Thursday, February 28th, 2008
Parkour
Before last week, I have not heard of this extreme sport called parkour.
From Wiki:
Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l’art du déplacement (English: the art of displacement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.
Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one’s body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.
Parkour is a physical activity which is difficult to categorize. It is not an extreme sport, but an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the martial arts. According to David Belle, “the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it.” Thus, when faced with a hostile confrontation with a person, one will be able to speak, fight, or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flight. Because of its unique nature, it is often said that parkour is in its own category: “parkour is parkour.”
An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. Practitioners move not only as fast as they can, but also in the least energy-consuming and most direct way possible. This characteristic distinguishes it from the similar practice of free running, which places more emphasis on freedom of movements, such as acrobatics. Efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term, part of why parkour’s unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last).
Traceurs claim that parkour also influences one’s thought process by enhancing critical thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles.
This is the first traceur I have met, and he is amazing. He would probably be grounded if he were my son, and I know that his mom certainly doesn’t approve.
I have seen him climb walls, go over and under rails, jump on and over tall structures. Each time my heart stopped and I wanted to scream, “Be careful!”
Parkour anyone?
I am many things - a life coach, a diversity champion, a freelance writer and translator, a dog lover, a citizen of the world, etc - but never thought of myself as a photographer. Norwich inspires me to capture snapshots of this fine Norman city. Take a trip down Norwich lanes or enjoy a walk in the park with me.
on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 4:20 am:
great explanation of the sport! very interesting!
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 5:15 am:
I have never heard of that, either…it looks exciting. I think I would need a few more workouts before I could try that.
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 7:31 am:
Interesting. I did not know that as well.
Thank you!
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 11:23 am:
Those guys are fun, but clearly insane.
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 12:00 pm:
I too hadn’t heard about parkour sport earlier. That is amazing sport, interesting but it also can be dangerous. Those ones who practise that sport are surely brave and very well skilled and in good condition.
The photo you took is great. You captured the boy before he touched the sculpture or perhaps it was a moment when he just took off.
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 12:05 pm:
Interesting, but no thank you, still recovering froom a broken lag.
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm:
Nice knowing about this sport and the description…a very well captured shot too!
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 7:30 pm:
Interesting. I suppose the art of getting over all the obstacles in your path is something which comes in handy in many circumstances, not all of them necessarily legal…
Good post.
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on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 8:10 pm:
It looks and sounds great, but I don’t quite understand how they’re allowed to jump all over sculptures, street furniture and roofs.
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on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 12:48 am:
Never heard of it, but I think I would be really good at it! j/k … I have trouble getting out of my own way!
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on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm:
Hiya,
My Name is Dickie. I live in Norwich and have been doing Parkour for nearly 4 years. I like your photo and the wiki text. Myself and a couple of others run the group if you are ver around and want to take some photos look us up.
Dickie.
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on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 5:12 pm:
lol im on google. i everyone im the guy in the photo im not the best freerunner but i really enjoy it. thanks alot joy
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on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 4:50 pm:
Hi Guys. ..
Just wanna say that my son and I are part of this group and its amazing. The kids are so nice and the trainer is very educated and sensible and really thoughtful. Warms ups and rest periods are part of the training and there everyone looks out for each other. This is the best thing I could have got my son into. Not only does it teach him to appreciate structure and architecture but it does include dicscipline also and these kids do not drink or take drugs.. as this is a fitness thing!! They dont just jump from any old building .. there are rules and regs!!!
These guys are a great bunch of lads and if kids these days are doing this, then thank the lord for Parkour as majority of the gang are respectful,caring and thoughtful people.
As a mother, some may think Im mad.. but this is a controlled and happy environment and sport for kids to develop good attitude and make friends whilst keeping very very fit.
Rant over. xx
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on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 1:32 pm:
my group NAF have alot of rules that stop us from going to places were we are not supose to. it is some times a legal sport its used to get away from people chasing you. most people in NAF have only done one roof jump or less and in NAF pakrour 3 vid that is the only one and this is max air’s garage roof so we try not to do parkour in places we are not allowed
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