Classes Introduce Students to Parkour

Learning how to vault or do a backflip is not part of everyday homework, until now. This year Colin Mahoney introduced new parkour classes at Idaho State University.

“There are so many different views or takes that everyone has on parkour,” Mahoney said. “It’s being able to use your body to overcome any environment possible. It’s all dependent on how you train.”

Parkour is a new urban sport that focuses on setting individual goals and getting from one point to another as fast as possible. Parkour is a sort of outdoor gymnastics, but more individualized. It is a non-competitive sport. Parkour comes from the French word parcourir, which means to browse or run through.

“My favorite part of parkour is being able to maneuver over obstacles when normally people just avoid them,” said Alex Pacioretty, a parkour student. “This time you can actually do cool tricks over them and keep your flow steady.”

“Parkour starts with movements students have probably done in their lives before and just adding on,” Mahoney said. “Once they take a movement and twist it a little bit it’s really empowering for them to see how much they can improve or what they are actually capable of. I have seen remarkable improvement with every student I’ve had.”

The class is for amateur athletes and starts in small steps. Mahoney works with students from the ground up. Students are taught the safest ways to parkour and how to progress into more advancement movements safely.

“Getting together in a cool, safe environment is the thing I look forward to really,” said Taylor Faulkner, a parkour student.

The parkour class, PEAC 1125-05, will be offered next fall semester Tuesdays and Thursdays 2-2:50 p.m. It will be 16 weeks.

 “If you’re taking the class for the first time, listen to the instructor and watch everyone else,” said Curtis Dey, a parkour student. “You can learn by watching others and then you can develop your own style.”

“I draw a lot of inspiration from my students,” Mahoney said. “When I first started parkour it was as self-practice, but once I started teaching my favorite part became the social aspect. All these people come together with one common purpose and are able to become friends from it.”

For more information contact Mahoney at mahocoli@isu.edu.