Reverse vault in parkour: a backward turn over the obstacle and a safe landing. Progression, landing-area check and an honest look at the evidence.
In the reverse vault you turn backward while crossing, so that you briefly show your back to the obstacle. It builds on the speed vault and the lazy vault. In the FIG rules it has a base value of 0.8, as high as the dash vault and clearly above the speed vault at 0.2 [1]. Parkour UK lists "Reverse" in the vault list of its beginner syllabus [2] — we still classify it as an intermediate move because it demands two prerequisites.
The honest answer on risk: the reverse vault is risky because you briefly cannot see the landing area. In a Spanish survey of 161 traceurs "Reverso" appeared in 1 of 207 reported injuries (0.5 %) [3]. Careful: those are shares of injuries, not rates per execution. Someone who rarely does the move rarely shows up in the statistics.
Why landing area and obstacle matter so much: the main causes of parkour injuries in US emergency departments were landings and striking objects [4]. With your back to the obstacle you lose orientation exactly where both meet.
I did not find a biomechanics study of the reverse vault itself. What is documented is the foundation: parkour precision landings cut peak landing force by 38 % compared with a traditional landing [5]. Until the reverse vault feels solid on a low bench, expect several weeks. That is an experience value.
Why the reverse is popular in parkour: it turns a line into a change of direction. In the FIG flow category a sudden change of direction is scored as a small disruption ("Big Steps or Sudden Direction Change") [1] — but a cleanly integrated reverse vault can build the change smoothly into the line. That is no statement about learning value but about style: the turn makes sense when it improves the line.
Look actively at the landing area before every pass. If you cannot check it, you do not jump. This is a practice standard.
Stand in front of the bench, hand on the edge, and turn 180° over the support hand from standing without jumping.
Milestone: 10 repetitions per side, feet land calmly.
10 lazy vaults in a row on the same bench. You need confidence in leg guidance before you turn.
Milestone: 10 clean lazy vaults.
Walk up to the bench, plant the hand, turn over the bench and land with your back toward the approach direction. Head and shoulder look early toward the landing.
Milestone: 10 passes at walking pace, landing area checked beforehand.
Same movement at an easy tempo. Tell yourself "area clear" before you leave the ground.
Milestone: 8 out of 10 tries with a quiet landing.
Repeat on the other side; only then raise the obstacle in steps of about 10 cm.
Milestone: 10 clean passes per side per height level.
Turn the head before the body: eyes to the landing area before the hips follow. This is a practice trick without study evidence, but it shortens the time you are blind.
A reverse vault is a vault with a backward turn over the obstacle in which you briefly show your back to the obstacle. In the FIG rules it has a base value of 0.8 [1].
Rather for intermediate practitioners: Parkour UK lists it in its beginner syllabus [2], but we recommend the speed and lazy vault first. Begin on a low bench.
Figures specifically for the reverse vault are scarce; in one survey it was named in 1 of 207 injuries [3]. The biggest risk is the blind landing. Check the area beforehand.
With solid prerequisites many people need a few weeks. That is an experience value, not a study figure.
These are variations that combine the reverse vault with the speed vault or lazy vault. Learn the basic form on a low bench first, then the variations. This is a practice standard without study evidence.
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