Control and Silence

Written by WIzey

Control and silence are very important aspects of parkour. If you cannot control your body or movements properly, then you risk injuring yourself. You can instantly see if a movement is uncontrolled, as the landing may be bad, or whilst doing the movement arms or legs fly everywhere. Also, a loud landing or hand placement suggests a lot of force or impact is not being absorbed or distributed properly. This article should outline some ways of improving control and silence, enabling you to move more confidently.

If you watch videos of David Belle, you will instantly see the control he has over his movements. A large part of this is because of conditioning and repetition of a movement. To have control over a movement is to understand what you are doing and when, and this will only come through a lot of practise.

There are many ways to improve control over your movements. Jumps to small things, for example rails or small blocks will help with awareness and balance, all part of control. When doing precise jumps, remember to stick the landing rather than hopping straight off. By changing your body position in the air it can help to stick the landing, for example if you were travelling forwards quite fast, you would lean back slightly, so as not to fall forward when landing. Also, jump up rather than straight too the object, so you come down on it for landing, reducing the chance you will slip off.

There is no substitute for practise, so by practising all types of jumps, landings, rolls, vaults etc, you will gain more control. There is no set way of doing each movement, and everyone will have there own individual way of doing it, so experiment and find what works best for you.

A technique which we like to call a “silent landing” is useful for controlling a landing after a jump. This should also enable you to absorb the shock of the landing more effectively, using your muscles and not your joints. For an effective silent landing you should land on your toes, and bend your knees to absorb the impact. Don’t land heavy footed, try and be quiet and absorb the impact. They should only really be used for small drops, or after certain vaults. Experiment with what suits you, but remember to try and land silently. Sound is a good indicator of how hard the impact is, and how well you absorbed it.

By doing runs as silently and controlled as you can you will quickly find yourself progressing and improving. Make a combination of movements, and practise trying to do it in a controlled manner: start off slowly, and work up to doing it faster but still controlled. Also, try doing this silently with light footsteps as well.

For more information on the movements described, visit the “Techniques” section of the Lincs Parkour forum, or go to www.worldwidejam.tv

Get moving like a ninja!