Tricking is an acrobatic movement sport that blends kicks from martial arts, flips and twists from gymnastics, and the flow of breakdance into one continuous, freestyle discipline. If you've seen someone throw a spinning kick into a back handspring into an aerial — that's tricking. It's flashy on purpose, but underneath the showmanship is a serious athletic skill set built on body control, air awareness, and timing.
People mix these up, but they're different sports with different goals. Parkour is about moving efficiently through an environment — vaulting, climbing, and landing to get from A to B. Tricking is about expression and aerial skill in an open space, usually on a spring floor or air track rather than over obstacles. Many of our students do both: parkour builds the strength and fearlessness, and tricking channels it into flips and kicks. (Curious how parkour compares to gymnastics too? We break that down here.)
At Bolt, tricking starts on the ground and builds up — always progressions, never shortcuts. Early on, students drill the fundamentals: cartwheels, round-offs, handstands, and basic kicks, plus the air awareness to land safely. From there they layer in skills like aerials, back handsprings, and spinning kicks on our spring floor and air track, where a soft, forgiving surface makes learning big skills far safer than a hard floor.
Our Tricking classes are built for kids and teens roughly age 10 and up who have the focus and coordination for more advanced aerial work. It's a natural next step for kids who love the flipping side of movement, and a great fit for athletes coming from gymnastics, martial arts, or dance. Younger kids usually start with parkour basics first and move into tricking when they're ready.
In a coached gym, yes. We teach on padded spring floors and an air track, cap classes at an 8:1 ratio, and never rush a student to a skill before the foundation is solid — the same safety-first approach we use across all our programs. Students earn each new skill step by step, with a coach spotting until it's consistent.
The best way to understand tricking is to watch a kid land their first aerial. Bolt Parkour is North Bethesda's only dedicated parkour and tricking gym, serving families across Montgomery County — Rockville, Bethesda, Potomac, and Kensington. View the class schedule or reach out to find the right starting point for your child.
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We'll be closed July 4th for Independence Day, then right back to our regular schedule. Have a safe & happy Fourth!