Free Running

[threefingeredguy]

I'm afraid of hurting my arms.

[DigiTan]

Yeah, that and my head. Maybe it's not as hard as it looks. My friend Casey did a backflip when we won a soccer tournament. He said it was his first ever. Er...his 1st flip that is.

[IAmACalculator]

The only exercise I get is with my fingers, typing, and working on my pen-twirling skillz (which I'm getting pretty good at).

[Super Speler]

Really, that's not good. I go to Karate three times a week for my excercise. I also eat right. I want to live as long as possible and if all I have to do is play some sports and not eat crap then I'll do it!

[IAmACalculator]

I know . I really need to get in shape. I play some tennis, and walk to school every day. I also want to take fencing lessons. Part of my health problem might be my getting up at 4:30.

[DigiTan]

:: Shudders ::

4AM. That reminds me of when I worked at the airport. I would get tired at 7 in the evening and when I want back to pick up my last paycheck, I got drowsy remembering what it was like.

Got some big air today. After the soreless went away I was able to jump higher than normal and started clearing most of the rails I could find. The rest are either too wobbly (should probably write a letter about those) or come to chest-height and would require more practice to pass those. The free running forum has some pretty funny stories:

[bananaman]

For exercise I stick to running on our track team. Although for practice we occasionally to Polymetrics(sp). I can jump on top of a wall that comes up to my chest from a standstill.

[DigiTan]

Aw man, that's pretty high. The chest-high fences look big as all outdoors to me.

[bananaman]

Start by jumping onto items that have a big flat area on top for you to land and put a towel on the edge to protect you shins. If you feel you aren't making it change your form to land on your knees. The main thing about jumping high ledges is the mental thinking. Think positively and you can do it.

[DigiTan]

I'll have to check for more surfaces like that. Also, it would be fun to jump railings on spiraling staircases like in that first video. There's a lot of moves for railings and jumps but not stairs.

I guess I'm gonna be out of commission for a few days, I was doing reverse vaults and tweeked my ankle. Not real bad or anything, but I'm staying off it to avoid a real injury. Rolls might be safe.

[ducttape_87]

That's rad that you're freerunning, digitan. I had to stop last fall cause I sprained my ankle really bad. Now that the weather is getting nicer though, I want to get back into it.

Yeah monkey vaults can be scary, but they can also be fun when you master them.
Try vaulting onto a rail, holding it with both hands, and land with your feet on the rail, without letting go. That might help you build confidence to try clearing it.

Also, a fun thing to do when doing speed vaults is to spin yourself into a 360 just as you're letting go.

Have fun!

[Cure]

[Weregoose]

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[DigiTan]

Well, school is over (whoohoo!) and my ankle got better so I was out a few times this week and snagged some pictures on the route.



The top pic is that chest-high fence I was talking about that surrounds my apartment complex. I finally started clearing it by jamming my foot into the concrete pillar as I jump over--so it takes less than a second to get over now. Sometimes my feet will clip each other and I'll bail (got a facefull of grass once). It's not as painful as it probably looks though.



The second pic has the bollards I'm trying to train on. I swear I've seen this done in at least 3 Kung Fu movies, so mastering them would be pretty 1337. Walking on them seems like an easy task, but -eh- I guess it aint.

[elfprince13]

our school has a bunch of red wooden posts in the ground along the parking lot tht I walk on. its fun. try standing on them first.

[DigiTan]

There are a few wooden ones behind this shot but they're really cheap and wobble too much. There's one you can even swipe straight out of the ground. But then, they're wider than the steel ones in the pic, so I dunno. I might check em out.

Also there's this one freaky move I can't figure out in this video at 01:19. The kid runs on the walls for 3 steps! I tried it a few times, but I stop connecting with the wall after the 1st step. I might be pushing myself off too hard. Any of you guys seen that move?

Goals:
(1) Do a running reverse vault
(2) Smoother grass rolls
(3) Learn the monkey vault
(4) Walk on railing for 10+ feet
(5) Don't get killed

[Weregoose]

Newton's third law of motion comes to mind.

These videos are still pretty inspiring to watch. If I were more physically inclined, I'd also be doing flips off of walls and such. As it is right now, I'm much more confident that I'd be getting my face smashed—between a rock and a hard place. DigiTan, I totally respect you for going out and doing these crazy things. All the more power to you.

[Arcane Wizard]

[Lyricalwolf]

lol, i remeber one summer i was getting all hyped up and stuff and was jumping like everything i could see! well i had this great idea to leap from the very top of my 17Ft. staircase which also spanned forward about 15 ft and land on all the cushions you could imagine. I had pillows and blankets and couch cushions all on the floor awaiting my triumphant jump!
Well.....
I jumped and success was in my grasp until.... the last inch of my heel met with the last INCH of the LAST step and i shattered both my heels. I couldnt walk for the whole summer......and my parents never even took me to the hospital!.....but then when i recovered i tried it again with success!!!!! :biggrin:

[IAmACalculator]