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Parkour () is an athletic
training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
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 artistic-gymnastic maneuvers. With roots in military
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 and
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
, parkour includes
running Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...
,
climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders), to small boulders. Climbing is done fo ...
, swinging,
vaulting In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while rin ...
,
jumping Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and o ...
,
plyometrics Plyometrics, also known as jump training or plyos, are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power (speed-strength). This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extensi ...
,
rolling Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
,
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 ...
, and quadrupedal movement—whatever is suitable for a given situation. Parkour is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others, and is usually carried out in urban spaces, though it can be done anywhere. It involves seeing one's environment in a new way, and envisioning the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features. Although practitioners of Parkour often perform flips and other acrobatic movements, these are not considered a part of Parkour proper. The practice of similar movements had existed in communities around the world for centuries,
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, pp. 17–20
notably in Africa and China, the latter tradition (''
qinggong Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang. The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progr ...
'') popularized by
Hong Kong action cinema 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 Ko ...
(notably
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 ...
) during the 1970s to 1980s. Parkour as a type of movement was later established by
David Belle David Nicholas Williams Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings fr ...
when he and others founded 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, Laure ...
in the 1990s and initially called it . The discipline was popularised in the 1990s and 2000s through films, documentaries, video games, and advertisements.


Etymology

The word ''parkour'' derives from (obstacle course), the classic obstacle course method of military training proposed by
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 ...
. Raymond Belle used the term "" to encompass all of his training including climbing, jumping, running, balancing, and the other methods he undertook in his personal athletic advancement. Belle, pp. 31–70 His son, David, further developed his father's methods and achieved success as a stuntman, and one day on a film set showed his 'Speed Air Man' video to
Hubert Koundé Hubert Koundé (born December 30, 1970) is a French actor and film director. Koundé is best known for his role as Hubert in the film ''La Haine'' by Mathieu Kassovitz. Background Koundé spent his childhood between Benin and France, where he was ...
. Koundé suggested he change the "c" of "" to a "k" because it was stronger and more dynamic, and to remove the silent "s" for the same reason, forming "''parkour''".
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, p. 37.
A practitioner of parkour is called a ''traceur'', with the feminine form being ''traceuse''. They are
nouns A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
derived from the French verb '' tracer'', which normally means "to trace", as in "tracing a path", in reference to drawing. The verb used familiarly means: "to hurry up". The term ''traceur'' was originally the name of a parkour group headed by David Belle which included
Sébastien Foucan Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in Paris) is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of parkour and freerunning, Fouca ...
and Stéphane Vigroux. A ''jam'' refers to a meeting of traceurs, involving training lasting anywhere from hours to several days, often with people from different cities. The first parkour jam was organised in July 2002 by Romain Drouet, with a dozen people including
Sébastien Foucan Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in Paris) is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of parkour and freerunning, Fouca ...
and Stéphane Vigroux.


History


Origins

The practice of similar movements have existed in various communities around the world for centuries prior to the foundation of a parkour movement, which was influenced by these earlier traditions. Such athletic traditions had existed among various indigenous tribes in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
for centuries. A similar discipline in
Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...
is ''
qinggong Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang. The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progr ...
'', a
Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. Th ...
training technique that also dates back centuries. It was notably taught at the
Peking Opera School Professional schools for Chinese opera, known as ''keban'' (), existed in China from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) to the 20th century. Formerly attached to performing troupes, many ''keban'' became independent boarding schools by the late 19th c ...
in the 20th century; the school's most notable students are the
Seven Little Fortunes The China Drama Academy () was a Peking opera school in Kowloon, Hong Kong, famous for being the childhood home of such famous actors as Jackie Chan (Yuen Lo), Sammo Hung (Yuen Lung), Yuen Biao, Yuen Wah, Yuen Qiu and Corey Yuen (Yuen Kwai). It w ...
, including
Sammo Hung Sammo Hung Kam-bo ( zh, t=洪金寶, j=Hung4 Gam1-bou2; born 7 January 1952) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, film producer and Film director, director, known for his work in martial arts films, Hong Kong action cinema, and as a fight choreog ...
and most famously
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 ...
, providing a basis for their acrobatic
stunt work A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery spe ...
in
Hong Kong action cinema 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 Ko ...
from the 1970s onwards.


Georges Hébert

In Western Europe, a forerunner of parkour was developed by French naval officer
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 ...
, who before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
promoted athletic skill based on the models of indigenous tribes he had met in Africa. 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." His rescue efforts during the 1902 eruption of
Mount Pelée Mount Pelée or Mont Pelée ( ; french: Montagne Pelée, ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Montann Pèlé, meaning "bald mountain" or "peeled mountain") is an active volcano at the northern end of Martinique, an island and French overseas departm ...
on
Saint-Pierre, Martinique Saint-Pierre (, ; ; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre by a volcanic eruption in 1902, it ...
reinforced his belief that athletic skill must be combined with courage and altruism. Hébert became a physical education tutor at the college of
Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...
in France. Hébert set up a "méthode naturelle" (''natural method'') session consisting of ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, self-defence, and swimming. These were intended to develop "the three main forces": energetic (willpower, courage, coolness, and firmness), moral (benevolence, assistance, honour, and honesty), and physical (muscles and breath). During World War I and World War II, teaching continued to expand, becoming the standard system of French military education and training. Inspired by Hébert, a Swiss architect developed a "''parcours du combattant''"—military obstacle course—the first of the courses that are now standard in military training and which led to the development of civilian
fitness trail A fitness trail, trim trail or parcourse consists of a path or course with outdoor exercise equipment or obstacles installed along its length for exercising the human body to promote good health. The course is designed to promote physical f ...
s and confidence courses.


Raymond and David Belle

Born in 1939 in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, Raymond Belle was the son of a French physician and Vietnamese mother. 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 ...
, his father died and he was separated from his mother, after which he was sent to a military orphanage in
Da Lat Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...
at the age of seven. He took it upon himself to train harder and longer than everyone else in order never to be a victim. At night, when everyone else was asleep, he would be outside running or climbing trees. He would use the military
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 ...
s in secret, and also created courses of his own that tested his endurance, strength, and flexibility. Doing this enabled him not only to survive the hardships he experienced during his childhood, but also eventually to thrive. After the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Dien Bien Phu (french: Bataille de Diên Biên Phu ; vi, Chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ, ) was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the Fr ...
in 1954, he returned to France and remained in military education until the age of 19, when he joined the
Paris Fire Brigade The Paris Fire Brigade (french: Brigade des sapeurs-pompiers de Paris, BSPP) is a French Army unit which serves as the primary fire and rescue service for Paris, the city's inner suburbs and certain sites of national strategic importance. The ...
, a French Army unit. Belle, pp. 23–30 Raymond's son,
David Belle David Nicholas Williams Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings fr ...
, was born in 1973. He experimented with
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 ...
and
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
but became increasingly disaffected with both school and the
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
s. As he got older, he learned of his father's exploits and was increasingly curious about what had enabled his father to accomplish these feats. Through conversations with his father, he realised that what he really wanted was a means to develop skills that would be useful to him in life, rather than just training to kick a ball or perform moves in a padded, indoor environment. Through conversations with his father, David learned about this way of training that his father called "''parcours''". He heard his father talk of the many repetitions he had done in order to find the best way of doing things. He learned that for his father, training was not a game but something vital which enabled him to survive and to protect the people he cared about. David realised that this was what he had been searching for, and so he began training in the same way. After a time, he found it far more important to him than schooling and he gave up his other commitments to focus all his time on his training.


Yamakasi

David initially trained on his own, and after moving to
Lisses Lisses () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Origin of the city name The name origin of this commune is not well known. One hypothesis is that Lisses is coming from the Latin Licia villa, as the initial ...
, found other young men (including his cousins) who had similar desires, and they began to train together. The group eventually included David Belle,
Sébastien Foucan Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in Paris) is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of parkour and freerunning, Fouca ...
, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontesi, Guylain N'Guba Boyeke, Malik Diouf, and Charles Perrière. The group began calling themselves the ''Yamakasi'', from the
Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...
''ya makási'', meaning strong in one's person, or "strong man, strong spirit" (see § Name and split below). The group drew inspiration 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 acrobatics of
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 ...
such as ''
qinggong Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang. The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progr ...
'' displays 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 ...
, and the training 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 ...
, considering the latter to be the "unofficial president" of their group. The group also was influenced by the Japanese
shōnen manga is an editorial category of Japanese comics targeting an audience of adolescent boys. It is, along with manga (targeting adolescent girls and young women), manga (targeting young adult and adult men), and manga (targeting adult women), ...
and
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series ''
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...
,'' in which the heroes attained extraordinary abilities through hard work, as well as the
martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...
of Belgian actor
Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
.


Discipline

The group put themselves through challenges that forced them to find the physical and mental strength to succeed. Examples included training without food or water, or sleeping on the floor without a blanket to learn to endure the cold. For example, no one in the group was permitted to be late for training, as it would hold back the whole group. If any member completed a challenge, everyone else had to do the same thing. Belle and Perriére, p. 43 During their training, no one was allowed to complain or be negative. Few excuses were allowed. For instance, if someone claimed that his shoes were too worn out in to make a jump, he had to do it anyway, even if it meant doing the jump barefoot. At the same time, everyone was required to have knowledge of their own limits. Belle and Perriére, p. 46 Respecting one's health and physical well-being was one of the foundations of the group. If any member hurt himself during or after the execution of a movement, the movement was deemed a failure. A movement executed only once was not considered an achievement; only with repetition was the challenge complete. Every movement had to be repeated at least ten times in a row without the traceur having to push his limits or sustaining any injury. If any mistake was made by any traceur in the group everyone had to start all over again. Humility was an important principle. No traceur was allowed to feel superior to someone else, for example, by executing a movement only to show off in front of someone who could not perform the movement. If any traceur in the group claimed that he had completed a difficult and dangerous challenge that should not be attempted unaided, he had to prove his claims by doing the challenge again. Anyone who lied violated the principle of humility. To join the group, new members had to be recommended by an existing member and then pass tests to evaluate their motivation for joining. Belle and Perriére, p. 42 Despite the huge emphasis on the collective, each traceur had to progress and develop independently—"to create the means to be yourself"—and there was a complete trust within the group. Every traceur was to encourage the others and show confidence through their behaviour. Belle and Perriére, p. 47 If a member violated the principles, the group could meet without the offending person to discuss various punishments. Anyone deemed unsuitable could be temporarily or even permanently banned from the group in order to uphold its disciplines and values.


Name and split

In 1997, David Belle's brother Jean-François invited the group to perform for the public in a firefighter show in Paris.
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, p. 35.
For the performance, the group named themselves ''
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, Laure ...
'', from the Congolese
Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...
''ya makási'', meaning strong in one's person, or "strong man, strong spirit". Sébastien Foucan also invented a name for what they were doing: "''l'art du déplacement'' (French for "the art of movement"). The firefighter performance caused both positive and negative attention. Some members of the group were concerned how the public would view their discipline since the performance did not demonstrate all aspects of it, such as their hard training and their values and ethics. Jean-François also sent pictures and video of the group to a French TV programme, and the popularity of parkour began to increase. A series of television programmes in various countries subsequently featured video footage of the group, and they began to get more requests for performances. During this time, conflicting interests arose within the group. Sébastien Foucan wanted to teach more rather than to train more, and David Belle had the ambition to become an actor. David and Sébastien chose to leave the group, and used the name "parkour" to describe their activity (see § Etymology above). The seven remaining Yamakasi members continued to use the term ''l'art du déplacement'' Belle, pp. 71–79 (see § Derivative terminologies and disciplines below).


Organizations

International parkour organizations include the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation, established in 2007, who have worked with
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
to produce parkour-related shows.
International Gymnastics Federation The International Gymnastics Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique, FIG) is the body governing all disciplines of competitive gymnastics. Its headquarters is in Lausanne, Switzerland. It was founded on July 23, 1881, in ...
(FIG) added parkour as one of their disciplines in 2017, despite much opposition, including the establishment of Parkour Earth to represent various national organizations in opposition to the gymnastics organization. The FIG program includes Speed-Run (Sprint) and Freestyle events. The first event in the FIG Parkour World Cup was held on 6–8 April 2018. The first Parkour World Championships were scheduled to take place at
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
on 3–5 April 2020, but were postponed as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Parkour debuted at the
2022 World Games The 2022 World Games were an international multi-sport event held from July 7 to 17, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. They were the 11th World Games, a multi-sport event featuring disciplines of Olympic sports and other competitions ...
.


Philosophy

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 says he trains people because he wants it "to be alive" and "for people to use it". 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. 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". A study by ''Neuropsychiatrie de l'Enfance et de l'Adolescence'' (Neuropsychiatry of Childhood and Adolescence) in France found traceurs seek more excitement and leadership situations than gymnasts do. Academic research on parkour has tended to describe how parkour provides a novel way of interacting with the urban environment that challenges the use and meaning of urban space, metropolitan life, and embodiment. A newer convention of parkour philosophy has been the idea of "human reclamation". Andy Tran of Urban Evolution 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." Another traceur writes, "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."


Competition

A campaign was started on 1 May 2007 by the Parkour.NET portal to preserve parkour's philosophy against sports competition and rivalry. In the words of
Erwan Le Corre Erwan Le Corre, a French American born on September 10, 1971, is the founder and innovator of a physical education system and lifestyle known as MovNat, which derives from the French words "mouvement naturel" ("natural movement"). Early life and ...
, "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." Red Bull's sponsored athlete for parkour, Ryan Doyle, has said, "Sometimes people ask, 'Who is the best at parkour?' and it is because they don't understand what Parkour is; 'Who is the best?' is what you would say about a sport, and parkour is not a sport—it is an art, it's a discipline. That's like saying, 'What's the best song in the world?'" This seems to be the consensus among many professional traceurs who view parkour as a lifestyle more than as a set of tricks, as has been popularised by YouTube and most media exposure. There are competitions that use parkour as the main influence for formatting and judging criteria. Sport Parkour League's "North America Parkour Championships" hosts a series of local and regional qualifier events which culminate in a final event in Vancouver, B.C. Red Bull's Art of Motion event is the longest running and highest profile professional freerunning competition.


David Belle

In his 2009 book ''Parkour'', David Belle stressed that the most important aspect of parkour is not the physical movements, but rather the practitioner's mentality and understanding of its principles. "When young trainees come to see me and give me videos telling me to check out what they are doing, I just take the tape and throw it away. What I'm interested in is what the guy's got in his head, if he has self-confidence, if he masters the technique, if he has understood the principles of parkour. I just can't deal with guys who do Parkour because they saw videos on the Internet and thought it was kinda cool and want to do even better." Further, he states the importance of traceurs being aware of their abilities and limitations, and developing in their own way. "When a young person asks me, 'Can you show me how to do this?' I simply answer, ‘No, I am going to show you how ''I'' do it. Then, you'll have to learn with your own technique, your own way of moving, your style, your abilities and your limitations. You are going to learn to be yourself, not someone else along the way.’" The philosophy of parkour has been compared to that of martial arts. In an interview with ''The New Yorker'', David Belle acknowledges the influence, "There's a quote by
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 ...
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?" In an interview with the press, Belle explained that parkour is a training method for warriors. "So many people try to train easy—'Come do parkour! It's really cool!' But if tomorrow I made you do real training, you would end up crying. That's what you need to know: you are going to cry, you are going to bleed and you are going to sweat like never before." In his book, Belle also quotes his father Raymond, "If two roads open up before you, always take the most difficult one. Because you know you can travel the easy one." Belle is an influential proponent of discipline and control in parkour, saying, "Precision is all about being measured," and going on to describe parkour as an art that requires huge amounts of repetition and practice to master. "With parkour, I often say, 'Once is never'. In other words, someone can manage a jump one time but it does not mean anything. It can be luck or chance. When you make a jump, you have to do it at least three times to be sure you can actually do it. It's an unavoidable rule. Do it the hard way and stop lying to yourself. When you come for training, you have to train. Even if it means doing the same jump fifty or a hundred times." Belle, p. 59 To its founder, parkour is a method of self-refinement, used for learning to control and focus oneself.


Practice


Movement

While there is no official list of "moves" in parkour, the style in which practitioners move often sets them apart from others, and there are a number of named movements that are characteristic, for example: * "Parkour roll": Rolling to absorb impacts from larger drops, moving diagonally over a shoulder to convert momentum from vertical to horizontal. * "Precision jump": Jumping and landing accurately with the feet on small or narrow obstacles. * "Arm jump": Jumping and landing feet-first on a vertical surface, catching the horizontal top with the hands. * "Wall run": Running toward a high wall and then jumping and pushing off the wall with a foot to reach the top of the wall. * "Climb up": Moving from a position hanging from a wall-top or ledge, to standing on the top or vaulting over to the other side.


Equipment

Parkour is practiced without traditional equipment, though items such as bars, walls, and boxes found in the environment in which the parkour is being practiced in, are utilised to better navigate the area. Practitioners normally train wearing light, non-restrictive casual clothing. Traceurs who wear gloves are rare—bare hands are considered better for grip and tactile feedback. Light running shoes with good grip and flexibility are encouraged because they allow for more natural and fluid movements. Practitioners often use
minimalist shoes Minimalist shoes are shoes intended to closely approximate barefoot running or walking conditions in comparison to traditional shoes. Minimalist shoes are defined as providing "minimal interference with the natural movement of the foot, because of ...
, sometimes as a progression to bare feet, for better sensitivity and balance, while others prefer more cushioning for better absorption of impacts from large jumps. Barefoot training is done by some for movement competency without gear—David Belle noted that "bare feet are the best shoes." Various sneaker manufacturers have developed shoes specifically for parkour and
freerunning Freerunning is an athletic and acrobatic discipline incorporating an aesthetic element, and can be considered either a sport or a performance art, or both. Freerunning is similar to parkour, from which it is derived, but emphasizes artistry over ...
. Many other companies around the world have started offering clothing targeted at parkour.


Risks


Trespassing

Parkour is not widely practiced in dedicated public facilities. Although efforts are being made to create places for it, many traceurs do not like the idea, as it is contradictory to parkour's values of adaptation, creativity, and freedom. Traceurs practice parkour in both rural and urban areas such as gyms, parks, playgrounds, offices, and abandoned structures. Concerns have been raised regarding trespassing, damage of property,Gloucestershire – Rooftop-jumping youths arrested
.
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. ...
...
. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2008. and use of inappropriate places such as cemeteries. Many parkour organizations around the globe support the ''Leave No Trace'' initiative, an urban version of the outdoor conservation ethic created by the Seattle
nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
''Parkour Visions'' in 2008, promoting safety, respect for the spaces used and their other users, and sometimes includes picking up rubbish to leave areas in better condition than they were found.


Injuries and deaths

Concerns have been raised by law enforcement and fire and rescue teams about the risks inherent in jumping off high buildings. 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. Some practitioners of parkour agree that such behaviour should be discouraged. Because parkour philosophy is about learning to control oneself in interaction with the environment, many parkour experts consider serious injury evidence of the traceur's failure to follow the precepts of the discipline, specifically, knowing one's limitations. Daniel Ilabaca, co-founder of the World Parkour and Freerunning Federation, said, "Thinking you're going to fail at something gives you a higher risk of doing just that. Committing to something you're thinking or knowing you will land gives you a higher chance of landing or completing the task." On biomechanical grounds, studies found parkour landing techniques result in lower landing forces in comparison with traditional sport techniques. In a
survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...
of parkour-related emergency department visits in the United States between 2009 and 2015, most injuries were reportedly caused by landing or from striking objects. American traceur Mark Toorock said 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." Lanier Johnson, executive director of the
American Sports Medicine Institute American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) located in Birmingham, Alabama was founded in 1986 by Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Lawrence Lemak with original funding from HealthSouth Corporation. It is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving t ...
, said that many of the injuries are not reported.


Impact

Initially featured in films of French director/producer
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), ''The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...
, parkour was first introduced to the British public by the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
TV channel trailer ''Rush Hour'' in April 2002. It featured David Belle leaping across London's rooftops from his office to home, in an attempt to catch his favourite BBC programme, and captured the imagination of many viewers, especially when they learned no special effects or wires were used. This advertisement, along with others for
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
,
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
, and
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, had a large-scale impact on public awareness of parkour. The creation of parkour show-reels and documentaries has been crucial to the spread of parkour, and is common in the parkour community. ''
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 Janu ...
'' is a 2003 documentary explaining some of the background of parkour, culminating with
Sébastien Foucan Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in Paris) is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of parkour and freerunning, Fouca ...
, Johann Vigroux, and
Jérôme Ben Aoues Jérôme Ben Aoues has been practising parkour since he met Sébastien Foucan, almost immediately after the creation of the popular movement art parkour. He has starred in 4 movies/documentaries, '' Yamakasi - Les samouraï des temps modernes'', '' ...
demonstrating their parkour skills. ''Jump London'' changed the presence of parkour in the UK almost overnight and is widely credited for inspiring a new generation of traceurs. It was followed by ''
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 ...
'' in 2005. Both Jump films were shown in more than 80 countries, thereby introducing the discipline and its philosophy to an unprecedented global audience. Both films have been cited by numerous practitioners as their motivation for taking up the discipline. The Australian version of ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' broadcast a segment about parkour on 16 September 2007, featuring Foucan and Stephane Vigroux. Parkour is not defined by a set of rules or guidelines, a feature which has proven particularly attractive to young people, allowing them to explore and engage in the activity on their own terms. It can be easily accepted by all cultures as a means of personal expression and recreation. For example, in 2010 ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' published a short video featuring three young men from the Gaza Strip who were active members of the parkour community. 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. ...
...
covered youth parkour participation in Jammu and Kashmir. Zahid Shah founded the Kashmir Freerunning and Parkour Federation, finding hope in the non-violent discipline of parkour.


Entertainment

Parkour has become a popular element in action sequences, with film directors hiring parkour practitioners as
stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
s. The first director to do so was
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), ''The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...
, for the film ''
Taxi 2 ''Taxi 2'' is a 2000 French action comedy film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and released in March 2000. Starring Samy Naceri, Frédéric Diefenthal and Marion Cotillard. It is the second installment in the ''Taxi'' film series. It is a sequel t ...
'' in 1998, followed by ''
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, Laure ...
'' in 2001 featuring members of the original
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, Laure ...
group, and its sequel ''
Les fils du vent ''Les fils du vent'' ("The Sons of the Wind", also known as ''The Great Challenge'' and ''Sons of the Wind: Bangkok Ninjas'') is a 2004 French action film featuring the Yamakasi. It is a semi-sequel to the Luc Besson–produced 2001 film ''Yamakas ...
'' in 2004. Also in 2004, Besson wrote ''
District 13 ''District 13'' ( French title ''Banlieue 13'' or ''B13''), is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. It depicts parkour in several stunt sequences completed without wires or computer-generated ...
'', another feature film involving advanced parkour chase sequences, starring
David Belle David Nicholas Williams Belle (born 29 April 1973) is a French actor, film choreographer and stunt coordinator. He is deemed the founder and leading pioneer of the physical discipline parkour, coining it based on his training and the teachings fr ...
and
Cyril Raffaelli Cyril Raffaelli (born 1 April 1974), sometimes credited as Cyril Xavier Cuenel Raffaelli and Cyril Quenel-Raffaelli, is a French traceur, martial artist and stuntman. Biography Utilizing shotokan karate and wushu, Raffaelli has been a regular ...
, followed by the sequel '' District 13: Ultimatum'' in 2009 and remade in English as '' Brick Mansions'' in 2014. In 2006 the
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
film '' Casino Royale'' featured Sébastien Foucan in a chase taking place early in the movie, sparking renewed media interest in parkour. Along with ''
The Bourne Ultimatum ''The Bourne Ultimatum'' is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to ''The Bourne Supremacy'' (1986). First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a ...
'' (2007), ''Casino Royale'' is credited with starting a new wave of Parkour-inspired stunts in
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
film and television. Parkour was prominent in ''
Live Free or Die Hard ''Live Free or Die Hard'' (released as ''Die Hard 4.0'' outside North America) is a 2007 American action-thriller film directed by Len Wiseman, and serves as the fourth installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. It is based on the 1997 articl ...
'' (2007), again with stuntman/actor Cyril Raffaelli, and '' Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'' (2010), choreographed by David Belle. Several films besides ''Yamakasi'' are about thieves who use parkour, such as ''
Breaking and Entering Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
'' (2006), ''Run'' (2013), and ''
Tracers Tracer may refer to: Science * Flow tracer, any fluid property used to track fluid motion * Fluorescent tracer, a substance such as 2-NBDG containing a fluorophore that is used for tracking purposes * Histochemical tracer, a substance used for tr ...
'' (2015). The 2011 film '' Freerunner'' is about eight freerunners racing through a city for survival. The 2019
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
film '' 6 Underground'' featured several parkour scenes choreographed and performed by team
Storror Storror (stylized as STORROR) is a group of seven parkour and freerunning athletes from the United Kingdom. They run a YouTube channel. Storror was established in 2010 by brothers Max Cave and Benj Cave, as well as Drew Taylor. They were later j ...
. Parkour also featured in ''
Dhoom 3 ''Dhoom 3'' () is a 2013 Indian Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, e ...
'' (2013),
Bang Bang! ''Bang Bang!'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Siddharth Anand and written by Abbas Tyrewala, Sujoy Ghosh and Suresh Nair. Produced by Fox Star Studios, it is an official remake of the 2010 American satirical acti ...
(2014) and ''
Aadhi ''Aadhi'' is a 2018 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. The film stars Pranav Mohanlal in the title role (in his debut adult role) and features Jagapathi Babu, Siddique, Lena, Aditi Ravi, Anus ...
'' (2018). Parkour is also featured on TV.
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's show ''Ultimate Parkour Challenge'' premiered as a one-hour special in October 2009 starring the athletes of the World Freerunning & Parkour Federation. This was followed in May 2010 with a six-episode series of the same name. The athletes were
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 ...
,
Tim Shieff Timothy Shieff is an English freerunner. He won the ''Barclaycard World Freerun Championship'' in 2009 and participated on the television programme MTV's '' Ultimate Parkour Challenge''. He has also competed on ''American Ninja Warrior'' and ' ...
,
Ryan Doyle Ryan Doyle (born 22 September 1984) is a freerunner, martial artist, coach, and actor from Liverpool, England, and is a founding athlete of the World Freerunning and Parkour Federation. Freerunning and parkour interests In his teenage years, ...
, Michael Turner, Oleg Vorslav, Ben Jenkin, Daniel Arroyo, Pip Andersen and King David. The programme format was a two-part weekly competition in different Southern California locations.
Professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
John Hennigan is a long-time practitioner of parkour and often incorporates it into his wrestling style, with the
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
giving him the nickname "The Prince of Parkour". Actor
Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...
learned parkour at Tempest Academy in preparation for his role as Oliver Queen in the television series ''
Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...
'', and co-star
Caity Lotz Caitlin Marie Lotz (born December 30, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and singer. She has portrayed Stephanie Horton in ''Mad Men'', Officer Kirsten Landry in the MTV mockumentary series ''Death Valley'' (2011), Annie in '' The Pact'' (2013) ...
is also a practitioner. Modern video games frequently include aspects of parkour as major game-play elements. Since the series' inception, ''Tomb Raider'' series has included increasingly numerous parkour elements. The ''Assassin's Creed'' series also makes heavy use of parkour movement (called freerunning in the game). The ''
Mirror's Edge ''Mirror's Edge'' is an action-adventure platform game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2008, and for Microsoft Windows in 2009. Set in a near-future city, the game follows th ...
'' games are heavily inspired by parkour, consisting entirely of efficiently moving around buildings, rooftops, and other obstacles. ''
Brink Brink or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Brink, Virginia, United States * Brink, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States * Brink, Greenbrier County, West Virginia, a ghost town, United States * Brink (norra delen), a loca ...
'' introduced a parkour mechanic into a realistic
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
. ''
Prince of Persia ''Prince of Persia'' is a video game franchise created by Jordan Mechner. It is built around a series of action-adventure games focused on various incarnations of the eponymous Prince, set in ancient and medieval Persia. The first two games i ...
'' and ''
Dying Light ''Dying Light'' is a 2015 survival horror video game developed by Techland and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game's story follows an undercover agent named Kyle Crane who is sent to infiltrate a quarantine zone in a ...
'' include a central parkour mechanic, while ''
Crackdown Crackdown may refer to * ''Crackdown'' (web series) * ''Crackdown'' (video game series) ** ''Crackdown'' (video game) ** ''Crackdown 2 ''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by ...
'' and ''
Crackdown 2 ''Crackdown 2'' is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on Xbox 360 in July 2010 and is a direct sequel to the 2007 video game '' Crackdown''. A sequel, '' ...
'' include an emphasis on gripping and vaulting from ledges and protruding objects. ''
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in ...
'' allows the character to use several freerunning techniques while not on the skateboard. ''
Tron Evolution ''Tron: Evolution'' is a third-person action-adventure video game, the tie-in for the film '' Tron: Legacy''. It was developed by Propaganda Games and published by Disney Interactive. It was announced at the Spike Video Game Awards and was relea ...
''s basic movements and combat were based on parkour and
capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...
.


Military training

Although parkour itself grew out of military obstacle-course training, it has become a separate discipline. After the attention that parkour received following the 2006 film '' Casino Royale'', military forces around the world began looking for ways to incorporate elements from parkour into military training. A physical trainer with the Royal Marines trained with parkour practitioners with hopes of introducing some of their techniques to his own students. Colorado Parkour began a project to introduce elements from parkour into the U.S. military and one
San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
staff sergeant trained
US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
in parkour.


Scientific research and applications

Studies have found that in exercises such as the standing long jump, depth jump, and vertical jump, parkour athletes outperform physical educators, gymnasts, and power athletes. Parkour training is especially linked with the development of eccentric load resistance and jumping ability. Studies and experiments have integrated parkour kinaesthetics into robotics.


Derivative terminologies and disciplines

In September 2003, Mike Christie's 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 Janu ...
'', starring
Sébastien Foucan Sébastien Foucan (born 27 May 1974 in Paris) is a French freerunner of Guadeloupean descent. He is the founder of freerunning and considered an early developer of parkour. Known for his views on the philosophy of parkour and freerunning, Fouca ...
, was released. In the documentary, the term "
freerunning Freerunning is an athletic and acrobatic discipline incorporating an aesthetic element, and can be considered either a sport or a performance art, or both. Freerunning is similar to parkour, from which it is derived, but emphasizes artistry over ...
" was used as an attempt to translate "parkour", in order to make it more appealing to the English-speaking audience.Edwardes, Dan (2009) ''The Parkour & Freerunning Handbook''. It Books. . p. 11 Foucan decided to keep using the term "freerunning" to describe his discipline, to distinguish it from David Belle's methods.
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, p. 39.
The remaining seven ''Yamakasi'' members continued to use the term "''l'art du déplacement'', also not wanting to associate it too closely with parkour. Similar to Sébastien's freerunning, ''l'art du déplacement'' is less about the hard discipline of the original ''Yamakasi'' group; rather, it takes a participatory approach focused on making the teaching more accessible. David Belle kept the term "parkour", saying the group contributed to the development of it, but that his father was the source of his motivation and had verbally communicated this method only to him. Both parkour and freerunning encompass the ideas of overcoming obstacles and self-expression; in freerunning, the greater emphasis is on self-expression. Although the differences between the disciplines are often hard to discern, practitioners tend to aspire to parkour and describe themselves as traceurs rather than as freerunners.


See also

*
Acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...
*
Buildering Buildering (also known as edificeering, urban climbing, structuring, skywalking, boulding, or stegophily) describes the act of climbing on the outside of buildings and other artificial structures. The word "buildering", sometimes misspelled bil ...
*
Calisthenics Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) ( /ˌkælɪsˈθɛnɪks/) is a form of strength training consisting of a variety of movements that exercise large muscle groups (gross motor movements), such as standing, graspi ...
*
Dérive The ''dérive'' (, "drift") is a revolutionary strategy originally put forward in the "Theory of the Dérive" (1956) by Guy Debord, a member at the time of the Letterist International. Debord defines the ''dérive'' as "a mode of experimental ...
– a philosophy and technique of rapid, serendipitous movement through mostly urban environments *
Obstacle racing Obstacle course racing (OCR) is a sport in which a competitor, traveling on foot, must overcome various physical challenges in the form of obstacles. Races vary in length from courses with obstacles close together to events of several kilometers ...
*
Platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
*
Qinggong Qinggong is a training technique for jumping off vertical surfaces from the Chinese martial art Baguazhang. The practitioner runs up a plank supported against a wall. The gradient of the plank is increased gradually over time as the training progr ...
– Chinese martial arts techniques *
Street workout Street workouts are a physical activity performed in outdoor parks or public facilities. The movement behind street workouts became popular in Russia, Israel, Myanmar, Morocco, Eastern Europe, and the United States, especially in New York City, Lo ...
*
Urban exploration Urban exploration (often shortened as UE, urbex and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of the manmade environment. Photography and historical inter ...
*
Woggle hopping Originating in Yorkshire, in the 1940s, woggle hopping is the act of jumping over an object that is the same height, or higher than a woggle. Background George Corner, a scoutmaster in West Yorkshire wanted his scouts to stay fit. He told the sc ...
* World Chase Tag


Citations


General and cited sources

* * *


External links

* {{Authority control Acrobatic sports Articles containing video clips Games and sports introduced in 1988 Jumping sports Outdoor recreation Sports originating in France Types of climbing