@Zak Ferguson I was genuinely squirming & pivoting in my chair hoping Seth got away from you guys 🤣🤣. That’s how invested y’all got me lol great episode
That's not the right takeaway. The actual takeaway is self-defense is a lot more broad than most people realize, so unconventional skills like parkour, HEMA/belegarth, and dodgeball can come in handy (I have not seen a video analyzing dodgeball as a martial art applying to improvised weapons; I think it should be done). But what are the chances your attacker is faster at running than someone who regularly trains combat sports or martial arts (in which strength/conditioning is a must)? When the goal is to minimize probability of injury, running is still usually the best option even if you have no clue about parkour.
On the topic of dodgeball, trowing something at them with a lot of force and precision might also be a great deterrent (or in the worst case an incentive to draw a firearm). Doing any sports and being in good shape generally will positively influence the outcome of so many things imo, not just a muggung
The situational awareness jab really made me laugh, this was great stuff. too often people get asked for self defense and are just told: "just run away!" Its great to see someone finally testing out scenarios like that to see how practical "just running away" is.
I think to me the sticking point is 'just'. If you can safely, run away - good Just run away - bad Like anytime the advice is " just X" it tends to be bad advice.
@@Rileyy1057 That is true but Its the same in a "normal situation", you may very well find yourself trying to run away from guys that are faster and quicker to react than you. And most people aren't parkour experts so what he is trying to teach, the point is still valid.
People too often turn "run away" into a strawman argument. Rarely does anyone say "running away should be your ONLY plan". Dedicate time to learning and practicing it like you would any other martial art and you will gain advantages over people who don't, just like any other martial art. Running away should be plan A, but you should be prepared for plan B.
@@SpidermAntifa I think this is the takeaway. "Just run away" is not much of a plan, but learning to run away properly should be something you train as well, if you are really serious about safety!
As a slightly bigger than average adult man doing martial arts, I sincerely draw inspiration from your adventurous spirit and genuineness. Thanks for being here doing fun stuff
I've always been big into self defense and I got into parkour for this exact reason. The couple of times I've actually had to defend myself (rough town) I've only been able to run once but all it took was clearing a railing and sprinting off into the night for them to give up. I think it definitely has its place in a fully realized self defense system.
@@kossonar2663 Yeah, a huge percentage of applied parkour is just running. For that matter a lot of obstacles you can just detour slightly to avoid, and in that case the ideal 'parkour' thing to do is exactly that. And honestly, strength and conditioning is a huge part of all the parkour training and instruction that I've ever been around.
7:50 The dropping from the roof, actually reminds me of this really cool thing a few of my friends did. So, they were out training, and no joke, there was some purse snatcher that grabbed a ladies purse. So they weren't close enough to see and give chase, but they decided to use their training at height as a vantage point to look for the dude, and they found him and just dropped from the sky on either side of this dude. Now imagine your a petty criminal, and some dudes straight up batman drop and surround you. Guy didn't want no smoke, didn't even ask what they wanted, just immediately surrendered and gave the purse back to them to return it to the lady.
This is one of the most useful videos you've ever made. Of course, people argue on fighting methods, and other say "run away, instead". Well, turns out running away: 1) is a skill in itself, and 2) isn't so easy to do after all. It is only logical that criminals would target people who would be less likely to escape, in the first place. But a true journey through fighting methods and self defence would never be complete without this
I've been thinking about this recently. I used to go to pretty rough pubs and challenge people to arm wrestles. I was a bit of a knob, but never pushed boundaries. The only times I got into trouble is when I was helping other people or if my "friends" were fuckwits. I grew up knowing that if someone wants to go, you can walk away before you have to run away. (if your ego will allow it)
Brings up my favorite Icy Mike lesson of "between getting bitched out in the moment, and dying, the option is pretty clear". Learning to walk away before you have to run will always be the prime way of getting past a potential situation.
It's precisely the ability to clear an obstacle in half a second (4:44) that takes an untrained person (4:49) about 5 seconds to clear. Do that a few times, especially with something like jumping a decently sized gap, and you've gained SO much distance. Thank you so much for trying this and being respectful when trying our sport! It's too often painted in a light making us out to be crazy daredevils, or hoodlums, or adrenaline junkies, when it requires SO much repetition and working from the ground up.
This is actually wild because I was in this exact same scenario. I managed to vault over a fence that went up to my neck despite the fact that I’ve never done parkour before. I guess it was the adrenaline.
@@Dead_GoatSo how does parkour make them slow? The person who practices twice a week is slower than someone who never practices? Like what are you even saying dude? We literally have our own sport called world chase tag which is all about speed around obstacles and it's exclusively dominated by parkour athletes. That's like some keyboard warrior saying they can beat up someone who consistently takes mma classes. Maybe if you were just literally born with one in a biliion talent, but nah, if you don't train, you 99.9% lose to the person who does.
Finally!! One who understands the basic of running away. I added Parkour to my martial arts training a year or so ago. A new man. I did gymnastic as a kid before Karate so it got me back to those roots of positioning my body in space. 3D space not just front back side to side but up and down as well. And traverse distances faster or that would be unthinkable before. You see a wall, I see a path upwards. A new man seeing the world in a new way. Makes the whole world a playground/training area
true but not in such a wholesome way, eveyone says time is the most valuable resource. This man has taken away thousands of hours from the people. He is the worst criminal you've ever been in contact with be weary.
I suppose one thing that wasn't mentioned was the importance of cardio. Whether you've got to run or you've got to fight, being able to do it harder and for longer is only ever likely to swing the odds in your favour.
I've always talked about "the only thing that works is what you can practice in competitions" and you literally found a competition that practices running away and asked their advice. Brilliant!
Hey guys! Love this campus! This video goes to show that relying on a single trick to avoid violence rarely works. *Just* learning to fight or run or de-escalate or be situationally aware or will never cover all situations. There is a time to run, and it's saved me a few times. There's a time to fight, and that's...only sort of ever helped me. Being aware (of people's attitudes, more than spotting assassins in the shadows) and being pro-actively pleasant/disarming/conciliatory/appeasing have kept me from having to fight or run more times than I can count.
*Story;* Security guy I know casually (Big John)… used to be head bouncer at this nightclub. One night he threw out a gang member who was being really pushy - and the drug dealing gang didn't like that. So the gang wait for him to get to his home after work, with iron bars and so on, and once he has parked in the street nearby and exited his car (so that he can't just drive off) they try to ambush him. But he sees them and starts running. They give chase but what they didn't know was that he was also a semi professional soccer player and had fantastic cardio. He easily outpaces them, sees that and then slows down a bit, so that the fastest runners in the gang can get closer, _basically kiting them._ When the lead runner is totally exhausted, vulnerable and separated from the group, John takes him out with a quick strike (soccer playing martial artist security expert who has the prefix "Big") and then runs off again. And rinse and repeat. The gang gives up and they go back to where he'd parked _his car_ in the street and completely trash "it" with iron bars, bats, bricks, chains, a nearby signpost… Only issue was … … _They got the wrong car._ They trashed a similar looking car that was parked nearby. So some poor sod came out next morning to see their car was practically written off. As for John … a few phone calls and the Security firms and Nightclub owners (some of whom "allegedly" had organised crime ties), decided that this wouldn't be tolerated as it set a bad precedent. So they formed a united front and warned the gang that _all their members_ would be blackballed from every nightclub/pub/bar whatever, and also seriously hassled outside (and rival gangs notified) and so would be unable to do any dealing. The gang apologized to Big John. They didn't apologize to the owner of the wrong car.
There is also the question on how committed are the attackers. Running after you is also a risk (exposure, help might arrive, witnesses). Most crimes are crimes of opportunity, if you manage to run, the opportunity is often gone past.
@@muranziel In general like the idea, but like a weapon, you actually have to pull it and that might take more time than you actually have. Unless you live in a really terrible place, practicing drawing a bait wallet (and actually carrying one) seems a bit unlikely. Personally, I think there are 3 basic strategies to running away: 1) Preventive. The good thing about running away is that no harm is done, so you can run away simply because you have a bad feeling. 2) Get to safety. Women often get attacked shortly after they leave a place (party, shopping etc.). So, the goal is to get back there and not just random running away. 3) Advantageous position. When they jump over the railing, imagine Seth would have kicked the guy at around minute 8 mark. Imagine you go up a wall (similar to 3:39) you literally have the high ground. Running away also decreases the chance that you have to face all attackers at the same time.
In the tunnel when you were hopping over the railing would be an excellent point to stop running, and attack. As they hop over you could tackle them to give yourself a great opportunity to run or fight. I don't know how you could safely test that though.
LMAO!!🤣🤣 I laugh but, it really is high risk and more difficult than it looks. Mental blockage, and distraction(s) (in my opinion) are the most dangerous aspects of this type of high-speed obstacle usage. Good training👍
Great little forray into parkour. "Combat skills are still important because you may have others with you" (paraphrasing here): I'd say i'ts even more general than that. Even if your moves are on point and you're alone, it doesn't end at "the tag". Ok, so the bad guy tagged you. Does that mean he just touched you, grab you, stab you, ...? Also, shoving/striking a bad guy early on to open a parkour line is a valid move if your goal is running away. 'Grapple-tag' (sadly i don't think that exists... yet) is what you need for that family of scenarios (get out by running away). I say that as a guy who trains PK more seriously than combat.
With the amount of things Seth has learnt and put himself through simply for content, I'm giving it 3 years until we see him become an undefeated UFC double champ "just to see if he could" for a video
@@SABbrew Small gap is quite doable. A gap is better for beating multiple people!!! Medium gap only doable with a runup. Large gaps of course are risky. why do I sprint up a wall? Like any rugby player I just put out an arm and force someone away and break away. Standard soccer/rugby tactics from sport are extremely effective.
I was once in a situation like this. Essentially I was playing basketball alone in a pretty rough neighbourhood, I was a young martial artist and my ego got better of me, what can I say. Then two older kids approached me, first, they acted friendly, but then one of them asked me to give him a slicer necklace I had, which I refused. He then pulled out a screwdriver from his trousers and now again, required that I have it to him. I pushed him into his friend, picked up my ball, and started running. I had a headstart but they were bigger so they started catching up to me after 20-25 meters. Luckily, right around a corner, there was a policeman so they stopped chasing after me and yelled something along the lines of "haha we were just joking around.". Obviously, I'm not an idiot, I know what was going on, but I was shitting my pants so much that I never told the police officer. I just waited there for them to leave, and then I ran back home.
I like how casually he plugs his merch. That's what advertisements should be; not a minute of "this is the best thing ever and you'll never regret it" but "if you like it, you can find it in the description". But beyond that, great channel and I'm thinking of getting into some of this stuff. This channel has definitely helped me build the confidence to start doing that.
this was really eye opening for me, as I like to think I would generally try to escape conflict. I am a big fan of your channel and this is my favorite video of yours I have seen mate, thanks very much for uploading it. I would definitely be interested in more content of a similar variety.
I've done parkour for like a decade and it's kinda like BJJ in that regard. It's definitely gonna help you, but high-level stuff goes out the window once you're stressed - no matter if it's a flying berimboloplata or a triple kong 360
sometimes i fantasize that I would be doing sweet imanari rolls in a street fight. they would be like "why this mofo be tumbling down right in my soccer kicking distance" and then they'd be like "why am i on my back and why do my ankles hurt" Then i would declare myself the winner with deep scratches and bleeding on my back, shoulder, and arms cuz there's glass, needles, rocks, and lava on da streetz while they got off with a dusty shirt and a barely sore ankle cuz they instantly tapped and i instinctively let go. they'd get up and start stomping me while i desperately try to get those ankles back Oss
Serious question for a decade long practitionner; how are your knees? I have been doing some for about a year, mildly and at my own pace. Also I dont practice the super high level stuff, keep it basic and direct for speed and distance but even then, at 37 years old my knees are sometimes feeling like they want to give out on me the next day. I might be too rough on them.... Been into Martial Arts my whole life and added Parkour about a year ago, love it but it can sometimes be rough on my old body lol
@@revariox189 That's a very good question, and a legit concern. They were pretty bad for a while, I got "jumpers knee" which is inflammation in tendons around the patella. I had to adapt my style and training to that and it got much better. Go easy on yourself. If you're training for skill and conditioning, there's literally no reason to repeatedly do precision jumps, gaps or drops on hard surfaces. If you wanna be better at drops, go and spend that time nailing good roll form or spiderman/touchdown landings. Think of every take-off/landing on concrete like taking a hit to the head in boxing. Pretty much everything with airtime will f you up. That's what you gotta avoid. And if you get bored training like a softie, go watch some Eric Wolff or Luke Albrecht for good ideas on what low-impact high-skill PK looks like. If you have any questions about training safely and low-impact, just ask. It was a big issue for me and I'm happy to help.
@@revariox189 14 years of freerunning and 4 years coaching parkour. Remember one simple rule: ALWAYS MOVE SILENTLY! Land silently. Run silently. Use your toes and not your heels. Absorb impacts with muscles and not with joints. Do that and you'll have 0 problems with joints even after 40 years of parkour!! Btw, second very important rule: always check your surfaces in advance!!
Icy Mike will like to see this video he have been talking about the idea of how hard it really is to run away for a very long time now he will also probably tell you to mix wrestling with that parkour to make more self defense (which makes a lot of sense) but a lot of people don't like hearing that.
I do plenty of shoulder roles in JiuJitsu/Jujutsu. The kongs things though that would be a first. I wish there were a parkour school close to my btw. I loved this at first sight. It's like a superpower
This type of training is really fascinating, but I can't help but want to see it with martial arts mixed in. For instance, when you were both vaulting that rail back and forth in the last test, the correct answer would be to roundhouse him as he tries to follow you over it, then run past. It would also be interesting to see if they actually could trip and beat you down from a chase instead of just tagging you. Also, the cameraman should either be perched on a high location getting a bird's eye view of the entire chase, or being a chase cam themselves.
Hey! Long time fan and 4 years of parkour coaching here! FINALLY a serious running away episode! Thank you!!! But here are the things I would've changed in this video! First of all, I wouldn't pit you against freerunners to test you. That's just not fair. We want to test our chances of running away in real life scenarios, right?? There's practically 0% chance a freerunner will want to seriously hurt you. Violent ppl don't last in your discipline! Second of all, I wouldn't count the number of touches. Who cares about touches?? If a criminal touches me that means nothing. I would count three things: possible punches or kicks against you (some sparring experience would be needed to test this safely), times you were actually caught (as in immobilised), and times you were tripped successfully (would need to be tested on safe surface like gym or grass for safety). Great job Seth!
Parkour is the most Zen martial art I've ever done. It's like the whole world is on your side but your limitations are the opponent. Except it doesn't dwell on the stoic stillness aspect of peace and focuses on movement and continuous real time adaptation
This raises a good point. Running away, can at times be unrealistic. I've watched a few of those parkour tag competitions though, and must say they truly have mastered the art of it. If anyone can teach you, it's likely them.
I got the chance to play parkour tag ("off-ground tiggy" here) with a bunch of parkour instructors once, in their warehouse setup with scaffolding and such. I was totally outclassed of course, but it was a whole lot of fun.
As a French national and European Sanda champion, kick boxing and mma practitioner, I challenge you to a fight for the joke you made at 0:21 . I have to show you Americans how French people can destroy you in a ring
I'm not French, but even I get somewhat annoyed by the French "coward" and "running away" jokes. I have a friend who legit thought the French were always bad/cowardly at fighting in wars. Its not his fault, it's just that this joke has gone way overboard. To me a joke is fine. Unless it turns into misinformation and gives people wrong ideas, which this joke really tends to do.
As a fellow frenchman, I did not feel offended in the least by this statement. Parkour indeed originated in France (Evry to be precise, close to where I grew up) as "the art of running away". No shame in that. Look at all the Luc Besson movies with the Yamakasi: they are the cool dudes, because they can run away with so much skill. I was not aware that we have a reputation of cowardice, though.
This is why when I recommend running as an option of self defense it comes with the caveat that you have to run 3-4x a week as well to be able to run when the time comes
I love Parkour, took it only for a month. While I did feel like a complete amateur always training with people far better than me who are able to perform great feats, it is truly insane to know how much you can learn parkour in just a span of a month. after 10 years, I forgot almost all of it, and lost the confidence to do what I used to do. It is a great skillset to have, maybe one day I go back to it.
I think there’s another side of this not being addressed is cardio in relation to actual running speed I’m a sprinter assuming I have any kinda distance between myself and another person I can legitimately be gone.
I love Seth. He's too funny because he's so real. He's so us irl. I would try to run, but learning how to fight is just as practical for all the reasons he listed. This was great to know though. I'd love to train.
I’m so glad that Seth has gotten the recognition and attention that he deserves. Feels like just yesterday he was doing a live Q&A on his phone answering questions about if he will pursue mma lol
Sadly, I have a crippled leg, so since school it has been mostly a battle royale with bullies (can't run for real); With time, you learn to recognize which dudes are willing to talk it out and who you should avoid. Really appreciated the good will of those willing to listen.
Parkour is great for avoiding combat, or enhancing ones ability to fight in awkward environments. But you could also use your parkour training for running towards danger or a threat. To help others by getting to them. Its a great training tool to build confidence living life outside of the box.
Hey seth can you create another Comparing video about different types of kickboxing like Muay Thai and American kickboxing and dutch kickboxing and sanda like what's the difference with their stances and kicks and techniques in the near future
I don't tell my students to run away. I tell them to get to a position of dominance and/or safety. This would include but not limited running but sometimes running away isn't possible or prudent. So it would also include taking the back. Taking cover in a gunfight. Going to a safe room. And a myriad of other responses all dictated by the particular circumstances of that specific encounter. That said, many criminals are lazy and looking for an easy score and many times running away is enough to get a criminal to go looking for easier prey. YMMV.
Seeing a “bigger” guy doing this shit makes me optimistic about it. When I was younger and well super skinny I would go out a practice daily. Bigger I got the more I strayed away.
I used to live with two parkour coaches. They were small guys, this is really hard even for me @ 75-80kg (170-180ish). You did good as a bigger guy, jokes about looking awkward aside you are athletic af
I called this art; "Duckanomics; The art of Dodging and Running away" when i was a kid. I was always getting into fights, most of them protecting family but when i was outnumbered, i realized i needed to practice dodging grappling and takedown attacks in order to get away or counter attack. Friend always though i was insane when they saw me rolling around everywhere as part of my training. i was trying to test how my body moved on different surfaces and improving my response times.
Even in the Marine Corps I could not run fast, so running away would not be an option for me. But after ten years of full contact matches, I think I'd be comfortable with letting the bad guy come to me.
You're ready for the big screen Sensei!😎 I'm sure it also helps if you're familiar with the area but if I'm a tourist in trouble, I guess it'll be Troom Troom self defense then!😂
I have never run away from a fight. Instinctively, it always felt like a bad idea. And now I understand why: I would get caught, 100%, and then I'd be exhausted and easier to beat up.
That say more about your fitness then a fight Most violent thugs and not going to be able to run 10 miles it might be able to sprint for 15 minute but if you can do more than 20-minutes bring and then do a light jog 10 miles you going to be safe
@@bobtheyob when I was a teenager, I was surrounded by six to eight teenagers armed with bricks I sprinted a good 100 yards, then run the extra 2 miles police station they couldn't catch me So like I said you can not sprint and then follow into a run that more do with your fitness
1:08 It's crazy how when you're a jump athlete (like me) you can IMMEDIATELY know if someone it's great at jumping or never does this, in your case it's visible that you're pretty athletic and that helped you to perform really well but it's clear that you don't jump much. In the words of Mcgregor "all i see is stiffness".
Depends if you get a head start. I have run from fights many times. Once against a guy that would easily flatten me and once against a guy that I would have easily flattened. Why did I run away from the last guy, strangely enough he terrified me. This guy was like 1/3 my size but he had zero fear. Something about a guy that picks on someone 3 times his size didn't sit right with me, I am not proud of it, but I didn't want to find out.
And you don't want to have to kill someone. Especially over stupid comments or posturing. Even if you're exonerated, I imagine the justice system is a long hard, expensive process with sometimes dubious outcomes.
I mean it did seem like a very effective strategy. Those guys could have ran away from Seth basically at will and with a significantly lower level of risk than if they fought him.
@@DIVAD291 Yeah but they're professionals at this. When you look at this you kinda realize "man the average person is kinda shitty at running, why does everybody think they'll just do this"? Just like Icy Mike says in his videos, if you encounter somebody who starts off with "I'll just" or "Just" they're probably full of shit and don't know what they're talking about or know the first thing of what they're trying to talk about. You're not gonna "just" do this. You're gonna get tired, caught and beat up, injured, stumped as to where you should go cause surely you didn't have time to think about it.
It's a good advice but it is not an excuse to avoid all training. If you don't even go running often, you're going to be in equal or worse physical condition than the muggers. And even while running they will catch you. And if you don't have training in any combat style either, things won't end up well for you. I do not understand the idea that most people do not do any type of exercise at all. It even seems irrational to me as living beings...
The problem for me with "just running away" is that I have short legs, and no matter how much I practice running, even an untrained attacker could still be faster than me. However, I can see how Parkour could give me a head start in some situations/environments. If the attacker needs to take a longer route he might get too tired before he's able to catch up.
The one thing I've always wanted to get better at is tic tacs Getting over a wall in a lot of areas is avoiding 2 flights of stairs which is mental if you can learn to do it fast
learning to fall well can only help, even just a small flight of stairs can be an obstacle confidence falling can make open vs not, and one thing i found useful to incorporate for traversing hard areas fast is baseball slides , those take practice too to incorporate with safety & confidence , but you can rely on them for getting around very large obstacles in a few seconds you'd otherwise take much longer to get around, under or over , & those can be actively helped by shorter stature
Another area to consider is mindset: not just running away from danger, but rather running to safety. Having situational awareness to buy you the time to ge there. And above all, practicing to build ability to move and navigate the dynamic environment. Really good stuff here breaking down the fallacy that one can simply get their run-fu on to separate from one or many attackers attackers.
Legit a pretty cool video. The insight at the end about the advantages of fighting was good. Honestly even though I have a huge appreciation for parkour I was thinking aight if we are actually thinking what's best to do in situations like that tunnel it would be to just kick their legs out from under them while maneuvering. That's one of the things to be able to do as a fighter. Have to traverse a weird environment during said fight. If you can be the guy that can grab on to the railing, kick their legs out from under them, then run, that is the culmination. Unfortunately to be able to train this stuff effectively you need like exclusively wrestlers that can fall on anything and be fine.
"just run" is confusing, because it can mean two things - leave, or escape. Totally different things, useful in totally different contexts. Leaving is easy, but it's not really a substitute for being able to fight. Escaping is something you can do instead of fighting, but it's hard.
These people that say run away are not living in reality. Everyone knows some people are much slower than others and if you're attacker is faster, running away makes you more vulnerable. Whenever people say run away as the ultimate answer, I know they don't have the experience or awareness of others to be giving anyone advice.
@@stevedecklin I'm wrong about some people being too slow to outrun their attackers? I doubt it. I know some very slow and unathletic people that I could catch while jogging
@@RamesesBolton I mean, you you are right, that some people are too slow, but some people are also too weak to fight back. That doesn't mean fighting back isn't a good option. How far do you actually have to run? How determined is the attacker? What is your distance? Do you know a pathway to safety? Deoending on the situation, running could be brilliant or fucking stupid. I think runnig away is good advice for dealing with multiple attackers for example. I'm doing a lot.of martial arts, I'm not a small guy, but I honestly think I can outrun more people than I could fight or would want to fight. I don't know if they have a weapon or shit and I don't want to find out, if I can I'm outta there.
@@RamesesBolton You can just pick only slow people, some people are fast, some people are in the middle, but if you assume your attacker has average speed and so do you, running is still the best option. Are they motivated enough to pursue you to fight? Often times they wont be. Can you run into a more crowded area where you can get help? Sure, very possible. Saying "running is always a bad idea" is not living in reality. If you say "stay and fight what you really mean is "learn to fight over a process of years to MAYBE give you the upperhand, or guy could have a knife and you're screwed." Saying "just run" is likewise saying, "Get in good shape, with good cardo and running form", something that is more effective than years of high-intensity (not the bullshit often shown on this channel) and only takes maybe 6 months to accomplish if you're really out of shape? Learning and practicing running is way more effective than fighting. You are the one not living in reality.
Parkour is the same as every other martial art. 1. You can't learn it well enough in a day to be useful against the average person, let alone other practitioners. 2. You should supplement it with other martial arts the same way you'd supplement a striking art with a grappling art. 3. If you put the time in, you have an advantage over people who don't. Running should never be your only plan but it should always be your plan A.
I think the issue is that people don't take Parkour as a martial art or see running away as a part of martial arts... What is SOLD to us as martial arts is going to gym and punch kick grapple an opponent.... Like running away, mental preparation and psychology are not mentioned as they simply don't seem fun or interesting. And let's be honest, running away is never seen as the "macho" thing to do so it is regarded as cowardly, anyone with a bit of experience knows that running away is a totally acceptable tactic and sometimes necessairy. But admitting you practice running away can be seen in some circles as a "WHY". I love Parkour big time and combined with Martial experience it definitely changed my perspective on many things and how I see the physical world. Lot more advantages now that I see things as opportunities not blockages. And bizzarely most who practice one are rarely tempted to see what the other has to offer..... A good realistic session is to have Parkour with sparring gear, no tag but fight when exhausted after running....
@@revariox189 the fact that it’s not seen as a macho thing actually give dedicated practitioners an advantage. The fact that people are very underprepared to run/jump.
You need to combine the 2 skills, running and fighting. When you were hoping back and forth over the railing at the end, you could have absolutely drilled him as he was following you over the rail. 2 on 1 becomes 1 on 1 in a split second.
Seriously tough challenge to get this working for a normal guy....personally i think standing and fighting would be less damaging than me falling flat on my face after trying to climb something. Never liked running away anyway! Amazing what these guys can do though.
Define normal guy. I am under the assumption that most who follow martial arts channel are Martial Artists.... That already not makes them the normal average guy... Do you mean untrained and not physically fit? Not sure that is even the norm it itself... Untrained maybe, unfit that would depend what circles... And stating that the same untrained and unfit person has a better chance of standing their ground then running away is equal, they are untrained and unfit, against a semi trained person they stand little to no chances. I am not sure we are comparing apples to apples here.
a degree of practice can only help, at a bare minimum you'd learn what your arms can support & what falls feel comfortable acting only within your limits , & improving your baseline after that through training can only help further and get what you are comfortable with feeling smoother and easier, not to mention literally being safer to do with a base of good practice under you
When I was 26 I was running 22 miles before you got out of bed. Now I'm 58, a dozen heart attacks, a major stroke, ataxia and walk with a 5ft cane. Things change as you age. Stand and fight may become your only option. At that point, this old Sergeant of Marines is going to do what he does. BTW- Totally agree with the "don't be there" concept.
Thank you for making this !!! I get so frustrated by martial artists that pay lip service to idea of running away, thinking its easy to outrun a street thug that's been running for years.
Sometimes the only difference between a person with conditioning and a person without, is how sore they are the next day. Not always true in every situation, but just cuz they smoke 30 a day doesn't mean they can't run faster than u in the 24 seconds it takes them to catch you. They don't have to run a marathon. Ntm where I'm from you might be better off learning how to dodge bullets so..
@@Methodius7 it definitely makes a difference , the lungs are often the main difference maker in mid distance running , any significant difference between two people shows up , oc actually running is the best way to have lungs that are better at keeping up, if you never run the body's going to suck at maintaining a run & your breathing won't be well practiced for keeping going longer anyway
If your trying to escape a fight and can't fully run away, run to a crowded area. This is because it obscures your attackers view of you and also they are less likely to attack you in front of other people who can be witnesses or who may come to your aid. Also public areas have a higher chance of having police/security cameras present.
I like parkour a lot, but running seems more foundational to running away. And I feel the setup of novice vs ringers invites a lot of confirmation bias from the target audience.
Problem is Parkour makes you see things differently period. Seth was blind to his actual possibilities. When he ran into the "dead end", there was possibility to wall run and jump over rail and escape, he could have also ran over the stairs as he just practiced in the clip before. Thing is, he didn't see those as options, and also have to take into account ones level of fitness and confidence in pulling a certain move. The more experience one has in Parkour the more options they see to escape various situations. As a newbie myself (about a year) I take paths from work to home everyday and everyday I see something new I didnt think of that could be used to climb here or there and figure a new route via the urban scape. Point is, even after a year and more abilities developping, I am still blind to lots of options, 1 day is definitely not enough to have a proper idea of how effective or not it would be against the average Joe. But then again, if we were to ask Seth to follow one of em they would be gone very very fast.
@@revariox189 You've also got to be proficient and confident in your abilities though. Seeing the opportunity to run up a wall and over a rail doesn't mean you're not going to slip, smash your head and end up stunned and cornered. The same thing could be said for overconfidence in fighting ability though. You could see the big stereotypical overhand right coming from the untrained drunk and think you know the right combination to block and retaliate but seeing how you think it should play out and making it play out effectively are a matter of practice.
As a sprinter I really think just beeing able to run fast is more effective than parkour, in most situations (atleast in my city) there are almost no obstacles or walls to climb, so I would just sprint as fast as I could and corner a few streets
@@DjDolHaus86 yes I agree. Confidence is key. With experience comes confidence. As much as I see new routes and line everyday, I know some are out of my skill range as well. All in due times... And as you said a good balance between confidence and healthy fear/reality check is a good way to not become overconfident in either Parkour or Sparring.
@@kossonar2663 I dont know if you live in a big city or not but anything bigger than 50k population should have parkings or roof to go over. Possibly because you dont train it you dont necessairly see those new options/obstacles. BUT The way you described your situation, I would say you already are doing Parkour. If you are finding the fastest way to get from point a to point b in the way YOU see fit and are confident in that way in your surroundings, that pretty much defines Parkour. Acrobatics and gymnastics may help to reach that goal based on environment. As I mentioned they also might give you a new perspective and see ways you wouldnt have tought of before but they are not what makes Parkour. If you sprint and choose to jump over a bush or bench to go faster instead of around its already Parkour.... Freerun is the display of acrobatic skills while moving, speed is not the main factor. And Tricking well, its pretty much just the acrobatics and tricks to look amazing! Stick to speed and you already do Parkour friend
I was thinking, hey, Seth is in South Carolina. I know who I'd love to see him hook up with. There's a dude named Steven Pilot in Gilbert, SC who does xingyiquan and baguazhang. Some old-school traditional kung fu stuff for ya.
Re running away when with family - train them in parkour too :D - that's probably useful even if you are defending them so you don't have to keep worrying about them (but only if they also understand rondevous spots, memorize a phone number or two, etc.)
Loved the vid! A fun park our way to practice running and being chased is zombie tag. (Not helpful for the trying to defuse part) Starts with one person it and if u get tagged u also become it and stay it until the game ends with everyone being tagged. Especially fun with parkour~
Curious to see how Seth would combine the parkour with his martial arts training. Because what if he hit the attacker as the attacker jumped over the railing?
Parkour- fun and useful Running away- has its place. That being said I think Seth could defend himself successfully from all three of them at once if he wanted. Dudes big, in decent shape and practices self defense all the time
Reminds me of these guys who have a full self defense system on running away, i think its called Tactical Running. Covers everything for evasion, even stealth.
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Thanks for letting us teach you Parkour! You'll definitely get away next time ✌🏻😁
Chubby surprise!
very cool.
Running from someone who knows parkour is full Kobayashi Maru.
@Zak Ferguson I was genuinely squirming & pivoting in my chair hoping Seth got away from you guys 🤣🤣. That’s how invested y’all got me lol great episode
Probably the best way to teach a child self defense.
I think the biggest takeaway is that just like every martial art, you have to actually train running away for it to be effective.
Which is why I have an obstacle course in my yard.
That's not the right takeaway. The actual takeaway is self-defense is a lot more broad than most people realize, so unconventional skills like parkour, HEMA/belegarth, and dodgeball can come in handy (I have not seen a video analyzing dodgeball as a martial art applying to improvised weapons; I think it should be done). But what are the chances your attacker is faster at running than someone who regularly trains combat sports or martial arts (in which strength/conditioning is a must)? When the goal is to minimize probability of injury, running is still usually the best option even if you have no clue about parkour.
On the topic of dodgeball, trowing something at them with a lot of force and precision might also be a great deterrent (or in the worst case an incentive to draw a firearm).
Doing any sports and being in good shape generally will positively influence the outcome of so many things imo, not just a muggung
@@joshmiller9783 Do you have any stats to back this up? i doubt criminals who are being influenced by drugs will have a lot of fear.
@@inconnu4961 if you get into a public space with a lot of People I dought you will keep getting chased
The situational awareness jab really made me laugh, this was great stuff. too often people get asked for self defense and are just told: "just run away!" Its great to see someone finally testing out scenarios like that to see how practical "just running away" is.
I think to me the sticking point is 'just'.
If you can safely, run away - good
Just run away - bad
Like anytime the advice is " just X" it tends to be bad advice.
@@Rileyy1057 That is true but Its the same in a "normal situation", you may very well find yourself trying to run away from guys that are faster and quicker to react than you.
And most people aren't parkour experts so what he is trying to teach, the point is still valid.
People too often turn "run away" into a strawman argument. Rarely does anyone say "running away should be your ONLY plan". Dedicate time to learning and practicing it like you would any other martial art and you will gain advantages over people who don't, just like any other martial art. Running away should be plan A, but you should be prepared for plan B.
@@SpidermAntifa I think this is the takeaway. "Just run away" is not much of a plan, but learning to run away properly should be something you train as well, if you are really serious about safety!
Much like fighting, it's only really practical if you train to do it well.
As a slightly bigger than average adult man doing martial arts, I sincerely draw inspiration from your adventurous spirit and genuineness. Thanks for being here doing fun stuff
Yes Seth was not the xenotype meant for Parkour. Chubby surprise?
"GIVE ME YOUR VENMO" should be the new thing enemies yell when they see you in video games. That shit had me dead 💀💀💀
They probably take Cash App too!
"GIMME YOUR PAYPAL"
Meanwhile in real life: Your GP or your HP.
What's a venmo?
I've always been big into self defense and I got into parkour for this exact reason. The couple of times I've actually had to defend myself (rough town) I've only been able to run once but all it took was clearing a railing and sprinting off into the night for them to give up. I think it definitely has its place in a fully realized self defense system.
In most situations being able to sprint fast is better and safer than parkour, so getting some 100m sprint training could be a good idea
@@kossonar2663 most freerunners do that too so porque no los dos?
@@Ventus_the_Heathen I agree, much better if you have both speed+parkour :)
@@kossonar2663 Yeah, a huge percentage of applied parkour is just running. For that matter a lot of obstacles you can just detour slightly to avoid, and in that case the ideal 'parkour' thing to do is exactly that. And honestly, strength and conditioning is a huge part of all the parkour training and instruction that I've ever been around.
@@kossonar2663 I mean parkour's goal is literally to find the fastest way from point A to point B. If it involves just running, then you just run
7:50 The dropping from the roof, actually reminds me of this really cool thing a few of my friends did. So, they were out training, and no joke, there was some purse snatcher that grabbed a ladies purse. So they weren't close enough to see and give chase, but they decided to use their training at height as a vantage point to look for the dude, and they found him and just dropped from the sky on either side of this dude. Now imagine your a petty criminal, and some dudes straight up batman drop and surround you. Guy didn't want no smoke, didn't even ask what they wanted, just immediately surrendered and gave the purse back to them to return it to the lady.
That’s awesome
The real question is, did they do a superhero landing though? 😂
@@athousandlives7231 heck no lol. That shit hurts. Nothing quite like bashing your knee cap on pavement.
@@justinlakey6838 Not a poser then 😆(Black Widow reference - no clue if you‘ve seen the movie sorry)
@@athousandlives7231 I have not lol, but I'm pretty sure they referenced it in one of the deadpool movies.
This is one of the most useful videos you've ever made.
Of course, people argue on fighting methods, and other say "run away, instead".
Well, turns out running away:
1) is a skill in itself, and
2) isn't so easy to do after all.
It is only logical that criminals would target people who would be less likely to escape, in the first place.
But a true journey through fighting methods and self defence would never be complete without this
That's exactly how the infamous hamburgler operated, only targeting people who cant run away
I've been thinking about this recently. I used to go to pretty rough pubs and challenge people to arm wrestles. I was a bit of a knob, but never pushed boundaries. The only times I got into trouble is when I was helping other people or if my "friends" were fuckwits.
I grew up knowing that if someone wants to go, you can walk away before you have to run away. (if your ego will allow it)
You are asking the wrong question. What you should be asking is if running away gives you better odds than standing and fighting.
I think it should also be said that if it's a "give us your money" situation, you might consider just giving it.
That is why you should always carry a gun. Or pull a Icy Mike with the blinding flashlight
Brings up my favorite Icy Mike lesson of "between getting bitched out in the moment, and dying, the option is pretty clear". Learning to walk away before you have to run will always be the prime way of getting past a potential situation.
Learn to punch before they have a chance to run away from you and you don't need to learn how to run.
@@MrCmon113 or throw.
@@MrCmon113 yeah okay Billy Badass
Wow the most original advice I definitely haven't seen a million times in literally any self defense video. Icy Mike was right about this
@@gregquinn7817 butch up for once bro
It's precisely the ability to clear an obstacle in half a second (4:44) that takes an untrained person (4:49) about 5 seconds to clear. Do that a few times, especially with something like jumping a decently sized gap, and you've gained SO much distance. Thank you so much for trying this and being respectful when trying our sport! It's too often painted in a light making us out to be crazy daredevils, or hoodlums, or adrenaline junkies, when it requires SO much repetition and working from the ground up.
This is actually wild because I was in this exact same scenario. I managed to vault over a fence that went up to my neck despite the fact that I’ve never done parkour before. I guess it was the adrenaline.
It is always nice to see a positive representation of parkour
"Trained" Bruh just jump it and go. Most of the jump and obstacles crap slows these parkour people down big time but I guess it looks cool.
@@Dead_GoatSo how does parkour make them slow? The person who practices twice a week is slower than someone who never practices? Like what are you even saying dude? We literally have our own sport called world chase tag which is all about speed around obstacles and it's exclusively dominated by parkour athletes. That's like some keyboard warrior saying they can beat up someone who consistently takes mma classes. Maybe if you were just literally born with one in a biliion talent, but nah, if you don't train, you 99.9% lose to the person who does.
@@Dead_Goat dude have you even tried anything related to parkour?
nah don't even answer that one. Did you even watch the video?
Finally!! One who understands the basic of running away. I added Parkour to my martial arts training a year or so ago. A new man. I did gymnastic as a kid before Karate so it got me back to those roots of positioning my body in space. 3D space not just front back side to side but up and down as well. And traverse distances faster or that would be unthinkable before. You see a wall, I see a path upwards. A new man seeing the world in a new way. Makes the whole world a playground/training area
"I wouldn't be a very good criminal."
Aw, Seth. You'd be a great criminal. You've already stolen our hearts.
That's incredibly wholesome. I agree.
TRUE😔🤟🤟
He'd be a smooth criminal.
true but not in such a wholesome way,
eveyone says time is the most valuable resource.
This man has taken away thousands of hours from the people. He is the worst criminal you've ever been in contact with be weary.
@@justsomechairwithoutamusta8275 But what if they have given their time willingly?
I suppose one thing that wasn't mentioned was the importance of cardio. Whether you've got to run or you've got to fight, being able to do it harder and for longer is only ever likely to swing the odds in your favour.
I've always talked about "the only thing that works is what you can practice in competitions" and you literally found a competition that practices running away and asked their advice. Brilliant!
so shooting someone or stabbing them doesnt work because u cant practice that in a competition
@@resiliated9326 Here's a secret.
Good shooters... compete. Or, at the very least, pay attention to the methods used by those that compete.
@@ArmchairViolence compete in what
@@resiliated9326 ???
Shooting.
@@ArmchairViolence shooting a target that doesnt shoot back or even move in most cases?
Hey guys! Love this campus! This video goes to show that relying on a single trick to avoid violence rarely works. *Just* learning to fight or run or de-escalate or be situationally aware or will never cover all situations. There is a time to run, and it's saved me a few times. There's a time to fight, and that's...only sort of ever helped me. Being aware (of people's attitudes, more than spotting assassins in the shadows) and being pro-actively pleasant/disarming/conciliatory/appeasing have kept me from having to fight or run more times than I can count.
*Story;* Security guy I know casually (Big John)… used to be head bouncer at this nightclub. One night he threw out a gang member who was being really pushy - and the drug dealing gang didn't like that.
So the gang wait for him to get to his home after work, with iron bars and so on, and once he has parked in the street nearby and exited his car (so that he can't just drive off) they try to ambush him. But he sees them and starts running.
They give chase but what they didn't know was that he was also a semi professional soccer player and had fantastic cardio.
He easily outpaces them, sees that and then slows down a bit, so that the fastest runners in the gang can get closer, _basically kiting them._
When the lead runner is totally exhausted, vulnerable and separated from the group, John takes him out with a quick strike (soccer playing martial artist security expert who has the prefix "Big") and then runs off again.
And rinse and repeat.
The gang gives up and they go back to where he'd parked _his car_ in the street and completely trash "it" with iron bars, bats, bricks, chains, a nearby signpost…
Only issue was …
…
_They got the wrong car._
They trashed a similar looking car that was parked nearby. So some poor sod came out next morning to see their car was practically written off.
As for John … a few phone calls and the Security firms and Nightclub owners (some of whom "allegedly" had organised crime ties), decided that this wouldn't be tolerated as it set a bad precedent. So they formed a united front and warned the gang that _all their members_ would be blackballed from every nightclub/pub/bar whatever, and also seriously hassled outside (and rival gangs notified) and so would be unable to do any dealing.
The gang apologized to Big John.
They didn't apologize to the owner of the wrong car.
Interesting story. Thanks for sharing
Rule number 1: Cardio.
Yeah I know that story, that was my car. My name... you can call me small John.
@@studywithmir1994 Yeah and I was from the gang. Sorry about your car, mate.
@@4xdblack Which over half the UFC roster doesn't have.
I appreciate Seth trying all these martial arts and miscellaneous skills.
There is also the question on how committed are the attackers. Running after you is also a risk (exposure, help might arrive, witnesses). Most crimes are crimes of opportunity, if you manage to run, the opportunity is often gone past.
Exactly. Also a good idea is to have a bait wallet with a 20 in that you can drop as a distraction.
@@muranziel In general like the idea, but like a weapon, you actually have to pull it and that might take more time than you actually have. Unless you live in a really terrible place, practicing drawing a bait wallet (and actually carrying one) seems a bit unlikely.
Personally, I think there are 3 basic strategies to running away:
1) Preventive. The good thing about running away is that no harm is done, so you can run away simply because you have a bad feeling.
2) Get to safety. Women often get attacked shortly after they leave a place (party, shopping etc.). So, the goal is to get back there and not just random running away.
3) Advantageous position. When they jump over the railing, imagine Seth would have kicked the guy at around minute 8 mark. Imagine you go up a wall (similar to 3:39) you literally have the high ground. Running away also decreases the chance that you have to face all attackers at the same time.
In the tunnel when you were hopping over the railing would be an excellent point to stop running, and attack. As they hop over you could tackle them to give yourself a great opportunity to run or fight.
I don't know how you could safely test that though.
LMAO!!🤣🤣 I laugh but, it really is high risk and more difficult than it looks. Mental blockage, and distraction(s) (in my opinion) are the most dangerous aspects of this type of high-speed obstacle usage. Good training👍
Great little forray into parkour.
"Combat skills are still important because you may have others with you" (paraphrasing here): I'd say i'ts even more general than that. Even if your moves are on point and you're alone, it doesn't end at "the tag". Ok, so the bad guy tagged you. Does that mean he just touched you, grab you, stab you, ...? Also, shoving/striking a bad guy early on to open a parkour line is a valid move if your goal is running away. 'Grapple-tag' (sadly i don't think that exists... yet) is what you need for that family of scenarios (get out by running away). I say that as a guy who trains PK more seriously than combat.
With the amount of things Seth has learnt and put himself through simply for content, I'm giving it 3 years until we see him become an undefeated UFC double champ "just to see if he could" for a video
It seems like a Jack of all traids...situation.
It would be interesting to train a mix of parkour and fighting martial arts, so that you have both fight and flight options.
JackieChan :)
Sprinting would solve the problem easier than parkour.
As a parkour coach and krav maga practitioner this is my dream! To teach kids martial arts and parkour in school PT classes!
@@datoolz0 okay now sprint across a gap or sprint up a wall when cornered.
@@SABbrew Small gap is quite doable. A gap is better for beating multiple people!!!
Medium gap only doable with a runup. Large gaps of course are risky.
why do I sprint up a wall? Like any rugby player I just put out an arm and force someone away and break away. Standard soccer/rugby tactics from sport are extremely effective.
I like the fact this video showed that in some situations running away is easier said than done.
Running away saved my ass so many times.... Tho parkour is freaking awesome and sensei seth will do LITERALLY ANYTHING BUT SAVATE
Whatever your plans are; train for them.
Best. Lesson. Ever.
Also have a backup plan and train for that too
I was once in a situation like this. Essentially I was playing basketball alone in a pretty rough neighbourhood, I was a young martial artist and my ego got better of me, what can I say. Then two older kids approached me, first, they acted friendly, but then one of them asked me to give him a slicer necklace I had, which I refused. He then pulled out a screwdriver from his trousers and now again, required that I have it to him. I pushed him into his friend, picked up my ball, and started running. I had a headstart but they were bigger so they started catching up to me after 20-25 meters. Luckily, right around a corner, there was a policeman so they stopped chasing after me and yelled something along the lines of "haha we were just joking around.". Obviously, I'm not an idiot, I know what was going on, but I was shitting my pants so much that I never told the police officer. I just waited there for them to leave, and then I ran back home.
I like how casually he plugs his merch. That's what advertisements should be; not a minute of "this is the best thing ever and you'll never regret it" but "if you like it, you can find it in the description". But beyond that, great channel and I'm thinking of getting into some of this stuff. This channel has definitely helped me build the confidence to start doing that.
this was really eye opening for me, as I like to think I would generally try to escape conflict. I am a big fan of your channel and this is my favorite video of yours I have seen mate, thanks very much for uploading it. I would definitely be interested in more content of a similar variety.
I've done parkour for like a decade and it's kinda like BJJ in that regard. It's definitely gonna help you, but high-level stuff goes out the window once you're stressed - no matter if it's a flying berimboloplata or a triple kong 360
sometimes i fantasize that I would be doing sweet imanari rolls in a street fight.
they would be like "why this mofo be tumbling down right in my soccer kicking distance"
and then they'd be like "why am i on my back and why do my ankles hurt"
Then i would declare myself the winner with deep scratches and bleeding on my back, shoulder, and arms cuz there's glass, needles, rocks, and lava on da streetz while they got off with a dusty shirt and a barely sore ankle cuz they instantly tapped and i instinctively let go.
they'd get up and start stomping me while i desperately try to get those ankles back
Oss
Serious question for a decade long practitionner; how are your knees? I have been doing some for about a year, mildly and at my own pace. Also I dont practice the super high level stuff, keep it basic and direct for speed and distance but even then, at 37 years old my knees are sometimes feeling like they want to give out on me the next day. I might be too rough on them.... Been into Martial Arts my whole life and added Parkour about a year ago, love it but it can sometimes be rough on my old body lol
@@revariox189 That's a very good question, and a legit concern. They were pretty bad for a while, I got "jumpers knee" which is inflammation in tendons around the patella. I had to adapt my style and training to that and it got much better. Go easy on yourself. If you're training for skill and conditioning, there's literally no reason to repeatedly do precision jumps, gaps or drops on hard surfaces. If you wanna be better at drops, go and spend that time nailing good roll form or spiderman/touchdown landings. Think of every take-off/landing on concrete like taking a hit to the head in boxing. Pretty much everything with airtime will f you up. That's what you gotta avoid. And if you get bored training like a softie, go watch some Eric Wolff or Luke Albrecht for good ideas on what low-impact high-skill PK looks like. If you have any questions about training safely and low-impact, just ask. It was a big issue for me and I'm happy to help.
Aerobic fitness. Cardio is your life!
@@revariox189 14 years of freerunning and 4 years coaching parkour.
Remember one simple rule: ALWAYS MOVE SILENTLY! Land silently. Run silently. Use your toes and not your heels. Absorb impacts with muscles and not with joints.
Do that and you'll have 0 problems with joints even after 40 years of parkour!!
Btw, second very important rule: always check your surfaces in advance!!
Icy Mike will like to see this video he have been talking about the idea of how hard it really is to run away for a very long time now he will also probably tell you to mix wrestling with that parkour to make more self defense (which makes a lot of sense) but a lot of people don't like hearing that.
@Redemption Ryan it's but you know people on the internet love to argue about everything.
Damn you picked that up really fast. It usually takes a lot longer for my students to learn kongs and shoulder rolls. You're a natural lol
Lifetime of martial arts haha
Martial artists do practice very similar stuff. Not the same but similar.
I do plenty of shoulder roles in JiuJitsu/Jujutsu. The kongs things though that would be a first. I wish there were a parkour school close to my btw. I loved this at first sight. It's like a superpower
This type of training is really fascinating, but I can't help but want to see it with martial arts mixed in. For instance, when you were both vaulting that rail back and forth in the last test, the correct answer would be to roundhouse him as he tries to follow you over it, then run past. It would also be interesting to see if they actually could trip and beat you down from a chase instead of just tagging you.
Also, the cameraman should either be perched on a high location getting a bird's eye view of the entire chase, or being a chase cam themselves.
Yea, a 115lb kid touching his back doesn't mean he suddenly can't move.
@@SaltedSlug85 115lb kid with a knife touching your back is whole different story. If he can touch, he can probably stab.
Probably just the safest way you can train that whenever over a hard surface
Mom: "Don't run with knives y'all!!"
Shane from fight tips also tought that th-cam.com/video/NbeRd3EnYBs/w-d-xo.html
Hey! Long time fan and 4 years of parkour coaching here!
FINALLY a serious running away episode! Thank you!!! But here are the things I would've changed in this video!
First of all, I wouldn't pit you against freerunners to test you. That's just not fair. We want to test our chances of running away in real life scenarios, right?? There's practically 0% chance a freerunner will want to seriously hurt you. Violent ppl don't last in your discipline!
Second of all, I wouldn't count the number of touches. Who cares about touches?? If a criminal touches me that means nothing.
I would count three things: possible punches or kicks against you (some sparring experience would be needed to test this safely), times you were actually caught (as in immobilised), and times you were tripped successfully (would need to be tested on safe surface like gym or grass for safety).
Great job Seth!
Parkour is the most Zen martial art I've ever done. It's like the whole world is on your side but your limitations are the opponent. Except it doesn't dwell on the stoic stillness aspect of peace and focuses on movement and continuous real time adaptation
This raises a good point. Running away, can at times be unrealistic. I've watched a few of those parkour tag competitions though, and must say they truly have mastered the art of it. If anyone can teach you, it's likely them.
I got the chance to play parkour tag ("off-ground tiggy" here) with a bunch of parkour instructors once, in their warehouse setup with scaffolding and such. I was totally outclassed of course, but it was a whole lot of fun.
As a French national and European Sanda champion, kick boxing and mma practitioner, I challenge you to a fight for the joke you made at 0:21 . I have to show you Americans how French people can destroy you in a ring
I'm not French, but even I get somewhat annoyed by the French "coward" and "running away" jokes. I have a friend who legit thought the French were always bad/cowardly at fighting in wars. Its not his fault, it's just that this joke has gone way overboard.
To me a joke is fine. Unless it turns into misinformation and gives people wrong ideas, which this joke really tends to do.
As a fellow frenchman, I did not feel offended in the least by this statement. Parkour indeed originated in France (Evry to be precise, close to where I grew up) as "the art of running away". No shame in that. Look at all the Luc Besson movies with the Yamakasi: they are the cool dudes, because they can run away with so much skill.
I was not aware that we have a reputation of cowardice, though.
This is why when I recommend running as an option of self defense it comes with the caveat that you have to run 3-4x a week as well to be able to run when the time comes
I love Parkour, took it only for a month. While I did feel like a complete amateur always training with people far better than me who are able to perform great feats, it is truly insane to know how much you can learn parkour in just a span of a month. after 10 years, I forgot almost all of it, and lost the confidence to do what I used to do. It is a great skillset to have, maybe one day I go back to it.
The best defencive marital art is "No be there"
I think there’s another side of this not being addressed is cardio in relation to actual running speed I’m a sprinter assuming I have any kinda distance between myself and another person I can legitimately be gone.
I love Seth. He's too funny because he's so real. He's so us irl. I would try to run, but learning how to fight is just as practical for all the reasons he listed. This was great to know though. I'd love to train.
Same here man I would try to run
I’m so glad that Seth has gotten the recognition and attention that he deserves. Feels like just yesterday he was doing a live Q&A on his phone answering questions about if he will pursue mma lol
Sadly, I have a crippled leg, so since school it has been mostly a battle royale with bullies (can't run for real);
With time, you learn to recognize which dudes are willing to talk it out and who you should avoid.
Really appreciated the good will of those willing to listen.
Parkour is great for avoiding combat, or enhancing ones ability to fight in awkward environments. But you could also use your parkour training for running towards danger or a threat. To help others by getting to them. Its a great training tool to build confidence living life outside of the box.
Hey seth can you create another Comparing video about different types of kickboxing like Muay Thai and American kickboxing and dutch kickboxing and sanda like what's the difference with their stances and kicks and techniques in the near future
I don't tell my students to run away. I tell them to get to a position of dominance and/or safety. This would include but not limited running but sometimes running away isn't possible or prudent. So it would also include taking the back. Taking cover in a gunfight. Going to a safe room. And a myriad of other responses all dictated by the particular circumstances of that specific encounter.
That said, many criminals are lazy and looking for an easy score and many times running away is enough to get a criminal to go looking for easier prey. YMMV.
I used to think parkour was just fancy running but this showed me it’s useful for actually escaping situations like this!
That's "freerunning" dude
That was sick! Also kudos for the cameraman being able to run and not have the camera get all shaky
I'm amazed at this
There are some really practical aspects to this- especially the health and agility parts. Looks fun too.
Seeing a “bigger” guy doing this shit makes me optimistic about it. When I was younger and well super skinny I would go out a practice daily. Bigger I got the more I strayed away.
I love it. Keep up this empirical approach!
I used to live with two parkour coaches. They were small guys, this is really hard even for me @ 75-80kg (170-180ish). You did good as a bigger guy, jokes about looking awkward aside you are athletic af
I called this art; "Duckanomics; The art of Dodging and Running away" when i was a kid. I was always getting into fights, most of them protecting family but when i was outnumbered, i realized i needed to practice dodging grappling and takedown attacks in order to get away or counter attack. Friend always though i was insane when they saw me rolling around everywhere as part of my training. i was trying to test how my body moved on different surfaces and improving my response times.
Even in the Marine Corps I could not run fast, so running away would not be an option for me. But after ten years of full contact matches, I think I'd be comfortable with letting the bad guy come to me.
At what point did the three 'bad' guys become singular?
"The loser in a knife fight dies on the street. The winner dies on the ambulance"
very cool how you are exploring so many avenues of what self defense means.
that adaptability is crucial in true living.
You're ready for the big screen Sensei!😎 I'm sure it also helps if you're familiar with the area but if I'm a tourist in trouble, I guess it'll be Troom Troom self defense then!😂
loved the tip about keeping a distance from the one chasing you,
genius
I have never run away from a fight. Instinctively, it always felt like a bad idea. And now I understand why: I would get caught, 100%, and then I'd be exhausted and easier to beat up.
That say more about your fitness then a fight
Most violent thugs and not going to be able to run 10 miles it might be able to sprint for 15 minute but if you can do more than 20-minutes bring and then do a light jog 10 miles you going to be safe
But the attacker would be, too.
Besides he might run away from you and then you don't get the choice, you have to catch him.
@@knightveg what's the value in stamina if they catch you in 5-10 seconds.
@@MrCmon113 if your attacker runs away from you, you are safe
@@bobtheyob when I was a teenager, I was surrounded by six to eight teenagers armed with bricks
I sprinted a good 100 yards, then run the extra 2 miles police station they couldn't catch me
So like I said you can not sprint and then follow into a run that more do with your fitness
Damn this was a really good idea, killin it!
I laughed way too hard at the line "it was time to be truly French, and run away" lol
1:08 It's crazy how when you're a jump athlete (like me) you can IMMEDIATELY know if someone it's great at jumping or never does this, in your case it's visible that you're pretty athletic and that helped you to perform really well but it's clear that you don't jump much. In the words of Mcgregor "all i see is stiffness".
Depends if you get a head start. I have run from fights many times. Once against a guy that would easily flatten me and once against a guy that I would have easily flattened.
Why did I run away from the last guy, strangely enough he terrified me. This guy was like 1/3 my size but he had zero fear. Something about a guy that picks on someone 3 times his size didn't sit right with me, I am not proud of it, but I didn't want to find out.
You should be proud of not getting into a dangerous situation with someone that was crazy.
And you don't want to have to kill someone. Especially over stupid comments or posturing. Even if you're exonerated, I imagine the justice system is a long hard, expensive process with sometimes dubious outcomes.
I love that you have such an open mind and you're trying this stuff before you judge it.
@Seth - this is a fantastic video - and I think this now sets a presidency for actually training running away in self defence classes!
I’ve been doing parkour since I was eight, I’m in high school right now. Now I’m in wrestling and in to martial arts so this is an entertaining video
I love seeing this "self defense" advice put to the test. So many people smugly say "just run away" as if it's the ultimate way to protect yourself
I mean it did seem like a very effective strategy. Those guys could have ran away from Seth basically at will and with a significantly lower level of risk than if they fought him.
@@DIVAD291 Absolutely. But it takes practice and skill, as we saw. Don't "just run away," learn how to run away really really fast
@@DIVAD291 Yeah but they're professionals at this. When you look at this you kinda realize "man the average person is kinda shitty at running, why does everybody think they'll just do this"? Just like Icy Mike says in his videos, if you encounter somebody who starts off with "I'll just" or "Just" they're probably full of shit and don't know what they're talking about or know the first thing of what they're trying to talk about. You're not gonna "just" do this. You're gonna get tired, caught and beat up, injured, stumped as to where you should go cause surely you didn't have time to think about it.
@@rando5673 though that's the exact same as learning how to fight. So yeah, I'd say "just run away" is perfectly good advice.
It's a good advice but it is not an excuse to avoid all training.
If you don't even go running often, you're going to be in equal or worse physical condition than the muggers. And even while running they will catch you. And if you don't have training in any combat style either, things won't end up well for you.
I do not understand the idea that most people do not do any type of exercise at all. It even seems irrational to me as living beings...
Thank you Sensei Seth for doing this episode! As a dude who has done both parkour(18 yrs and counting) and martial arts this was hella entertaining!
The problem for me with "just running away" is that I have short legs, and no matter how much I practice running, even an untrained attacker could still be faster than me. However, I can see how Parkour could give me a head start in some situations/environments. If the attacker needs to take a longer route he might get too tired before he's able to catch up.
The one thing I've always wanted to get better at is tic tacs
Getting over a wall in a lot of areas is avoiding 2 flights of stairs which is mental if you can learn to do it fast
@@reelgesh51 It also allows you to just completely climb on top of one story buildings
learning to fall well can only help, even just a small flight of stairs can be an obstacle confidence falling can make open vs not, and one thing i found useful to incorporate for traversing hard areas fast is baseball slides , those take practice too to incorporate with safety & confidence , but you can rely on them for getting around very large obstacles in a few seconds you'd otherwise take much longer to get around, under or over , & those can be actively helped by shorter stature
Another area to consider is mindset: not just running away from danger, but rather running to safety. Having situational awareness to buy you the time to ge there. And above all, practicing to build ability to move and navigate the dynamic environment. Really good stuff here breaking down the fallacy that one can simply get their run-fu on to separate from one or many attackers attackers.
See I think having skills like this in addition to martial arts and basic strength training should be baseline for just about anyone.
This was really fun to watch.
Thank you for sharing ☺️.
Nice to see you practicing parkour in case of a 28 days later style zombie apocalypse.
Legit a pretty cool video. The insight at the end about the advantages of fighting was good. Honestly even though I have a huge appreciation for parkour I was thinking aight if we are actually thinking what's best to do in situations like that tunnel it would be to just kick their legs out from under them while maneuvering.
That's one of the things to be able to do as a fighter. Have to traverse a weird environment during said fight. If you can be the guy that can grab on to the railing, kick their legs out from under them, then run, that is the culmination.
Unfortunately to be able to train this stuff effectively you need like exclusively wrestlers that can fall on anything and be fine.
"just run" is confusing, because it can mean two things - leave, or escape. Totally different things, useful in totally different contexts. Leaving is easy, but it's not really a substitute for being able to fight. Escaping is something you can do instead of fighting, but it's hard.
These people that say run away are not living in reality. Everyone knows some people are much slower than others and if you're attacker is faster, running away makes you more vulnerable. Whenever people say run away as the ultimate answer, I know they don't have the experience or awareness of others to be giving anyone advice.
@@RamesesBolton Maybe you are actually the one who is wrong, have you considered that?
@@stevedecklin I'm wrong about some people being too slow to outrun their attackers? I doubt it. I know some very slow and unathletic people that I could catch while jogging
@@RamesesBolton I mean, you you are right, that some people are too slow, but some people are also too weak to fight back. That doesn't mean fighting back isn't a good option.
How far do you actually have to run? How determined is the attacker? What is your distance? Do you know a pathway to safety?
Deoending on the situation, running could be brilliant or fucking stupid.
I think runnig away is good advice for dealing with multiple attackers for example.
I'm doing a lot.of martial arts, I'm not a small guy, but I honestly think I can outrun more people than I could fight or would want to fight. I don't know if they have a weapon or shit and I don't want to find out, if I can I'm outta there.
@@RamesesBolton You can just pick only slow people, some people are fast, some people are in the middle, but if you assume your attacker has average speed and so do you, running is still the best option. Are they motivated enough to pursue you to fight? Often times they wont be. Can you run into a more crowded area where you can get help? Sure, very possible. Saying "running is always a bad idea" is not living in reality. If you say "stay and fight what you really mean is "learn to fight over a process of years to MAYBE give you the upperhand, or guy could have a knife and you're screwed." Saying "just run" is likewise saying, "Get in good shape, with good cardo and running form", something that is more effective than years of high-intensity (not the bullshit often shown on this channel) and only takes maybe 6 months to accomplish if you're really out of shape? Learning and practicing running is way more effective than fighting. You are the one not living in reality.
This was very entertaining. Makes me want to try parkour. When I was a teenager "freestyle walking" was a fad I tried with almost no success 😂
Do it :D I did it for 10 years until an unfortunate and unlucky injury
Parkour is the same as every other martial art.
1. You can't learn it well enough in a day to be useful against the average person, let alone other practitioners.
2. You should supplement it with other martial arts the same way you'd supplement a striking art with a grappling art.
3. If you put the time in, you have an advantage over people who don't.
Running should never be your only plan but it should always be your plan A.
I think the issue is that people don't take Parkour as a martial art or see running away as a part of martial arts...
What is SOLD to us as martial arts is going to gym and punch kick grapple an opponent.... Like running away, mental preparation and psychology are not mentioned as they simply don't seem fun or interesting.
And let's be honest, running away is never seen as the "macho" thing to do so it is regarded as cowardly, anyone with a bit of experience knows that running away is a totally acceptable tactic and sometimes necessairy. But admitting you practice running away can be seen in some circles as a "WHY". I love Parkour big time and combined with Martial experience it definitely changed my perspective on many things and how I see the physical world. Lot more advantages now that I see things as opportunities not blockages.
And bizzarely most who practice one are rarely tempted to see what the other has to offer.....
A good realistic session is to have Parkour with sparring gear, no tag but fight when exhausted after running....
@@revariox189 the fact that it’s not seen as a macho thing actually give dedicated practitioners an advantage. The fact that people are very underprepared to run/jump.
Running isn't even plan Z unless I'm late for a train.
You need to combine the 2 skills, running and fighting. When you were hoping back and forth over the railing at the end, you could have absolutely drilled him as he was following you over the rail. 2 on 1 becomes 1 on 1 in a split second.
Seriously tough challenge to get this working for a normal guy....personally i think standing and fighting would be less damaging than me falling flat on my face after trying to climb something. Never liked running away anyway!
Amazing what these guys can do though.
Define normal guy.
I am under the assumption that most who follow martial arts channel are Martial Artists.... That already not makes them the normal average guy... Do you mean untrained and not physically fit? Not sure that is even the norm it itself... Untrained maybe, unfit that would depend what circles... And stating that the same untrained and unfit person has a better chance of standing their ground then running away is equal, they are untrained and unfit, against a semi trained person they stand little to no chances.
I am not sure we are comparing apples to apples here.
What if they run away from you?
Then you don't have a choice, you need to catch them.
a degree of practice can only help, at a bare minimum you'd learn what your arms can support & what falls feel comfortable acting only within your limits , & improving your baseline after that through training can only help further and get what you are comfortable with feeling smoother and easier, not to mention literally being safer to do with a base of good practice under you
When I was 26 I was running 22 miles before you got out of bed. Now I'm 58, a dozen heart attacks, a major stroke, ataxia and walk with a 5ft cane. Things change as you age. Stand and fight may become your only option. At that point, this old Sergeant of Marines is going to do what he does. BTW- Totally agree with the "don't be there" concept.
Thank you for making this !!! I get so frustrated by martial artists that pay lip service to idea of running away, thinking its easy to outrun a street thug that's been running for years.
What about a drunk who smokes thirty a day?
@@malkomalkavian If he is still young it shouldn't make that much of an difference.
Sometimes the only difference between a person with conditioning and a person without, is how sore they are the next day. Not always true in every situation, but just cuz they smoke 30 a day doesn't mean they can't run faster than u in the 24 seconds it takes them to catch you. They don't have to run a marathon. Ntm where I'm from you might be better off learning how to dodge bullets so..
@@Methodius7 it definitely makes a difference , the lungs are often the main difference maker in mid distance running , any significant difference between two people shows up , oc actually running is the best way to have lungs that are better at keeping up, if you never run the body's going to suck at maintaining a run & your breathing won't be well practiced for keeping going longer anyway
If your trying to escape a fight and can't fully run away, run to a crowded area. This is because it obscures your attackers view of you and also they are less likely to attack you in front of other people who can be witnesses or who may come to your aid. Also public areas have a higher chance of having police/security cameras present.
In London they smile at the cameras while hacking you to death with their machete.
I like parkour a lot, but running seems more foundational to running away. And I feel the setup of novice vs ringers invites a lot of confirmation bias from the target audience.
Problem is Parkour makes you see things differently period. Seth was blind to his actual possibilities. When he ran into the "dead end", there was possibility to wall run and jump over rail and escape, he could have also ran over the stairs as he just practiced in the clip before. Thing is, he didn't see those as options, and also have to take into account ones level of fitness and confidence in pulling a certain move. The more experience one has in Parkour the more options they see to escape various situations.
As a newbie myself (about a year) I take paths from work to home everyday and everyday I see something new I didnt think of that could be used to climb here or there and figure a new route via the urban scape. Point is, even after a year and more abilities developping, I am still blind to lots of options, 1 day is definitely not enough to have a proper idea of how effective or not it would be against the average Joe.
But then again, if we were to ask Seth to follow one of em they would be gone very very fast.
@@revariox189 You've also got to be proficient and confident in your abilities though. Seeing the opportunity to run up a wall and over a rail doesn't mean you're not going to slip, smash your head and end up stunned and cornered. The same thing could be said for overconfidence in fighting ability though. You could see the big stereotypical overhand right coming from the untrained drunk and think you know the right combination to block and retaliate but seeing how you think it should play out and making it play out effectively are a matter of practice.
As a sprinter I really think just beeing able to run fast is more effective than parkour, in most situations (atleast in my city) there are almost no obstacles or walls to climb, so I would just sprint as fast as I could and corner a few streets
@@DjDolHaus86 yes I agree. Confidence is key. With experience comes confidence. As much as I see new routes and line everyday, I know some are out of my skill range as well.
All in due times... And as you said a good balance between confidence and healthy fear/reality check is a good way to not become overconfident in either Parkour or Sparring.
@@kossonar2663
I dont know if you live in a big city or not but anything bigger than 50k population should have parkings or roof to go over.
Possibly because you dont train it you dont necessairly see those new options/obstacles.
BUT
The way you described your situation, I would say you already are doing Parkour. If you are finding the fastest way to get from point a to point b in the way YOU see fit and are confident in that way in your surroundings, that pretty much defines Parkour.
Acrobatics and gymnastics may help to reach that goal based on environment. As I mentioned they also might give you a new perspective and see ways you wouldnt have tought of before but they are not what makes Parkour.
If you sprint and choose to jump over a bush or bench to go faster instead of around its already Parkour....
Freerun is the display of acrobatic skills while moving, speed is not the main factor.
And Tricking well, its pretty much just the acrobatics and tricks to look amazing!
Stick to speed and you already do Parkour friend
"if you run away, and you're with your niece or nephew, you could argue you're the bad guy"
Damn Seth really playing my heartstrings
That was awesome. You, sir, are my favorite dork on the internet. I mean that in a good way.
I was thinking, hey, Seth is in South Carolina. I know who I'd love to see him hook up with. There's a dude named Steven Pilot in Gilbert, SC who does xingyiquan and baguazhang. Some old-school traditional kung fu stuff for ya.
Would like to see you do this again but maybe mix up the escaping with fighting, so take out the first guy and escape
This series of you trying different martial arts is really great. Keep it up!
3:52 I want to have the motivation the guy with the pink shirt has
Re running away when with family - train them in parkour too :D - that's probably useful even if you are defending them so you don't have to keep worrying about them (but only if they also understand rondevous spots, memorize a phone number or two, etc.)
Good demo on parkour. Shows that a lot can go into it. Bet your sprint game gets a huge boost with the training.
Loved the vid! A fun park our way to practice running and being chased is zombie tag. (Not helpful for the trying to defuse part) Starts with one person it and if u get tagged u also become it and stay it until the game ends with everyone being tagged. Especially fun with parkour~
Curious to see how Seth would combine the parkour with his martial arts training. Because what if he hit the attacker as the attacker jumped over the railing?
Parkour- fun and useful
Running away- has its place.
That being said I think Seth could defend himself successfully from all three of them at once if he wanted. Dudes big, in decent shape and practices self defense all the time
This is definitely the best self defense martial art.
facts im running man
"It'll be fine, it's blue!"
*rain sounds*
dude your channel is evolving so hard. this is great content, the entire exploration of various styles series has been great.
Sensi seth - you effing rock!
So much fun stuff - love your attitude and stuff.
#longLiveTheHard2HurtVerse
The practice chase sequences hit like a real chase scene from a movie and it’s great.
That old footage at the beginning of the video was pretty fricking awesome.
Reminds me of these guys who have a full self defense system on running away, i think its called Tactical Running. Covers everything for evasion, even stealth.