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| The Parkour And Freerunning Handbook by Dan Edwardes (My first parkour book) |
What is parkour? Who are tracuers? I encounter these questions a lot yet I always seem to draw a blank when thinking of an answer. I have been a novice tracuer for over a year now and I still have difficulty answering these questions. So using my own experiences I will create a beginner's or inquisitor's guide to the basic elements of parkour. The parkour handbook by Dan Edwardes places the roots of L'art du déplacment in the suburbs of Paris france. The phrase literally translates to "the art of displacement". This involves using concentration and physical conditioning to navigate our environment efficiently. The term parkour was introduced in 1998 and comes form the french word parcours meaning "route" or "course". Practitioners of this philosophy are called "tracuers". We seek to conquer emotional obstacles by mastering physical ones. We discipline ourselves through developing these "basic" elements.
- Running: stability and surety of step
- Jumping: strong jump, strong landing
- Climbing: develop functionality through grip and upper body endurance
- Balance: the skill of controlled movement
- Stealth: precise muscle manipulation
- Touch: one with surroundings
The Art of Displacement
Wow! I am always fascinated by how the human body can move. All animals in their natural habitat have a natural grace and efficiency of movement. Parkour seems to embody this. It's easy to equate it to a religion because it appears to be a moving meditation. You definately have to be in the moment, with yourself, with heightened awareness of your body and its surroundings. By the way, love the name:- Black Fox Squirrel. The movements remind me of both animals. I've watched squirrels scamper up the sides of buildings and then jump to an electric line, balancing and moving until they decend head first with non-stop movement. The fox is also a master of stealth and quickness. That's what makes him the formidable target of the 'fox chase'. Love the video. Beauty and grace came to mind while watching. I hope Parkour retains its original intent and does not become a competitive sport.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me was that a black fox squirrel actually exits. I thought it was something I made up. Thank you for understanding how I derived my inspiration from the squirrel and giving me insight on how the fox works also.
DeleteParkour has always been something that has fascinated me. I was first introduced to this when a friend of mine showed me a video of some crazy Russians on you tube. They were crazy but also incredibly skilled. In a sense it looks as if they're flying and they make it seem incredibly easy.I have a lot of respect for the sport and is definitely something I would want to see live.
ReplyDeleteHowever those who fail probably end up on America's funniest home videos or in a hospital.
Lol...I will definitely do my best not to fail. I don't want my fails capitalized upon.
DeleteI remember seeing this for the first time either on a nike or adidas commercial, and thinking wow.
ReplyDeleteI been an athlete my whole life but cant imagine doing anything like this. Just the conditioning alone i couldn't handle, not to mention the strength concentration and skill needed to successfully do this. It's really cool to see what people can do with dedication and practice. Would really one day like to actually see a bunch of people doing this live because i still kind of don't believe what I'm actually seeing.
I started in a playground in central park and was surprised to see the amount of parkour enthusiasts there. I thought I was going to search for days but it they were rather easy to find. Another place to meet some are at Tompkins Square park in Manhattan.
DeleteI am very familiar to this sport parkour. I do gymnastics so I understand most of what you do, and how hard it is. In my gymnastics gym the guys who join train for gymnastics and it is pretty fancy the way they show off their skills and strengths. Parkour is pretty much the urban/ guy version of gymnastics. It takes a lot of training and dedication like the gymnastics I do to get good at what you do. It is pretty much the same training and stuff, but the outcome is different. A lot of people ask me how to control my balance and center of gravity to help them with their free running. Do you go to a gymnastics gym or a regular gym? How much do you practice ? Hours a day? And how many times a week?
ReplyDeleteParkour embodies certain aspects of gymnastics but the competitive nature of sports tends to take away some focus on the self since a rival is involved. Sports start as a reason to better than the other person and then becomes a way of life where parkour starts as way of advancing oneself and then becomes a way of life. The only competitor is who you can be, meeting that person and saying we can do so much more. I practice at NYC parks which has almost gotten me in trouble with the police (haters). I try to practice at least once a day. Thank you for subscribing and I hope this blog will be as educational for you as it is for me.
DeleteI have never really knew what parkour before this blog. Reading this and seeing the video it almost looks like a dance. The people doing this must really have control of their body. When you said “concentration and physical conditioning” I immediately thought of the unity of the mind and body. Today all I see most people doing is sitting and working or sitting and resting. People use their mind but never use the body to its best potential. When I watched the video and read your blog I thought that this is like art with the human body.
ReplyDeleteThankS!!! That was exactly the message I was going for. Like a dancer is one with her music a tracuer is one with her environment.
DeleteI have never really heard of the term parkour, but now that I think of it, I remember seeing people do tricks and working out around the city a few months ago. Now that I know exactly what it is I think it is great that people do this. Why not utilize your surroundings to get in shape and perfect yor craft. I'm sure this saves you alot of money on gym memberships as well. But I'm curious to know how you learned about parkour and how you got involved and learned new moves and tricks.
ReplyDeleteThe first time i heard of Parkour i was in high school, my friend showed me a video of people do acrobatic movements outside jumping from rooftops to the ground and they just kept running. I believe that parkour is a great way to stay in shape, but it can also be dangerous, knowing your limit is key.
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