"What Parkour Is


Parkour is the art of moving through your environment using only your body and the surroundings to propel yourself. It can include running, jumping, climbing, even crawling, if that is the most suitable movement for the situation. Parkour could be grasped by imagining a race through an obstacle course, the goal is to overcome obstacles quickly and efficiently, without using extraneous movement. Apply this line of thought to an urban environment, or even a run through the woods, and you're on the right path. Because individual movements could vary so greatly by the situation, it is better to consider Parkour as defined by the intention instead of the movements themselves. If the intention is to get somewhere using the most effective movements with the least loss of momentum, then it could probably be considered Parkour.

What Parkour is Not


Parkour is not acrobatics, tricking, stunts, recklessness, or jumping off high objects for no reason. It is not any movement or activity that doesn't fit in the above description "What Parkour Is". It is also not "What you make of it" ... it is predefined and has a purpose, if something doesn't suit that purpose, it is not Parkour."-Written by M2 of APK and Tribe

The following is what i consider to be the most important part of parkour.

"Parkour Philosophy


Many people take the principles they learn through parkour and apply them to their lives, the art of navigating obstacles efficiently. By challenging themselves physically, it becomes easier to deal with everyday life situations. When an "obstacle" or difficult situation comes up in daily life, a Traceur (parkour practitioner) can see this as any other obstacle which they've learned to overcome quickly, efficiently, and without disruption to their intended path."-M2

We are still allowed to talk about tricking though, right? (ala club 540 style?)
This board should be fun if it takes off.

sure, im not gonna stop ya, just try not to call it parkour.
and yea, i hope this board gets goin.
maybe some UE/Parkour pics would pique someones interest.

I was reading something once by a Traceur that Parkour is basically knowing where you are, picking a destination, and drawing a straight line between you and the destination, and following it. You just clear any obstacles in your way.

Posted by res_novae I was reading something once by a Traceur that Parkour is basically knowing where you are, picking a destination, and drawing a straight line between you and the destination, and following it. You just clear any obstacles in your way.

My only problem with that definition, is that when you're out "doing parkour" you are really just training. It becomes parkour to me when it is in use. If you're trying to get away from someone, then you may not have any destination other than "away." But this does work in other situations such as trying to get somewhere quickly or use parkour to reach an area you normally couldnt.

after saying all that and sounding like a prick, i say "do parkour" when i mean train. And the A-B definition is one of the easiest to explain to people.

im going to the Y with some friends tonight to do some tricking/free-running because it's too snowy/slippery outside to parkour

To bad you never came and to bad we got kicked out in like two minutes because of safety reasons.

Posted by T-mac To bad you never came and to bad we got kicked out in like two minutes because of safety reasons.

too bad i tried phoning you and you didn't phone me!

*blushes* oh yeah

I've been a Traceur/Free-Runner for a few years now, and for some reason, every time someone calls parkour an "art" it bothers me. Art implies that you are in some part doing these movements for the sake of aesthetics. Parkour, by it's common definition is done solely for the sake of efficiency, which completely negates the idea of the aesthetic qualities. It occurs to me that parkour is more a sport than an art. You prepare for it like a sport, you set a common goal (A-B, as opposed to a unique, or undefined goal) like a sport, it is commonly practiced in groups/crews/teams like a sport. Parkour is a sport, no matter what you want to call it. You don't have to agree with me, I'm just calling it as I see it.

i agree that it is more sport than art but it does have it's artistic purposes..well not so much parkour but free-running/tricking is slightly more artistic than parkour. parkour is all about efficiency.

Ok, are PK and free running the same thing? I watched a doc on the Discovery Channel a few years back and it had this French guy talking about how he and a couple of friends invented it. He was also being snobbish and trying to say that he didn't want free running to become all commercialised(bear in mind I watched this on a cable documentary, that also covered a couple of product commercials he was in!)I dunno. Hey, am I too old to get into free running? I'm 31 years old and I run about 20 miles a week.

Posted by azuro1125 Ok, are PK and free running the same thing? I watched a doc on the Discovery Channel a few years back and it had this French guy talking about how he and a couple of friends invented it. He was also being snobbish and trying to say that he didn't want free running to become all commercialised(bear in mind I watched this on a cable documentary, that also covered a couple of product commercials he was in!)I dunno. Hey, am I too old to get into free running? I'm 31 years old and I run about 20 miles a week.

Essentially, yes. Some purists say that parkour is more of a point a to point b / efficiency of movement art, while freerunning allows for more show, flair, and tricking. But practice for either of them looks pretty similar.

If it was David Belle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belle) then yeah... he's amazing, and essentially did invent it. I don't really care about the commercialization debate. I figure its inevitable, so why argue about it. But some people (urban free flow vs the world) get into huge arguments about it.

I don't think anyone is ever too old to get into free running, because it scales with the runner. Parkour can be anything from a few vaults and gap jumps, to buildering gymnastics. Just know your limits and stay (almost) within them so as not to f*ck your knees, ankles, or anything.

Also, watch Banlieue 13, and both of the les fils du vent videos. BBC also did two documentaries on the subject (Jump London and Jump England) that are pretty enjoyable and help keep the motivation up.