Look Back, Look Forward!

Hi there!

And welcome to the annual ADAPT review. It's been an incredible year for parkour coaching worldwide, with the most courses and highest numbers of participants in a single year since our inception in 2008.

That means that the parkour coaching community is growing faster than ever, with dedicated and experienced practitioners providing guidance, teaching and leadership to communities worldwide. We think that's just awesome news.

And so, in honour of those fantastci communities and individuals, we'd like to share some of their stories and provide a brief glimpse into the increasingly strong parkour coaching network that is ADAPT. Read on!

INDIA'S FIRST

India saw its first ever ADAPT Certification course happen in November 2019, and it was a huge success. The course was hosted at the fantastic Mumbai Movement Academy in collaboration with Mumbai Parkour, and a very strong group of coaches assembled to take part, under the guidance of Senior Tutor Dan Edwardes.

It's always a special moment for us to see a new country join the ever-growing list of ADAPT nations, and we couldn't be happier to have India on board. Look out for more courses in the country soon, and do visit Mumbai Movement Academy when you're next in that part of the world!

ITALIAN PARKOUR RISING

Italy has one of the most developed and dedicated coaching communities in the world, with incredible communities up and down the country. ADAPT Certifications have run every year here for almost ten years, often several per year, and each course is full of truly committed and diligent individuals wanting to raise the bar for coaching standards.

Our qualification partners, national sports authority UISP, and national Delivery Centre Parkour Wave, go above and beyond to run fantastic courses, with this most recent one in Padua in October being no exception. We'd like to thank UISP Parkour Manager Antonio 'Shino' Calefato and Tutor Riccardo 'Saiu' Calli for their perennial high standards and commitment to excellence.

MONSOONS IN MALAYSIA

2019 saw a terrific Level 1 Coach Certification in Kuala Lumpur which, despite being pounded by the annual monsoon every afternoon like clockwork, was a great success.

Hosted by Move Parkour and in collaboration with Parkour Malaysia, the course had participants travel in from Singapore and Brunei and was fortunate to have the extra support of two highly experienced Level 3 coaches from Singapore in Fagan Cheong and Nachos Lin Cho. Having the more experienced coaches feed back into the development of the new entrants is something we've always encouraged, and we'd like to thank all the Level 2 and 3 coaches who go out of their way to offer help and support at courses across the world.

RETURN TO RIO

The annual Brasil courses are always so good, and we've run quite a few in the amazing city of Rio De Janeiro and they're even better when combined with the annual gathering that is Rendezvous Latin America.

This course had a waiting list a mile long, but we could only take 20 participants - which included very strong coaches from Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay, Chile and of course Brasil. These courses are truly international and Delivery Centre Parkour Generations BRasil does an amazing job of enabling groups from all over Central and South America to take part and managing the various translating issues that arise!

Well done to the PKGen Brasil Team and to everyone who made this such a special course.

LEVEL 3 LONDON

Right before the Rendezvous International Parkour Gathering, London saw a fully booked Level 3 Coach Certification happen at the Chainstore Gym & Parkour Academy which brought together an elite group of parkour coaches and leaders from Singapore, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea and the UK.

These courses set the standard for the ADAPT coaching community worldwide, with many of the most experienced parkour teachers coming together to learn, share, grow and experiment. Many of the participants then went on to coach or assist at the Rendezvous event a week later, which sees their immense knowledge shared amongst hundreds of practitioners of all levels of ability.

Many thanks to Parkour Generations London and their Chainstore Gym facility for hosting such a great course and t all the participants for bringing their A-Game!

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET

Anyone who has taken the ADAPT Level 2 in Boston, USA, knows the famed Harvard Stadium Run which inevitably crops up as one of the course challenges. And it's pretty brutal... 37 huge staircase sections, up and down, the aim being to complete in under 45 minutes - though for many the aim is simply to complete!

This June course was lead by Tutors Chris Keighley and Andy Keller, and the participants excelled at not only the Stadium Challenge but in every aspect of the course. The Level 2 sets the physical and technical benchmark for a parkour coach, and we love seeing how everyone who takes part rises to the various challenges placed before them during the week!

Boston will see another Level 2 course happen in June 2020, this one to be run by Senior Tutor Chris 'Blane' Rowat.

ART OF RETREAT EUROPE

We were very happy to be a main sponsor of the inaugural Art of Retreat Europe event, a parkour leadership and community gathering that has its origins in the USA and has now branched out to the other side of the Atlantic.

Senior Tutor Chris Keighley presented at the event, giving an insight into what he has learned from a decade of delivering ADAPT courses around the world and comparing/contrasting the constraints-led approach with the drill-based approach to teaching parkour, and examining the differences across communities.

The event was a huge success and we'll be sponsoring the 2020 event in April, so look it up and book your ticket now!

A NEW DECADE OF PARKOUR!

While 2019 was an incredible year, and we'd love to feature every one of the 30+ courses that ran around the world, it's time to set our focus firmly on 2020 and a whole new decade of parkour and sharing the discipline with the next generations.

We already have courses coming up in the USA, Australia, Netherlands, Greece, England, China, Taiwan, Scotland, South Korea, Colombia, Brasil and more. Our tutor body is growing to keep pace with the huge demand for courses and we encourage those who have completed the Level 3 Coach Certification to think about taking the Level 1 Tutor Certification in 2020.

We also have a few big surprises planned for the year, which we'll be revealing early in 2020... so stay tuned.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Finally, we'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of the recent graduates around the world, the tutors, the Delivery Centres and host organisations, and all our partners. YOU make up this incredible community and we can't wait to share another powerful 12 months with you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!