This board is basically to help those in the UE community to get into PK if they've been interested or to connect with others if they are already active in PK.
So feel free to ask questions, write about pk, post info about an upcoming jam or gym session.
Ill try to keep this board filled w/ info.

I think ill start copying some article written around the net that I like and deem helpful. also, im gonna start compiling a list of up and coming jams, so let me know if you know of any.
i know of the midatlantic jam on memorial day weekend. dont know how people are gonna deal with that and HFStival being at the same time....

im a traceur too, a year and half into it... dude just tell em to go to www.urbanfreeflow.com, duhhhhhh....

Posted by rollerkid90 im a traceur too, a year and half into it... dude just tell em to go to www.urbanfreeflow.com, duhhhhhh....

That could be a joke, but if not...

Alot of people have problems w/ urban freeflow. how they handle things, and how the community interacts.

The best community i know of is www.AmericanParkour.com

What's the difference between parkour and urban free flow?

Posted by Lorvin What's the difference between parkour and urban free flow?

urban free flow is just the name of the website, they actually do parkour/freerunning too.One difference between the americanparkour team(Tribe) and the urban freeflow team(Seidojin), is that Seidojin focuses alot on acrobatics and flips that are not "really" parkour. A common saying on APK is "flips are not parkour!" hope that made sense.
but, both americanparkour and urbanfreeflow are great sites that will help guide you to understand what parkour is, and how to go about learning it and practicing it safely.

Thats one thing I never really understood about Parkour is the infighting between more puritanical Parkour and more of the acrobatic style.

From what I've read/seen, its like arguing the difference between freestyle street skateboarding and just traveling on a skateboard. They both accomplish the same thing, just one has different stuff in between.
"True" Parkour is going from one place to another, the more Acrobatic Parkour is going from one place to another, but doing a few flips and such along the way.

Posted by res_novae Thats one thing I never really understood about Parkour is the infighting between more puritanical Parkour and more of the acrobatic style.

Are you confusing the "infighting" between the styles with that between some of the most vocal groups on either side?

There is "infighting" regarding UF not as much for the style but for some of the personalities at the helm and the tactics used as an organization. That they also have as a mission to promote a different style doesn't help much, of course.

Outside of that issue I do not see as much "infighting" as many think along these lines, it is simply a desire on the part of those who truly love Parkour for what it is to defend that definition. The media is not one for nuance so to properly promote and get the message behind Parkour out, it is sadly necessary to keep some definition to the terms. I agree too much time gets wasted on this debate but that is one reason it continues to rage on.

Puritan or not, the reason a lot of people dislike some types of "flare" or "style" motions is it creates a culture based around "moves" or "tricks" that runs counter to Parkour itself ... and some of these kinds of motions go even further and create counter-productive, backward, or inefficient motion that doesn't let the traceur progress as intended. I think that's a fair criticism -- some people's samplers feature incredible Parkour flow that is then totally interrupted and broken by a meaningless flip -- but on the other hand I do know some people just want to move around in whatever way they want.

To paraphrase David Belle (as 'puritan' as Parkour gets) ... "That's a flip, I do them and I like them, it isn't Parkour but I'll still do them". How better to sum it up then that?

Peace, however you choose to move ...

T.

Makes sense, helps to have someone more knowledgable of the facts than I explain it.

Explaining to yourself tends to cause chaos and confusion.

There's a similar parallel in the martial art of Capoeira. There are two styles of Capoeira Angola and Regional. Angola is more practical, lower to the ground with more emphasis on sneakiness and combat. Regional is the more "showy" version of capoeira and involves faster, looser play with more acrobatics, flips, etc.

Some schools do only one or the other, but most do a mix of the two, some favouring one over the other. I see the split in parkour much the same. They're both parkour, but they're different kinds of parkour.

Then again I'm a novice at both capoeira and parkour so who am I to say?

Parkour is Parkour, plain and simple, movement from point A to point B in the most efficent way, therefore, no flips, tricks or anything that adds flare, if you wish to do so in your routine, you are now free running, not so much parkour.

Posted by Verbal Parkour is Parkour, plain and simple, movement from point A to point B in the most efficent way, therefore, no flips, tricks or anything that adds flare, if you wish to do so in your routine, you are now free running, not so much parkour.

exactly most people think parkour is doing tricks and stuff. here are some quick definitions.

Parkour: The uninhibited flow of forward motion through urban environments.

Free-running: Same as parkour only with no actual destination.

Tricking: (What most people think parkour is) Backflips, stalls (Breaking) and the like.