Just Move

I was talking to a girl last night, she'd never heard of parkour until she met me. Thanks to APK, facebook, and youtube she got some solid internet stalking done and so she began to describe what she saw when she watched the videos she found.

"It's so simple. You're just moving. It's art though, the art of moving, I guess. Yeah, the art of movement."

Easy as that. With fresh eyes to our oldest question she stated simply and elegantly the idea of what we do. Now I know many people consider parkour and freerunning and ADD different things and that's true, they do have different definitions for the words, but to me it all comes down to one simple idea: What do we do? Not what do we call what we do, not what it means to do what we do, just simply what do we actually do? Now I'm not trying to deny the existence of differing disciplines and that some may only be interested one idea and not another, but what I do want to recognize is just what connects us all. What is it that allows hundreds of strangers to gather in one city and open their doors to one another? What is it that drives people to run and jump and climb? What is it that makes us, this family, exist? What brought us to this place we're at today? I remember the animosity and separation that divided the community only a few years ago. What is it that softened those tempers, that bridged those gaps? To me I think it was a simple realization, that no matter what you call yourself, it's only a word, but what we do that is more than a word, it's an understanding. A shared desire to just move, for whatever reason you give, to whatever end or goal, it's all just movement.

I am constantly in awe of what this community has accomplished, how it has grown, how it has helped to build itself, the image it has presented to the rest of the world. All the efforts of each individual member and every local community, hosting jams, running Leave No Trace days, posting videos, offering helpful posts, every little action has proved to me time and time again that whatever it is that we call ourselves, we've all found a way to connect, to work together, to build something incredible, and most importantly to just move.