What is Renaissance Movement?
Adaptive Environmental Training
AEF (formerly PKFit) is the backbone of our program. Whether you just want to get in shape and gain functional fitness, are a newcomer to the parkour scene and want to jump in, or are a parkour athlete looking to increase your abilities and understanding of you body, AEF is where you will begin. Teaching control, coordination, fluid movement, strength, and speed AEF hones your ability to adapt to your environment in your pursuit of health and strength.
AEF has been developed with the help of high level fitness trainers, sport scientists, experienced traceurs, and thousands of scholarly research publications in order to bring the best training practices to our clients – while still maintaining the original spirit of parkour. Community, challenge, creativity, and self discipline.
For more information visit our AEF page, or email us at info@renmove.com
Parkour/Freerunning
To quote Laurent Piemontesi – one of the French founders of the parkour (l’art du deplacement) movement:
First of all I give value to people… on their quality and their aptitude to do things good. For themselves and if they can, one day, for others. It is not physical strength – It is mental strength. Determination. I give value to this because I believe that everyone is able to challenge himself or herself. L’art du déplacement is a way to make visible the most beautiful part of people. L’art du déplacement becomes a strong educative tool. A serious game, a medicine for the soul, a form of rebellion… a Hope… A form of expression. This is a part of what i call “Esprit Yamak”, the original spirit. And there doesn’t exist any certification who can give it.
Parkour is a physical and mental discipline which teaches health, fitness, strength of mind and body, courage, community, and creativity through interaction with the environment and found obstacles.
But what does that actually mean? The media and YouTube tend to glamorize Parkour as a stunt sport done by daredevil adrenaline junkies who have no fear jumping off of rooftops, or by urban spider-men who are unnaturally physically talented – the truth is far from it. The physical abilities that one sees in such videos is a byproduct of hard training, facing and overcoming fears, moving forward little by little, and, yes, quite a bit of fun as well. These qualities – as well as others – are the defining characteristics of a traceur or traceuse (men and women who practice Parkour). Training begins, and mostly occurs, at ground level – slowly working to enhance each individuals physical talents and abilities. No movement – no matter how small – is attempted until the individual has enough experience to perform it properly, the fundamental conditioning necessary has been achieved, the underlying techniques have been mastered, and the individual is ready for it. Injuries are, in fact, quite rare. Parkour is a way of looking at life, thinking outside of the box, and training for mental, emotional, and physical strength while having fun, making friends, and staying fit and active!
While we do teach creative movement, we don’t teach tricks. Because of the influence of popular media on the parkour culture we are often asked why we don’t teach flips and tricks. For a more in-depth discussion on this question please visit A Call To Arms. For individuals interested in gymnastics we recommend taking a tumbling or gymnastics class.
RenMove Team Members
Sean Keil
Sean is a Co-Founder of, and Lead Instructor for, Renaissance Movement. Sean has been practicing Parkour since he first heard of it when he was 12 and has trained with top Parkour practitioners and instructors from throughout the world, as well as some of the founders of Parkour. Sean came to Parkour from a dance background, and has danced with companies and artists from Ballet West to Chuck Davis. He has taught Parkour in back alleys and parks, as well as at respected gyms and as accredited college courses. While Parkour is a fun discipline to practice, Sean fell in love with it for the philosophy that accompanies the movement as much as for any other reason. Parkour challenges you to face your fears, to dig deep, and to find the strength to never give up. He believes that anyone can benefit by the personal strength and growth which comes from incorporating Parkour into his or her life.
Natalie Keil
Natalie is a Co-Founder of, and Lead Instructor with, Renaissance Movement Parkour and has been training for three years. She plans on becoming level 1 ADAPT certified within the next year. Natalie’s love for parkour grew out of her enthusiasm for non-competitive activities that make you think outside the box. Some of her favorite things to train in parkour include flow work and creative movement. Natalie has worked with Parkour Generations as well as Laurent Piemontesi, Chau Belle, and other A.D.D. instructors of the Yamakasi and plans on training yet again with Laurent Piemontesi this year.
Sean "Sheep" Oliviera
Sean is a Lead Instructor with RenMove. Sean's interest in parkour was originally sparked by video games and Youtube clips. Through contacts between friends of friends he joined Defy Parkour in Utah at age 21 and very quickly found himself entranced by the concepts of control, adaptability, discipline and humility. He enjoys training hard and pushing limits just as much as messing around and playing games. With a knack for picking apart movements and looking at their constituent pieces, he is always happy to provide advice, suggestions, or just another way of looking at the technique. Other hobbies of his include video games, reading, writing rap, longboarding, biking, and just generally having a good time.
Eric Palmer
Eric is an assistant instructor who has been with RenMove for quite some time. Eric has always been into slightly more extreme sports - from paintball, to mountain biking, to snowboarding. He met Sean - who introduced him to parkour - while teaching rock climbing in Houston. Even though he has only been learning parkour for a couple years he has taken advantage of anything he can learn. He plans to continue to study parkour for many, many years. Eric hopes to be able to pass on what he has gained to any and all who want to learn about the enjoyment that comes from parkour.
Media
Kip Keil
Kip is our photographer and videographer. While not active as a traceur, Kip engaged in many Parkour-like activities as a youth, from walking on the top of K-rails rather than the sidewalk below, to crossing over, under, or through various kinds of fences and walls, and taking alternate routes over bridges. More to the point, Kip learned photographic seeing at the age of 18, and has never stopped. An award-winning photographer, he has been published on three continents. Kip declined to use digital equipment until it approached the quality of continuous-tone (film) photography. To that end, he employs a 24-megapixel Nikon. That aside, Kip says he never has enough equipment, yet the equipment he has rarely prevents him from doing his job. Look for Kip at our classes, jams, and other events. He'll be on the sideline...or in the middle. Whatever it takes to get the shot.
