FLOW Workshop Day 5: Free-Running Session 1

Basics of Free-Running

Location: Club Gymnastica

Injuries: rug burns (again), and that palm spin gaffe really f*cked up my arm >_<

Faceplant: 2, hehe

Cartwheels and Flips: eh, needs work

Resulting Muscle Pain: they're back! T_T

The Verdict: free-running basically means you spend a lot of time being airborne, which is something I'm normally terrified of. So if I'm ever going to get over that fear, now would be great XD




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Last Sunday's session marked the beginning of our free-running lessons. As a backgrounder, free-running, as opposed to parkour, is more about freedom of movement, tricks and style (whereas parkour is all about efficiency).

Aside from the usual conditioning exercises and stretches, new ones were introduced in relation to free-running; they called them 'dynamic stretches'. These involved kicking while walking, handstands followed by forward rolls, etc etc. 

After the preliminary work-outs, we were taught some of the basic free-running moves:

Wall Spin/ Palm Spin involves running towards then placing both hands against a wall; using your right hand as an anchor, you propel yourself against the wall (kind of like doing a cartwheel)...

..okay I suck at describing the moves, so here are pictures:

So you run at this 'wall', plant both hands on it and use your momentum to swing yourself around...

..then you just propel yourself all the way around and land on the other side

The palm spin is similar, except you do it on a low wall or ledge and plant one hand on said ledge; it's a lot easier than the wall spin, but both are still hard to get at first. It's obvious that one of things you have to avoid is stalling midway through the spin and end up landing on your head.

Cartwheels are something that nearly everybody did at one point in their lives, so no need for pictures. I remember doing cartwheels in my lola's garden when I was a kid. Her garden slopped downwards and there were stones, bushes, and no cushioning whatsoever, but I did my cartwheels enthusiastically (and they were perfect circles, too). I suppose it's one of life's ironies that, over a decade later, in my prime, inside a fully cushioned gym, I couldn't do cartwheels 0_o

 Well, not at first. It took a while to get that spin back, and they were harder than I remembered.

Backflips were last. Granted, we did our backflips on a trampoline so it was actually a lot easier to achieve. We practice jumping while tucking our knees up first, then worked on how to jump on one spot on the trampoline. The important thing to remember is to jump high, tuck your knees and keep them tucked until you land. Those who have no experience in backflips had a little help from our trainer, who stood beside us on the trampoline, grabbed the back of our shirt and flipped us over at the right moment.

It was still pretty scary, even with a guide. You pull your knees up, feel yourself spin backwards and hope like hell you dont land on your neck. I cant even imagine how I'll be able to do this unassisted...and on the ground...that's not soft...

So ends our first free-running session. I'm liking it so far, and felt more comfortable without those intimidating vaulting horses, haha.