Freerunning is an athletic and acrobatic discipline incorporating an aesthetic element, and can be considered either a
sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
or a performance art, or both. Freerunning is similar to
parkour
Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
, from which it is derived, but emphasizes artistry over efficiency and speed. Freerunning involves interacting with physical obstacles in creative ways, such as by climbing, jumping or running; the obstacles may be purpose-built or may be part of a pre-existing natural or man-made environment. The movements are usually adopted from other sports, such as
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
,
tricking
Tricking is a method for indicating the tinctures (colours) used in a coat of arms by means of text abbreviations written directly on the illustration. Tricking and hatching are the two primary methods employed in the system of heraldry to show c ...
or
breakdancing
Breakdancing, also called breaking or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance originating from the African American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. While diverse in the amount of variation available in ...
. Freerunners can create their own moves, flows and lines in different landscapes. Practitioners of freerunning usually do
parkour
Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
as well. Freerunning was founded by
Sebastien Foucan, who discussed the subject in 2003 documentary film ''
Jump London
''Jump London'' is a documentary first broadcast by Channel 4 about parkour and free running in September 2003, directed by Mike Christie and produced by Optomen Television. It later spawned a sequel, '' Jump Britain'' that first aired in J ...
''.
Foucan developed freerunning as a more inclusive form of ''parkour''. Parkour's efficient military style
obstacle course
An obstacle course is a series of challenging physical obstacles an individual, team or animal must navigate, usually while being timed. Obstacle courses can include running, climbing, jumping, crawling, swimming, and balancing elements with th ...
training lends itself to
martial art
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...
as a means of weapons avoidance and efficiently closing a distance to an opponent. Freerunning is derived from parkour, but it emphasizes not efficiency but artistry, allowing room for fancy flips and stylistic acrobatics.
Etymology
The word "freerunning" was first used in the documentary ''
Jump London
''Jump London'' is a documentary first broadcast by Channel 4 about parkour and free running in September 2003, directed by Mike Christie and produced by Optomen Television. It later spawned a sequel, '' Jump Britain'' that first aired in J ...
''. The name was coined from a suggestion by Guillaume Pelletier, who was working with the group of practitioners at this time. In the documentary, freerunning was defined as an English translation of parkour.
Philosophy
The central principle of freerunning is that one should express oneself by moving fluidly in one's environment; there are no limitations on the form of this movement.
Foucan expands on a number of basic principles of the sport in his book, ''Freerunning''.
Other practitioners have suggested other principles. For example,
Daniel Ilabaca
Daniel Marcus Ilabaca (born 23 January 1988) is a freerunner and traceur from Moreton, Merseyside, England. He along with Ryan Doyle, is the founder of the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation.
Personal life
Ilabaca was born on 23 Januar ...
encourages people to think positively, suggesting that practitioners of freerunning will sometimes fall—largely because they think they might.
History
Origins in parkour
In Western Europe, the idea of moving past obstacles for personal development or sport originated with
Georges Hébert
Georges Hébert (27 April 1875 – 2 August 1957) was a pioneering physical educator in the French military who developed a system of physical education and training known as "la méthode naturelle" ("Natural Method") and a more wide training pr ...
.
He observed untrained native tribes in Africa with fantastic athletic ability and created the 'natural method' system to train people using the same ideas. His ideas eventually led to the ''parcours du combattant'' ('obstacle course', literally 'assault course'), which is now a standard of military training.
These ideas were picked up by a young
Raymond Belle
Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
, who used them to practical effect while separated from his family during the
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
. When he moved to France and started a family, he passed on these ideas to his son,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. 30 years later, other young people were attracted to these ideas and a small group formed, the
Yamakasi
The Yamakasi ( ln, ya makási) are the original group of '' l'art du deplacement'' (parkour) practitioners from Lisses, France.
The nine original members were David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Lau ...
, which included Foucan.
This group trained together for several years and in 1997, through David Belle's brother, Jean-Francois, they started to attract attention and be invited to perform at events. The Yamakasi eventually split apart, though, because some members sought to find more individual expressions of the discipline.
Meanwhile, action star
Jackie Chan
Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
had also been heavily featuring the same concepts in most of his films ever since the early 1980s from the other side of the globe. Yamakasi cited him as an influence on parkour. They drew influence from
Asian culture
The culture of Asia encompasses the collective and diverse customs and traditions of art, architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups ...
and
Asian martial arts
There are many distinct styles and schools of martial arts. Sometimes, schools or styles are introduced by individual teachers or masters, or as a brand name by a specific gym. Martial arts can be grouped by type or focus, or alternatively by re ...
, notably the acrobatic antics of Jackie Chan in his
Hong Kong action films
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. Action films from Hong Kong have roots in Chinese and Hong Kong cultures including Chinese opera, storytelling and aesthetic traditions, which Hong Kon ...
, as well as the philosophy of
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
.
Further development
Foucan wanted to create a discipline that was more personal to the individual than parkour and more easily adapted to suit each person's individual goals.
His idea was similar to that of
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
's creation of
Jeet Kune Do
Jeet Kune Do is a primarily wing chun kung fu inspired eclectic martial arts philosophy heavily influenced and adapted by the Taoist personal life philosophy and experiences of martial artist Bruce Lee.
Overview and philosophy
Jeet Kune ...
. Foucan wanted to take everything that he had found useful and that he liked from his parkour experiences and combine it into one sport.
Foucan's early ideas were first spread through the ''Jump London'' documentary (2003) and its sequel, ''
Jump Britain
''Jump Britain'' is a 2005 documentary about freerunning. Directed by Mike Christie and produced by Carbon Media, it is a sequel to Channel 4's ''Jump London''. Two of the three freerunners from ''Jump London'', Sébastien Foucan and Jérôme ...
'' (2005). Foucan has appeared in other productions, such as ''
Casino Royale'' and Madonna's ''
Confessions Tour
The Confessions Tour was the seventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna, launched in support of her tenth studio album, ''Confessions on a Dance Floor'' (2005). The tour began in Inglewood on May 21, 2006, and ended in Tokyo on ...
''.
With each appearance both the discipline and Foucan himself increased in fame.
International
In 2014, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
to highlight the youth partaking in freerunning as a form of freedom of expression.
* 2013 - Russia - A person attempted a backflip on the ledge of a roof of a 16 story building, but when attempting to land on the ledge, fell from the building and died.
* 16 August 2019 - Russia - It was reported that a person was "engaged in parkour on the roof" of a 9 story building and during a jump, fell off the roof and died from the fall.