Parkour Exercise – Roll

Parkour exercise – Learn Roll

A roll is a technique that you use to repel your landing. When you do a drop (jump from one plateau to a lower plateau), you gain a lot of energy in the hover phase, which can damage joints and cause nasty overuse injuries. It is not always enough to try to repel the landing by going down on your knees - it may be necessary to make a roll fall - a so-called roll. A roll is highly effective if performed correctly.

Setup

A roll can be performed on both hard, soft and rough surfaces. However, it is recommended that it be done on a soft surface at first, as it requires a lot of training to perform a roll correctly. It is also recommended, as with all other techniques, that your surface is stable and non-slip. When you have learned to make a roll on a hard surface such as asphalt, it is always a good idea to wear a long-sleeved blouse to protect the skin from pebbles and the like.

Execution of roll

In the following, we will start from the fact that the roll is made from a standing position, as this should be learned first.

  • Decide whether you want to perform the roll rolling over the right or left shoulder. The design in the picture is with a roll over the right shoulder, so that will be our starting point for the following description.
  • Start by going down on your knees. Put your left hand on the ground.
  • The right arm must be brought under the left arm and further under the body as in a crawl. The back of the palm is the first to make contact with the ground, then it is rolled up over the arm and the back of the shoulder. The body follows in a fluid movement, with bent legs. It is important to keep the chin against the left side of the chest all the way around and buckle the right arm, which you roll over. This protects the head. It is also important to remember to arch your back all the way around.
  • In the final phase, actively bend the left leg in. In this way, it becomes possible to push off the ground with the outside of the shin muscle, which helps to stand up again.
Parkour jump - exercises in parkour
Roll or also called roll fall is a widely used technique in parkour. In the picture here, a parkour practitioner is seen jumping before performing a roll on the ground, thus absorbing the impact of his landing. Practice your roll on soft ground before performing it on hard ground.
Parkour exercise - learn to roll
'Roll', also called 'roll fall', is a very essential technique. If you can make a good roll, you can cushion the impact when you land after a jump. Roll is a good parkour exercise to train.
  • The right leg is placed on the ground in front of the bent left leg, and is set off to get up to stand. The left arm is placed on the ground next to the left thigh, and this must also be actively removed.
  • If the roll is done correctly, the entire transition can be done in one fluid movement, so you have enough time at the end of the phase to get back on your feet immediately and continue your flow.
Problem statement

Pay attention to the following:

  • Be very aware of actively arching your back all the way around and always having contact with the surface. It is absolutely central to protect against damage and ensure a good flow.
  • If the roll is made just over the back, you can accidentally hit the spine, and this can hurt. Therefore, make sure to roll diagonally over the back to the side that feels best. In this way, you roll over your back muscles, which lie from the shoulder blade muscle to the muscles that lie right up the spine, down to the buttocks, and further up the legs.
Rehearsal

A good exercise for a roll is a regular kettlebell from a squat. Quietly, you can practice making the kettlebell more oblique, so that eventually you feel that you are rolling obliquely over your back. If you don't have enough speed to get up on your feet, you need to practice pulling your legs in close to your body. This will create a better roll, and thus more speed.

Training in the gym

Step by step:

1) Start the exercise on a flat rolling mat. A soft surface means that more people dare to throw themselves into it. Run across the roller mat and have the students help each other correct two by two.

2) Let the students get off the rolling mat and make rolls. A little bit of speed can help to give more flow in the movement.

3) Put a small step on, possibly from a step bench or the top of a wooden plinth.

4) Let the students try to drop down from the wooden plinth or similar, which ends with a roll.

5) When the students are getting the hang of their technique, it can be a good test to let them do it on the wooden floor. Be careful though! If the roll is not performed correctly, it can be felt!