Turn vault in parkour: cross an obstacle with a 180° turn and land facing it. Progression from the bench, built up safely, with mistakes and safety check.
In the turn vault you cross an obstacle with a 180° turn and arrive on the other side facing the obstacle in support or hang. Speed is low, control is high. In the FIG rules it has a base value of 0.7, on par with the kong vault [1] — although that number is a scoring weight in competition, not a learning difficulty.
The honest answer on difficulty: the turn vault is a beginner move built on the safety vault, but the turn makes you blind to the landing area. The most common causes of parkour injuries in US emergency departments were landings and striking objects [2]. After the turn vault you stand directly in front of the obstacle — exactly where shins and knees land.
On top of that, as far as I found, no study has measured the turn vault itself. What is documented is the basic principle of every parkour landing: land softly, on the forefoot, with knee bend. In measurements, traceurs roughly doubled landing duration compared with untrained people and passed about half of the energy through the knee [3]. Longer means softer here.
Until the basic form is solid on a low bench you often need a few weeks. That is an experience value, not a study figure.
A practical reason for the order: in the safety vault your gaze stays on the obstacle, in the turn vault it travels in an arc over the shoulder. That gaze guidance decides whether you see the landing area before the feet touch down. That is practical knowledge, not a study — but it explains why the turn is practised on the ground first, then at the bench.
After each stage take a short break and check in: wrists, shoulders, knees. If something pulls, stay on the stage. This is a practice standard.
Three sets of 5 repetitions on a low bench. Support and landing must be calm before you turn.
Milestone: 10 clean safety vaults per side.
Stand beside the bench, hand on the edge, and make a 180° hip swing without jumping. The body turns over the support hand and the landing lies on the other side.
Milestone: 10 repetitions, feet land quietly and together.
Same movement, but completely over the bench. Look over your shoulder at the landing area.
Milestone: 10 times without hip or knee contact with the obstacle.
Two steps, plant the hand, turn, land. Facing the obstacle, you arrive in a calm squat.
Milestone: 8 out of 10 tries with a quiet landing.
Only when both sides are clean do you increase the height in steps of about 10 cm.
Milestone: 10 clean passes per side per height level.
Practise the turn on a line on the floor first, without an obstacle. Draw a line and rotate 180° in the air so that you land exactly on it. This is a practice trick without study evidence, but it separates rotation from obstacle and lowers risk while learning.
A turn vault is a parkour vault in which you cross the obstacle with a 180° turn and arrive on the other side facing the obstacle in support or hang. In the FIG rules it has a base value of 0.7 [1].
Yes, because the turn is added to the support movement and your view of the landing is briefly missing. That is why the safety vault is the prerequisite. Practise both on a low obstacle.
If the safety vault is solid, many people need a few weeks for the basic form on a low obstacle. That is an experience value, not a study figure.
Start at knee height and increase in small steps up to hip height at most while you train without a coach. Higher obstacles belong only with a coach and a soft landing mat. That is a practice standard without study evidence.
At the support hand on take-off, then early over the shoulder to the landing area. Anyone who sees the area only when the feet are already on their way can no longer correct. This is a practice standard without study evidence.
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