In a world where the social norm has been conditioned to walk from sidewalk to sidewalk, making stops at lights, and keeping one’s eyes straight ahead, creativity has come to an all-time low. We encourage one to look up, look around, be aware, and to take the gift of life one was given and make the most of it. By converting the entire world to a playground, it’s easy for creativity to thrive, as one gets lost in the world of motion.
Our main goal is to open people’s eyes to the world, and embrace life principles, health, creativity, and expression through movement. We model goal setting by showing our students that they truly can achieve the seemingly impossible.
In terms of health we emphasize safety; students progress fastest when it is within their skill range. Our goal is to have all of our students physically healthy and fit for a longer, more fruitful life. We’d love to see end to obesity and unhealthy habits through movement and goal setting.
In our classes, an observer sees more than kids having fun. They see a deep culture based around “Movement Runs Me.” Students who might never have met are brought together as friends and training partners. With coaches and upper level athletes as models, the entire culture is geared towards excellence and progression.
We believe that with proper instruction, effort, and emphasis on safely executing movements, true freedom can be reached, because, after all, Movement Runs Us.
Unparalleled Movement offers the most experienced parkour and freerunning coaches in the region, both nationally recognized and respected. Our coaches’ experience includes:
Michael Graef: certified Kukiwan Blackbelt in Taekwondo, 4 years’ experience in parkour and freerunning, and several years coaching all ages.
Kent Johns: nationally recognized freerunner, Move To Inspire sponsored athlete, 4 years parkour and freerunning experience, and several years in coaching.
Micah Marino: former Level 10 gymnast, competitive gymnastics instructor, and several years’ experience in parkour and freerunning.
Andrew Fortunate: former Level 10 gymnast, competitive gymnastics instructor, and several years’ experience in parkour and freerunning.
With the combined knowledge of movement, we strive to create a positive learning environment for our students, pushing them to reach their full potential.
Soon we hope to move into our own dedicated, full-time facility to give our students the best learning environment possible. Our gym will include all sorts of obstacles and structures one would encounter outside, plus more apparatuses, geared toward safely teaching our students. We want to create a parkour community so large and skilled that it captures the attention of the international parkour/freerunning community, giving our students the spotlight, and opening opportunities for paying jobs in the stunt industry or allowing for paid sponsorships from companies such as the World Freerunning Parkour Federation (WFPF) and Red Bull. Always we’ll strive to develop athletes extremely skilled in their area of training, equipped with the physical habit of good health and the mental tool of principles and application.
Dating back to 2008 when Michael Graef and Kent Johns founded Montana’s largest parkour/freerunning organization, the Missoula Parkour Group (MPG), the art and discipline of movement took seed in their hearts and minds. After a few years they took the group to Mismo Gymnastics, where they started a parkour program run by Mismo with coaches Micah Marino and Andrew Fortunate. After several years at Mismo, in December of 2011, the quartet decided to combine their knowledge of movement to create Unparalleled Movement.
Parkour is a discipline of movement that uses the abilities of the human body to overcome obstacles in the environment. The goal of parkour is to move from one point to another in the most efficient and quickest way possible. Movements in parkour include climbing, vaults, jumps, and many others.
Parkour is a very positive activity, as it teaches many skills and characteristics beyond the physical movements. From parkour one gains the ability to overcome obstacles in life, and encourages self-confidence, coordination, physical strength, and conquering fears. The parkour community is, and always has been, very positive, welcoming, friendly, and helpful.
The history of parkour dates back around 30 years to Lisses, France. A man named David Belle and his friends would try to push themselves physically. This group, called the Yamakazi, was, in some sense, the ‘founder’ of parkour, although Belle primarily receives credit. Throughout the years, parkour began to heavily spread throughout Europe with films such as Jump Britain and Jump London to help spread the movement. Eventually parkour found it’s way to the United States.
The growth of parkour in the US started with a few traceurs (parkour practitioners) around the country. The first real parkour organization in the US was started in 2004 called American Parkour. Through the media, word of mouth, and the internet, parkour has rapidly spread through the US so much now that communities and gyms are sprouting up all over the country. Some other gyms include Tempest Freerunning Academy, Apex Movement, and Parkour Visions. Parkour continues to grow and become a more popular and organized discipline worldwide.
Freerunning teaches values and principles that are held in high regard: from perseverance to work ethic, or indomitable spirit to creativity. Above all, it shows one the keys to true freedom. Freerunning takes the human body and pushes it to accomplish the seemingly impossible; teaching life lessons in goal setting, vision, and accomplishment.
