American and european parkour

[DeathsShadow]

Hey there guys,
I'm new to this part of town and Ive been watching a few videos from various people, one thing Ive noticed is that the style of parkour is different over the pond than in Europe, i haven't quite worked out whats different but it just somehow looks and feels different.
has anyone else noticed this or am i just being weird?

[klaymen]

maybe it is the music? also, there is a different landscape. architecture and what not. they seem the same for the most part except for the actual area that is in the video.

[Deft]

The main difference I see between American and European styles of Parkour is that Europe is riddled with fall out looking, broken down old buildings that make for an amazing pk playground. (I am sure there are abandoned buildings in the US but for the most part Americans are all about "Bigger Better and Now" so old buildings get quickly torn down and turned into a starbucks.) Also I know that a lot of the southern states, this may not be true forr places like NYC, Detroit, and other big entities,  but for the most part we lack these huge super structures that are a mere feet apart making it possible to travel from rooftop to rooftop. Nowadays building codes have changed and they have to me a certain distance apart for fire and other safety issues. Europe is filled with old buildings and they are packed closer than sardines. I think elements like that have given rise to the popularity of rooftop to rooftop parkour that is common in European videos but is next to non existant in videos from the states.

[Matthew Lee Willis]

Yes It also seems that penelties are much higher here in the states.  I am not sure if people are just not worried about geting caught but being on the roof of a building here in the States is like arrest worthy.  It is more spaced out here in the south.  Big wide open spaces that have 100 miles to the next city.  Where in Europe and they just flow from one city to the next.

[Deft]

In Texas it is legal to shoot a tresspasser, if on your property, it clearly states No Tresspassing.

[Matthew Lee Willis]

Yea...you got to love Gun Toten Texas...yea...its really scary to think about all the roofs I have been on.

[Flippusmn]

I still think it's the music. It feels the same to me for the most part.

[DeathsShadow]

i guess it might well be down the the architecture, i just though it was weird how it could be so different even though its the same activity...

[BULLFROG]

other then the architecture, which i totaly agree....that i notice are the ability of the person, if you see any french videos, you can notice how quick and efficient they are when they are training...because they've been "brought" up, if you will, with the concept of parkour from the beginning so they practised alot on speed and control and such...

i know i shouldn't being saying that its just french traceurs, there are quite a few talented european and american traceurs...but in general with the few exceptions, alot of people aren't that efficient or quick with their moves...i see alot of stutters before take off, bad landings and rolls...inefficient moves when training...kinda like they just do a move and thats hit, no coming out of it smooth and into a run or anything like that...

just my opinion and $0.02

[Josh Klute]

I know exactly what you mean, I do it all the time.  It's really hard for me to focus on the run.  When I am about to go I get a sudden lack of confidence that really messes me up.  My lack of confidence is the biggest thing that I've been trying to overcome.  Once I eventually overcome it I should be able to flow like honey.

[Quazar]

You want some really nice fallen out, run down old buildings, check out the outskirts of St. Louis.

Incredible

[Flippusmn]

I don't really like the dirt idea because it gets in your cuts and stuff , old run down buildings always have there fair share of dirt and sharp objects.

[Frosti]

Deft when you said "Bigger Better and Now" i know you were talking about our architecture but that also seems to capture the mindset of a lot of american traceurs, they are doing bigger more advanced techniques as soon as possible which is reckless as well as dangerous. But i think that mentality runs throughout in the American mindset and so a lot of untrained or unprepared kids are trying to hard to do stuff they're not ready for, trying to start teams and get sponsored, make videos before they have anything to show. I mean i have no problem with someone pushing themselves, trying to advance their team, or make a video if htey feel so inclined, but i think too many peopel are trying to do it before they're ready and that not only ends up being potentially dangerous for them but also it can hurt the image of the community when they portray a dangerous and often innacurate idea of what parkour is.

[Rowe]

I was digging through some old topics and thought this was too interesting to let die. What do all of you think. Can you watch a video and,barring architecture,tell a difference in style?

[Spencer Rich]

I've had a theory about this too.  I think there's a loose style imposed regionally, if you watch the oleg videos and any videos that come out of latvia (at least the ones I've seen), there's a certain style of movement there.  Same with a lot of Denmark videos, same with a lot of London/British videos.  Could be just how people end up adapting to their local architecture, or maybe a certain individual accrues a lot of skill/talent and everyone sort of follows the leader in terms of skill development and style.  More likely a combination of a few factors including those.

[matcauthon12]

I was on the 3run forums and saw a topic like this. A bunch of English traceurs were asking why American traceurs (in general) had so much less flow. Some people pointed out the difference in training time. Personally, I also think it's the way the videos are presented. A lot of really talented people I train with never make videos. Some of them are just as good as the guys in England, but they are never presented to people outside of their immediate area. It just seems that in England, the talented guys make more videos and the newer people don't, which is the opposite of here in the States.

[rodvarg]

In my opinion the only difference in style really is all in the architecture, and not just from with Europe/ the states. In different regions the architecture is different from north to south and east to west (from what I've seen traveling). With such changes come different styles when executing certain runs. But that's just my two cents.

[Ashley McC]

I think that we Americans have a much different style than the Europeans. Not only is it the choice of music, but I believe its the mindset. Americans are always wanting bigger and better, for example,take freestyle motocross,fans and riders didn't seem satisfied with the tricks that they have always done they had to throw 360 flips and backflips into it too and with freerunning and even parkour it seems like we have to do bigger and better tricks or a bigger and better kong. With Europeans it seems like they are more laid back and definitely have that mindset where they want to follow what parkour is about. But that's just my take on this matter.

My $.02   

[Graham Hughes]

It's probably a combination of a lot of factors:

1) Architecture, I'm sure, plays a role.
2) Experience is another: Parkour & Freerunning have had more time to develop overseas.
3) Culture, of which music is a subdivision, may also be a factor.  We're dubiously blessed with the "American Spirit."  Go big, go fast, and do it all RIGHT NOW!
4) The biggest contributor to me though, is probably in the WAY the discipline has spread.  In the UK, it started out with just a few guys, and those guys had time to train slowly, methodically, and develop their skills (and more importantly, their mentality) before many other people knew what this whole "Parkour" thing was all about.  They got to start the initial communities, and set an example that helped inspire the movements and styles of others.  It also seems as if many people learned person-to-person rather than via youtube tutorials and the like.  (Easier to do in a smaller country, I imagine)

In the US, Parkour has spread very quickly to all corners of the country and is exploding without the kind of guiding influence from preestablished communities that the UK experienced.  We don't have as many "role models," I guess you'd say, to influence the way we move and think about parkour.  Here you get lots of kids in suburbs all over the country copying what they see in youtube vids without knowing anybody else who does it and that they could personally learn from.

Maybe the difference isn't so much "European vs American" styles, as it is "2nd Generation vs 3rd Generation" styles.  It could be a natural difference in the development of training styles due to the spread of parkour to wider, mostly youtube-learned audiences.  If that's the case, I think it's likely that as the new American communities continue to draw in and guide newcomers, we'll see a rise in the number of burgeoning traceurs with similar training and "flow" mentalities to the UK and French scenes (4th Generation, perhaps?) ...although I doubt we'll ever be completely free of the "GO BIG RIGHT NOW" mentality that seems to be at the heart of American culture, LOL. 

[Jereme Sanders]

Very interesting thread. I think a lot of the ego that can inherently be in a lot of american people starting something cutting edge can effect peoples mindsets in this discipline, they like to rush, go big instead of slowly make their movement more comprehensive, confident and natural. But I don't think all of the American scene is like this, not by a long shot, as I personally know a decent amount of individuals in all corners of the U.S. that train with a great mindset as well as just generally have a very clean and fluid style. So It all just depends on how much work you are really looking to put into yourself and this art, as well as the discipline to train hard and safe. If you are looking up to people that just throw big stuff that they land some of the time, working on stutter stepping into vaults followed by complicated acro, that's all they'll ever get. People like to work the big amazing stuff, not working on their running technique, their cadence as Mark likes to put it or any of the small, basic and extremely important things that make you that much more mobile. /rant