Topic: MTV's parkour challenge reviews and reactions!

[EAT]

one thing i did not like was when they said it was developed by the french military, im pretty sure Belle was in the military, but by saying that instead of saying it was done by him ans his friends makes it sound like the leaders of the french military came up with it. that really irritated me.
 
other than that, they need to show tim more
the dudes my hero

I think they are talking about Raymond Belle during the early days of the Vietnam War, before David was even in the picture.

[Tyler Burger]

Watched an episode not to long ago.... I was not impressed. And sorry if I repeat some of the things already said; didn't feel like going through all of the pages to see if someone already made my point.

What I did like:

The interviews with the Traceurs and learning about how they got into PK/FR. That was kool and inspiring.

...... That's about it.

What I didn't like:

First off, the name itself is an oxymoron. From my understanding and, what I picked up through my studies of Parkour, is that it is not a competitve event or even a sport; It's a way of life. The definition of Parkour that I agree with is "The discipline of getting over any obstacle in your path efficiently and quickly used in situations where one must run away from, or chase after someone/something....The Art of Flight". To turn Parkour into a show not created for educational or historical purposes just seems to contradict the whole purpose of the art and Herbertism from which it evolved from. And by the definition of it... they aren't doing Parkour.. They are Freerunning which I learned was the" Artistic expression through physical movement". In Parkour you wouldn't do a side flip over a 15ft gap... defeats the whole purpose of efficiently getting over the gap because you're adding a risky move to it.

Side Note... I'm not bashing FR. Freerunning is an amazing thing to see and I repect people who Freerun... I'm just saying... By definition, it's not Parkour.Yes I know they have similarities... but I don't buy the whole "merging" shit people are talking about. That would be like saying Football and Rugby are merging just because they have similarities.... C'mon, they are fundemantally different and will NEVER be the same thing because of the philosophy and mindset behind each discipline.... Period.


Because of all that, I believe this show puts a bad spin on Parkour. It shows Parkour as a competition and as freerunning instead of Parkour.

That and the hosts are a couple of jokes... Seriously a crock a shit.

they're having fun, and if your having fun with it then why does it matter so much about any names? as soon as you start putting clear cut names on things you put in boundries and take away freedom. i now call what i do movement because if i say i do parkour and practice flips (to have fun) i dont want to feel like im breaking a law, and thats why i took up parkour (i started with it as La art du displacement), there were no rules or boundries.....until you start listening to, for lack of a better word "orthodox" people talk on these forums.

my rules to movement...
-stay happy
-stay safe
-always have fun
-dont get caught up with anything

now, lets get back on topic

[Tex__]

I think they are talking about Raymond Belle during the early days of the Vietnam War, before David was even in the picture.

yeah but the philosophy and life style part are what make it what it is. and that was David and the others.

if you take out the philosophy then it has been around since the beginning of man.

[Daniel Arroyo]

they're having fun, and if your having fun with it then why does it matter so much about any names? as soon as you start putting clear cut names on things you put in boundries and take away freedom. i now call what i do movement because if i say i do parkour and practice flips (to have fun) i dont want to feel like im breaking a law, and thats why i took up parkour (i started with it as La art du displacement), there were no rules or boundries.....until you start listening to, for lack of a better word "orthodox" people talk on these forums.

my rules to movement...
-stay happy
-stay safe
-always have fun
-dont get caught up with anything

now, lets get back on topic

Finally a answer so deep that the roots of what you are saying should reach farther then just this forum.... All of the athletes on the show were beginning to think people just don't understand..

JUST MOVE.....

[andrew]

Exactly, parkour is about just letting go and having fun!
I liked how the competitors know that it's not about winning, but about what we love doing, and (i forgot who did it, i think it was Oleg) i like how he purposely lost the challenge to make King David go in the moat XD

[andrew]

just watched episode 6 online... Danny, that was ill

[Chris Seaton]

Exactly, parkour is about just letting go and having fun!
I liked how the competitors know that it's not about winning, but about what we love doing, and (i forgot who did it, i think it was Oleg) i like how he purposely lost the challenge to make King David go in the moat XD

Yar, at the castle ep, and he made it a point to lift king david on his shoulder and carry him out. 

You know, to be honest, i recently caught the special features on the D13:U disc--and David Belle said this about the art: 

"Parkour is many things to many people.  And all of them are correct as long as it is movement."

So yeah.  Chew on that.  I know I did. 

Danny, thank you so much for coming on here regularly and conversing with us about the show.  You really make us feel like we matter here and our input means something, which is important to lowly common folks like me.  It's people like you that will make the UPC a success.

[Tex__]

holy shit Daniel Arroyo is here? i just noticed that i feel like an ass.

that is really awesome. this made my day

[zayn]

Finally a answer so deep that the roots of what you are saying should reach farther then just this forum.... All of the athletes on the show were beginning to think people just don't understand..

JUST MOVE.....

its what we do as traceur(e)s...we stay in constant motion....i personally stopped watching the show since the time change, but i practice everyday and im always looking for a new adventure...

(srry if this was off topic)

[longhillrocker]

great answer! "JUST MOVE".. ppl are always on me about how i practice parkour but i flip in my videos. I LOVE PARKOUR AND I LOVE TO FLIP! whats the big deal if i throw flips every now and then. i flip cause its fun, its all just movement in the end.

and theres gonna be a mystery guest on the next show?? thats interesting
the most recent episode was def the best yet...so original, lots of fun

and btw danny relay this to travis

TRAVIS the host with the most! u are sick my dude. keep it up

[WoodlandGhillie]

Mr. Arroyo, how are those "Know Obstacles" shoes? I heard you were starting to test them, actually noticed them in the show.

(I also noticed a guy wearing a Virginia Tech Parkour shirt @ 19:33... nearly shat bricks...)

[Tyler Burger]

Finally a answer so deep that the roots of what you are saying should reach farther then just this forum.... All of the athletes on the show were beginning to think people just don't understand..

JUST MOVE.....

i know exactly how you feel dude, sometimes it just feels like a lost cause trying to explain to people that names or guidelines dont matter.

[DaveS]

Names and labels don't matter to the individual's training, but they do matter if you're trying to communicate with someone else as it's a common understanding of what these names and labels represent that forms the basis for communication.

It's the cause of most of the problems in the Parkour community, the fact that lots of people have seen youths messing about on rooftops, or jumping off high walls, or performing acrobatics, and mistakenly labelled it as Parkour.

[Chris Seaton]

Names and labels don't matter to the individual's training, but they do matter if you're trying to communicate with someone else as it's a common understanding of what these names and labels represent that forms the basis for communication.

It's the cause of most of the problems in the Parkour community, the fact that lots of people have seen youths messing about on rooftops, or jumping off high walls, or performing acrobatics, and mistakenly labelled it as Parkour.

QFT, and +50 to you sir. 

We communicate with one another through words and ideas represented by those words.  Even though the individual terms may not mean that much when we train, it's the general public's perception that is shaped by the terminology we use whenever we're out. 

That's why it's important on a certain level to establish what is Parkour vs. what is Freerunning, I think--simply put, words DO mean something, and when you can place a label on a particular "thing" or movement then it gives a whole new credibility to what's there. 

Even though...yes, Belle said it...Parkour can be many things to many people. 

[JD.]

Is there any word on a chance of a second season in the US?

[Tex__]

i saw a promo for season two, think it said may

[Keifer S.]

Names and labels don't matter to the individual's training, but they do matter if you're trying to communicate with someone else as it's a common understanding of what these names and labels represent that forms the basis for communication.

It's the cause of most of the problems in the Parkour community, the fact that lots of people have seen youths messing about on rooftops, or jumping off high walls, or performing acrobatics, and mistakenly labelled it as Parkour.

I disagree. To me, the 'cause of most of the problems' in the Parkour community is this whole naming fiasco. Constant bickering over "no, that's X" and "if I do Y, can I be called a Z?" is doing a huge amount of damage to the practice of parkour.

As already stated by numerous people, "just move." Labels don't matter. Call it parkour, call it freerunning, call it jumping over stuff. Develop your own philosophy (or don't! it's up to you) behind your movement. The beauty of parkour is its lack of rigid rules and focus on pure movement.

[Tex__]

somewhat off topic,but when i first started seeing parkour over the internet, i didn't look at the names of the people doing it.

i decided to look up some of the competitors on youtube because i didn't know who they where

it turns out the first parkour video i ever saw was done by Oleg Vorslav (i know it sounds like BS but im not kidding, this blew my mind)

[Keifer S.]

somewhat off topic,but when i first started seeing parkour over the internet, i didn't look at the names of the people doing it.

i decided to look up some of the competitors on youtube because i didn't know who they where

it turns out the first parkour video i ever saw was done by Oleg Vorslav (i know it sounds like BS but im not kidding, this blew my mind)

Was it Out of Time? I love this one

http://www.vimeo.com/6495648

[Todd1]

the first parkour video i ever saw was done by Oleg Vorslav (i know it sounds like BS but im not kidding, this blew my mind)

Actually, no one will think it's BS.  Oleg's Russian Cimbing video was the first parkour video that a lot of us saw.  It was for me.