ok, i would like to preface my following statements with a few things:
1) I have not read all of the posts in this thread, just about the first 50 or so, because i'm lazy and i will be the first to admit it. so, if i have missed someone's major argument, i apologize and would like you to correct me.
2) I have been training for all of 6 months now. not a lot of time by most standards, but i have already been able to feel the effect of training on my confidence, my outlook on life, and my physical strength.
3) my first exposures to parkour were through the newspaper, Youtube, and having a class with Sat (in that chronological order).
ok preface done, time for my opinion. i would first like to address the idea that parkour is not about competition. it is. the reason being that training with others improves how we ourselves train. if you see someone throw a 10 foot broadjump, you want to do that same jump, not because you want to be better than that person, but because you know it's possible and you know that you can get there. training with other people means you get to struggle for common goals, and if one person makes that goal, then the others around them want to make that same goal. so parkour is about competition, both with yourself and with other people.
as far as the whole "3 week newbies" thing goes (and i know i made a comment about this in another thread, for which i do stand corrected), there are irresponsible practitioners of every almost sport and discipline. there are people that train martial arts to be able to beat someone up. people hurt themselves all the time training for swimming, for basketball, for running. there are people that consider themselves to be better than everyone else because they practice a certain discipline, some traceurs included. so please do not mark parkour as somehow "purer" than another discipline for any reason. i can guarantee that the same sort of objections were raised when tai-kwon-do was added to the Olympics, but the only outcome i've seen from that is more people responsibly training to better themselves.
Sat made a comment that competition is the next natural step for parkour. while i do not necessarily agree that it is a natural step, i do not think that it would be a detrimental step. like i said, my first exposures to parkour came from the media, and i consider myself to be a responsible and involved practitioner (everyone has some ego, so don't deny me this little pat on the back). i feel that both the MTV parkour show and the X-games/formal competition ideas could be useful tools for people to learn about parkour, and take part if they are interested. there are groups in almost every part of the country dedicated to the advancement of parkour, and if people want to learn, they should be allowed that opportunity. like i said, there will be irresponsible practitioners, but that's something that has to be dealt with. let's face it, a lot of parkour looks super-badass, and people will want to try it. it would be better if people took the proper channels, but not everyone is willing to. that's why steroids are rampant in professional sports: some people just want to look good.
finally, i know that parkour means different things to different people. therefore, what i've said will resonate with some, and strike others as offensive. but that's what parkour is about. i'm going to adapt an old jewish proverb for this: "4 traceurs can look at a wall and come up with 5 different opinions on the best way to get up it."
thank you, and i hope that helps.
