East Texas is full of beauty, and what better way to get outside and enjoy it than with some parkour! Parkour East Texas provides learning opportunities all over East Texas to show you how parkour can strengthen your body and mind, no matter your skill level.
“When I first started learning parkour, I had to drive to Dallas for two hours and then train and come back, and it was a long trip,” said Parkour East Texas Founder & Head Coach Hannah Waddle. “And so now I want to bring that to our kids and adults so that they can learn parkour without driving all the way to Dallas.”
Parkour is about going over, under, and learning how to overcome obstacles, whether they are the literal objects you’re moving around or through mental & emotional obstacles that are causing stress. Waddle says this works to help teach students how to become a better person and add character, while also having fun and being active.
“Our classes range normally from five to seven, we try to keep it smaller,” said Waddle. “When we get bigger classes, we have more assistants so that we can help kids learn the mindset, which is a huge part for us, and then the movement as well.”
Parkour East Texas has partnered with the Parks & Rec Departments of multiple cities and has established themselves around East Texas wherever it is that people want the classes.
And importantly, parkour is not only for those who has physically inclined or adrenaline junkies. You’ve most likely seen videos on people online jumping from rooftops, and weaving through obstacles. While you can potentially reach that level, a lot of the work will be about learning to control your body better and building confidence about what you can do, whether it’s children learning how to control their impulses and make careful movements, or to those who are older who want to work on their balance and mobility.
“A big part as we get older is we start getting worried about falling, but if you know how to walk on uneven ground and you trust that you could catch yourself and then you could get up because there’s a worry as people get older. Then it starts allow you to open up more doors and keep doors open instead of just saying I’m older and I’ll never be able to do anything,” said Waddle.
Waddle also said that they do accommodate and modify to make sure that everyone who attends a class or event, will be able to fully enjoy it and move to the best of their ability. Classes are based on a 12 week cycle, that way the basic elements of each level of training gets covered over the 12 weeks. You can join at any time during the cycle.
How can I be involved?
The easiest way to keep up with what’s going on, is to join the Parkour East Texas Facebook group for updates and information for events throughout the year.
On April 15th, Parkour East Texas will host their 2nd Annual Parkour East Texas Jam from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM. It is a free event open to the public, but participants do need to register. This event is a great opportunity to learn more about parkour and meet people in the parkour community. There will be workshops and self-guided challenges to enjoy.
This summer, there will be Summer Camps for kids, open across many different cities in East Texas, for different level of experience. Each camp runs for five days in the summer and they are for those who have finished second grade up through 14 years old. This gives new students the chance to dive in on their parkour journey, and let more experience students hone their skills and work towards moving up to the next level!
During the year, there are weekly classes, along with a meetup on the second Saturday of each month. The meetup is a free event for participants to enjoy some parkour time together.
To learn more about keep up with what’s going on with Parkour East Texas, you can visit their website, join their Facebook group, or check out their Instagram for more information.
As an added bonus, Waddle also has an Online Parkour School to help those who can’t attend the classes or for those who need supplemental information while doing parkour on their own. There are many courses available to help no matter where you may be!
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