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What is Parkour? PDF Print E-mail
Sunday, 11 December 2005
 

What is Parkour?


Parkour is the art of moving through your environment using only your body and the surroundings to propel yourself. It can include running, jumping, climbing, even crawling, if that is the most suitable movement for the situation. Parkour could be grasped by imagining a race through an obstacle course, the goal is to overcome obstacles quickly and efficiently, without using extraneous movement. Apply this line of thought to an urban environment, or even a run through the woods, and you're on the right path. Because individual movements could vary so greatly by the situation, it is better to consider Parkour as defined by the intention instead of the movements themselves. If the intention is to get somewhere using the most effective movements with the least loss of momentum, then it could probably be considered Parkour.


What isn't Parkour?

Parkour is not acrobatics, tricking, stunts, recklessness, or jumping off high objects for no reason. It is not any movement or activity that doesn't fit in the above description "What Parkour Is". It is also not "What you make of it" ... it is predefined and has a purpose, if something doesn't suit that purpose, it is not Parkour.

Users' Comments  RSS feed comment
 

Display 47 of 47 comments

1. 09-14-2007 20:20

cant parkour get you into trouble with cops n stuff... i dont wanna diiieeee!!!!!!!! :x :x :x
coltonapo

2. 09-25-2007 10:47

no you shouldn't get introuble if you get premission, find a public parkour place, avoid the cops :p
d3monki113r

3. 11-03-2007 15:14

How do I find a public parkour place? :?
Surfer360

4. 11-04-2007 05:36

Nah, it won't get you into trouble, as long as you don't to parkour on landmarks, memorials, schools, or anything else like that.
rocknroller25

5. 11-07-2007 13:39

eh, im not encouraging anyone to break any laws or anything like that, but sometimes you gotta in order to find a good spot if you're from a small town like me...it's ok just so long as you don't get caught 8)
nikolastynan91

6. 11-15-2007 03:51

can any1 give me an idea of a good parkour place? :?
barr0w

7. 11-18-2007 15:10

try your school
peaduaw

8. 11-19-2007 09:31

:upset :zzz :sigh :p ;-) :-( :grin
sparkymall

9. 11-27-2007 11:36

If you learn Parkour...so you really think the fuzz would be able to catch you? 8)
Mind_Bomb

10. 11-27-2007 20:19

and all ur doing is practicing a physical disipline, (unless ur using it to do illegal stuff then thats disgraceful to parkour itself) and proof is everywhere on the net all they'll have to do is look it up.
Awade991

11. 11-27-2007 20:24

and to the person wanting an idea to practice 
i like using one of my local playgrounds, u know the ones that are so crappy and underused that you only see people on them when there is a picnic or sumptin 
also the docking bay of a store is another good place that Ill do it because they usually have a downslope, with a horizontal walkway and handrail to the side, so you can try out various hieghts (but be sure you know some people there or u can get into trouble)
Awade991

12. 12-03-2007 11:38

Parkour is 
AWSOME!
Mind_Bomb

13. 12-06-2007 00:58

it is but i cant find any places i can do it
froger764

14. 01-04-2008 06:37

hey, yea i kinda started last summer when i found out about pk, now im really in to it. its hard to practice with snow though. I have found 2 others that pk, so i train with them every now and then (they both work with me at Mr. Goodcents) We Pk to the top of the building.......
free_wolf

15. 01-12-2008 05:29

does it cost money to register :?
archerkid932

16. 01-12-2008 05:30

does registering cost anything :? :? :?
archerkid932

17. 01-16-2008 13:24

regristration is free, i think. it was when i signed on at any rate about 6 mnths ago
nikolastynan91

18. 01-16-2008 21:08

My friends and I practice at the "riverfront". It's like the center of the town and it just happens to be perfect for parkour.  
 
Funny story about getting arrested for pk. One day while we were pk traing. We were practicing climbing straight up a tree without branches at the base that was next to a parking deck you could climb into about 15-20ft up the tree. My fiend was almost to the top (around 15ft.) when a cop chased him down and nearly cuffed him. Supposedly tree climbing is illegal! :eek :? :x
Krazian

19. 01-18-2008 13:22

the hell. since when is climbing trees illegal. and what the hell is parkour
13 year old PKer

20. 01-21-2008 17:33

playgrounds can sometimes be good places for pk. they're great legally but its sometimes pretty hard to find good pk there. schools are were i typically go. im in high school so it works well. whenever im out of school they're more or less deserted. also, newer schools often have good architecture for parkour and freerunning. but besides that sorta stuff all you can do is keep your eyes open.
tatums

21. 01-30-2008 10:56

:grin i've finnaly found a name for what i've been doing for my whole life :zzz :zzz

22. 02-03-2008 08:58

lol

23. 02-20-2008 08:05

hey im new im just wonderin how are you guys learning to do this are you teachin your selves or are you being taught by a pro?

24. 02-20-2008 22:00

I wanna learn how to do it but how am I to learn? 
I like running and jumping around so I was super exicited when i found out about this ^_^ :zzz

25. 02-21-2008 15:06

I used to call it professional footing. :grin

26. 02-21-2008 15:38

How do I learn how to do this? I REALLY WANNA LEARN

27. 02-22-2008 15:56

Follow the site around, and (very important) WATCH THE PRO VIDEOS! You'll find out how. Have friends who can help you and learn with you. It's good for you. :D

28. 02-23-2008 02:31

for the guy who said his friend almost got arrested for climbing a tree (Unless it was an endangered tree or something) 
that cop must of been stupid cause there's a SPORT where you climb tall trees :p

29. 02-29-2008 12:41

yea ihave tha same problem as those other guys im from a small town in hickory north carolina and theres like nowhere to practice parkour at except for my school. and i always get in trouble for doin that.

30. 03-03-2008 21:20

really? cause where i live people don't really care 
as long as your not destroying anything

31. 03-05-2008 20:47

It'd be kinda ironic if the cop knew parkour too. I hear it's pretty popular with fire-fighters 
As far as location, if you watch David Belle's actual videos (not his compilation vids), he just wanders around and looks for stuff to climb on 
As for me, I practice on a couch in my basement :)

32. 03-06-2008 13:21

Is it ok if im 12? Is it more a of a disadvantage? 
and how am i sopoesed to do 25 pullups?

33. 03-06-2008 13:23

sorry not 25 pull ups 10-15.

34. 03-14-2008 11:26

does anyone live near terrell, tx?

35. 03-14-2008 17:34

:zzz Eh. Well, for a 12-year-old, what would be an ideal place to start? Just a few things about me... 
 
-Subtly out of shape :roll 
 
-Rather susceptible to pain. :cry  
 
So yeah. :D

36. 03-16-2008 16:31

:cry

37. 03-17-2008 18:39

Today was my first day really doing this stuff. I am incredibally excited. I have one friend doing this so far and he seems excited too.

38. 03-21-2008 09:16

2day is like my 2nd week doin it,trust me its fun.i training at a park in my area,im tryin 2 get my friends 2 do but there out of shape

39. 03-23-2008 14:59

yeah well 2day is easter... 
 
so there.

40. 03-26-2008 16:10

for the ppl who r asking about a place to do it 
it is everywhere 
they r the obstacles all around you 
there is no specific place for it 
go everywhere 
even private property 
 
and about the fuzz 
its easy 2 get away from them 
like 
all that you have to do 
is do something at one place once 
then keep going on to the next obstacle 
i've been doing this for a while 
and for the guy asking about learning it 
we are all self taught 
we learn the moves from this site 
but we have to figure out how to do them on our own 
8)

41. 03-26-2008 20:52

My School, park, And downtown are my objectives :grin

42. 03-27-2008 08:06

Hey is anyone hanging out in Pensacola, FL, that wants to pk with me and my friend. we're just starting up again, but we've been doing stuff like this all our lives. 
Sometimes it's cool just to take a walk somewhere and scope out some sick stuff to pull off, come back later with a camera or something and have fun.

43. 04-08-2008 08:16

people asking for good places to do parkour, there are a few really good places. 
 
schools 
parks 
downtown in cities 
any where really 
 
 
 
i have noticed while traveling that downtown salt lake city is good for parkour

44. 04-10-2008 14:48

a good place to try is in the middle of the woods. the trees are a good relief from urban obstacles. but you have to watch out more for rocks/roots/creatures. dosent have the uniformity of urban setting

45. 04-25-2008 13:35

also if ur just starting up, u can try different railings and try to get comfortable with the feeling of 'flow' that really helped me at first.

46. 04-28-2008 13:17

hey im new at this and i wuz wondering if there is anyone around martinsville, IN who can do this stuff if so email me  
 
halochick101@gmail.com 
 
(sk8ters would be great 2)

47. 05-05-2008 17:24

I got into Parkour about...2 weeks ago I'll say. And I've just been using playgrounds and handrails around town. I live in quite a suburban area so there isnt as many fun things around as a big city

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