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Parkour

A traceur performs an équilibre de chat (cat balance).
A traceur performs an équilibre de chat (cat balance).
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement[1] () is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.[2] It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment?from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls?and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.[3]

Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one's body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.

Contents

Overview

A traceur performing a passe muraille.
A traceur performing a passe muraille.
Parkour is allegal physical activity that is difficult to categorize. Often miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport, parkour has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness.[4][5] On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts.[6][7] According to David Belle, "the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it."[8] Thus, when faced with a hostile confrontation with a person, one will be able to speak, fight, or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flight.[7] Because of its unique nature, it is often said that parkour is in its own category.

An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. Practitioners move not only as fast as they can, but also in the most direct and efficient way possible; a characteristic that distinguishes it from the similar practice of free running, which places more emphasis on freedom of movement, such as acrobatics. Efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term, part of why parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last). Those who are skilled at this activity normally have an extremely keen spatial awareness (a.k.a. air sense).

Traceurs say that parkour also influences one's thought process by enhancing self-confidence and critical-thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles.[4][9][10] A study by Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence in France reflects that traceurs seek for more sensation and leadership than gymnastic practitioners.[11]

Terminology

The first terms used to describe this form of training were l'art du déplacement and le parcours.[12]

The term parkour was defined by David Belle and his friend Hubert Koundé. It derives from parcours du combattant, the classic obstacle course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert.[13][14][15]

Traceur and traceuse are substantives derived from the French verb tracer which normally means "to trace",[16] or "to draw", but also translates as "to go fast".[17]

History

Passement
Passement

Hébert's legacy

Before World War I, former French naval officer Georges Hébert traveled throughout the world. During a visit to Africa, he was impressed by the physical development and skills of indigenous tribes that he met:[18]

On May 8, 1902 the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, where he was stationed, suffered a volcanic eruption. Hébert coordinated the escape and rescue of some 700 people. This experience had a profound effect on him, and reinforced his belief that athletic skill must be combined with courage and altruism. He eventually developed this ethos into his motto: "être fort pour être utile" (be strong to be useful).[18]

Inspired by indigenous tribes, Hébert became a physical education tutor at the college of Reims in France. He began to define the principles of his own system of physical education and to create apparatus and exercises to teach his méthode naturelle,[18] which he defined as:

Hébert set up a méthode naturelle session consisting of ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, self-defense, swimming, which are part of three main forces:[19]

  • Energetic or virile sense: energy, willpower, courage, coolness and firmness
  • Moral sense: benevolence, assistance, honor and honesty
  • Physical sense: muscles and breath

During World War I and World War II, Hébert's teaching continued to expand, becoming the standard system of French military education and training. Thus, Hébert was one of the proponents of parcours ? an obstacle course, developed by a Swiss architect,[20] which is standard in the military training and led to the development of civilian fitness trails and confidence courses.[18] Also, French soldiers and firefighters developed their obstacle courses known as parcours du combattant and parcours SP.[21]

Belle family

David Belle, parkour founder, on The New Yorker Festival.
David Belle, parkour founder, on The New Yorker Festival.
Raymond Belle was born in French Indochina (now Vietnam) but his father died during the First Indochina War and Raymond was separated from his mother during the division of Vietnam in 1954. He was taken by the French Army in Da Lat and received a military education and training that shaped his character.[22]

After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Raymond was repatriated to France and completed his military education in 1958. Although trained to kill, he would go on to save lives. At age 19, his dedication to fitness and willingness helped him to serve in Paris's regiment of sapeurs-pompiers (the French fire service).[22]

With his athletic ability, Raymond became the regiment's champion rope-climber and joined the regiment's elite team, composed of the unit's fittest and most agile firefighters. Its members were the ones called for the most difficult and dangerous rescue missions.[22]

Lauded for his coolness, courage, and spirit of self-sacrifice, Raymond was to have a key role in the Parisian firefighters' first ever helicopter-borne operation. His many rescues, medals and exploits gave him a reputation of being an exceptional pompier and inspired the next young generation,[22] especially his son David Belle.[23]

Born in a firefighter's family, David was influenced by stories of heroism. At age 17, David left the school to seek his love of freedom, action, and to develop his strength and dexterity to be useful in life, as Raymond had advised him.[21]

Raymond introduced his son David to obstacle course training and the méthode naturelle. David participated in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics, and sought to apply his athletic prowess for some practical purpose.[21]

Development in Lisses

After moving to Lisses commune, David Belle continued his journey with others.[21] "From then on we developed," says Sébastien Foucan in Jump London, "And really the whole town was there for us; there for parkour. You just have to look, you just have to think, like children." This, as he describes, is "the vision of parkour."

In 1997, David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Yann Hnautra, Charles Perrière, Malik Diouf, Guylain N'Guba-Boyeke, Châu Belle-Dinh, and Williams Belle created the group called Yamakasi,[24] whose name comes from the Lingala language of Congo, and means strong spirit, strong body, strong man, endurance. After the musical show Notre Dame de Paris, Belle and Foucan split up due to money and disagreements over the definition of l'art du déplacement,[23] resulting in the production of Yamakasi (film) in 2001 and the French documentary Génération Yamakasi without Belle and Foucan.

Over the years, as dedicated practitioners improved their skills, their moves grew. Building-to-building jumps and drops of over a story became common in media portrayals, often leaving people with a slanted view of parkour. Actually, ground-based movements are more common than anything involving rooftops, due to accessibility to find legal places to climb in an urban area. From the Parisian suburbs, parkour became a widely practiced activity outside France.

Philosophy

This is a main part of l'art du déplacement that most of the non-practitioners have not seen or heard about, yet according to the founders of the discipline, the Yamakasi, it is an integral part of the art, in the words of Williams Belle:[10]

Another aspect of the philosophy is the freedom. It is often said that parkour can be practiced by anyone, at anytime, anywhere in the world. This freedom has made it a powerful cultural force in Europe, with its influence spreading around the world. Châu Belle Dinh states more behind philosophy than its definition:

A recent convention of parkour philosophy has been the idea of "human reclamation[25]." This theory asserts that parkour is a means of stepping outside of the sedentary modern lifestyle and re-engaging with what it means to be human by moving in the same manner of primordial humans. Andy (Animus) of Parkour North America clarifies:

It is as much as a part of truly learning this activity as well as being able to master the movements, it gives you the ability to "overcome your fears and pains and reapply this to life" as you must be able to control your mind in order to master the art of parkour.

Andreas Kalteis, a non-Yamakasi traceur, has stated in documentary Parkour Journeys:

Non-rivalry

A campaign was started on May 1, 2007 by Parkour.NET portal[26] to preserve parkour's philosophy against sport competition and rivalry.[27] In the words of Erwan (Hebertiste):

Movements

Saut de précision.
Saut de précision.
There are fewer predefined movements in parkour than gymnastics, as it does not have a list of appropriate "moves". Each obstacle a traceur faces presents a unique challenge on how they can overcome it effectively, which depends on their body type, speed and angle of approach, the physical make-up of the obstacle, etc. Parkour is about training the bodymind to react to those obstacles appropriately with a technique that works. Often that technique cannot and need not be classified and given a name. In many cases effective parkour techniques depend on fast redistribution of body weight and the use of momentum to perform seemingly impossible or difficult body manoeuvres at speed. Absorption and redistribution of energy is also an important factor, such as body rolls when landing which reduce impact forces on the legs and spine, allowing a traceur to jump from greater heights than those often considered sensible in other forms of acrobatics and gymnastics.

According to David Belle, you want to move in such a way that will help you gain the most ground as if escaping or chasing something. Also, wherever you go, you must be able to get back, if you go from A to B, you need to be able to get back from B to A,[8] but not necessarily with the same movements or passements.

Despite this, there are many basic techniques that are emphasized to beginners for their versatility and effectiveness. Most important are good jumping and landing techniques. The roll, used to limit impact after a drop and to carry one's momentum onward, is often stressed as the most important technique to learn. Many traceurs develop joint problems from too many large drops and rolling incorrectly. Parkour has sometimes received concerns for its health issues due to large drops.[28][29][30] Communities in Great Britain have been warned by law enforcement or fire and rescue of the risk in jumping in the high buildings.[31][32] Although David Belle has never been seriously injured while practising parkour,[33] there is no careful study about the health issues of large drops and traceurs stress gradual progression to avoid any problems. Despite this, the American traceur Mark Toorock and Lanier Johnson, executive director of the American Sports Medicine Institute say that injuries are rare because parkour is based on the control of movements not on what cannot be controlled.[34]

Basic movements

Some movements defined in parkour are:[2]

Synonym Description
French English
Atterrissage or réception Landing Bending the knees when toes make contact with ground (never land flat footed; always land on toes and ball of your foot).
Équilibre Balance Walking along the crest of an obstacle; literally "balance."
Équilibre de chat Cat balance Quadrupedal movement along the crest of an obstacle.
Franchissement Underbar Jumping or swinging through a gap between obstacles; literally "to cross" or "to break through."
Lâché Lache Hanging drop; lâcher literally meaning "to let go." To hang or swing (on a bar, on a wall, on a branch) and let go, dropping to the ground or to hang from another object. This can refer to almost all hanging/swinging type movements.
Passe muraille Pop vault, wall hop, Wallpass Overcoming a tall structure, usually by use of a step off the wall to transform forward momentum into upward momentum, then using the arms to climb onto and over the object.
Dyno This movement comes from climbing terminology, and encompasses leaping from a position similar to an armjump, then grabbing an obstacle usually higher than the initial starting place, often used for an overhang. This movement is used when a more simple movement is not possible.
Passement Vault , Pass To move over an object with one's hand(s) on an object to ease the movement.
Demitour Turn vault, Turn Down A vault or dropping movement involving a 180° turn; literally "half turn." This move is often used to place yourself hanging from an object in order to shorten a drop or prepare for a jump.
Passement Speed pass To overcome an obstacle by jumping side-ways first, then placing one hand on the obstacle to self-right your body and continue running.
Thief pass To overcome an obstacle by using a one-handed vault, then using the other hand at the end of the vault to push oneself forwards in order to finish the move.
Saut de chat Cat pass/jump, (king) kong vault The saut de chat involves diving forward over an obstacle so that the body becomes horizontal, pushing off with the hands and tucking the legs, such that the body is brought back to a vertical position, ready to land.
Dash vault This vault involves using the hands to move oneself forwards at the end of the vault. One uses both hands to overcome an obstacle by jumping feet first over the obstacle and pushing off with the hands at the end. Visually, this might seem similar to the saut de chat, but reversed. David Belle has officially rebuked this vault however, and thus its inclusion as a parkour movement is debatable.
Reverse vault A vault involving a 360° rotation such that the traceur's back faces forward as they pass the obstacle. The purpose of the rotation is ease of technique in the case of otherwise awkward body position or loss of momentum prior to the vault.
Planche Muscle-up or climb-up To get from a hanging position (wall, rail, branch, arm jump, etc) into a position where your upper body is above the obstacle, supported by the arms. This then allows for you to climb up onto the obstacle and continue.
Roulade Roll A forward roll where the hands, arms and diagonal of the back contact the ground, often called breakfall. Used primarily to transfer the momentum/energy from jumps and to minimise impact preventing a painful landing. Identical to the basic Kaiten or Ukemi of martial arts such as Judo, Ninjutsu, Jujitsu, and Aikido.
Saut de bras Arm jump, cat leap To land on the side of an obstacle in a hanging/crouched position, the hands gripping the top edge, holding the body, ready to perform a muscle up.
Saut de fond Drop Literally 'jump to the ground' / 'jump to the floor'. To jump down, or drop down from something.
Saut de détente Gap jump To jump from one place/object to another, over a gap/distance. This technique is most often followed with a roll.
Saut de précision Precision Static or moving jump from one object to a precise spot on another object. This term can refer to any form of jumping however.
Tic tac Tic tac To step off a wall in order to overcome another obstacle or gain height to grab something.

It is notable how certain French terms will be used undiluted, commonly 'Lache' or 'Passe Muraille' and some will be used in English, usually with simple names such as 'Catpass' and 'Precision'. It is important to remember that movements are not single 'tricks' in Parkour, more that technique names are categories to place movement types into, much like how martial arts use different kicking techniques, yet they are all still kicks.

Training places

Unlike many other activities parkour is not currently practiced in dedicated public facilities (e.g. skateparks), although efforts are being made to create places for it.[35] Traceurs practice parkour in urban areas like gym, parks, playgrounds and abandoned structures, and concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property,[36] and the practice in inappropriate places.[37]

There is also the concern that practitioners are needlessly risking damage to both themselves and rooftops by practicing at height, with police forces calling for practitioners to stay off the rooftops.[38][39] Figures within the parkour community, including parkour instructors and David Belle, agree that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.[38][40][41][42]

These issues, however, do not appear to apply to the majority of practitioners whose relationship with authorities is generally a positive one.[43]

Accessories

There is no equipment required, although practitioners normally train wearing light casual clothing:[44][45]

The only gear really required is comfortable athletic shoes that are generally light, with good grip. Some traceurs use sweat-bands for forearm protection, or even thin athletic gloves to protect the hands, but most traceurs advise against this as it reduces grip and feel.

However, since parkour is closely related to méthode naturelle, sometimes practitioners train barefooted to be able to move efficiently without depending on their gear. David Belle has said: "bare feet are the best shoes!"[46]

Free running

Another saut de bras.
Another saut de bras.
The term free running was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, free running and parkour are separate, distinct concepts?a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline comprises efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement?and often includes many acrobatic maneuvers. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different.[47] Foucan defines free running as a discipline to self development, following your own way.[48] While traceurs and traceuses practice parkour in order to improve their ability to overcome obstacles faster and in the most efficient manner, free runners practice and employ a broader array of movements that are not always necessary in order to overcome obstacles. The meaning of the different philosophical approaches to movement can be summed up by the following two quotes:

David Belle or PAWA team, or both emphasized the division between parkour and free running by stating:

When questions are raised between the differences of parkour and free running, however, the Yamakasi group deny the differences and say: "parkour, l'art du deplacement, freerunning, the art of movement... they are all the same thing. They are all movement and they all came from the same place, the same nine guys originally. The only thing that differs is each individual's way of moving". Thus leading to what they view as separation of parkour community or wasting energy debating the differences when one should follow his/her own way and find why practice.[49]

Popular culture

A traceuse vaults an obstacle.
A traceuse vaults an obstacle.

Parkour has appeared in various television advertisements, news reports and entertainment pieces, often combined with other forms of acrobatics also called free running, street stunts and tricking.

The most notable appearances have been in narrative films:

Notable parkour documentaries include:

See also

  • Buildering - the act of climbing the outside of buildings and other urban structures. The word is a portmanteau combining the word "building" with the climbing term "bouldering".
  • Contact improvisation - a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for movement improvisation and exploration.
  • Dérive - a French situationist philosophy of re-envisioning one's relation to urban spaces (psychogeography) and acting accordingly.
  • Free climbing - a style of climbing using no artificial aids to make progress.
  • Tricking - an art with roots in different forms of martial arts and gymnastics, often mistaken for parkour by the media and public.
  • Street stunts - "urban gymnastics" an activity usually practiced both by free runners and tricksters.
  • Yamakasi - a group founded by Yann Hnautra, David Belle, Laurent Piemontesi and Chau Belle Dinh 3 years before parkour with emphasis on style, fluidity and freedom. It is also a 2001 movie.

References

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