had been more than busy with my own promotions, so I really didn’t have the time to do a proper review.

Things have finally slowed down a bit and I had a chance to pour through the book over one weekend.

The first thing you notice is its high production quality. From the foldout cover to the full-color interior photographs, the publishers put out an excellent product. The action shots are crisp and the sequences truly capture movements from start to finish.

Digging into the book, you’ll find a thorough history of parkour and freerunning. Georges Hébert, méthode naturelle, Raymond Belle, the Yamakasi, David Bell, Sébastien Foucan, and l’art du déplacement — you’ll gain a nice understanding of parkour’s development to the present day.

There is even a long passage directly from Tim Shieff, one of my favorite athletes!

The authors then delve into muscle fiber function, energy sources utilized in training, and general strength and conditioning. If you’ve never taken a physiology course, it is a nice primer on how your body works under athletic loading. 

Tied into the initial section are a few pages devoted to training principles that beginners should observe. Footwear, clothes, safety awareness and general behavior — it’s a nice refresher.

After that, the book dives into specific skills. By my count, there are about three-dozen movements described. Given the breadth of moves used by traceurs and freerunners, one might argue that it is a shallow account of potential skills. However, for the individual getting started, it is more than enough to get you going down the right track.

One of the neat things that the authors do is to include illustrated diagrams of how instructors might set-up obstacles to assist with teaching their students. They also cover how to “spot” someone for safety and how to provide cues for error correction.

It bears mentioning that this book is an excellent resource for aspiring coaches. Aside from offering ways to help students at a one-on-one level, the book goes into how to bring parkour and freerunning into schools and classroom settings. There are even 6 distinct lesson plans for how one might structure a series of classes. 

In summary, you can think about this book as a general textbook on parkour and freerunning. It’s enough to get beginning students familiar with concepts, movements, and philosophy. And then it has the depth to inform aspiring coaches on some of the basic science and teaching techniques needed to help athletes develop.

Give it a peek. If you don’t already have a book on parkour and freerunning in your library, then fill the void with this worthy addition!