I love it when I discover something new about myself or in life that I really connect with or develop a quick passion for. Â New things that really interest me often take a strong presence in my mind and Parkour has done exactly that to me in the last couple months. Â While Parkour is definitely growing it isn’t known by everyone and so it needs an explanation. Â In fact, it can be a bit hard to explain though quickly, so bear with me. Â I’ve taken the description from the AmericanParkour website as I think it describes it best:
What is Parkour?
Parkour is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment.
Parkour requires… consistent, disciplined training with an emphasis on functional strength, physical conditioning, balance, creativity, fluidity, control, precision, spatial awareness, and looking beyond the traditional use of objects.
Parkour movements typically include… running, jumping, vaulting, climbing, balancing, and quadrupedal movement. Movements from other physical disciplines are often incorporated, but acrobatics or tricking alone do not constitute parkour.
Parkour training focuses on… safety, longevity, personal responsibility, and self-improvement. It discourages reckless behavior, showing off, and dangerous stunts.
Parkour practitioners value… community, humility, positive collaboration, sharing of knowledge, and the importance of play in human life, while demonstrating respect for all people, places, and spaces.
It’s not simply a sport, or activity. Â Nor is it something that you describe only by its activities or moves. Â Parkour can only be described in part by the movements since it is a physical language defined by many techniques, movements, body strength and adaptation of being about to navigate obstacles around you. Â It’s about the environment, the interaction and awareness that comes with learning to connect with your surroundings. Â It’s about learning to progress not only from point A to point B but also in your ability to move in your environment smoothly and efficiently. Â The discipline and training for Parkour has all the same elements to it as personal development and overcoming obstacles in life requires the same persistence, training and ability to make mistakes, learn from them, get back up and go at it again. Most sports have some element of this but the training usually becomes very repetitive and limited. Â Not with Parkour, it has no limits as the movements vary greatly and its all about your own creative style to make it fun.
Fluid Movement
So I first became attracted to Parkour and freerunning because of it’s natural movement and I had only seen a couple videos online to inspire me not even knowing what it was called at first as the video was simply called Russian Climbing.  The sports I already love are all about smooth motion and they depend highly on the physical body to manipulate your movement.  Mountain unicycling, windsurfing, wakeboarding. They all need smooth, fluid motion and I have now learned that Parkour requires it more than anything of those or anything else I’ve ever tried.  It is the ultimate in human movement and takes immense time to master the skills, strength and fluidity needed.  I’ve always loved movement and as an extreme mountain unicyclist, smooth motion and core strength have always been a part of my sports interests.  Discovering Parkour expanded on that raw aspect of movement and revealed a huge variety of moves.  It’s very demanding on the body and will certainly keep a person fit, especially if they do much training and conditioning as part of their practice, which I certainly am. One of the best things about Parkour  is the mindset of it and anyone who practice it (known as a traceure or traceuse).  It is about the freedom to move, explore and simply have fun with your body in any environment.  All the skills listed above in what Parkour requires you must develop to advance and I value all of them:  discipline, strength, balance, creativity, control, awareness, and expanding past what is known. Anyone can learn Parkour as you can do it at any pace, at whatever risk level you are comfortable with and in pretty much any location. It is meant to be learned at whatever pace you can handle, not by jumping into moves and things that are dangerous (this is the majority of what is popular on YouTube mind you).  I do it for the joy of movement, to test myself and my abilities, to overcome obstacles in movement the same way I overcome obstacles in life, with speed, skill and strengths used to their fullest to let you progress smoothly and safely.
Overcoming Barriers
It certainly has its risks as any physically demanding sport does but it’s up to you practicing to determine how hard you push yourself and how far you are willing to risk your safety. Â Freerunning and Parkour do require a lot of practice and training to learn safely and within your limits. Â You must condition your body and build your strength at the same time as new skills to create your own style and expand your movements. Â This only occurs by expanding your training regime, pushing yourself to be creative and by thinking beyond life’s typical barriers of limited movement. Â It’s a great sport that connects friends by training and sharing skills together, to experience the pleasure of a new kind of fluidity, the fluidity of movement. Â It’s not competitive, its collaborative and founded with an essence of self-preservation and in the ability to rescue or help others. Â Everyone finds their own style and way to move so there is no comparison, each person is unique with their own way, just like in life. Â The similarities are in the approach, the thinking, the steps to overcome barriers, and the joy of sharing that success and progression with others.
The Positivity of Parkour
The final topic I have on my mind with learning Parkour is found in the mindset of those who practice it. Â Traceures and Traceuses are incredibly supportive, positive and interested in helping others and having fun. Â Natural movement is something we all have done naturally as kids and most of us have long forgotten it. Â After all, you don’t see a lot of adults dive rolling over a railing or jumping swinging around the local monkey bars but why not? Â It’s fun to do no matter what your age and that is an important aspect of Parkour! Â There are always a few exceptions you might encounter, but I’ve seen that people who practice Parkour are great people and very respectful of their environment (since it is the playground remember) and people they encounter. Â Most want to spread the joy of Parkour and encourage that child like play in life beyond just their movements and so there is a contagious, almost infectious energy from Parkour that I can at least say, has taken up presence in me recently. I’ve been training and taking courses at a local Calgary gym now (No Limits AFC) for two and a half months and while I’m certainly not the youngest aged person there, it’s activated a youthfulness I always have lurking under my skin and I know I’ll be hooked on this sport for some time to come. Â It’s exciting to see how many parallels of what I’ve learned from personal development can be applied to learning Parkour and vise versa.
And there are millions of Parkour and Freerunning videos on Youtube. Many of them show ridiculous stunts, with no context to the training required to achieve them or the risk in jumping in without the proper training and conditioning required. There are if you look for tutorials, training and progression videos though a lot of help for learning these skills as it really has taken speed because of the internet and the ability to share content and inspire one another around the world. One of my favorite videos is below that I think does a great job of sharing a bit more about the thoughts and inspirational aspects of Parkour. I hope you enjoy it.
This looks great to gain my personal strengths and looks similar of doing “Malkhambh” from India. Also gives you internal strength to boost your jumping strengths.
Nice write up. Parkour does look like fun. I’ve seen a couple youtube videos that were pretty amazing and I wondered what were the concepts driving people to do Parkour.
I have seen a few videaos of this and it looks amazing, the strength required is unbelievable…..and developing it is probably much ore fun that gym work!!
@Shawn – thanks and I’ll have to find out about Malkhambh, I’ve not heard of it before. Parkour is definitely a great strength training method, it just makes it a lot more fun in the process.
@Dee, Thanks. So did I give you enough of the concepts in this writeup? I was hoping to explain more than the visual aspect that is all so many people have seen.
@Kate – Yup, it is a great way to stay fit and train for more strength and movement, and a LOT more fun than traditional gym workouts. The mindset of the folks who practice parkour are a lot closer to personal development and overcoming obstacles as well, unlike a lot of training that people set too lofty of goals towards, setting themselves up for failure shortly after starting.
Yes, I think you gave enough concepts. The writeup added a whole new dimension that makes Parkour more interesting than just the visual aspect – even though the visual aspect is still very interesting 🙂 Thanks again.
Abhi, size and agility is a factor but it doesn’t prevent learning parkour. That is a great thing about it, anyone can learn as you progress at your own ability. Take a look at this movie of a 250+lb guy who started parkour and is significantly more agile and slimmer now after several years. he has inspired many people like yourself to get more active and learn parkour….
Thanks for the inspiration Mike… Thats an awesome video… I have always wanted to do these things but never tried… thought I’ll break some bones… but now I think it will be an awesome way to lose weight quickly..
Yes, I’ve gone through basically the same thing you did, from seeing the random Russian climbing video to wanting to try it out. I’ve tried learning a little online and have practiced a bit, but I never thought to see if I could join a gym class. That’s awesome.
When I was younger, I naturally did a lot of similar stuff: jumping fences, climbing trees and rocks, walking across roofs, etc. Like you, when I first saw it, I really connected with it.
Thanks for the inspiration to get back into it. I’d love to take it to the next level with some lessons somewhere.
That’s cool Marshall, you wrote many things I did as a kid as well and Parkour is now just so natural I only wish i discovered it earlier. There are not a huge number of facilities or gyms that have classes but it is definitely growing fast and depending on where you live, there are good chances to connect with other people or find some classes.
Marshall, I found this Parkour group that I think is local for you in Louisville, Kentucky?.. http://www.louisvilleparkour.com/ They’d know how to get you started, all the good spots or local gyms and to help you train…
Holy Moly!!! This is some WILD stuff! I LOVE it. Makes me want to get fit enough to give it ago. I love things like this. They are THRILLING! If you ever film yourself doing this I HOPE you will share it here on your site. I would love to see it. I watched the video here and my whole body felt filled with FREEDOM. I love movement like this and use to do gymnastics, trampoline flips, etc.
Man, you are soooooo ALIVE. I love how you are always exploring and doing new things. It is very healthy and will keep you forever young, Mike. Good for you my friend.
I enjoyed the video a lot.I would say all of his postures are incredible.He’s performing like professional.He’s showing is dare to achieve something special.Really breath taking stunts…
This looks very hard to do but I believe it will be very helpful if we know parkour. I mean in times of trouble, if you can move as fast as that you can get out easy.
Parkour definitely looks like something fresh and exciting at the same time as well as very useful for overall improvement of your body and mind. I’m definitely going to be looking out to try it for myself. I feel I will need to work on my basic fitness first though. Have let myself go in the past few months due to stress and put on quite a few pounds unfortunately.
Komodo, thanks and yes, Parkour is an excellent way to get into shape, as you will be training higher fitness levels as you learn it. No need to wait, just start with parkour, its more inspiring to keep you motivated and the fitness comes naturally with it then!
Joel, best is to do some google searches to find out if there are local facilities and training centers to get a good safe start. If not, perhaps start with some friends and if possible at a gymnastics training center. Of course you can take things slowly though and start outside and learn on your own as well. There is a tremendous amount of content on youtube, you simply search for parkour tutorials or parkour training. That is where many of us learn a lot about Parkour. Good luck and have fun!
hey guys i am 11 i would like to know where i can receive parkour lessons for kids like me i know i am a to young but i just want to do something that no one has seen before i want to do something so that i can at least not get bullied and earn some respect if you could mail me where i can learn this in calgary my gmail is chris.jerwin@gmail.com
Hey Chris, I should have added a link to the local (in Calgary) parkour training facility. I also sent you an email with more details. And 11yrs old is a great age to start parkour at!
Great article and videos. I wanted to share a video our gym here in Virginia just made – it features men and women ages 39 to 58 who have been training. I am one of them! As a person with NO gymnastics background and very poor fitness, I am here to witness that parkour can be done by anyone on any level. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/wAjGzRrIYwc
Thanks Nancy, and great inspiration. I totally agree, anyone can do and learn parkour and at any age, obviously you have to adjust it to the right level, but its still enjoyable and most enjoyable when done safely. Great video!
If you have ever come to a trainings, classes or workshop Matthew Willis has always talked about 4 basic principles when learning to be more efficient in Parkour.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:39 AM
This looks great to gain my personal strengths and looks similar of doing “Malkhambh” from India. Also gives you internal strength to boost your jumping strengths.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:53 AM
Nice write up. Parkour does look like fun. I’ve seen a couple youtube videos that were pretty amazing and I wondered what were the concepts driving people to do Parkour.
February 22nd, 2011 at 3:23 AM
I have seen a few videaos of this and it looks amazing, the strength required is unbelievable…..and developing it is probably much ore fun that gym work!!
February 22nd, 2011 at 9:16 AM
@Shawn – thanks and I’ll have to find out about Malkhambh, I’ve not heard of it before. Parkour is definitely a great strength training method, it just makes it a lot more fun in the process.
@Dee, Thanks. So did I give you enough of the concepts in this writeup? I was hoping to explain more than the visual aspect that is all so many people have seen.
@Kate – Yup, it is a great way to stay fit and train for more strength and movement, and a LOT more fun than traditional gym workouts. The mindset of the folks who practice parkour are a lot closer to personal development and overcoming obstacles as well, unlike a lot of training that people set too lofty of goals towards, setting themselves up for failure shortly after starting.
February 23rd, 2011 at 6:38 PM
Yes, I think you gave enough concepts. The writeup added a whole new dimension that makes Parkour more interesting than just the visual aspect – even though the visual aspect is still very interesting 🙂 Thanks again.
February 24th, 2011 at 4:31 AM
You need to have agility to do this things… people like me who can barely move carrying a weight of 250 pounds, can only dream of doing it
February 24th, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Abhi, size and agility is a factor but it doesn’t prevent learning parkour. That is a great thing about it, anyone can learn as you progress at your own ability. Take a look at this movie of a 250+lb guy who started parkour and is significantly more agile and slimmer now after several years. he has inspired many people like yourself to get more active and learn parkour….
February 25th, 2011 at 3:33 AM
Thanks for the inspiration Mike… Thats an awesome video… I have always wanted to do these things but never tried… thought I’ll break some bones… but now I think it will be an awesome way to lose weight quickly..
February 28th, 2011 at 3:57 PM
Yes, I’ve gone through basically the same thing you did, from seeing the random Russian climbing video to wanting to try it out. I’ve tried learning a little online and have practiced a bit, but I never thought to see if I could join a gym class. That’s awesome.
When I was younger, I naturally did a lot of similar stuff: jumping fences, climbing trees and rocks, walking across roofs, etc. Like you, when I first saw it, I really connected with it.
Thanks for the inspiration to get back into it. I’d love to take it to the next level with some lessons somewhere.
-Marshall Jones Jr.
February 28th, 2011 at 6:30 PM
That’s cool Marshall, you wrote many things I did as a kid as well and Parkour is now just so natural I only wish i discovered it earlier. There are not a huge number of facilities or gyms that have classes but it is definitely growing fast and depending on where you live, there are good chances to connect with other people or find some classes.
Marshall, I found this Parkour group that I think is local for you in Louisville, Kentucky?.. http://www.louisvilleparkour.com/ They’d know how to get you started, all the good spots or local gyms and to help you train…
March 7th, 2011 at 9:15 PM
Holy Moly!!! This is some WILD stuff! I LOVE it. Makes me want to get fit enough to give it ago. I love things like this. They are THRILLING! If you ever film yourself doing this I HOPE you will share it here on your site. I would love to see it. I watched the video here and my whole body felt filled with FREEDOM. I love movement like this and use to do gymnastics, trampoline flips, etc.
Man, you are soooooo ALIVE. I love how you are always exploring and doing new things. It is very healthy and will keep you forever young, Mike. Good for you my friend.
You make me SMILE and SMILE and SMILE!! 🙂 🙂
March 9th, 2011 at 7:41 AM
I enjoyed the video a lot.I would say all of his postures are incredible.He’s performing like professional.He’s showing is dare to achieve something special.Really breath taking stunts…
March 11th, 2011 at 10:40 AM
I could have really used this technique 20 years ago. I would love to see a video featuring older people using Parkour.
March 17th, 2011 at 5:58 PM
Thank you for the useful post.
March 24th, 2011 at 11:44 PM
This looks very hard to do but I believe it will be very helpful if we know parkour. I mean in times of trouble, if you can move as fast as that you can get out easy.
April 2nd, 2011 at 7:35 AM
Parkour definitely looks like something fresh and exciting at the same time as well as very useful for overall improvement of your body and mind. I’m definitely going to be looking out to try it for myself. I feel I will need to work on my basic fitness first though. Have let myself go in the past few months due to stress and put on quite a few pounds unfortunately.
April 2nd, 2011 at 8:17 AM
Komodo, thanks and yes, Parkour is an excellent way to get into shape, as you will be training higher fitness levels as you learn it. No need to wait, just start with parkour, its more inspiring to keep you motivated and the fitness comes naturally with it then!
April 12th, 2011 at 3:47 AM
Parkour is very interesting game but please don’t try it without guidelines of trainer. Because it exciting but risky as well
April 13th, 2011 at 11:43 PM
This is looking very interesting game. Thanks for sharing the Video.
June 11th, 2011 at 11:20 PM
Were do I start
June 12th, 2011 at 7:19 AM
Joel, best is to do some google searches to find out if there are local facilities and training centers to get a good safe start. If not, perhaps start with some friends and if possible at a gymnastics training center. Of course you can take things slowly though and start outside and learn on your own as well. There is a tremendous amount of content on youtube, you simply search for parkour tutorials or parkour training. That is where many of us learn a lot about Parkour. Good luck and have fun!
July 3rd, 2012 at 10:44 PM
hey guys i am 11 i would like to know where i can receive parkour lessons for kids like me i know i am a to young but i just want to do something that no one has seen before i want to do something so that i can at least not get bullied and earn some respect if you could mail me where i can learn this in calgary my gmail is chris.jerwin@gmail.com
July 6th, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Hey Chris, I should have added a link to the local (in Calgary) parkour training facility. I also sent you an email with more details. And 11yrs old is a great age to start parkour at!
http://www.nolimitsafc.com/main/
October 8th, 2012 at 4:43 PM
Great article and videos. I wanted to share a video our gym here in Virginia just made – it features men and women ages 39 to 58 who have been training. I am one of them! As a person with NO gymnastics background and very poor fitness, I am here to witness that parkour can be done by anyone on any level. Enjoy! http://youtu.be/wAjGzRrIYwc
October 10th, 2012 at 5:52 PM
Thanks Nancy, and great inspiration. I totally agree, anyone can do and learn parkour and at any age, obviously you have to adjust it to the right level, but its still enjoyable and most enjoyable when done safely. Great video!
October 10th, 2012 at 11:07 PM
If you have ever come to a trainings, classes or workshop Matthew Willis has always talked about 4 basic principles when learning to be more efficient in Parkour.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:01 PM
I have always thought parkour was really cool, I bet it takes a ton of upper body strength.