Parkour is a physical activity that demands athletes to navigate obstacles from one location to another. There are various ways to get through a course, including sprinting, climbing, and swinging, but vaulting is one of the most popular. The Dash Vault is a vault used in parkour and freerunning. The practitioner vaults over an obstacle, and Because of the difficulties in transferring momentum, this is regarded as more difficult to accomplish. No matter how difficult it is, you can learn it here with this guide.
Step One: Brace Your Body and Mind
Like the other parkour tricks, performing a dash vault takes high coordination and body strength. To execute the L-position, you must have a basic foundation of core body strength, which is crucial for this dash.
To achieve this, practice L-sits, leg lifts, butt scoots, and knee raises that can build up your core body strength. The L-sit, in particular, will aid in the development of the body strength required to retain the L-shape of a dash vault successfully.
Flexibility plays a major role in performing a dash vault. At the same time, you should work on your body strength and power. This is a must in tricking and recommended in freerunning and parkour. It is useful but not mandatory.
Flexibility should be prioritized and present because you will jump over an obstacle and must be able to get both legs out in front of you.
Try doing some basic yoga, pilates, or attending a dancing class to improve flexibility. Also, stretching for 10 to 15 minutes every morning and evening is recommended and can do the trick.
If you want to know more about increasing your stamina for parkour, here is a detailed article I wrote that will certainly help you.
Step Two: Choose a Safe Practice Area
You will be making quite a tricky move; hence, you should practice in a safe area. As much as possible, you should also have a medical kit in handy if you fall.
When performing the dash vault, you will need enough space to run to give you momentum.
Also, it would be best to look for an obstacle that is right for your height. Having someone watch or train with you will also avoid major accidents while you train.
Step Three: Run Towards The Obstacle And Jump Over
When your body and mind have been conditioned, and you have found the perfect practice spot, it is time to start running and make the vault.
Approach the obstacle straight on and perpendicularly. Make sure you keep your speed up so you can clear the obstacle without difficulty.
A dash vault is distinguished by its ability to skim over the top of an obstacle rather than the up-and-over style of other vaults.
For example, you won’t require much speed if it’s a thin wall. If the surface is thicker, you will need to move quickly to clear it.
Step Four: Jump Over the Obstacle, Kick Your Legs Forward
As you approach the obstacle, get ready to jump over it. Do not fear since this might limit how you can leap effectively.
The trick is to raise one leg before quickly raising the other. This leg movement creates the illusion of both legs rising simultaneously.
It’s critical, to begin with, your dominant leg or the one with which you’re most comfortable.
Consider how an athlete clears a hurdle; bend your dominant leg slightly at the knee in a similar manner.
When you kick this leg forward, your other leg will follow suit, and you can also bring it forward. When jumping, make sure you’re leaning back. If you don’t, your chest will prevent you from raising your leg high enough to clear the obstacle.
Step Five: Place Your Hands Behind Your Back
Before putting your hands on the edge of the object you’re vaulting, wait until your back has cleared the obstacle.
Your arms will be behind you regardless of whether you started your jump feet-first. Push yourself off and continue running.
Maintain your speed and continue past the obstacle. Actively push the impediment away from you, stretching your arms behind you and pushing the rest of your body forward.
Step Six: Land On The Other Side
After jumping over the obstacle with your hands far stretched behind to move you across the obstacle, land one foot first, then the other, so you can immediately resume your run.
Make sure to land your feet flat on the ground to remain stable and easily maneuver your movement as you go along.
Step Seven: Familiarize The Variations of Dash Vault That You Can Do
The Dash vault is a quick and effective vault that we can utilize to get over obstacles and keep our speed up while running. This vault is also noted for its distinct appearance and manner when it is done.
Like other parkour moves, dash vault has variations, which will be hard. Knowing them one by one can help you decide what dash vault variations you can perform at your current status and pace.
The first is Dash Precision. To start, do a precision door to create distance. Dash vaults were not as good as kong vaults for gaining distance, but you can use them to create a cool move and clear distance into a precision or cat leap.
When going for distance, the most important thing is to ensure that you have a lot of speed heading into it and not interrupt your momentum.
The Dash X-Out starts by doing a basic vault once again. However, this time, kick your legs as high as you can, nearly like a pike, but then spread them out like a flask kick.
The more your flexibility, the more you can stretch your legs apart while keeping your leg straight.
Next is the Dash 180 vault. As soon as you get into the dash vault and pick your hips up after the push from your hands, twist your hips, lead this rotation with your hips, and execute that 180 shift. Once you master this, you can even turn it into a dash vault turn vault.
You can also try the dash turn vault, but doing this is a bit scarier because you’ll commit to the wall.
Make sure you don’t have too much speed so you can stay close to the handrail.
As you cross your legs over the wall and complete the 180° with your hips, immediately send your feet back to where you started and reach with your hands to grab the rail as quickly as possible.
The next variation you should know is Dash 360. You may use one hand to push and throw a little extra spin in a dash vault 360.
Make sure you get a good push from dash vaulting so you can get some extra airtime. It’s just a matter of driving that spin together, wrapping it around your body, and directing your feet and hips to get that spin around after you’ve started spinning.
On the other hand, the kash vault combines the kong vault and the dash vault.
You’ll tuck your feet in and begin leaning back, then wait for the ideal moment to set your hands down, push off, and safely land.
At the same time, you can also do a double dash. On the first dash, raise your feet halfway rather than all the way so that on the second dash, you may kick your feet up a little higher to attempt to maintain your hips up and eventually push off.
The difficult part here is that, once you’ve completed the first push, if your feet are up, they’ll begin to drop on the second push, and you won’t be able to complete the second push.
Then, we have the dash dive roll. To do this, keep your hips low to the object and kick your feet up. This variation is an advanced dash vault technique that may be dangerous if performed incorrectly.
As soon as you lay your hand on the object, push your hips up and tuck your feet in, then do a good kick with them and push off with your hands.
You’re going to make this whole motion as quickly and powerfully as you can, snapping into a rotation as quickly as possible.
From there, stay tucked until you come around towards your head, then open up to lead with your hands into the diving roll.
Lastly is the Dash Bomb. If you can do a decent dash to dive roll, then you should be able to dash the bomb from a decent height.
You’re going to perform a sprint to dive roll on flat ground since you have that extra drop, then tuck into a front flip and whip it around as fast as you can so that you can do a full flip around and land on your feet with the extra falling time you have.
Step Eight: Repeat The Process and Be A Pro
As I have said, in parkour, the dash vault is one of the most difficult moves and should be practiced gradually. It will become second nature once you’ve done it a few times.
It will help if you practice with progression steps if you find teh dash vault hard at one go. For instance, sprint up to the obstacle and leap over it. Then take a seat and lay your hands near the edge.
Kick your legs forward once you’re in this position. Repeat this process until you are comfortable with each stage. You can also start with a sluggish vault and work your way up to straightening your legs.
In addition, the mental part is the last thing you need to master before you can dash vault. You must have faith in your capacity to overcome the hurdle properly. To accomplish so, divide the dash vault into steps and work your way through them methodically.
So, repeat the steps and don’t feel discouraged if you cannot get it for the first time; continue practicing until you can perfect a dash vault and execute it like a pro.
Some Tips and Warnings in Doing A Dash Vault
The jump, the technique with the legs while in the air, hand positioning, and keeping your speed throughout your landing are all important considerations when doing this parkour vault.
One of the main reasons people struggle with the dash vault is that they lack core strength and flexibility. So, if you’re having difficulties with this exercise or don’t feel very confident with it, you may need more core training and some of these tips.
In parkour, having confidence is important. Don’t do it if you are not comfortable. You’ll fall if you assume you’re going to fall.
Do not be afraid. The most important part is to practice leaping around with your legs up and be comfortable as you do it.
Choose a hurdle that is not too difficult for a start. Be careful when choosing the obstacle you want to start practicing. Tables and other long impediments aren’t risky because you’ll only sit on them.
Apart from the legs and hands, the primary trick is to jump as if you’re sitting on the obstruction rather than jumping over it and touching it with your hands; hence you need the perfect height to do this.
You’re jumping over the barrier and pushing yourself away with your hands. Choose an obstacle that is the right height for you.
When the obstacle is higher than your belly button yet, you can jump on it from a sprint; that’s the best.
Prepare the things you need. Wear clothing that allows you to move freely and effectively when doing a dash vault. Pair it with Good shock-absorbing footwear.
If you want to jump craggy surfaces, simple cotton fingerless gloves are great for palm protection.
Be Particularly Curious At All Times. Make sure you don’t miss the object with your hands if you travel over a narrow wall or something.
When performing dash vaults on rails, your hands may slip or fail to catch the rail, injuring your tailbone; hence be extremely careful.
Do Not fly too low. Dash vault is a risky move. When you fly too low and accidentally kick the obstacle, there is a high chance of injuring your legs, and then you may also land on your buttocks or back.
Always observe not to catch anything on the rail or wall when vaulting, especially if you are in a high place, because you might fall headfirst towards the ground.
Warm up thoroughly to avoid strains and other injuries. This is a piece of common knowledge in any sport, but some might forget to do this because of the excitement to learn new tricks. Ensure always to include this in your safety list.
If during your training you feel, be knowledgeable on what you have to do and when it is time to rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some questions you may have when learning the tricky dash vault. I hope that you will find the answers you need in this section.
Q: How long should I practice doing a dash vault successfully?
A: Dash vault is considered a difficult move to master; hence it will require more time to do a dash vault successfully. For beginners, some take an average of three months. It will primarily depend on your parkour status, whether a beginner or an expert.
Q: Where should I practice a dash vault?
A: You can practice dash vault in an open area as long as you can find the ideal obstacle you need. You have to look for areas with walls, fences, railings, signs, and buildings where you can vault. At the same time, you also have to consider your safety when you fall. So, I recommend doing it on foam boards or grass lawns.
Q: Do I need a coach to do a dash vault?
A: A coach in parkour is optional, so the answer here is NO. Having a coach is not necessary but will be an advantage to progress faster and train safely. You can learn it by yourself, but there will be repercussions if you do not have someone to watch over you. If you want to know other reasons you may consider getting a coach in doing advanced parkour tricks, I wrote an article that you could access at this link.
Q: Why Do I Have To Learn A Dash Vault?
A: Learning a dash vault is up to you. You can learn it or not whatever you prefer. However, if you want to level up your parkour skills and clear obstacles faster, you should certainly learn a dash vault.
Conclusion
Through this guide, you will now be able to do a dash vault methodically and use it to clear out obstacles in your way efficiently. Dash vault certainly has its risks, but I think the benefits of learning this move outweigh the risks as long as you take caution when you practice. So, get ready and dash in with a dash vault.
