FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Here are some commonly asked questions about the unique sport that is Parkour! Don't see your question? Don't stress, just contact us!
Parkour is simply put, a training discipline, where the practitioner moves from A to B in the most efficient way possible. This may involve vaulting, running, jumping, climbing and traversing all sorts of different obstacles!
Parkour is a physical sport, but it is also very much a mental discipline; you will face your fears, overcome them and eventually forget they ever existed!
Freerunning is a cousin of parkour; while parkour is all about efficiency of movement, freerunning is all about expression of movement. Freerunners value self-expression, improvisation and movement for aesthetic purposes only; such as flips, twists and creative vaults.
Parkour actually has lower incident rates than traditional team sports, such as soccer and netball. This is because unlike in other sports, parkour does not involve contact with other moving people, it uses just your environment, and your body. Most other sports rely on external equipment that is out of the participant’s control.
We teach all of our students how to safely approach the sport and to be conscious of their own limits and needs. Most individuals will have common sense built into them, to avoid feats that feel too advanced or dangerous to their abilities. At AAPES we teach you how to understand exactly what your body is capable of, so you can realise whether a fear is real or imagined.
All of our surfaces are hard, beyond crash mats we do not utilise padded or rubber surfaces throughout our space. When there is excessive safety and padding, it is increasingly common to see disproportionate risk taking which leads to more risk of injury.
It is significantly more important to teach precaution and help our students develop a true awareness of their abilities and limits.
All equipment at AAPES is regularly tested for safety, and on top of the conditioning done in classes, we encourage all of our members and students to undertake additional strength and conditioning to “prehab” their bodies to keep all joints safe!
At AAPES, our classes cater to all fitness and experience levels. We promise that absolutely no experience is necessary to start learning. If it’s your first time, we recommend you attend our first timers class, where you will learn all the basic techniques and skills to get you started, before jumping in to our regular classes.
Parkour isn’t just high roof gaps and jumping off buildings!
While that is mostly what you will see online it is just the most promoted because it's the most extreme and captivating on social media!
Parkour is just about moving and overcoming fears! Everyone of every age benefits from the unique movements and challenges in parkour. Whether you are an adult who hasn't done a handstand in years and isn't feeling as active or capable as you used to, or a kid who is unsure about how far they can jump at the playground. We are here to help!
Don’t let the extreme videos put you off trying parkour; every person can benefit from the increased mental fortitude and physical training that parkour provides. We have students from as young as 6 years old, right up to 70 years old!
At AAPES we teach every parkour and freerunning technique using proven progressions in a safe, controlled environment. Before you learn to jump at height, we teach you how to jump on the floor. Before you learn to vault over concrete, you’ll learn how to vault with mats. You will learn how to properly assess risks and learn what your body’s capabilities are.
Currently this changes depending on the State's current COVID-19 restrictions. Please visit your local State Government website to view current COVID-19 restrictions.
Under normal circumstances, we love having spectators and parents or friends come watch.
Parkour is exciting, and we understand you want to share your passion with your loved ones. Our gym has space for spectators or parents to watch the class, but we recommend bringing them along to a First Timers Class too! Parkour is a social sport, and is best enjoyed when experiencing it with friends or family!
Not at all!
While it is a sport that is very popular with boys, parkour is very much for everyone and we highly encourage all gender identities to get involved. We want to help inspire more inclusivity amongst this amazing sport.
If for any reason you are unsure or feeling out of place, or if anyone within the community is behaving in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, we encourage you to reach out to us. We have a Women's Development Officer who can assist with any applicable concerns you may have.
We care about your comfort and the progressive and inclusive future of this sport and our community. Our gym is signposted with information on how you can anonymously report any issues, which is managed by a third party for your confidence and support.
Regular fitness clothing and enclosed sneakers! Whatever you are most comfortable in that also allows you to move unrestricted.
We recommend sneakers that are flat-soled and one single piece of rubber. Some sneakers have plastic soles, and this can be unsafe when training, particularly if jumping onto any railing.
We offer flexible memberships, which cover all of our classes. This means you’re not locked in to coming to the same class every week.
Classes purchased with our new memberships are valid for 12 months after purchase, so if you purchased two classes this week and couldn’t make one of them, then you can make up that class in a coming week!
For our traditional, old school members, your classes are only valid for the week of purchase.
If you’re not sure what membership you’re on, just send us an email and we’ll let you know!
If you want to pause or cancel your membership at any time, you must send us an email with all information (including what dates you want the pause to be effective for) at least 48 hours before you want the pause or cancellation to take effect.
For more information on our cancellation policies, and all our other policies, click the policies button located at the bottom of every page.
Definitely – in fact, we encourage it! It can be hard in parkour sometimes to properly understand what you may be doing wrong with a technique or skill. We always recommend you film yourself and watch it back, and compare it to the demonstrations of your instructors so you can quickly gain a better sense of self and body-awareness.
If you'd like assistance filming yourself, feel free to approach our staff during our Open Sessions, who would be happy to help and give you feedback.
If you’re going to share your clips on social media make sure to tag us @aapes and use the hashtag #aapes so that we can see what you’re getting up to!
Full Details of pricing and membership, and to purchase are available on our "Prices" page.
Casual Classes cost $35 per session.
Casual Class Pass packs are available for purchase for as little as $23.75 per session.
Casual Open Sessions cost $20 per session.
Casual Open Session packs cost as little as $10 per session.
Our great value membership's range from $30 per week to $80 per week.
Yes! We are an approved provider for both Active Kids and Creative Kids Vouchers. To redeem a voucher please email the voucher details and what booking you are interested in to aapes.sydney@gmail.com. Don't forget to include the child's date of birth in the email too!
The best way to book a party is via our contact form on our "Parties" page.
Or you can let us know by email at aapes.sydney@gmail.com.
Once we discuss dates and options, please respond to confirm, this will secure your date.
Dates that do not receive a written response and booking form cannot be held.
Our weekend time slots available for parties can book up in advance, so we recommend allowing as much notice as you can and having flexible options to ensure you get a date.
Parties are most commonly booked on weekends, so we have dedicated time slots available on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, we can sometimes accommodate other options, just let us know in your enquiry what you would like to do and we can let you know what options we have for you.
Because our party packages give you exclusive use of the space you can bring any decorations and food you would like to the venue and arrange the spectator area as you please. Or add optional extras like catering and venue decorations to your booking and let us take care of everything for you!
If you would like time to set up before the event time starts, just let us know and we can let you in between 15-30 minutes prior. Staff are available to help set up and we will clean up after the event, so please take anything you want or need with you and we will take care of the rest.
We can provide up to 3 trestle tables available to be arranged as needed.
All those participating will be required to wear enclosed shoes and appropriate clothing.
Waivers and necessary paperwork will be provided on the day for participants or their legal guardians to complete.
We have cold beverages available for purchase however, we are not licenced and do not permit alcoholic beverages to be consumed on our premises.
Definitely! Our gym has a dedicated space for spectators.
While we have limits on the class capacity we are happy for additional spectators to come and watch their friends or their kids, have fun and socialise.
Absolutely – in fact, we encourage it! These are very fun events to capture and to show off!
We recommend checking with the instructors where a good place for some action shots would be, should you want any close ups or videos.
You are also welcome to hire additional professional photographers should you wish, just let us know in advance to expect it so our staff and trainers can accommodate them on the floor!