Physical+Education+(4)

 Going with the flow; Gymnastics + Running = Parkour

This unit is an advanced movement unit, which offers gymnastics and running lessons but enhances the student’s interest by directing those skills towards the culturally popularized sport of Parkour and Freerunning. A movement unit, one with gymnastics, is a classic component of a P.E. curriculam. Many students today want to learn cool and trendy skills and sports, however, so the appeal of gymnastics seems to initially lack appeal. It is also very common for running to be used simply as a warm up in P.E. classes. Improper jogging techniques, however, can be the cause of a number of arthritic conditions in the legs, feet and particularly knees. Actually approaching running as a lesson faces the same ‘boring’ stigma as gymnastics. Movies such as James Bond: Casino Royale feature scenes which depict the athletic exploits of individuals trained in Parkour. Wikipedia describes Parkour as a martial art; as suck, students drawn to the mystique of learning martial arts may be interested in these lessons. Additionally, students who would normally be interested in jogging or gymnastics may now be confident that they are learning not just a preffered activity, but also a new and trendy one.

The Respective Activity Overviews are located here:

GYMNASTICS RUNNING PARKOUR