That's what stories do, my friend. They are exaggerations to illustrate a point. I was using an extreme example to show what it's like for someone not to use the skills they have gained for the good of other people, and how frustrating that is for the other people.

Yes, that's what it is, it's cleaning up, but it's not cleaning up what you did, it's cleaning up what everyone did, traceur or not. I don't think you're getting my point, just forget about it.

I, for one, think his article was written by.. a 16-18 year old.  Maybe I've been in the business too long.  ..sigh..  Great conception, poor execution.. which caused all this crazy hoopla.

And Adam, no worries.  I'm not SERIOUSLY taking offense to the reference.. I just think that we get compared to Spidey too often when it's very clear that we have more in common with Batman, who trained his ASS off to get to where he is now (and yes, I will always refer to comic characters as if they are real and presently alive).

Oh, the writing thing is just a personal quirk for me.  Doesn't detract from others too much, I hope.

And batman was able to get the BEST training because he had the resources to travel...  but all-in-all, his training is a result of diligence, not wealth.  It's the time he puts into it.. the endless hours.  The fact that every waking moment (and sleeping) of his life is spent on bettering himself for the sake of others.  He could have done it as a poor man, and been just as good, because it isn't necessarily WHO trained him, but how much of himself he put into it.  I'll cite others around him who hadn't his privilege, but can hang with him.. Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing), Jason Todd (Robin/Red Hood), Tim Drake (Robin), Stephanie Brown (Spoiler/Robin), Helena Bertrelli (Huntress), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle), Cassandra Cain (Batgirl)...  In the case of the latter, there is a poor girl who grew up with the most severe of training.. and can match Batman easily.  But the thing about all of these people is that they spend EVERY moment training, or thinking about training.  They made their life's mission to help others, and nothing can get in the way of that.

I'm not saying that that should be us...  As Leon said, we aren't superheroes and we aren't vigilantes.  But whenever I get into a slump of my training, I go and read some Batman comics, and I realize what can happen if I'm NOT strong enough, fast enough, etc..  And I realize that I can always devote more of myself.

If I may.  It is preparation of the mind, the decisiveness of action that may be the most valuable thing that we take away from the practice of parkour.  Just as indecision will cause a vault to fail, failure to act in life can, and often has, had calamitous ramifications.  So prepare yourself for that eventuality, the day where the unexpected will face you and your greatest asset will be your ability to assess danger and your willingness to do what must be done without hesitation.

Loved the concept of the article. Its pretty much been discussed but I would like to say something with the career aspect.

Cyril Raffaelli is a professional stunt man who makes a career by doing stunts that often incorporate parkour. Has he personally come to my door and offer to help me? No, but that doesn't mean he hasn't made a difference in my life. His videos were one of the first that motivated me to starting this discipline. Thats all it was, a video I saw of him. Look where I am now, reading an article on a parkour forum, training everyday to better myself (more fit, disciplined, etc...) and now I do what I can to share what I have learned with people in my local community. I hope one day to be a stunt man and make the same impact on people that Cyril, David, Daniel, Chase, Levi, (the list goes on) have made on me. They didn't come up to me and say "Ronnie you should better your self" and break down a whole philosophy, all I saw was what they have done with their lives and how they share it with other people.

People on these forums do this same thing all the time for people, by posting training videos, articles, friendly discussions (most of the time), etc... Providing information, and knowledge for someone to better themselves. But It's up to someones own free agency whether or not they will take this new information and better themselves.

I don't know where I'm really going with this, I really appreciate the basis of your article. It doesn't take a lot, to do a whole bunch for someone else, is an idea I have always followed. All it takes is a gesture and you can make someones day.

Lastly by bettering yourselves, you will be bettering other people, it may be on a small scale or big scale. But it starts by bettering your self before it betters some one else. Just start with diligent training and you are already making a difference.

I think the ending to the new Batman movie has a good moral for this topic. I cannot put it into my own words and I can't really remember his words word for word but it is good.

crap post

I took it as, "We can all try to be heros (in our case "useful") but do the people really need an actual hero... or just someone to look up to."

Maybe I took it the wrong way or I am thinking of a different part of the movie.