The parkour skill “lache” is a terrifying move for most beginners and for good reason. When done incorrectly this skill can send the practitioner flying off the bar leaving them helpless to fall flat on their back. Even experienced practitioners can find getting a controlled lache to be difficult but there are a few ways to get more power and control without putting yourself in overly dangerous situations. Getting a controlled swing off bars will be more beneficial then trying to put massive amounts of power into a skill before a practitioner is ready. Limit yourself to a single swing at first and see what kind of distance you can get focusing on kicking the feet as you swing forward. At this point it’s important to play with the timing of the kick and the release off the bar. If you wait too late all the power will be directed upwards with almost no forward momentum to carry you past the point you started. Transversely if you initiate the kick too early, or release too early, you will be thrown strait into the ground. Finding the sweet spot for your timing will be the best thing you can do to improve your lache so don’t overlook this step when trying to master the lache. After finding your preferred release point off of the bar, start working on your “up-start” to add more energy to your single swing to lache. There are two main reasons I teach stundents to use the “up-start” instead of consecutive swings to add energy to a lache. First off, the longer you hang on the bar the more likely you are to slip off due to your hands getting tired or sweaty. Secondly, extra momentum can throw you’re timing off when learning new skills. All this just puts you at a greater risk for injury so initially just keep it at one swing until you start to master the lache. Lastly be smart when training higher level bar skills. Even just hanging on a bar, you posses the ability to fall and get hurt so warm up properly and do your progressions.
