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I can do a kong over something about the size of a pick-nick table, however I notice that on anything longer, my legs start to fall, and I have to bring my feet down.

Many traceurs however can get themselves much higher than an average person, and yet are not even particularly strong.

dive kong

What technique do traceurs use to get themselves that high?

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migrated from sports.stackexchange.com Nov 27 '12 at 20:50


Some parkourists do sport-specific strength training so their relative (not absolute) strength is high. Perhaps the traceurs in these pics are simply committing to the dive more? What do you look like in flight? :) –  Dave Liepmann Nov 28 '12 at 15:20

2 Answers 2

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Also look into going to a gymnastics center for some basic classes. There are a lot of gymnastic techniques that are essential for a good traceur, such as rolls, body orientation, proprioceptive/kinesthetic awareness, weight transition, etc.

One of the things that is going to help you in your kong along with the center of gravity noted in the other answer is a concept called "blocking". This is being able to take momentum in one direction and redirect it in a different direction.

This is best exemplified by the vault in gymnastics. The gymnast sprints down the runway, gathering horizontal momentum. They hit the springboard, which starts the transition to vertical, and then their arms plant and "block" the momentum into a vertical direction. This is going to be a vital skill for any traceur.

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By dropping your chest lower than your butt, your center of gravity stays lower. This makes it easier.

Overall you're not jumping higher, just your legs are. When your hands hit, you have to push the ground away to get your chest high enough again to not face-plant.

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