Wisconsin Parkour

On Thursday, July 21, Blane, Yao, & Dom visited Devils Lake with Joey, Travis, Jon, and Alissa, to scope out the area. Rina was along as well, and Jenny caught up with us to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. A hike/climb to the top of the bluffs was a perfect warm-up, and it was fun for us to show one of our favorite spots to the Parkour Generations crew. Chad joined the group later on, and we relaxed at the top and got to take in the view and engage in some light, fun training and climbing. Afterwards, everyone headed to Alissa’s house for a relaxed dinner and some additional planning. Of course, once the food was gone, the only thing on anyone’s mind was training, so we headed out to downtown Madison to do some more site checking and planning. It was awesome, until we were asked to leave the GEF 3 building. I’m thinking they’re a bit more nervous about people climbing around on that building at night. To be safe, a decision was made to take GEF 3 off the agenda for the Jubilee, which was a shame, as anyone who’s trained with us there knows what a great spot it is! But traceurs are nothing if not adaptable, so we made it work.

Mid-morning on Friday, July 22, the group met up in Madison so that Blane, Dom, & Yao could get a feel for Steenbock Library, that afternoon’s training spot. We were getting excited about seeing everyone and kicking off the Jubilee! People started to trickle in around 1:00, and as we checked in participants and filled out waivers, people were surprised to receive a t-shirt for the event. It was an amazing thing that day, to see a whole group of traceurs in matching shirts engaging in the kind of training that only Parkour Generations can dish out. I think people liked the shirts, too; to have a souvenir of the event. 

We started with a group warm-up that was intense. Those who had trained with Parkour Generations before knew to pace themselves. Those who hadn’t, had been warned, but of course there is no way to really understand what to expect your first time. With the heat at dangerous levels--we had just come off of a heat advisory a day or two before--we were watching people carefully to make sure the exercise didn’t cause problems. A few people had to sit out for a bit, and we had water at the ready thanks to Joe’s parents and Ayren from Indiana, but once people had a chance to rest and rehydrate at the water station, they were back in for more. 

Yao dealt with the heat by keeping a wet towel on his head at all times, making him appear by turns as a dude in a do-rag, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or da Vinci’s Lady With an Ermine, depending on how the towel was tied.

After the group warm-up, we divided into rotating groups and had a chance to work with a variety of stations at Steenbock. Blane led a group on a “hot lava” type gauntlet around the parking structure. It always amazes me how a “simple” activity like that can be so challenging and can provide such a variety of training opportunities: climbing, jumping, stretching, creativity. The station was classic Blane: very simple, but very demanding, and led in a very encouraging but matter-of-fact and focused way.

Dom’s group did a station that worked on striding, precisions, and climbing. They built up from just working on striding and eliminating steps from a curb to a low wall, to adding a planter to the route (still reducing steps), and then finally a wall climb/topout with some balancing to the end. It was interesting to see how everyone worked through the route in their own way, based on their own bodies and abilities; yet everyone worked hard.

Yao’s station included a small route using precisions and kong vaults on low planters and benches. Again it was incredible how complex and challenging such a “small” route can be. Yao encouraged everyone by being a little goofy, an aspect of his personality that would continue to emerge throughout the weekend. After we’d spent some time on the planters and benches, we moved on to rolling down the stairs (!) See above re: goofy. 

By the end of the day, even though it was only 4 hours, people were plenty tired, but also energized by the verve that the instructors brought to the event. We had a nice group warmdown and people were pumped for the next day!

Saturday, July 23 brought us to Library Mall in Madison. People who had been at Friday’s session seemed a little tired at check-in, but were clearly excited for what Saturday had in store. A few asked me if we could include more conditioning at our regular training sessions in Madison (YES!!!), after having experienced Parkour Generations for the first time.

After an intense and long warmup, we again divided into groups. Yao’s group did some barefoot training, so that not only would we have the typical parkour “man-hands,” but man-feet as well. The barefoot training was relatively “small,” focused more on balance and precision than on big stuff, which is as it should be. So much information about our body’s balance and position in space enters our brains through our feet! Developing that kind of sensitivity and awareness is a delicate process--more a question of finesse than panache. Yao then moved on to a small route at the “stairway to nowhere” pulpit on Library Mall, which included some low kongs, precisions, and flow work. To wrap up, we included some precision work on the “anti-skater” rails adjacent to the stairway.

Dom’s group worked on some climbing and “buildering” skills, training grip, balance, and problem-solving. It was simple, and looked easy, but was definitely a challenge. Afterwards, he led us in some vault work, including a controlled backwards fall off an obstacle, a useful skill to have! He finished up with some conditioning work: handstands and broad-jump burpees. 

Everyone broke for lunch and had about an hour to wander State Street and fuel up for the second half of the day. Refreshed, we did a bit of light warming up in the form of some Human Bridge challenges, and then headed to our third group.

Blane’s group worked on a number of skills using the rectangular guardrails along University Avenue. We worked on balance for a bit to get familiar with the obstacle and get used to working concentratedly on a small bar while traffic was rushing past. Then we did climb-up drills in about as many forms as you could imagine. Anyone who knows Blane will not be surprised by this. There were modifications for all skill levels, to keep it challenging but still accessible. With the wide variety of skill levels we had, this was important; but everyone got something out of the drills. We then got the chance to layer the climbing work into a bigger challenge, and to get a little teamwork in as well. The challenge was to do a wallrun and get to the top, but about 2/3 of the way up, the wall sloped *away* at about a 45-degree angle. We were allowed to work together to get up to the top, so people found all sorts of creative ways to help one another, from giving boosts to reaching down and lending a hand. We continued until everyone was at the top, and it was great seeing everyone work together.

During this activity, I kept thinking of something Julie Angel said the last time I saw her at the Ohio Rendezvous. She said that one thing that struck her about American traceurs, in general, was that they don’t tend to help one another, compared to their European counterparts. It’s not that we are all these islands keeping to ourselves, but she meant that, while we may encourage eachother and cheer one another on, she rarely noticed people reaching out to pull someone up, or give a boost, or actually physically help another traceur over an obstacle. I found this interesting because I’ve always found American traceurs to be incredibly helpful, but it’s true that it was only in the way of being verbally or emotionally supportive. These are incredibly important, but until she said something, I never noticed the lack of physical help. We talked at length about whether or not this was a reflection of the American cultural value on self-sufficiency and independence. We never arrived at any conclusion and of course no value judgments were made in any direction, but it was an interesting observation, especially coming from someone who has made an entire career out of observing parkour culture on a global scale.

After our final station, we regrouped for some large-group activities designed to develop skills and also have some fun. We went for a short run, serenaded by Yao leading us all in a rousing version of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and punctuated by some close observation of a bat who was sleeping on the side of the building.


We then did some listening activities where we had to find our partner with our eyes closed, and several rounds of cat-and-mouse tag. We then finished up with a couple rounds of “Farmers and Carrots.” To quote Wisconsin Parkour’s Travis Tetting, “It takes exactly eight farmers to pull me & my best friend apart.”

By this point everyone was hovering somewhere between total physical exhaustion and an insane desire to never let the magic end, so we did a large-group warmdown and stretching session, and then finished up with some announcements and carpool arrangements for the next day’s training at Devils Lake. 

Devils Lake day writeup coming soon, by Wisconsin Parkour's guest blogger Jonathan Allen!