Topic: Parkour in the X-Games...

[Greg Davis]

There's really no need to act like that just because you disagree, Sat. You seem to get very defensive when someone disagrees which will make this topic fly out of hand. Hopefully it will stop going in circles soon and it will be ignored.

[Nate J.]

I agree with LeoNn. When it is done right competition is kickass in every way. It would raise awareness in a positive way, bring people together, and a good competition is always fun for practically everyone. I have only ever competed(seriously) in bouldering comps but they have been some of the most fun bouldering experiences I have had for a few reasons. 1)Everything is usually new, the hosting gym cleans the walls and puts up new climbs that are usually excellent quality.2) Everybody comes together, usually when I climb there are a couple people I know there but aty comps everyone is there at the same time. 3)Comps really ramp up the intensity. Wouldn't you like to play on obstacles specially designed to be really fun and challenging? I think that ultimately it comes down to the people involved, the competitors and the organizers.

[Dan Elric]

I'm perfectly ok with a ninja warrior type competition.  So long as you're not racing anyone but yourself.

[Sat Santokh]

There's really no need to act like that just because you disagree, Sat. You seem to get very defensive when someone disagrees which will make this topic fly out of hand. Hopefully it will stop going in circles soon and it will be ignored.

Haha if I did that every time somebody disagreed there would be a lot more angry posts here.  Maybe you didn't take into account the fact that I said that because he isn't saying anything new, interesting, helpful, insightful, or even useful in anyway.  All he is doing is undermining the people who have actually taken the time to type out arguments that require more than copy and paste.  I'm not even against other peoples opinions being posted, sure I might not like them very much or agree with them, but I'm not going to tell them to stop posting. 

[Terry McIntosh]

sat, man, chill. You know, im one of the people who actually agree with you concerning your views on comps, but you really do need to relax. be cool man 

[PKAB]

yes its kind of freaking me out how calous you get sometimes. You do have some great points though.

[Sat Santokh]

Its dumb of me to get so worked out since I know that most people won't change their views so I'm just gonna respond to fewer posts now.

[Stephanie Belle Hagan]

No, Sat! I personally think that you're posts are constructive, and you have really good points that I would not have even thought of. Post, man, post! But, like Terry said, stay cool. 

[hillexallen]

I think that adding the image to our signatures would be a GREAT way to combat competition and commercialization in parkour!

Don't worry about Sat. He can make a fool of himself if he wishes, but we don't need to point it out to others.

[Terry McIntosh]

I think that adding the image to our signatures would be a GREAT way to combat competition and commercialization in parkour!

Don't worry about Sat. He can make a fool of himself if he wishes, but we don't need to point it out to others.

the signature thing has been going on forever. feel free to add it to yours if you wish. i think sat brings up good points, especially regarding views of "jocks" and the training needed to truely be great at pk. he seems ( and this is from my reading of his post, and its hard to tell true tone from text) to be a little short with people. i don't think that makes him a fool. we should prolly all watch the " name calling" here. after all, you never know who you will come face to face with at the next big jam.

[Tim LaVere]

leonn has the right idea, besides if you asked sebastien foucan wether or not to do comps he would say if it is your way or somthing along that line, its your choice just make sure its really what you want and remember that through out life. also dont do it to be popular or coool do it to learn and get better.

[Milquetoast]

Traditionally in the Martial Arts world, when some but not all of the students want to change how things have always been taught, there are usually only two possible outcomes:

1. Both groups claim true lineage, with the splinter group usually claiming that the master taught them the new way in secret.  Everyone is confused.  See Wing Chun's history for an example of this.

2. The splinter group (and sometimes even the traditional group) changes the name of their style to differentiate themselves.  Everyone is less confused.  The name change is usually not VERY significant, so as to show a common lineage.  See the various Tai Chi styles' histories for an example of this.

So for the proponents of Parkour competition, would you be okay with not calling it Parkour?  For those against Parkour competition, would you have any problems with a competition if it wasn't just called a "Parkour Competition"?  Say, if it was called "Sport Parkour", "Competitive Parkour" or "Parcouring"?

[hillexallen]

I would be fine with it as long as the name doesn't sound like "parkour". That could make the public confused between the two, and possibly give us a bad reputation. They could also not claim any association with David, Sebastien, or Yamakasi, or anyone who practices real parkour.

[Greg Davis]

I agree give it another name and I'm set. Everyone would be happy... why does it have to be labeled Parkour?

[David Jones]

'Nuff Said.

You're a tool.  Either contribute to the meaningful discussion taking place or keep your childish posts to yourself.

LOL! I was just in a rush because I had to get on the bus home from highschool! Sorry if I offended you at all, I'm usually one to make more insightful posts, but APK isn't really my primary forum. When it comes down to it, a competition will have to be named differently, for it is not Parkour or freerunning for that matter. But the bad part is that this will cause even further division if a competition will be known to the likes of the X Games. IDK, can't we all just get along?

[David Jones]

And no, I'm not a child, I'm 16 lol

[Dan Elric]

Oh here's an idea.  Instead of calling it parkour, why don't you just call it building jumping?  Because without the philosophy that's all it will really be.

[FastGuppy]

tricking or freerunning would be the right name. Parkour it point a-b. You could have a pakour race.

[Broc]

parkour will be ruined just like every other thing that has become commericialized

i mean i got interested in parkour because not a huge percentage of people practice it
i just think if everyone practiced parkour then i wouldn't really be different anymore
i mean sure some people would have higher skill levels than others but if everyone did it, i just don't think it would be that special to me anymore

furthermore, people will probably come up with even more different "types" of parkour like freerunning and tricking. eventually, there would be even more debate whether this is actually parkour and it will only branch out from there and become so refined, until it is completely ruined and people practicing it don't even know who david belle or sebastian foucan is...

and in the end, the spirit of parkour will be completely destroyed once it is deemed an "extreme sport" and added to the x-games lineup 

[David Jones]

parkour will be ruined just like every other thing that has become commericialized

i mean i got interested in parkour because not a huge percentage of people practice it
i just think if everyone practiced parkour then i wouldn't really be different anymore
i mean sure some people would have higher skill levels than others but if everyone did it, i just don't think it would be that special to me anymore

furthermore, people will probably come up with even more different "types" of parkour like freerunning and tricking. eventually, there would be even more debate whether this is actually parkour and it will only branch out from there and become so refined, until it is completely ruined and people practicing it don't even know who david belle or sebastian foucan is...

and in the end, the spirit of parkour will be completely destroyed once it is deemed an "extreme sport" and added to the x-games lineup 

Your exactly right. Competition puts a cloud over what the real intentions for these activities are. We do not train to win a competition, we train "To be and to last", and "To be strong to be useful"! Parkour, Free running, and many other activities are being practiced all for the wrong reasons. This controversy is all too common for me because I also skateboard. I've been skateboarding since about 3rd grade (Now in 11th) and the last thing I ever thought about was competing. The worst part is that now this is all the skating is about to the general mass, and they base your skill by how many different variations of a flip you can do! This is why I transitioned into long boarding and riding retro decks, because there is no push to be better than others, only yourself.

I think the idea of being a non competitive discipline should stick and if there is competition, they should go about using a new name. I know that Asics had a "Parcouring Championship" by the way...


Peace and love,

David