American Parkour - Parkour and Freerunning

Technique Over Strength - Flagpoles

Monday, 02 January 2006

Demon's Drill of the Month for January. Demon's Drills can be found in "Features".

Traceurs do parkour because they want to test the capabilities of the human body. This month’s drill is not
something to put into your parkour, but rather a neat little trick that not only looks impressive, but also is a great way to
increase upper body and core strength. The flag pole is a move that is typically thought to require great strength.
Although some strength is required, it largely depends on technique, balance, and practice. While a completely horizontal
flag pole takes a lot of strength that most people don’t have, just about any physically fit person can achieve a
vertical flag pole.

About six months ago, I didn’t think I had the strength needed to perform this trick. But one day, I was determined
to give it my best shot. After thirty minutes of messing around with it, the technique finally clicked and I was able to do it!
So quit using the excuse that you aren’t strong enough and go out and give it a whole hearted effort to learn! To
fully understand the tutorial and drill method, refer to the video here:

The Tutorial:

Find a vertical structure that you are able to grasp tightly with both hands. Some examples are poles, thin trees, signs,
and elevated rails. Step One: “The alignment for a flag pole is key. You want your head and both hands to all form
an imaginary vertical line when performing the move. When any one of these points becomes out of alignment, it can
make the flag pole incredibly hard to hold and balance. Make sure your body and grip is aligned before going into the
move.

Step Two: “The grip is also very important. When grasping the object with your bottom hand, your fingers should
be pointing to the ground. Most people grasp the object with their top hand palm facing in front of you. There should be
two to three feet in between your hands with the bottom arm being two or three feet from the ground. Make sure both
hands are aligned on the same imaginary vertical line. The grip and distances are a little different for everyone so play
around and find what works best for you.

Step Three: “The kick is the easiest way to go into a flag pole. It is possible to slowly lift yourself into the trick, but
that takes a great deal of strength. When first learning this move, it is all about the kick! Get the proper grip and
alignment and then kick up as hard as you can with your outside leg so your legs end up pointing to the sky. The more
vertical you get, the easier it is to hold the trick. As you kick up, PULL with your top hand and PUSH with your bottom
hand. You want your bottom arm to straighten out and your top arm to be near straight.

Step Four: “Once you have gotten your bottom arm locked out and your legs pointing up to the sky, try your best
to hold it there without moving. At first your balance may be a little off, but with practice, you will have a rock solid flag
pole. Vertical flag poles actually take very little effort to hold, but they still look pretty impressive.

The Drill: Ok so you can do a vertical flag pole and that’s pretty cool. But horizontal flag poles are even harder
and traceurs like to push their limits, right? To fully understand the drill method, refer to the same video as the tutorial.

Step One: Go into a vertical flag pole and gain your balance. In order to hold a horizontal flag pole, you are going to have
to build up your strength. To do this, slowly lower yourself. Right before you aren’t able to control it anymore, stop
and hold it as long as you can. Doing this is essentially strength training and will build up your strength and balance so
you are able to hold a flag pole at horizontal. Do this a few times every time you go out for some parkour and you will be
amazed at how fast you can achieve a solid horizontal flag pole.

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