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Parkour
Passement
NicknamesPK
Characteristics
ContactNon-competitive
TypeSpiritual art, body art, philosophical, sport
EquipmentShoes, gloves (optional)
Presence
OlympicNo

Parkour (abbreviated PK) is a training method which focuses on rational movement in both the natural and urban environments. The focus is to move around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Developed in France by David Belle, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping. Parkour practitioners are known as traceurs. They train to be able to identify and utilize alternate, more efficient paths. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles offer many training opportunities.

Overview

A pair of parkour techniques: A wall climb to a top out

Two primary characteristics of parkour are efficiency and speed. Traceurs take the most direct path through an obstacle as rapidly as that route can be traversed safely. Developing one's level of spatial awareness is often used to aid development in these areas. Also, efficiency involves avoiding injuries, both short and long term. This idea embodying parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer, meaning "to be and to last".[citation needed] Traceur Dylan Baker says "Parkour also influences one's thought processes by enhancing self-confidence and critical thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles".[1][2][3] A study by Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence (Neuropsychiatry of Childhood and Adolescence) in France reflects that traceurs seek more excitement and leadership situations than do gymnastic practitioners.[4]

Terminology

"Le parcour" was the original word passed down to David Belle from his father Raymond Belle. This was the term Raymond used when speaking to David about the training he had done. The term derives from "parcours du combattant", the classic obstacle course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert,[5][6][7] but the term “le parcour” was used by Raymond to encompass all of his training including climbing, jumping, running, balancing, and the other methods he undertook in his personal athletic advancement.

One day when David Belle was on a film set he showed his 'Speed Air Man' video to Hubert Koundé who suggested to change the "c" of "parcour" to a "k" because it was more dynamic and stronger. Belle liked the idea and officially changed the name of his discipline to what we call today as "Parkour." (French pronunciation: [paʁˈkuʁ])

A practitioner of Parkour is called a "Traceur" [tʁasœʁ], with the feminine form being "traceuse" [tʁasøz]. The original term was simply "Tracer" without the 'u' but the word has evolved and now is accepted as having a 'u.' When asked recently David Belle said he prefers not using the 'u' because it is more efficient. This term was the name of a Parkour group headed by David Belle which all included Stephane Vigroux. The word has since been adopted as the word for those that practice Parkour.

They are nouns derived from the French verb "tracer", which normally means "trace",[8] or "trail" (as in "he escaped without a trace").[9]

History

See also: Timeline of parkour

Historical precedents

In the film Jump London, Sébastien Foucan states that "Le Parkour has always existed, free running has always been there, the thing is that no one gave it a name, we didn't put it in the box. It is an ancient art [...] The Neanderthals, to hunt, or to chase, or to move around, they had to practice the free run." Hollywood stars and stuntmen such as Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., John Ciampa and Buster Keaton captured parkour-like moves on film as early as the 1920–40s. The latter was also an inspiration for the famous on-foot chase scenes of Hong Kong stuntman, martial artist and actor Jackie Chan.[10] In Eastern martial arts such as Ninjutsu and Qing Gong, movements similar to those of Parkour have been taught for centuries and with a similar aim. In Jump London, Foucan does acknowledge the influence of martial arts movies on the development of Parkour: "We also climbed onto the roof of our school. We pretended we were Ninja warriors".

A "traceur" performing a "passe muraille"

Hébert's legacy

Main article: Georges Hébert

Before World War I, former 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:[11] He noted, "their bodies were splendid, flexible, nimble, skillful, enduring, and resistant but yet they had no other tutor in gymnastics but their lives in nature." [11]

On May 8, 1902, Saint-Pierre, Martinique, where Hébert was stationed, suffered from a volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée. 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").[11] 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 various apparatuses and exercises to teach his "méthode naturelle"[11] which he defined as: "Methodical, progressive and continuous action, from childhood to adulthood, that has as its objective: assuring integrated physical development; increasing organic resistances; emphasizing aptitudes across all genres of natural exercise and indispensable utilities (walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, equilibrium (balancing), throwing, lifting, defending and swimming); developing one's energy and all other facets of action or virility such that all assets, both physical and virile, are mastered; one dominant moral idea: altruism."[12]

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:[12]

  • 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,[13] which is standard in the military training and led to the development of civilian fitness trails and confidence courses.[11] Also, French soldiers and firefighters developed their obstacle courses known as "parcours du combattant" and parcours SP".[14]

Belle family

David Belle, parkour founder, at The New Yorker Festival
Main articles: Raymond Belle and David Belle

Raymond Belle was born in Vietnam, at the time part of French Indochina. 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.[15] After the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Raymond was repatriated to France and completed his military education in 1958. At age 19, his dedication to fitness helped him serve in Paris's regiment of "sapeurs-pompiers" (the French fire service).[15]

David participated in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics and sought to apply his athletic prowess for some practical purpose. He trained extremely hard mostly to try to win the approval of his father Raymond.[14] At age 17, David left school seeking freedom and action. He continued to develop his strength and dexterity in order to be useful in life, as Raymond had advised him.[14]

Development in Lisses

After moving to Lisses, David Belle continued his journey with others who would later form the group the Yamakasi.[14] Sébastien Foucan noted in Jump London: "From then on we developed 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, Yann Hnautra, Charles Perriere, Chau Belle, David Belle, Laurent Piemontesi, Sébastien Foucan, Guylain Perriere, Malik Diouf and Williams Belle created the group Yamakasi,[16] 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",[17] The film Yamakasi (2001), and the French documentary Génération Yamakasi were created without Belle and Foucan.[citation needed]

Philosophy and theories

According to Williams Belle, the philosophies and theories behind parkour are an integral aspect of the art, one that many non-practitioners have never been exposed to. Belle trains people because he wants "it to be alive" and for "people to use it".[3] Châu Belle explains it is a "type of freedom" or "kind of expression"; that parkour is "only a state of mind" rather than a set of actions, and that it is about overcoming and adapting to mental and emotional obstacles as well as physical barriers.[3]

A newer convention of parkour philosophy has been the idea of "human reclamation".[18] Andy (Animus of Parkour North America) clarifies it as "a means of reclaiming what it means to be a human being. It teaches us to move using the natural methods that we should have learned from infancy. It teaches us to touch the world and interact with it, instead of being sheltered by it."[18]"It is as much as a part of truly learning the physical art 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."[19]

A point has been made about the similarities between the martial arts philosophy of Bruce Lee and Parkour.[20] In an interview with The New Yorker, David Belle acknowledges the influence of Lee's thinking: "There's a quote by Bruce Lee that's my motto: 'There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. A man must constantly exceed his level.' If you're not better than you were the day before, then what are you doing—what's the point?".[13]

Non-rivalry

A campaign was started on 1 May 2007 by Parkour.NET portal[21] to preserve parkour's philosophy against sport competition and rivalry.[22] In the words of Erwan LeCorre: "Competition pushes people to fight against others for the satisfaction of a crowd and/or the benefits of a few business people by changing its mindset. Parkour is unique and cannot be a competitive sport unless it ignores its altruistic core of self development. If parkour becomes a sport, it will be hard to seriously teach and spread parkour as a non-competitive activity. And a new sport will be spread that may be called parkour, but that won't hold its philosophical essence anymore."[21] According to LeCorre, those who truly practice Parkour have the same mind aspect of each other, therefore it brings people to work together rather than compete, it allows them to be united internationally and forget the social and economical problems which separated them globally, ultimately leading one giant community working and growing together.

Freerunning

Main article: Freerunning
A saut de bras

The name Freerunning (or free running) was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, the term has evolved into semi-independent of parkour to represent Sebastien Foucan way of parkour which focuses on innovation and expression in movement as opposed to speed and effciency in Parkour thus making Sebastien Foucan the consequent founder of free running based on his way of parkour. Many misconceptions have come out of this, such as the statement that freerunning is a form of competitive streetgymnastics/streetacrobatics, when it in fact, was Sébastien Foucan's way to represent his own parkour evolution. In a video at his official YouTube channel he explains freerunning as:

Freerunning for me is my parkour evolution. I can't say anymore that I do parkour. Because if I want to be free to do flips, or let's say I'm learning breakdancing, and I would like to coporate it into my parkour expression; Not to say: I am doing capoiera, breakdancing, parkour and anything else. Freerunning is the way I choose to name my own expression. Now people recognize freerunning as doing parkour with more tricks and acrobatics as freerunning. Its the action of adding more stuff into your expression of self-movement in motion. Thats the freerunning attitude.[23]

Freerunning values

Sebastien Foucan has said mentions the following as the core values of freerunning:

{{Follow your way; Always practise; Respect others in their practise; Be an inspiration for others; Be positive and look for positive environments; Respect your environment; Feel free to try other disciplines; Dont take it too seriously; The jounrey is more important than the goal; There is no good or bad, right or wrong but what is important is what youlearn from experiences through practise; Freerunning is not an elite discipline, but for people who love and continue to move; Channel your energy in a good way, a way to be better}}[24][25][26].

Sébastien Foucan, defines freerunning as a discipline for self development, of following your own way [27][28][29]. His dissatisfaction with the limited creativity and self-expression in Parkour was the motivation for Sebastian Foucan to develop a similar yet distinct art of movement that became known as freerunning.[30]

David Belle has criticized freerunning as follows:

Understand that this form of art(parkour) has been created by few soldiers in Vietnam to escape or reach: and this is the spirit we'd like parkour to keep. You have to make the difference between what is useful and what is not in emergency situations. Then you'll know what is parkour and what is not. So if you do acrobatics things on the street with no other goal than showing off, please don't say it's parkour. Acrobatics existed a long time ago before parkour.[5]

Other hardcore dedicated parkour enthusiasts such as PAWA(Parkour Worldwide Association) support David Belle's criticism:

Free Running? A kind of demonstration mixing parkour techniques, and acrobatics to be more spectacular and serve the medias and marketing, but also a sport. The term Parkour has been invented by David Belle and Hubert Koundé in 1998 and the word Free Running has been created much later by Sebastien Foucan for the purpose of spreading Parkour in a marketing fashion (they thought the word "parkour" wasn't international enough and Sebastien Foucan proposed them this word).

The problem is that they fully mixed acrobatics to impress people. This is where Freerunning becomes different from Parkour. To make a comparison, Free Running is like artistic katas in martial arts, the goal is only to be spectacular. So it is related to parkour but doesn't answer to the same philosophy. I mean, when you practice to show how spectacular your jump is gonna be, people aren't focused anymore on the difficulty, on the obstacle but on you.

This showing off attitude isn't the parkour philosophy which preaches for humility. In this, Free Running and Parkour are fundamentally opposite even if the first one is related to the second one. Like the traditional way and the freestyle way.[31]

After the above criticisms had been made Sebastien Foucan released the following statement(s) clarifying the origins of freerunning, his philosophy behind the creation of freerunning and its(freerunning) relation to parkour:

At the beginning the name free running was an idea of a person called Guillaume Pelletier who worked with us at the time of Jump London. Because some people think what I'm doing is not Parkour now I call it "freerunning". Because there is a misunderstanding and people put a definition on what I'm doing! I create freerunning and I'll put my official definition.

What is Freerunning? Everything I'll say it's no more Parkour, it's freerunning! Freerunning it's a lifestyle and an attitude. Freerunning is to see your environment differently and being able to utilize it to develop yourself! My Parkour lifestyle is Freerunning.My way has no name.

Freerunning is the name people have given to my way! "Freerunning is following your own way, and this is my way." [32]

Freerunning for me is my parkour evolution. I can't say anymore that I doparkour. Because if I want to be free to do flips, or let's say I'm learning breakdancing, and I would like to incorporate it into my parkour expression; Not to say: I am doing capoeira, breakdancing, parkour and anything else. Freerunning is the way I choose to name my own expression.[33]

The above two statements criticise freerunning as simply "showing off" without reason, philosophy or deeper undertaking in their(freerunning). The word "freerunning" was coined by Guillaume Pelletier originally to translate parkour to english in d Jump London documentary(2003)however the term was created based on Sebastein Foucan's philososphy of creativity, self-expression and complete freedom of movement(hence the word "free" in "freerunning") in order to "follow your way" of movement which can incorporate any type or manner of movement technique(acrobatics, tricks, etc) as well as from other disciplines("capoeira, breakdancing, parkour and anything else" as said by Sebastien Foucan and stipulated in d core values of freerunning[34][35][36])while in process of motion or movement aimed at self-development.[37]


In a 2011 article and interview, Sebastien Foucan further elucidates more on his philosophy that has become known as freerunning:

{{Free running's philosophy is that each person has their own instinctive approach to different challenges, and Foucan acknowledges the influence of martial arts, as well as parallels with eastern philosophy. He says: "There is a link between everything, like in [the teachings of] martial arts, it's about energy and how we are all connected. Everything we do affects other people negatively or positively. I say, 'your life is a road, your feelings a guide, your body a vehicle'." He adds: "Other people's journeys can influence my own journey – this is my teaching."[38]}}

{{Foucan believes any form of self-expression is important and key to finding balance in life. "Free running is not exclusive, everybody should have something to do that takes them out of their mind, out of the fixed path and social systems," he says. Basically, getting away from the routine of daily life. The ethos also invites play, experimentation and creativity and, in his words, "expressing yourself beautifully in your environment". [39]}}

Art du deplacement

Originally, it was called Art du déplacement. Then because of different point of views David Belle called it parkour(in favor of speed and efficiency of movement) and Sebastien freerunning(in favor of innovation, creativity and self-expression of movement).[40] Today, the difference between art du déplacement, parkour and freerunning — if there ever been one — is very vague. When questions are raised between the differences of parkour and freerunning, the Yamakasi group deny the differences and say: "parkour, l'art du deplacement, free running, 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".[41] In Jump London Sebastien Foucan use the term parkour frequently.[42] According to the Yamakasi and Parkour Generations its the philosophy, ethos and principles that of the discipline that is important and not the names.[43]

Military training

After the attention that parkour received following the 2006 film Casino Royale, military forces around the world began looking for ways to incorporate parkour into training. The British Royal Marines hired parkour athletes to train their members.[44] Colorado Parkour began a project to introduce parkour into the U.S. military[45] and parkour is slowly being introduced into the United States Marine Corps.[46]

Criticism

Parkour is not widely practiced in dedicated public facilities such as skate parks. Although efforts are being made to create places for it, most traceurs do not like the idea as it is contradictory to the philosophy of freedom.[47] Traceurs practice parkour in urban areas such as gyms, parks, playgrounds, offices, and abandoned structures. Concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property,[48] and the practice in inappropriate places.[49] However, most traceurs will take care of their training spots and will remove themselves quickly and quietly from a public place if asked.[50][51] The Magpie Youth Centre freerunning club in Glen Parva, Leicester, England has raised 40,000 Euros to build a free running park/training utility on the park opposite the youth center.

Concerns have been raised by law enforcement and fire and rescue teams of the risk in jumping off high buildings.[52] They argue 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.[53][54][55] Some figures within the parkour community agree that this sort of behaviour is not to be encouraged.[54][56][57][58]

American traceur Mark Toorock says that injuries are rare "because participants rely not on what they can't control – wheels or the icy surfaces of snowboarding and skiing – but their own hands and feet," but Lanier Johnson, executive director of the American Sports Medicine Institute, notes that many of the injuries are not reported.[59] When injuries do occur, many members in the parkour community encourage pursuing the most scientifically sound method to recovery and future prevention.[60]

Movements

There are fewer pre-defined movements in parkour than in gymnastics, as there is no list of "moves". Each obstacle a traceur faces presents a unique challenge, committed tracuers tend to shy away from defining movement. The ability to overcome the challenge depends on multiple factors, for example, on body type, speed, angle of approach, the physical make-up of the obstacle. Parkour is about training the body and mind to react to those obstacles appropriately with a technique that is effective. 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 difficult or impossible body maneuvers at great 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, the practice is to move in such a way that will help you gain the most ground as if escaping or chasing something. Also, if you go from A to B, you need to be able to get back from B to A,[61] but not necessarily with the same movements or "passements". Despite this, there are many basic versatile and effective techniques that are emphasized for beginners. 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.

Basic movements

Some movements defined in parkour are:[62]

Synonym Description
French French pronouncation English
Atterrissage [ateʁisaʒ] Landing Bending the knees when toes make contact with ground (never land flat footed; always land on toes and ball of your foot.
réception [ʁesɛpsjɔ̃]
Équilibre [ekilibʁ] Balance Walking along the crest of an obstacle; literally "balance."
Équilibre de chat Cat Crawl Quadrupedal movement along the crest of an obstacle.
Franchissement [fʁɑ̃ʃismɑ̃]Z Underbar Jumping or swinging through a gap between obstacles; literally "to cross" or "to break through."
Lâché [lɑʃe] 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.
swing
Passe muraille [pas myʁaj] Pop vault, wall hop, Wallpass, wallrun 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 (shortened from "Dynamic[clarification needed]", opposite to "Static") 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 simpler movement is not possible.
Passement [pasmɑ̃] Vault, Pass To move over an object with one's hand(s) on an object to ease the movement.
Demitour [dəmi tuʁ] Turn vault 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.
Turn Down
Passement Speed vault 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 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.
Lazy vault
Saut de chat [sod ʃa] Cat pass/jump, monkey vault,kong 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.
Passement assis 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. Allegedly David Belle has questioned the effectiveness of this movement.
Saut de chat inversé Reverse vault A vault involving a 180° 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.
Kash vault This vault is a combination of two vaults; the cat pass and the dash vault. After pushing off with the hands in a cat pass, the body continues past vertical over the object until the feet are leading the body. The kash vault is then finished by pushing off the object at the end, as in a dash vault.
Planche [plɑ̃ʃ] Muscle-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.
climb-up
Roulade [ʁulad] 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 minimize impact, preventing a painful landing. It is similar to the basic kaiten or ukemi and it was taken from martial arts such as judo, ninjutsu, jujutsu, hapkido and aikido.
Saut de bras [sodbra] Arm jump 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.
cat leap
cat grab
Saut de fond [sodfɔ̃] Drop Literally 'jump to the ground' / 'jump to the floor'. To jump down, or drop down from something.
Saut de détente [sodə detɑ̃t] Gap jump, running 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 [so d presiziɔ̃] 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. Often abbreviated to "pre"
précision [presiziɔ̃]
Saut de mur Wall Jump To step off a wall in order to overcome another obstacle or gain height to grab something
Tic-Tac
Saut de rotation Rotary jump Similar to a cat pass, the person dives and then rotates their lower body around the obstacle. Used for shorter to medium obstacles. For people that have trouble with cat pass.
Rotary vault
Side vault A vault where the person is parallel to the obstacle and places one hand on the obstacle. When performing the vault, the person's back should be facing down.

Accessories

A traceuse vaults an obstacle.

There is no equipment required, although practitioners normally train wearing light casual clothing:[63][64]

  • Light upper body garment such as T-shirt, sleeveless shirt or crop top if anything is worn on the upper body
  • Light lower body garment such as sweatpants, some wear tracksuit bottoms or shorts

Comfortable running shoes, that are generally light, with good grip, and flexibility are encouraged. Many traceurs consider cheaper and easily replaceable shoes are more practical.[citation needed] More experienced traceurs with stronger feet tend to train barefoot, which is the best way to feel the environment. Various sport shoes manufacturers around the world started offering parkour-specific products. Some parkour practitioners use sweatbands for forearm protection.[citation needed] Some use thin athletic gloves to protect the hands;[65] those who do not, preferring to "feel their environment" directly, develop thick callouses.[66][67]

Since parkour is closely related to méthode naturelle, practitioners sometimes train barefooted to be able to move efficiently without depending on their gear. Some traceurs also use the lightweight feiyue martial arts shoes. David Belle notes: "bare feet are the best shoes!"[68]

A number of films incorporate parkour; a few documentaries have also been written and filmed about parkour. After including parkour moves in a chase sequence in the film Taxi 2, French director/producer Luc Besson produced a feature film, Yamakasi, featuring members of the original Yamakasi group. In 2004, Besson wrote Banlieue 13, another feature film involving parkour, starring David Belle and Cyril Raffaelli; English-dubbed and -subtitled versions were released in 2006 as District B-13 in North America and the UK.[69][70] The film Casino Royale features Sébastien Foucan in a chase taking place early in the movie that implements freerunning. Casino Royale's release sparked a renewed media interest in parkour and related disciplines and a large amount of recent mainstream parkour coverage dates to around Casino Royale's release.[13] Along with The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale is credited with starting a new wave of parkour-inspired stunts in Western film and television.[71] Parkour is featured prominently in the film Breaking and Entering, in which two of the characters employ parkour techniques to burgle an office in Kings Cross, London.[69][70] Parkour is featured in the film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. David Belle was hired as parkour choreographer for the film and appears in the DVD and Blu-ray featurettes. Aamir Khan learned parkour techniques for his role in the 2011 movie Dhoom 3.[72]

Jump London is a documentary which explains some of the background to parkour and culminated with Sébastien Foucan, Johann Vigroux, and Jérôme Ben Aoues demonstrating their parkour skills. David Belle received no mention in Jump London. Jump London was followed up by the sequel Jump Britain, once again featuring Foucan and Ben Aoues. My Playground, a documentary film by Kaspar Astrup Schröder, explores the way parkour and freerunning are changing the perception of urban space and how the spaces and buildings they are moving on are changing them.[73]

The webcomic Schlock Mercenary makes frequent reference to "Parkata Urbatsu"[74][75] which is said to have grown "out of the ancient disciplines of parkour, urbobatics, and youtubing. It is a martial art that focuses on both pursuit and escape in developed environments, with an eye towards the aesthetic."[76]

Only a few television programs or episodes have been dedicated to parkour. The Australian TV show 60 Minutes broadcast a segment about parkour on September 16, 2007, which featured Sébastien Foucan and Stephane Vigroux.[77] MTV's Ultimate Parkour Challenge premiered as a one-hour special in October 2009 starring the athletes of the World Freerunning & Parkour Federation (WFPF). This was followed in May 2010 with a six episode series of the same name, also featuring top WFPF traceurs. The program format was a two-part weekly competition in Southern Californian locations. First round was a "team video" round, the winners of which would advance to the Final Challenge for that week, either a speed or a skills challenge. The same competitors returned each week.[78]

A number of video games include parkour as major gameplay elements. In the Assassin's Creed series of games, Altaïr and Ezio make heavy use of parkour, though it is named free running in the game.[79][80][81] Crackdown and Crackdown 2 include an emphasis on gripping and vaulting from ledges and protruding objects, which are designed to make players feel fully in control of their own movement, and by extension fully in control of their environment.[82] Tony Hawk's American Wasteland allows the character to use several parkour techniques while not on the skateboard. In the game parkour is erroneously referred to as free running.[83] Mirror's Edge's core gameplay consists of parkour techniques, and made movement itself the goal.[84] Tron Evolution's basic movements and combat were based on parkour and capoeira.[85] Prince of Persia incorporated elements of parkour, which were important when creating the film.[86]

See also

References

  1. ^ Mai, Jeffy (14 April 2008). "Students on campus are mastering parkour, an art of self-awareness and body control". Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  2. ^ Kalteis, Andreas (2006). Parkour Journeys — Training with Andi (DVD). London, UK: Catsnake Studios.
  3. ^ a b c Daniels, Mark. Generation Yamakasi (TV-Documentary) (in French). France: France 2. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite AV media}}: More than one of author-name-list parameters specified (help)
  4. ^ Cazenave, N. (5 April 2007). "La pratique du parkour chez les adolescents des banlieues : entre recherche de sensation et renforcement narcissique". Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence. doi:10.1016/j.neurenf.2007.02.001. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  5. ^ a b David Belle or PAWA Team, or both. "English welcome — Parkour Worldwide Association". Archived from the original on 2005-05-08. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  6. ^ Jin (2006-02-23). "PAWA statement on Freerunning". Retrieved 2007-05-12. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "The name parkour, simple question". Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  8. ^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary (v 1.1) (2006). "tracer — Definition by dictionary.com". dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Portail lexical — Définition de tracer" (in French). Retrieved 2007-08-28.
  10. ^ Jackie Chan (1987). Police Story Commentary (DVD). Hong Kong: Dragon Dynasty.
  11. ^ a b c d e Artful Dodger. "George Hébert and the Natural Method of Physical Culture". urbanfreeflow.com. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  12. ^ a b "Georges Hébert — la methode naturalle" (in French). INSEP — Musée de la Marine. Archived from the original (JPG) on 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2007-09-22.
  13. ^ a b c Wilkinson, Alec (16 April 2007). "No Obstacles". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2007-10-14. Cite error: The named reference "No Obstacles" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b c d "David Belle's biography". French biography referenced to www.david-belle.com. Jerome Lebret. 2005-12-16. Archived from the original on 2005-12-16. Retrieved 2007-04-12. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2005-12-22 suggested (help)
  15. ^ a b "Raymond Belle's biography". Original French biography sourced from 'Allo Dix-Huit', the magazine of the Parisian pompiers. Parkour.NET. 2006-02-17. Archived from the original on 2006-02-17. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
  16. ^ Foucan, Sébastien (2002). "History — Creation of the groupe "YAMAKASI" 1997". Retrieved 2007-07-02.[dead link]
  17. ^ ez (2006). "Sébastien Foucan interview". urbanfreeflow.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
  18. ^ a b "Two Theories on Parkour Philosophy". Parkour North America. September 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-16.
  19. ^ Urban discipline
  20. ^ Green, Rob. "Bruce Lee and the Philosophy of Parkour". WorldWideJam.tv. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
  21. ^ a b "Keeping parkour rivalry-free : JOIN IN !". Parkour.NET. May 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  22. ^ Bignell, Paul; Sharp, Rob (April 22, 2007). "'Jumped-up' plan to stage world competition sees free runners falling out". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2007-05-11.
  23. ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g0IdTZHOic&
  24. ^ www.worldwidejam.tv/Foucan/Foucan.1.parkour.html
  25. ^ www.foucan.com
  26. ^ www.amazon.co.uk/Freerunning-Find-Your-Sebastien-Foucan/dp/1843173301
  27. ^ www.worldwidejam.tv/Foucan/Foucan.1.parkour.html
  28. ^ www.foucan.com
  29. ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freerunning-Find-Your-Sebastien-Foucan/dp/1843173301
  30. ^ Foucan
  31. ^ www.worldwidejam.tv/foucan.jam.parkour.html
  32. ^ www.worldwidejam.tv/foucan.jam.parkour.html
  33. ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g0IdTZHOic&
  34. ^ www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g0IdTZHOic&
  35. ^ www.worldwidejam.tv/Foucan/Foucan.1.parkour.html
  36. ^ www.foucan.com
  37. ^ www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/20/sebastien-foucan-founder-free-running
  38. ^ www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/20/sebastien-foucan-founder-free-running
  39. ^ www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/20/sebastien-foucan-founder-free-running
  40. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d1AxUPPcF8&
  41. ^ Edwardes, Dan (2007). "Rendezvous II". Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  42. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVj2F9KxI6g
  43. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBe5Zv1WhMI
  44. ^ Booth, Robert (12 January 2008). "Freerunning goes to war as marines take tips from EZ, Livewire and Sticky". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  45. ^ "Projects". Colorado Parkour. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  46. ^ "Parkour: Getting over the wall". US Marine Corps. 2009-01-23. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  47. ^ "American Parkour HotSpots Contest". May 21, 2008. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  48. ^ "UK | England | Gloucestershire | Rooftop-jumping youths arrested". BBC News. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  49. ^ Caroline Gammell (2008-05-06). "Gravestone vaulting teenagers condemned over YouTube stunt". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  50. ^ Hansen, Jimmy (2011-03-01). "Parkour at UGA (practice policy)". Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  51. ^ Toorock, Mark (2011-05-31). "American Parkour leaves Meridian Park when asked during national jam". Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  52. ^ Rawe, Julie (5 April 2008). "Student Stuntmen". Time. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  53. ^ Gloucestershire – Rooftop-jumping youths arrested. BBC. 2008-01-31. Retrieved 2008-03-15.
  54. ^ a b "Youths On Roofs". Your Local Guardian. 2008-04-02. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  55. ^ Branum, Don (2008-06-02). "Parkour growing by leaps and bounds". Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  56. ^ "Terrible Representation of Parkour and Freerunning". 13 June 2008. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  57. ^ Comenetz, Jacob (9 June 2005). "Running Through Life the Parkour Way". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  58. ^ Parkour FAQ for Parents (PDF). Pacific Northwest Parkour Association. 2008-09-20. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  59. ^ Bane, Colin (8 January 2008). "Jump First, Ask Questions Later". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  60. ^ Scientific studies on health by prominent members in the parkour community, Eat. Move. Improve. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  61. ^ "Cali meets David Belle". pkcali.com. Parkour California. 2005-07-15. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
  62. ^ Souard, Severine. "Press – "The Tree" – L'Art en mouvement" (Flash website) (in French). Retrieved 2007-07-02.
  63. ^ "What Should I Wear for Parkour?". americanparkour.com. 2005-11-06. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |archive-url= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  64. ^ "Is there any equipment cost, membership fee, or exclusive conditions required for my child to do Parkour?". washingtonparkour.com. 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  65. ^ Marion, Fred (12 April 2006). "Don't try these extreme tricks at home". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  66. ^ "Parkour: All in a day's training". Herald Mail. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-25. {{cite web}}: |first= missing |last= (help)[dead link]
  67. ^ Money-Coutts, Sophia (23 February 2009). "You might as well jump". The National. Abu Dhabi Media Company. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
  68. ^ "David Belle — Parkour simples". YouTube. 16 March 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
  69. ^ a b Barrera, Sandra (January 2, 2007). "Parkour: Leaps of faith". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  70. ^ a b Bessaoud, Yuba; Delmar-Morgan, Alex (9 July 2006). "Focus: Look Mum, watch this!". London: The Times. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  71. ^ Szalai, Georg (28 August 2009). "Fremantle Pacts to Bring Parkour to TV Screens". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  72. ^ Lalwani, Vickey (18 November 2011). "Aamir Khan learns French technique of Parkour". Mumbai Mirror; The Times of India. Retrieved 24 Nov 2011.
  73. ^ "My Playground".
  74. ^ "Schlock Mercenary 2010-03-07".
  75. ^ "Schlock Mercenary 2010-06-20".
  76. ^ "Parkata Urbatsu".
  77. ^ Hayes, Liz (16 September 2007). "Go Jump". 60 Minutes. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
  78. ^ MTV Ultimate Parkour Challenge, MTV.
  79. ^ "Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)". November 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-11. It's a good start, an excellent free-roaming adventure with some of the best use of parkour yet.
  80. ^ Pearson, Ryan (2007-11-16). "Review: 'Assassin's Creed' Not Quite Perfect". Fox News. Leave it to the French to bring us the first parkour video game
  81. ^ P., Andrew (January 2008). "Review of Assassin's Creed". Electronic Gaming Monthly (224): 89. ...the game features 'a challenging parkour path of escape...'
  82. ^ Shea, Cam (January 10, 2007). "10 Reasons to Play Crackdown". Retrieved 2008-01-03. It's part super hero (think Hulk or Neo), part Jumping Flash and part Parkour.
  83. ^ Williamson, Steven (8 February 2006). "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland — Xbox 360". Retrieved 2008-01-03. Later on in story mode, you'll even get the chance to learn some parkour skills!
  84. ^ Elfman, Doug (November 28, 2008). "Mirror's Edge puts grace of parkour at fingertips". Retrieved 2009-09-23. [dead link]
  85. ^ Interview from Gamespot
  86. ^ http://www.emanuellevy.com/comment/prince-of-persia-tackling-stunts-and-parkour-1/
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