"... etre fort pour etre utile ..."
WHAT IS PARKOUR
Parkour is the science of motion that allows us to go from Point A to Point B with maximum speed and minimum effort.
Originally, it goes all the way back to traditional military training that included obstacle running, climbing, jumping, rolling, twisting and body conditioning. The name for this sport comes from the French expression "parcours de combattant", which means "obstacle course", and it was chosen by David Belle - one of the most influential Parkour practitioners of all times.
It can be debated whether this discipline is a sport, a science or an art form, since the goal is to simply enjoy the movement and to play with your environment. It is very widely seen just as a "way of training" the human body and a way to discipline the mind. Not only, does Parkour strengthen your body and improve your balance, flexibility, stamina and coordination, but it also trains your moral values and enhances your reflexes and your creativity.
The idea is to simply be strong, in order to be useful. It is truly selfless activity. For once, it is selfless because the "I", the ego, is not there while performing a simple precision jump. The mind has to be "in the zone", focused, attentive, sharp, in order to properly observe the environment, approximate distances and successfully allow you to overcome certain obstacles and reach your desired destination. And secondly, it is selfless because by creating a strong body and a disciplined individual, you can be of use to your community and to your loved ones.
Parkour is the science of motion that allows us to go from Point A to Point B with maximum speed and minimum effort.
Originally, it goes all the way back to traditional military training that included obstacle running, climbing, jumping, rolling, twisting and body conditioning. The name for this sport comes from the French expression "parcours de combattant", which means "obstacle course", and it was chosen by David Belle - one of the most influential Parkour practitioners of all times.
It can be debated whether this discipline is a sport, a science or an art form, since the goal is to simply enjoy the movement and to play with your environment. It is very widely seen just as a "way of training" the human body and a way to discipline the mind. Not only, does Parkour strengthen your body and improve your balance, flexibility, stamina and coordination, but it also trains your moral values and enhances your reflexes and your creativity.
The idea is to simply be strong, in order to be useful. It is truly selfless activity. For once, it is selfless because the "I", the ego, is not there while performing a simple precision jump. The mind has to be "in the zone", focused, attentive, sharp, in order to properly observe the environment, approximate distances and successfully allow you to overcome certain obstacles and reach your desired destination. And secondly, it is selfless because by creating a strong body and a disciplined individual, you can be of use to your community and to your loved ones.
The way to develop our physical and mental qualities through Parkour practice is by pushing our body to do exactly what it was designed to do in the first place - run, climb, jump. Our environment becomes our training gym, it becomes our training equipment and our playground. We just need a pair of good light shoes and that's it. Well... if you practice for many years, you may need more than just one pair. But it will be money well spent. So, it is highly recommended to get good quality shoes in order to protect the soles of your foot and your ankles, since most of the times this activity is performed on concrete, in an urban environment.
PARKOUR & FREERUNNING
PARKOUR & FREERUNNING
FreeRunning is beautifully moving from point A to point B. Simply put, FreeRunning is Parkour plus Flips.
The goals are slightly different. Parkour is concerned about efficiency, about using obstacles such as bars, walls, gaps to help us get further on our track, even faster and easier than if there would have been no obstacles at all in the first place. FreeRunning is not at all concerned about speed, efficiency and minimum effort. I can safely say - and I think most FreeRunners would agree - that FreeRunning is more about Show Off and entertainment. It is about showing off the qualities of your body and entertaining yourself and the public with an impressive display of flips and acrobatics.
This does not mean that the moral values trained by a FreeRunner would be less valuable than those of a Parkour practitioner. We try to analyze these too disciplines without creating a hierarchy. For both, courage is needed. Discipline is needed. Self knowledge, self control and very good body awareness are needed.
PARKOUR AS A MARTIAL ART
As a martial artist, I am very much interested in adding more Parkour to my self-defense training. I am still interested in acrobatics and I still practice them as I find that acrobatics help with developing body control and maintaining the body young. But I do so, mainly to have fun! Back in the days, Parkour used to be an integrating part of traditional martial art training. In Ancient China, Parkour was called Light Body Skill and it was practiced at both the Wudang Temple and the Shaolin Temple. It is still practiced today at the Shaolin Temple.
Many conflicting situations that I have found myself in on the street have been solved by using Parkour and there was no need for fighting. Parkour is not just running away in this case. It is out smarting and out running your opponents. Consider you have been attacked by 7 individuals at the same time, on the street, some of which have weapons - chains, pepper sprays, metal bars... You cannot deal with that kind of arsenal and that kind of evil mindset with just fist fighting. This is not the movies! You have to use the environment and get all these people disorganized, out of stamina and out of hope! Then, if you still find it necessary, you may strike back. It might not be necessary anymore. Self defense is not about smashing your adversary, it is about defending yourself. The rabbit defends itself against the fox, not by fighting against the fox, but by outsmarting and outrunning the fox. This does not mean the rabbit is not brave enough or is not good enough of a fighter. The rabbit may fight other rabbits. But the rabbit is smart enough to know himself and know what is the best way to maintain himself healthy and safe and minimize conflict and violence.
Parkour can be used for self-defense as a way to practice what Bruce Lee called "the art of fighting without fighting"!
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