Screw the Stairs!

And Join Parkour Club

Bryden Smith, Counter Culture Reporter; Photographer|March 9, 2017

Parkour: noun; the sport of moving along a route, typically in a city, trying to get around or through various obstacles in the quickest and most efficient manner possible, as by jumping, climbing, or running.

For ACC’s Parkour Club, it’s much more than that; it’s an art and a community.

March 2nd, 2017. Alex Smith (left) and Mark D’Agosta (right) work on thorough warm-up exercises on the south patio of ACC Littleton Campus. D’Agosta, the club president, makes sure the group is warmed up before instructing various techniques.
March 2nd, 2017. Joshie Smith (bottom), and Alex Smith (top), vault up a wall on the south patio. Part of their warmup involves doing ‘laps,’ a combination of running and parkour moves.
March 2nd, 2017. Mark D’Agosta leads the Parkour Club as they run their laps. D’Agosta studies and teaches parkour at Chameleon Gymnastics in Castle Rock; At club meetings, he gives lessons to those wishing to learn.
March 2nd, 2017. Brothers Alex (left) and Joshie (right), listen to Mark’s (middle) instructions near the south patio of ACC. D’Agosta discusses the fine points of body position before the group begins executing any moves.

The ACC Parkour Club meets up at 4pm on the south patio, every Thursday.  Well, unless it’s snowing that is.  Despite the perfect weather, last week wasn’t the biggest turnout.  Parkour Club member Alex Smith says “about six [attend] on a good day.”

Alex and his brother Joshie have both studied parkour prior to joining the club, but previous experience isn’t necessary.  Club President D’Agosta is happy to instruct students of all skill levels.

March 2nd, 2017. Alex Smith executes a roll down the hill. Learning to roll properly is important, as it can help avoid injury when landing.
March 2nd, 2017. On the south side of ACC, D’Agosta comes out of a handstand on a retaining wall. D’Agosta has been training at Apex, a parkour gym in Denver, since it opened. Apex was the first gym of its kind to open in Colorado back in 2006.

Parkour traces its origins the late 1990’s when athlete David Belle began to adapt his father’s obstacle-course-style Special Forces training to his urban environment. After years of only a small underground following, the sport exploded in 2005 with the launch of YouTube, with millions of uploads bringing Parkour into the mainstream.  Now, movies like Casino Royale (2006) and Assassin’s Creed (2016) mesmerize viewers and practitioners alike with scenes of human beings effortlessly scaling walls and flying from edge to edge.

March 2nd, 2017. D’Agosta demonstrates and discusses how parkour rolls are different than gymnastics rolls, from hand position to spinal posture. Mark says that although having prior knowledge from other sports like gymnastics, track or martial arts helps, the techniques he teaches are unique to Parkour.
March 2nd, 2017. President Mark D’Agosta teaches wall-runs to the club. Each move in Parkour requires precise movements, for both safety and effectiveness.
March 2nd, 2017. Mark D’Agosta scales the wall with ease. There is debate in the parkour community on whether taking one step or two steps will get more height up the wall.
March 2nd, 2017. Joshie Smith nearly scales the high wall on the south patio of ACC. Mark discusses how to time the first step on the wall perfectly, to get the maximum traction and maximum height.
March 2nd, 2017. On the stairs of the south patio, Joshie Smith kicks his legs up into a handstand. Alex Smith (back) carefully places his hands on the ground, preparing to enter a handstand himself.
March 2nd, 2017. Alex Smith (left), holds a delicately balanced pose. Smith slowly pushes himself up from the ground, straining muscles to hold himself in place.
March 2nd, 2017. Mark D’Agosta flies into a roll, once again emphasizing the importance of good form. Avoiding injury is even more challenging on hard surfaces like concrete.
March 2nd, 2017. Bounding over the walls, Mark D’Agosta runs through the last ‘lap’ of the day. Thursday club meetings usually only last an hour or so, but occasionally the group meets up for events at either D’Agosta’s gym in Castle Rock, Chameleon Gymnastics, or the Apex Gym in Denver.

Parkour is a unique and effective way to stay in shape, and the club at ACC is always looking for new members. For more information on the Parkour Club and how to join, contact Mark D’Agosta at [email protected]

All photos courtesy of Bryden Smith