Training doesn't always have to be the gloomy monotonous thing that I sometimes make it out to be. In fact there are lots of things you can do to spice up a good training session. Here are some games and activities played in our group meets:

Tag/Manhunt: As simple as they get. The good old fashioned games from our childhood brought to new life when played in the midst of a bunch of professionals. I suggest you play in a dense area filled with obstacles to really challenge yourself and work on your parkour technique. (Basic rules for each are HERE and HERE respectively)

Grounders: Another blast from the past kids game that hones in on your ability to maneuver as silently and as efficiently as possible as well as some maneuvers and techniques such as precisions. Ensure that the structure is public property so as to avoid trespassing issues and nasty people telling you to get lost. Also ensure that the structure is smaller to increase difficulty. You require a lot of people for this as well to ensure that the person who is "it" does not remain so for hours on end.

• The "it" player must start from a determined point, and give a full 10-count before beginning pursuit; The "it" player must be blindfolded/unable to see (If the "it" player is caught peeking, they must start again, returning to the original start point and counting to 10).

• If the "it player touches another player, that player becomes "it"; If the "it" player calls "Grounders" when another player is on the ground, that player becomes "it". If a player is on the ground, and jumps when "Grounders" is called, he must land on a structure to be safe. Landing on the ground counts as a tag.

• No player is allowed to physically strike the "it" player with anything. If a player DOES strike the "it" player, it counts as a tag and that player is "it". Players are allowed to make any non-physical distractions they like, as long as it does not interfere with the other players: ie no non-"it" players are allowed to hold another non-"it" player, for use as a human shield or otherwise. Violation is punished by the player becoming "it" -

• All disputes are decided by general consensus of all impartial players.

• If a player who is "it has been "it" for more than 20 minutes, and has still not tagged a player, "Mercy" may be called by any player, including the "it" player, and a new player is nominated. It is then up to the other players whether or not the "it" player may continue playing.

Add-On: Adapted from the bouldering version of the game, the rules are quite simple. One person picks an obstacle and performs a move over it; the next person then matches it and adds on another maneuver (does not have to be on same object); the game continues indefinitely - or until everyone is tired. Try this in an object-dense area for the most fun and least running. Try to keep moves at the level of your least experienced traceur for fairness sake, or allow moderations of maneuvers.

H.O.R.S.E.: This game is a little more risky for parkour as you don't want to push your teammates past their ability. Our parkour team knows everyone's limits pretty well and plays as such, however I don't suggest playing it in a group with a great range of ability or where the people aren't too familiar with their own ( or others') limits.

"The object is to not accrue the five letters in the word "horse".The first [traceur] calls then performs a maneuver, then player #2 must duplicate it under the same guidelines. If player #2 misses, he receives the first "letter" from the word "horse" (in this case - an "H"); this continues through the rest of the [traceurs] until player one again: who once more makes a call. When player #1 misses his called maneuver; then player #2 is now free to call a maneuver and, if successful, force the other players to try and duplicate it. A player is knocked out of the game once he has enough letters to spell out the word 'HORSE.'"

There are many other games I am sure, and if you leave a comment with your favourite activity for training or an idea, and I will add it to this list.