Le Parkour

[red5angel]

This came up about a year ago on this site, and then just recently on a thread, so I have been doing some research. I figure it looks fun as hell and since I am in much better shape then the first time this was brought up I wanted to start doing a little "freerunning".

A lot of the training they do is surprisingly similar to some of the conditioning we do as martial artists. As a matter of fact I found quite a few drills that are very similar to some of the stuff I do, some improvments on some things I have done in the past and some interesting things I haven't thought of or seen that I am going to try!

anyway, if your active, phsycially fit, like to run and want ot make it a little more interesting check out some of the sites.

I recommend www.urbanfreeflow.com

[norther practitioner]

Right on, thanks for the link, some good stuff there.

[MasterKiller]

OK...so you jump over stuff....?

[norther practitioner]

Originally posted by MasterKiller
OK...so you jump over stuff....?

You just confirmed you're getting old.

[red5angel]

freerunning is a good descriptive for it. It's sort of like obstacle course running combind with gymnastics and skate boarding, minus the board and climbing. It's extremely athletic.

Check out www.le-parkour.com and some of the videos there to see one of the creators doing it.

[red5angel]

You just confirmed you're getting old.


yeah really, it's about getting out and playing!!!

[MasterKiller]

Originally posted by norther practitioner


You just confirmed you're getting old. I guess. I still get out my Caballero deck sometimes and skate around the neighborhood, especially when walking the dog, but the running thing seems a little odd. To each his own....

[norther practitioner]

Caballero deck

That could be worth some $

[MasterKiller]

Originally posted by norther practitioner


That could be worth some $ I'm all Old Skool, baby.

[norther practitioner]

I lost my old Natas...

still got some old school wheels though.

On an on topic note.. I just got in trouble by my boss for jumping a railing at the office.:p :D

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by MasterKiller
OK...so you jump over stuff....?

Kinda brilliant in its simplicity, ain't it.

[MasterKiller]

Originally posted by apoweyn


Kinda brilliant in its simplicity, ain't it. I dunno about brilliant, but then again, I don't understand Christo either.

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by MasterKiller
I dunno about brilliant, but then again, I don't understand Christo either.

I have no idea what or who Christo is. But I can't argue with the sheer fun of jumping over stuff. Hell, who hasn't watched a Jackie Chan film and then wanted to leap through the rungs of a ladder? (Yeah, I've seen the outtakes.)

[red5angel]

That's right Ap! Except now you can live the dream!!!

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by red5angel
That's right Ap! Except now you can live the dream!!!

Mmm... three months from now perhaps. My dive rolls are a little rusty. :)

[MasterKiller]

Originally posted by apoweyn


I have no idea what or who Christo is. But I can't argue with the sheer fun of jumping over stuff. Hell, who hasn't watched a Jackie Chan film and then wanted to leap through the rungs of a ladder? (Yeah, I've seen the outtakes.) http://christojeanneclaude.net/si.html

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by MasterKiller
http://christojeanneclaude.net/si.html

Huh.

[red5angel]

I'm going to add le parkour to my list of realistic self defense training! If I could do half the stuff those guys could do, no one could catch me!!!

[apoweyn]

Originally posted by red5angel
I'm going to add le parkour to my list of realistic self defense training! If I could do half the stuff those guys could do, no one could catch me!!!

If only we could combine le parkour with that heavyset security guard in the other video.

"Come back here *puff* You're a bad *gasp* kid!"

[Chang Style Novice]

Christo would choke the Reichstag out.

[Shaolinlueb]

a couple of the things i was impressed. a lot of the stuff i was like.... i could do that. diving rolls huh? i am rusty on thsoe too. i once did a diving roll over a wall of matts 6 feet high. landed a little hard though.

[red5angel]

some of it most of us could "do" but the idea, like some martial arts is flow, you don't want to break up the run, it should all run together fluidly....

[apoweyn]

Exactly. Most of us could throw a punch or kick too. But that's not what makes a good martial artist.

[David Jamieson]

basically "light skills" applied. :)

cheers

[IronFist]

This one's more like a movie (http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=B13-Parkour-bizarsite&width=480).

Coolness.

[PangQuan]

thats pretty wicked.

[_William_]

Parkour is awesome.

I started doing a little parkour stuff yesterday. I suck at it, but its unbelievably fun! Great workout too, my hamstrings are soooooo sore today.

I want to get some of my friends to do it too, because I kinda feel odd when I'm doing it by myself. Plus I might get attacked by, no joke, I've heard about this happening on a parkour forum. People tend to get ****ed off when they think you're showing off.

[Shaolinlueb]

thats a pretty sweet video.

[Kristoffer]

nice. that's a classic spot too. I have some vids of Belle doing that spot.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i think i have a man crush.

steve buscemi is dreamy.

[wind draft]

Does anyone have that video of David Belle doing LE Parkour, but it was title something like Spiderman. The video had clips of him doing stuff with Eminem song in it.

Thanks

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

this (http://www.sublimedirectory.com/stimes/03-29-2004/monkey.wmv)

[Chief Fox]

That was F@CKIN' COOL!

[IronFist]

How do you pronounce "Le Parkour?"

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i was wondering that too.

[splinter]

I don't know the phonetic alphabet, but I'll try to explain...
"Le" (not sure if I have to explain this, but) the 'e' is similar to the 'u' in "turn"
"Par" - the 'a' is pronounced like it is in "Pal" or the first 'a' in "California"
"Cour" - like "tour".

And roll the r's.

[SevenStar]

I have officially made it my pursuit to be able to do that. In a year, I resolve to have it perfected. In two years, I will use it in the ring. I think the technique is really cool. I saw on a website how they have a reccommended way to land, to take off, etc. it was pretty technical.

[red5angel]

hey sevie, I started working on it this past summer, it synergizes real well with my capoeira. Turned out there was a group around here that did it, most of them half my age but I get together with them about once amonth or more to screw around with this sort of thing.

[SevenStar]

I put my kid in capoeira, and he loves it. He wanted me to try, and the instructor doesn't charge us (he charges everyone else though. He spars with me and also the other thai instructor, so he says we're family) - can't beat the price, and the training is awesome. My second job pretty much stops me from training judo anymore, so for the past several months it's been muay thai and capoeira.

[red5angel]

so you're doing it now?! Awesome! Is this with the same guy you were telling me about back in the day?

I'm still doing it, I had to switch groups for logistic reasons (hope to return in about a year) but I'm doing it with another group that's much closer and as much fun. I know for a fact it's because of capoeira that the parkour is happening for me at all.

[SevenStar]

Yeah, same guy and same group - Nacao Capoeira.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/2209/Jamaican_Stuntman.html

[wind draft]

Cool! Thanks that is the video.

[Oso]

http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/2209/Jamaican_Stuntman.html


there goes my excuse for not being able to do that kind of stuff...that dude is hyuge.

[Ford Prefect]

http://parkour.net/videos/streaming/005-Speed-Air-Man.wmx

This one...

[Ford Prefect]

I don't know the phonetic alphabet, but I'll try to explain...
"Le" (not sure if I have to explain this, but) the 'e' is similar to the 'u' in "turn"
"Par" - the 'a' is pronounced like it is in "Pal" or the first 'a' in "California"
"Cour" - like "tour".

And roll the r's.

Mostly right. R's aren't rolled in French though... you're thinking Spanish. R's are more of a hucking a lungy sound.

[SanHeChuan]

Hey Seven how about posting a link to that site with the Techs. you were talking about?

[SevenStar]

ask and you shall receive...

http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/fundamentals/fundamentals.htm

[SevenStar]

They have some excellent articles on that site also.

[splinter]

Mostly right. R's aren't rolled in French though... you're thinking Spanish. R's are more of a hucking a lungy sound.

You're right. I wasn't really sure how to describe it without giving the impression that it had that german throaty type of sound.

[SanHeChuan]

Thanks for the links seven, It looks real good so far.


Maybe some one with a mike could make a simple audio recording of them selves saying "Le parkour" and post it for us? That should clear things up pretty well.

[SanHeChuan]

What does it mean anyway? Does it translate at all, to like "street ninja coolness" or some thing? And you thought the only good thing to come out of France were Canadians. ;)

By the way, I say it like

Lu as in Lure

Par as golf

Kour as in Quarry

is that even close to right?

the only thing i ever learned to say in french is "my name is"

[SevenStar]

What does it mean anyway? Does it translate at all, to like "street ninja coolness" or some thing?

Close. From the urban freeflow site:

"In fact, the term ‘Parkour’ is perhaps indirectly attributable to Raymond Belle, who introduced his son to the military training methods of Georges Hebert, a man who had a powerful influence on the development of physical education in France, particularly in military circles, by creating the parcours du combattant; the obstacle course. From parcours, meaning ‘course’, came the altered Parkour, for which David acknowledges his friend Hubert Kounde as having coined.

The senior Belle had trained using Hebert's methode naturelle whilst in the French military. Hebert’s methods were inspired by the natural, physical conditioning of indigenous peoples from Africa in particular, and this is still noticeable in the practise of modern parkour; many practitioners talk of the importance of freeing one’s natural instincts, of stripping away conditioning and returning to an innate, effortless way of moving that utilises the entire body as a whole rather than consciously employing isolated muscle groups. The elusive ‘flow state’."

[SevenStar]

http://www.circularstrengthmag.com/39/danedwards.html

[IronFist]

Aren't French Rs like non-Bavarian German Rs? Bavarians roll their Rs but outside of there it's like a gutteral R.

[IronFist]

How much would it suck to mess up this jump (http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/fundamentals/runningprecision/index.htm) and rack yourself on the way down :eek:

[SanHeChuan]

here is a link to a vid. where they say parkour

http://kousinetu.machibbs.net/log/log1480.htm

its kour and in coors light

[IronFist]

^ I saw a bunch of link at that site. Which one was the video to which you were referring?

[SanHeChuan]

sorry it was this one

186 名前： sh 投稿日： 2004/10/20(水) 16:39:20 ID:DUccF.Vk [ ntiskw010080.iskw.nt.adsl.ppp.infoweb.ne.jp ]


ＰＡＲＫＯＵＲかＹＡＭＡＫＡＳＩ知ってる？

http://www.le-parkour.com/parkour.vd.wmv

[TenTigers]

Le Parkour is definately going to be a household word by this summer. I expect we will soon be seeing it on VH1 and MTV and probably a Pepsi commercial soon.
It's funny, already it has split into two camps-Urbanfreerunners and Le Parkour purists, who are already saying that the other guys have *******ized it by making it too much gymnastic-based. Already there are the Traditionalists vs the Mixed schools. Sound familiar?

[Royal Dragon]

You know, when I saw the first half of the video I was un impressed. My daughter (15) can do everything that guy can and make it look just as effortless.

Then i saw the second half whe they were doing it in the urban jungle and went "Woh!"

Scarry part, I showed my daughter, and she's wanting to do it now!!




And I still say this is proof that Monkeys actually evolved from us!

[SanHeChuan]

cool maybe she can give me some pointers :D

[SevenStar]

Of course she can, look at how long she's been doing gymnastics...

[Kristoffer]

explain to ur daughter that the meaning of it is to just flow freely. all the tricks and difficult stuff is what u have to practise before using. the most basic form of this is just running around wherever u want. the more stuff u learn the more u can add in when ur flowing.
that way there's also gonna be a natural advancement.

[wuqigong]

I don't know if anyone is known with the art of Le Parkour here, but in my eyes it is also to be a martial art.

It is the art of escaping. It helps you to get out of a dangerous situation as fast as possible. So if you have an opponent in front of you that is to strong for you or who you don't want to fight, you can get away safely.

Instead of normal running you use your surroundings to escape. That means you will use your fastest and most efficient way to get out of there. You can overcome obstacle's like fences, walls, sometimes even buildings. That way your oponnent won't be able to keep up with you and thus you are safe.

I find this to be a martial art since you are using the ultimate defense, no fight at all. Furhter you also happen to improve mentally and phisically. You might feel safer, you increas your movability, you feel more one with this world, your resistance ( health ) improves.

Most chinese don't see a different in offering resistance against attacks from someone or against deseases. It is the same thing. At least that's what I learn in taiji. So with le parkour you also offer resistance since your mental and physical levels wil improve.

I hope the true form of le parkour ( no freerunning with the flips and stuff ) will stay underground and will be praticed by more people. It brightens up your life and will open you up for alot more same as with martial arts.

If you want to know more from this art don't believe everything you read about it, much websites give the wrong information because they think parkour and freerunning are the same. Freerunning is just different, it is more street stunting. Le parkour is the real escape technique and thus uses no flips since they would only slow you down and take much energy while escaping.

Some trustable websites:

English:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour#History
http://www.pawa.fr/Welcome/welcome.html
http://parkour.net/modules/articles/item.php?itemid=2

Very good dutch forum:
www.dutchpk.nl

[paradoxbox]

If you're interested in escape techniques like you see in parkour, try checking out genbukan or jinenkan ninpou taijutsu. ninjutsu is all about escaping and almost all the stuff you see in parkour can be found in ninpou as well. bujinkan is also ninpo but the quality of instruction is random.

In japanese, running up walls, trees or other objects is called 'shoten no jutsu'. Parkour rolls and breakfalls are called 'ukemi'. Jumps are called tobi. Parkour is a good way to train these techniques at a fluid pace.

[QuaiJohnCain]

There is NOBODY in any of the ninja orgs that can do anything like the Parkour crews can.

And taijutsu is just aiki-jujitsu, with much deleted.

[Kristoffer]

If you're interested in escape techniques like you see in parkour, try checking out genbukan or jinenkan ninpou taijutsu.

hate to break it to ya but..
parkour isn't ''escape techniques'', and nimpo sucks :)

[paradoxbox]

hate to break it to ya but..
parkour isn't ''escape techniques'', and nimpo sucks :)

I'll take your bet, name a time and place ;) I'll put money on it that you suck :)

What exactly could you call jumping over extremely large gaps between buildings, running up vertical surfaces to places that most people could not reach or rolling to avoid injury? Why do you think movements like these came to exist? It wasn't for looking cool on TV.

They most certainly are escape techniques. :)

And by the way- you obviously do not know anything of taijutsu, as taijutsu has almost nothing in common with aikijutsu. Leads me to wonder if you don't know anything about aikijutsu either. Even a beginner can spot the differences instantly.

There are more than a few ninpo instructors capable of the stuff you see in parkour demonstrations. Including jumping over high things, running up / across walls or trees, swinging on fences/bars gymnastics style, etc. Search on the net for shoten demonstrations, and next time don't jump to conclusions without knowing what you're talking about first, (or say another art sucks) dummie :)

[Chief Fox]

I don't know if anyone is known with the art of "sitting on your couch" here, but in my eyes it is also to be a martial art.

It is the art of avoiding dangerous situations. It helps you to avoid a dangerous situation by not actually being there. So lets say there is a dangerous situation going on somewhere other than your couch. You are safely seated on your couch so you have in a nutshell "difused" the situation.

Instead of confronting or running from your potential attacker, you avoid your attacker all together. You are using the fastest and best way to get out of there by not being there in the first place.

I find this to be a martial art since you are using the ultimate defense, no fight, no confrontation and no potential injury. Unless you happen to fall asleep and roll off your couch. Further you also happen to improve mentally and phisically. Look at all of the great TV shows that teach you about history, fitness and countless other things. :D

[QuaiJohnCain]

I'll take your bet, name a time and place ;) I'll put money on it that you suck :)
Ah, the classic Virtual Tough-Guy bluff. YAWN.


And by the way- you obviously do not know anything of taijutsu, as taijutsu has almost nothing in common with aikijutsu. Leads me to wonder if you don't know anything about aikijutsu either. Even a beginner can spot the differences instantly.
Take aiki-jujutsu, add some limb strikes and drama, and voila, you have ninpo taijutsu. Never mind the "origin" arguement. Takamatsu was a big fat liar. Hatsumi took the lies to a new level, got really popular, and has all you genbukan/jinenkan guys scurrying to get a place on the stage. The 80's ended 16 years ago, and since that time people have learned to see "Ninpo" for what it really is- a game for the gullible.


There are more than a few ninpo instructors capable of the stuff you see in parkour demonstrations. Including jumping over high things, running up / across walls or trees, swinging on fences/bars gymnastics style, etc. Search on the net for shoten demonstrations, and next time don't jump to conclusions without knowing what you're talking about first, (or say another art sucks) dummie :)
Bull-scheit. Nobody's seen it done, and there are no demos on the net. The fact that most of the "high level" people in ninpo are over 50 may present a clue as to why. Oh wait, Ninja's don't show off :rolleyes:. You're a rube.

[paradoxbox]

:)

I bow to your superior level of stupidity, you truely are a master. Can't find something on the net, mustn't exist then? Dimwit. You're straight from bullshido aren't you.

It's a good thing this board has an ignore button. You'll be my first addition to the list. I'm sure you're pretty familiar with people ignoring you, you're quite an obnoxious child. Grow up ya little twat. This site would be a hell of a lot better without trash like you undermining people trying to be helpful and informative. Bullshido will appreciate you a lot more than this place will.

[QuaiJohnCain]

......yawn


This site would be a hell of a lot better without trash like you undermining people trying to be helpful and informative.

Or liars like yourself.

[Chief Fox]

You guys prove my point.

All the trash talking and adreniline pumping of a typical altercation but you guys are home safely sitting on your couches.

Another noch in the belt of "SittingOnMyCouchDo".

By the way, I have declared myself 10th dan in SittingOnMyCouchDo and am selling black belts for $99. PM me if you're interested. :D

[QuaiJohnCain]

There is nothing I say here I wouldn't say to ANYONE. I stand by what I said.


Ninpo is just Shingon/Mikkyo Buddhism. Ninjas have no special claim to it.

Taijutsu is Aiki-Jujutsu with some salt and pepper added.

Takamatsu was a liar.

There is not a single ninja alive that can do what David Belle can.

And paradoxbox is still a rube.

[Mortal1]

$99. For a black belt? Wow I would be intrested! Your serious right? Your not just ****ing with me? Now I could get all the hot chicks! :p

[GreenCloudCLF]

Ninjitsu is also the art of secrecy and deception...maybe they ALL can do it (even the white belts) but are so good they deceive you into thinking they cannot....

[SevenStar]

parkour is not a martial art. Can it be used for martial purposes? sure it can.

[green_willow]

At some stage you gotta make a decision whether it is safer to stand and fight versus jumping across roof tops of buildings.

Personally, I carry a series of compressed gas powered grappling hooks made of carbon nanotubes woven with steel - very tough. That way I can zoom up buildings and swing myway across buildings. I'm thinking of having ninja stars but shaped like errrr bats because it strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. I shall call myself The Green Willow.

[Kristoffer]

Parkour was never an ''escaping art''. Never. Sure you could use it for that today, but it was never intended as that from the beginning.

Nimpo does suck. And if you have videos of your famous masters doing anything even close to parkour I'll give you a cookie :)
All I see is some dopes riding the nuts of the true talents and hope anyone will be dumb enough to beleive the ninja crowd has a clue.

Oh and if u were serious, I'll be in Switzerland in march, the UK in may and probably China at the end of the year. Other than that you can find me in Stockholm.

[SevenStar]

Personally, I carry a series of compressed gas powered grappling hooks made of carbon nanotubes woven with steel - very tough. That way I can zoom up buildings and swing myway across buildings.

Those are standard issue. Who doesn't carry those these days?

[abobo]

While there are parallels, common sense says that it is not a martial art.

@ Escape - in parkour you must move effectively on the path you choose. It is not necessarily 'training to escape,' but to move on that path with the urgency of an emergency situation would be the most effective.

@Jumping across rooftops - this is in fact rare and is in no way the essence of parkour.

Anyway wuqigong, it sounds like you have the right spirit. More training, less useless debates.

[unkokusai]

I'll take your bet, name a time and place ;) I'll put money on it that you suck :)

What exactly could you call jumping over extremely large gaps between buildings, running up vertical surfaces to places that most people could not reach or rolling to avoid injury? Why do you think movements like these came to exist? It wasn't for looking cool on TV.)


..............it never ends.....:rolleyes:

[wuqigong]

Anyway wuqigong, it sounds like you have the right spirit. More training, less useless debates.

Thank you. I'm very focused on being pure and simple..Pure people are the best. I'm pretty convcinced you're pure too.

And nice stuff posted here. Not a martial art, but useful for martial purposes.

And nononono parkour started as an escape technique and changed into a form of freerunning and all that flashy stuff because of free people. Only for some it still is real it still is pure it still is parkour. For others it's no parkour, it's free, it's also pure, but it's freerunning or tricking. If you think I'm wrong, prove me. Search the history of parkour. Teach me why.

[Kristoffer]

Fine, it's escaping techniques. I don't care anymore :D

[paradoxbox]

Lot of smack talkers here. Bullshido.com's mirror site? I wasn't joking about name your time and place. Throwdowns happen all the time. I go to them when they're in my area. I enjoy a good fight and if anyone wants to give it a go, put your money where your mouth is and sign up for the next one too.

I happen to be a freerunner, and I also study ninpo. As I said in my original post, parkour is a good way to practice moves you learn in ninpo in a fluid manner, normally they aren't done fluidly (running accross roofs then hanging off of ledges). Maybe I'll put a video together some time.

If you want videos of tricks from ninpo go search edonkey or google for shoten no jutsu. Name a trick in parkour and I bet you 50 bucks I can find the same move in a Japanese martial arts manual more than a hundred years old.

For a kung fu site, a lot of you have really narrow minds, it's surprising. Especially considering most of you probably have literally no knowledge at all of Japanese arts or language. I could just as easily say "kong foo is crap for x reason" (spelled incorrectly, just for you) even without knowing much about it (though I'm certain I know more about kung fu than you know about ninpo). Stupidity. If you can correctly tell me what ninpo means I'll give you a cookie. You'll have to learn to spell it right too. Otherwise knock it off with the smack talk, this is supposed to be a helpful forum, not a playground for dimwitted children to lash out at others.

No, ninpo does not suck, if you think so you are not a martial artist, you are simply a childish smack talker. You ought to crawl back into the cave you came, there are enough trolls on this board already. Could it be that most of the people here that have the highest post count have the least martial skill and knowledge on this board? Probably too busy bull****ting instead of training.

By the way, if you think Ashida Kim is ninpo, this only proves your ignorance on the issue. Ashida Kim is not related to ninpo in any way, Ashida Kim teaches kung fu (badly) and things he has made up in his own head.

Real ninpo is a collection of empty hand arts similar to jujutsu and battlefield arts with weapons. The fighting techniques are completely sound, the strategies are still used to this day including by soldiers and security contractors in Iraq. The philosophy is realistic and something that would do anyone good to live by.

[green_willow]

paradoxbox

I happen to take a look at the free runner website. I thought you're not supposed to be into violence or fighting. wat's this ninpo stuff about? fighting, iraq - security contract? quite opposit to free runner philosophy don't you think?

what will your crew thing if they find out you have all this angst? Not the hippy peace boy they all thought you were. LOL

and don't get angry with what I said - anger is not your philosophy. you're a free runner right, free willy, free runner wat everrrrrr.

[QuaiJohnCain]

If you can correctly tell me what ninpo means I'll give you a cookie. You'll have to learn to spell it right too. Otherwise knock it off with the smack talk, this is supposed to be a helpful forum, not a playground for dimwitted children to lash out at others.
Hey, BS is BS. If you want to refer to those of us who refuse to be spoon-fed Hatsumi's fantasies as "smack talkers", fine. But it does not change the fact that YOU are fooling YOURSELF by blindy accepting what your "Shidoshi" tells you. Keep the BS to the same. This is a KUNG FU board, and you are clearly trying to "compete" by bringing up Ninpo. A passive-aggressive manner of- talking smack. You hypocrite.


No, ninpo does not suck, if you think so you are not a martial artist, you are simply a childish smack talker.
Just because YOU don't like the FACTS does not make it mere smack talking.


Could it be that most of the people here that have the highest post count have the least martial skill and knowledge on this board? Probably too busy bull****ting instead of training.
Nope, just calling out the people who train BS, whom, consequently are the real BS'ers around here....

The fighting techniques are completely sound, the strategies are still used to this day including by soldiers and security contractors in Iraq.
Umm, no, contractors and soldiers use guns, not hand to hand. And if standing out in the open risking getting shot or blown up is a Ninpo tactic, well then....

[paradoxbox]

paradoxbox

I happen to take a look at the free runner website. I thought you're not supposed to be into violence or fighting. wat's this ninpo stuff about? fighting, iraq - security contract? quite opposit to free runner philosophy don't you think?

what will your crew thing if they find out you have all this angst? Not the hippy peace boy they all thought you were. LOL

and don't get angry with what I said - anger is not your philosophy. you're a free runner right, free willy, free runner wat everrrrrr.

I don't even know what you're on about in this post, but anyway freerunner is just what someone who does parkour is called. Another term is traceur.

[QuaiJohnCain]

Green Willow-

Paradox box is a troll acting as an agent for ninjas. Parkour is mentioned, he says check out ninjas, with an insinuation that they do things better. Yet he presents no proof and uses the "do your own homework" cop-out to cover himself on it.

Notice that he's so confident in his knowledge, that he has to ignore some of us so he can concentrate on self-deceit.

Weak.

[QuaiJohnCain]

Hey folks, some info relevant to this thread-

Since I am under doctor's orders to rest today, I took the liberty of running searches on "shoten no jutsu" on Google and Yahoo, and used the video searches in addition.

This (http://www.bujin-kan.com/taihen_vid/run.WMV) was the only clip that was provided by a ninja, and it's gone.

Here (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2005-03,GGLD:en&q=%22shoten+no+jutsu%22+video) is the most relevant google search. The only thing to be found are ninjas on forums referring people to- clips of parkour.

Let's see a clip of Hatsumi, Tanemura, or any of thier disciples do anything close to what the Parkour crews do....

The burden of proof rests on paradoxbox, who conveniently cops-out and ignores the facts (and those of us whom present them).

[Chief Fox]

Notice how all of you are safely sitting at home while all of this smack talk is going on. Thus proving my point that "SittingOnMyCouchDo" is the ultimate martial art.

You all owe me $99 each and I will send you your black belts. :D

[QuaiJohnCain]

"SittingOnMyCouchDo" is hardly martial.

I still (as always) stand by what I say. I'd say it to all in the face, too. My info is quite public, I can be found (and have been before) to do so.


Notice how all of you are safely sitting at home while all of this smack talk is going on. Thus proving my point that "SittingOnMyCouchDo" is the ultimate martial art.

You all owe me $99 each and I will send you your black belts. :D

[Kristoffer]

"SittingOnMyCouchDo" is hardly martial.



Well, I think it's actually the art of escaping.

[green_willow]

I don't even know what you're on about in this post, but anyway freerunner is just what someone who does parkour is called. Another term is traceur.

You mean like running away from the law - bonnie & clyde style? Do you like running or do you prefer jogging. I myself prefer to ride a bike. Have you tried ridding a bike?

[Kristoffer]

I myself prefer to ride a bike. Have you tried ridding a bike?

Riding a bike is actually a Ninja art. All the famous masters could do big air tricks and railings and whatnot. Oh and if you don't beleive me I have seen many videoclips on the internet of famous masters doing this. I'm also sure I could find an acient training manual on the subject if I wanted to.


..but it's not like I wanna post it here or anything

[GreenCloudCLF]

Best Parkour vid ever
(http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/1652599/)

Possible NWS ads....


Enjoy...i know I did

[IronFist]

Ouch! I can't believe I just saw this thread. Nice find :D

[Royal Dragon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Nlk7n1KQI&dpos=0

[SanHeChuan]

funny but everyones got to start somewhere.

[Royal Dragon]

True, but he's not ready to be makeing videos of himself yet. Since he insists, we are allowed, and yes dare I say, MUST laugh! :p

[GeneChing]

So, who has seen DISTRICT B-13 (aka Banlieue 13)? I'm eager to see it myself.

SPIDERMAN is to Peter Parker as DISTRICT B13 is to "PARKOUR" by Dr. Craig Reid (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=666)

[SevenStar]

put your mouse over that link and look where it goes to. Pay attention to the end:

article = 666

spooky indeed.

[Jingwu Man]

Eh, que c'est bon en esti, ca! C'est vraiment d'la cool!

Urm....pardon my french.

That was awesome. District 13, you say? Gotta look it up. Parkour means (loosely) run around, even though it's not spelt right.:D

[Royal Dragon]

So Melissa asks "Dad, can I go by Laurens?"

I reply "Sure, be home by about 6:00 for dinner"

Melissa responds by bolting through the living room, out the back sliding door filps up on to the rail of the porch, and does some sort of flipie/twistie thing over the banister & BUSHES, and lands in the grass, followed by a sterio typical gymnastics salute to the judges before bolting off to her friends house.

Now that makes a Daddy proud! :D

[jwvmn]

just wanted to let you guys know that the two videos mentioned in the thread are also on my website in quicktime format, in case anyone wants to put them on their ipod.....

:)

http://www.veeneman.us

look for the "parkour videos" page

[Wang Chung]

I posted these two links of in the video post but here they are again.

These are some guys from Toronto who do tricks and similiar stuff to the guy in district b-13. they have alot of videos for download in bittorrent packs.

http://www.teamryouko.com/index2.php

This is a website to help beginners start doing the moves, getting flexible...etc.

http://trickstutorials.com/index.php?page=content/startt

[johnyk]

Wasn't jackie chan the original founder.
It should be called ChanJakdo not LeParkour

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

So Melissa asks "Dad, can I go by Laurens?"

I reply "Sure, be home by about 6:00 for dinner"

Melissa responds by bolting through the living room, out the back sliding door filps up on to the rail of the porch, and does some sort of flipie/twistie thing over the banister & BUSHES, and lands in the grass, followed by a sterio typical gymnastics salute to the judges before bolting off to her friends house.

Now that makes a Daddy proud! :D


got somfin in muh eye.

*snif*

[jwvmn]

after several e-mails from you disgruntled so and so's (you know who you are) :p , i have re-designed my site to make it easier to navigate to particular videos ... they are all listed in a "podcast" style page -- you no longer have to wait for entire pages of videos to load, you can just go directly to a link that interests you .....

hope it suits you better ....

http://www.veeneman.us

[Kymus]

District B13 I downloaded through bittorrent; it was good, I liked it. There's also a Parkour doccumentary called "Jump Britain", that's great as well.

District B13 was a little hard to find since it was onlyu in french with subtitles, but Jump Britain wasn't too troubling.

[wushu_man07]

Any body heard of the art of Pakour, art of free jumping of some sort. looked pretty good on the new james bond film

[GeneChing]

...but needing an update: here's our 'official' District B-13 thread (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41717).

[GeneChing]

In S.F., when someone 'comes out', we don't think of parkour.



The Free Runner (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/23/CM7QS6IK3.DTL)
Will parkour be the vehicle that vaults Russian emigre Andrey Pfening to Hollywood stunt stardom?
Sam Whiting

The day Andrey Pfening came out as a traceur was no different from any other at Washington High School. He was walking across the courtyard explaining stunts he had seen in an action flick to a classmate. The other kid asked for a demonstration and Pfening turned and ran headlong toward a concrete pillar at the top of a wheelchair ramp.

At the point of impact, he planted his hands on top, monkey vaulted over and landed on his feet at the bottom of the ramp, 4 or 5 feet below.

It was over in a few seconds, but not quick enough to avoid the eye of the campus security guard. Had she been interested in the theory behind the maneuver, Pfening might have explained that he was running the "course of obstacles" known as parkour. At its essence, parkour describes the most direct route from Point A to Point B. There is no reason to arrive at Point B, but a traceur, as a parkourist calls himself, is in a hurry to get there just the same. If a traceur were in his backyard and needed to get to the backyard at the end of the street, he would go up and over all the fences in between. A traceur never goes around.

It is an admirable pursuit, but the security guard was not admiring. Her concern was liability. "Come here," Pfening recalls her saying. "I am going to send you home." He convinced the guard he would never do it again, and he didn't until the following Saturday. By then, he had a bigger plan.

Parkour, which derives from the French word "parcours" (which means journey, run, trip), evolved early this century in a Paris suburb and has been around San Francisco for a couple of years. There is a Web site called SFParkour.com with 100 or so registered traceurs. They adopt aliases such as Corndogg and No Sole and are happy to help beginners and sell them a $15 SF Parkour T-shirt with the logo of the traceur vaulting over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Pfening knew nothing of them at the time. A 17-year-old Russian emigre, he is not socially linked to the postcollegiate office workers who pursue it as an after-work steam burner. A quiet kid with no cell phone, he was online six months ago when he came across a film titled "District B13." The teaser describes it as taking place in a futuristic Parisian wasteland where the gangsters and drug lords are walled within their own lawless neighborhood. Now that is an after-school movie.

"I looked at the title and I just clicked download," he recalls.

The film, lamely dubbed in English, opens with much to recommend it - a dizzying montage in which a shirtless and tattooed acrobat gets away from any number of thugs with any number of weapons by climbing the walls of skyscrapers and leaping over a concrete canyon from a high roof to a much lower one, and so on.

The next day a friend, Slava Blazer, called. "He says, 'Let's go try this new thing. It's called parkour,' " says Pfening, who had never heard that word before Blazer mentioned it. Blazer invited Pfening over to watch a YouTube video and right away Pfening recognized the tricks from "District B13." "It was just a little bit weird," Pfening says.

Weirder still was when a third friend, Max Sidorov, checked in to talk about this video he had seen. That makes three Russian teenagers in the Richmond District separately discovering parkour at the same moment. This kind of coincidence you don't ignore. They formed a trio called the Piton Clan.

Because Pfening is a respectful son, he thought it imperative that his family - parents Yuriy and Viktoriya Pfening, babushka Sorokina Galina and 7-year-old sister Irina - see what he was getting into. So they squeezed together on a mattress that doubles as a couch to watch "District B13." They may have had no choice, because in their apartment, you are either in the room with the TV or in the room with the bunk beds. You can't hide in the kitchen - it's smaller than an airline galley. When all five Pfenings are home, it looks as if there are not enough places to sleep.

From an American point of view, this might be too much family togetherness. But the Pfenings do not have an American point of view. Originally from Uzbekistan, they had no way of staying afloat, so they tried Samara, Russia, which didn't work either. Andrey's Aunt Irina Sorokina was already in San Francisco and three years in a row she entered them in the green card lottery. The third time they won and over they came, not one speaking a word of English. It was December, 2002. Andrey's mother Viktoriya got trained as a medical assistant. Yuriy found work laying hardwood floors until his knees gave out. Then he starting driving an airport shuttle, pulling a double shift - 3 p.m. to 4 a.m. - on weekends.

They bunked with Aunt Irina in an apartment on Sutter Street until they scraped together the deposit on their own place in a walk-up populated by Russians and owned by a Pole. The rent is $800, but they are enjoying all the extra space of that second room. In Russia, they lived in a one-room apartment. "Three to a bed," Andrey says as his mother laughs. Still, they wouldn't mind a bathroom that isn't down the hall, or getting away from the cacophony of Clement Street and Seventh Avenue above Fela's Discount Store. This is where Andrey's plan comes into play, as visualized in "District B13."
continued next post

[GeneChing]

...from previous post

When the video rolled, his parents struggled to see that the Piton Clan was not headed toward a bad end. You have to get past the part where the hero pulls a crooked cop's head between the jail cell bars and then snaps his neck.

To their relief, Andrey did not see himself as either the heroin marketer or as the corrupt cop but as the sinewy stuntman. In "District B13," the trickery is done by David Belle, the Frenchman who invented parkour. In James Bond's latest "Casino Royale," it is Belle's pal Sebastien Foucan who climbs a steel beam as if it were a coconut tree, then does a flying trapeze maneuver onto a swinging construction crane. That is just two men getting all the glory. Andrey Pfening will be the third.

"I want to get into the movies or something," he says. "It is his dream," adds his mom, whose own dream is for her son to become an engineer. But that would waste his cosmonaut's good looks, plus he has ears that stick out like the new Bond's and the same compact build as his hero Belle.

"I just realized that this is a whole new thing and not many people are doing it right now," says Pfening, whose previous goal was to be the next Lance Armstrong. He'd train by humping his bike down the stairs and riding across the Golden Gate Bridge to San Rafael and back, always by himself. His mountain bike was the wrong equipment, but it was all he had. That's the beauty of parkour: There is no gear. "If I train hard for it, I have more of a percentage to get somewhere with it," he says.

At first, he would study the moves on video, then go to a park and try them with Blazer and Sidorov. There was a certain amount of risk in this, the worst kind for a kid - being laughed at.

"It was a little bit embarrassing because everybody was watching," he recalls.

Next, the Piton Clan went to Washington, or "George Washington," as Pfening formally calls it, way out at 32nd and Geary. They were guaranteed not to be laughed at there because, on weekends, it is locked up and surrounded by a 10-foot chainlink fence. "At first, of course I was scared," he recalls. "I just keep trying and getting it slowly. Little by little, there is this moment where you just are confident enough to go for it."

In time, the Piton Clan was absorbed into SF Parkour, and they all have the T-shirts. There are jams, as workouts are called, on Saturday mornings at Union Square and climbing nights at gyms. Pfening usually posts a Saturday afternoon jam at Washington, catching the wheezing and belching 2-Clement at the stop right in front of his primer gray front door, to get there.

Debarking the 2 Clement at the end of the line, he walks around to the back of the school, where Anza St. meets 30th Avenue. His first obstacle is the fence, one of those tightly wound Cyclones that make it tough to get a toehold in the old-fashioned sense of fence-climbing. This is not a worrisome complication for Pfening. He doesn't need toeholds. He scans the fence for the highest spot and then goes over it in two movements, exactly the way he saw Foucan do it in "Casino Royale." It is over so quick that he comes back over to the street side to demonstrate it again, landing feet together on the far side just like he is coming off the high horse.

On the other side is Chris Levesque, a veteran traceur who founded New England Parkour before moving here from Portland, Maine. Also standing there are two rookies who found SF Parkour on the Internet. One has a red natural like Bernie's in "Room 222" and the other is wearing a gelled-up Mohawk and T-shirt that reads, "I think Pot should be legal."

There are also some skateboarders loafing the concrete benches, but the two groups are in separate orbits and it is easy to tell the traceurs from the skaters. The traceurs are the ones who don't wear pads or gloves. They want to feel the rough surfaces they latch onto. Pfening's arms and hands are nicked like a butcher's. When he scrapes opens a scab he lets it bleed. Traceurs will climb on a rope or scaffold if it is already there. They will occasionally use a handrail, but only for their feet.

After introductions, they do some stretches then Pfening jumps up on a pillar and does a Mobius flip. "Is that your warm-up?" asks Levesque. The answer is no. Pfening's warm-up is walking on his hands down a flight of stairs. Levesque, whose handle is Kaos, is a pure traceur. Pfening, who goes by the less-imaginative Pfening Andrey, is a free runner, a showier offshoot of tracing developed by Foucan. Pfening is prone to planting a hand on a wall and pin wheeling around it, which has nothing to do with getting from one point to the next. He will jump up and stand atop a garbage can, like a crow.

As a parkour facility, Washington High has been greatly improved by a summer construction project, which means metal storage units that look like boxcars on a railroad. There are also garbage Dumpsters, with and without metal lids. Levesque and Pfening climb a chainlink fence, stand on the top of it and jump up to grab the ledge on the roof of a portable classroom. They scamper across it and drop down to the pavement then climb to the top of a Dumpster that connects to another portable roof.


After a few laps on that circuit, they go down to the football field to demonstrate the rudimentary roll. Pfening is a patient instructor, but soon enough his eyes fix on the 30-foot-high frieze at the back of the end zone. He scales it and climbs over the rail, then runs around to the grandstand, goes down the steps and across the field to do it again, always running as if being chased.

"Whenever we practice, we try and find spots like this where there are random things," Levesque says. "It's hard to find places where there is everything you want to practice on." Practice is clearly a high priority, but they are not practicing for anything specific. There are no goals for parkour, no huge buildings to conquer the way rock climbers train for the big walls. "There are some business men trying to take over parkour, turn it into a competitive thing," Levesque says. "But the vast majority of people across the world do this because they love it. They want to improve themselves and they want to help others. That's all there is to it."

But there is more to it for Pfening. He has been at this just six months, but is ready for exposure. He went looking for it at the Colorado Parkour National Jam a month ago. "Maybe there are going to be people who look for people to do some tricks to get into advertising," he says.

He didn't get a Hollywood deal, though the U.S. Army has shown an interest. Since his return from the "Big Jam," he has installed a pull-up bar in the kitchen door jamb to improve muscle definition and taken to free running with no shirt on, the way they do in the movies. His father, meanwhile, has left the airport shuttle and gotten a job in construction, which comes with family benefits, "in case I get hurt," Andrey says with a smile.

In the evenings, Sidorov comes by and they walk over to Mountain Lake Park to do some parkour work on that strangest of contrivances: a Par course. Walking up to a pair of slanting benches that form the "sit and reach" station, Pfening looks at the lengthy written instructions and laughs. He already knows how to use it. He stands on one of the benches and broad jumps to the second. He knows how to use the pull-up bars, too, as a challenging set of parallel bars. He dismounts with a back flip.

Sidorov, who just graduated from Lowell, was more brazen than Pfening in his school-day exuberance. Once, between classes, he scrambled onto the roof of the school, then went roof to roof, doing flips over the gaps, he says. This earned him a two-day suspension.

"They got mad for that, but you have to constantly train yourself," he explains. "My mom was like, 'Oh, he was on the roof? OK.' " Sidorov sounds like any other American teenager, while Pfening still sounds like a Russian. The difference, Sidorov says, is that he's been here two years longer. "Seven and a half years," he says, snapping his fingers. "Accent outtahere."

He's outtahere, too, headed to UC Davis. Blazer is already at UCLA. The Piton Clan is down to the Piton, and he mostly practices alone now. Behind his apartment building is a shared backyard that was overgrown and shared by nobody until Andrey discovered it. It took him three long days to haul away all the trash and overgrowth. He weeded it, then found a mattress on the street and dragged it back there. This is where he practices his flips.

At night, he stretches for an hour in front of the TV. Right away he could bend over backward and touch the floor, which came as a shock to his mother. As a child he showed no interest in the common Russian pursuit of gymnastics.

No one could have seen this coming except maybe a tough kid on the playground, years ago at Roosevelt Middle School, the brick fort on Arguello. He nicknamed this quiet new Russian Peter Parker, the real name of Spider-Man. No reason other than a vague resemblance. Pfening didn't climb anything then. The nickname lasted about a year, then faded away, but they ought to bring it back when they see Peter Parkour in action at Washington High this year.

-- video: For more parkour action, check out SFGate.com/magazine.

[ShaolinWood]

Hi Guys, We've did a short doccie on parkour in Pretoria South Africa last year, it was filmed on one afternoon so enjoy it for what it is :D

http://www.myvideo.co.za/video/parkour-in-south-africa

[PaiLumDreamer]

I have B13. It's a bad movie with a few cool scenes. Kinda corny.

I used to do Parkour, but stopped because my knees started to hurt. Now, I get pain in my knees/pin *****s/needle feeling. I havn't gotten it checked out yet. I went to China and agitated it more while training - I havn't been able to run without pain and sometimes I feel pain while walking.


:(


It sucks, because this was probably caused by me not landing correctly, or going too fast too soon. I really enjoyed it, and I feel pretty bad that I can't go back with the current condition I'm in. I've put off going to the doctor because I'm a man and thats what men do. I just really hope when I do eventually go, I don't need surgery. :eek: Hopefully I can heal and try again.

[GeneChing]

There's a vid. I love the way the newscaster pronounces parkour.

Parkour Fever Sweeps China (http://english.ntdtv.com/ntdtv_en/ns_sports/2010-01-19/566860988683.html)
2010-1-19 10:713

The French-born physical discipline of Parkour is gaining popularity among Beijing's urban youth.

Its "art of moving" allows practitioners to use agility and speed to negotiate objects in their environment to create a path.

Often compared to martial arts, 60-year-old Wu Suhui was amazed by the boys' Kung Fu-like skills.

[Wu Suhui, Spectator]:
"I think it is like the Shaolin Kung Fu, it is very good. It has a lot of hope. It's cool, very cool. I've never seen this before, so when I saw it, I was drawn to it."

China Parkour Club, one of the largest in the nation, has hundreds of followers.

Zhang Tianlin, coach at the club, said the magnetic pull of Parkour lies in its relaxing quality.

[Zhang Tian Lin, Coach, China Parkour Club]:
"Life goes by pretty fast and there is a lot of pressure, so Parkour is a very relaxing and stress-releasing activity. It not only relaxes your muscles but also your mind."

Parkour originated in 1987 when a group of gymnastic enthusiasts began to practice stunts in a Paris playground, gaining worldwide popularity in the 1990s.

[SnowDog]

I can't believe how mainstream Parkour is getting.

They now have classes to learn it at our local Rec Center, and so many kids/ teens signed up they have a waitlist. LOL!!!!!!!

[GeneChing]

...although Parkour isn't really OT, its ORA. ;)


Parkour's best ready to gather in Hubei (http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90779/7922608.html)
By Lei Lei (China Daily)
10:46, August 24, 2012

The world's top parkour athletes will gather in China for the World Aquatic Parkour Masters in October, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

The tournament, which will be held from Oct 25-29 at Wudang Mountain in China's Hubei province, has attracted some of the world's elite parkour athletes. They include Jason Paul from Germany, a three-time Art of Motion champion; Kie Willis of Britain, the 2011Yokohama Art of Motion champion; Ryan Doyle of Britain, the 2007 Art of Motion champion and founder of Airborn Entertainment, which run classes aimed at teaching children parkour; and Tim Shieff of the US, winner of the 2009 Barclaycard World Freerun Championship.

Parkour, which originated in France in the 1980s, requires participants to overcome obstacles by adapting their movements to the environment. It's also known as free running.

Participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles with skills such as climbing, rolling, jumping, vaulting, and swinging.

Men are called traceur, women are traceuse, French slang for "to hurry".

It can be practiced in any environment, but urban areas are best because they're rich with obstacles.

The sport was brought to China in 2006, and has attracted an estimated 200,000 participants. China held the National Parkour Tournament in 2009 and 2011.

A series of national selections will be held before this year's world masters. The selections will be held in Xi'an on Sept 8, Guangzhou on Sept 15 and Beijing on Sept 22. Athletes can register at www.parkouchina.com. The prize money for the world masters is 100,000 yuan ($15,700).

The judges for the tournament feature a group of experts in parkour and Chinese kung fu. They include movie star Zhao Wenzhuo, Olympic fencing champion Zhong Man and Chau Belle, one of the founders of the world's top parkour team, Yamakasi.

[mawali]

Le Parkour would make great cinematic choreography with fencing and savate!

[YouKnowWho]

It's important to develop skill such as to jump up, reach with your fingers, and pull yourself up.

[No_Know]

It has been indicated that Le Parkour~ can keep one safe/healthy, but so can eating right. However eating right has less proximity to a fighting type fisticuffs.

Unless it's a battlefield situation or jumped by a gang thing, Le Parkour as demonstrated would not be cnsiderable as a Martial Art ...Iwill reason how it might not be a Martial Art:

If one's skill and situation afforded that one feels one cannot win, and leaving would be best, then one runs. Using Five-Elements (Theory) or the environment (as it were) or over comming obstacles encountered, one makes-off. This one has a skill-set that the winning fighter would unlikely have. Person not only could not follow far but was winning and wouldn't feel a need to follow you far if at all--you're a loser not worth breathing hard over.

Besides that, the winner wouldn't try to chase you down; until it is used in the proximity Of the fight (not consistantly increasing the distance From the fight) it would not be a martial art.

Because of the importance of getting out when you find things are not working out in your favor-I can see it as a Support to a Martial art.

I say it's a Support to a martial art because:

-muchly it is not demonstrated as fight offensive directly.
-it's cardiovascular is supportive of Endurance (Wind)
-Perception and problem-solving in motion at speed supports Comprehension
-Motion, Weight, Speed, Timing, Lean~Understandings, go towards improved fighting ability.

When Le Parkour uses the curved fingers to strike, when grabs and body positions, momentum use leverage and are applied to throws, when grabs are applied to seize and controls--Chin-Na, when the upper body is grabbed and one lifts themselves while beginning to run-up the opponent's leg--forward force with downward pressure as rakes or toes-up kicks, when one does Manderin Duck Kicks to the opponent's gut, and when one displaces ones-self in the immediate environment/surroundings to attack from odd/unusual angles, and techniques for interacting with an opponent are grouped and repeatable by choice or situation recognition-then might Le Parkour be, to me, a Martial Art.

No_Know

[Sima Rong]

I would also agree that it contains acrobatic and athletic training which would be beneficial to martial arts or self defense training, but it is not a martial art in itself, since it isn't about resolving violent conflict. There's really no martial aspect to the Parkour I have seen.

[GeneChing]

Human-Powered Freerunning Machine - with Jason Paul (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MiYtvbK4JY)

Some people gotz a lot of time on their hands...

[GeneChing]

Perhaps I just haven't tuned into Parkour deaths. So tragic.


Bridge Jumping Chinese Parkour Enthusiast’s Body Found (http://www.chinasmack.com/2013/stories/bridge-jumping-chinese-parkour-enthusiasts-body-found.html)
by Peter Barefoot on Monday, April 15, 2013

http://img.chinasmack.com/www/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/parkour-enthusiasts-ody-found-mother-devastated-02.jpg

From Sina:
Body of Sichuan Parkour Enthusiast Who Went Missing After Jumping into River Found 8 Days Later

From Chengdu Commercial Daily (reported by Zhou Taiyang, Zhang Bingrao), April 6, Parkour enthusiast Wang Zijian went missing after jumping into the Tuojiang River from Tuojiang Bridge No.1 in Luhzou which is located at where the Yangtze River and Tuojiang River meet. Yesterday [April 14], on the 8th day of Wang Zijian’s disappearance, his body was found over 10 kilometers away downstream in the Yangtze River.

Yesterday [April 14] morning, over 10 kilometers on the Yangtze River downstream from where the incident occurred, on a sand dredger near the Guifei Garden of Luhzou Jiangyang District Huangyi Town, boatman Old Qiu was busy as usual. “Old Qiu, seems like something got caught by the buoy tender,” a nearby boatman from the Junfeng told Old Qiu. Then, Old Qiu asked the captain of the Qinglong No.9 to go check it with him on a skiff. When the skiff was near the buoy tender, they discovered that the steel cable of the buoy tender had hooked a dead body. The two of them called the police afterwards. The police dispatched a speedboat to salvage the body. According to a policeman at the scene, there were no evident bruises on the body, “however, because of the huge impact from the dive, his face was apparently twisted/warped.”

Because the characteristics of the dead body was similar to the height of the previously missing Wang Zijian, the police informed this situation to Wang Zijian’s family members. Yesterday [April 14] afternoon, at about 2:30pm, Wang Zijian’s mother, his uncle, and some other family members arrived at the Luzhou City morgue. The Wangs identified the deceased as indeed being Wang Zijian. Upon seeing him, mother Wang burst into tears: “Jian Jian, you can’t do this to your mother…” She passed out before she could finish. The other family members immediately rushed to bring her back to consciousness.

According to Wang Zijian’s uncle, because of his parents’ divorce, Wang Zijian has lived with his mother ever since he was small. “She suffers from depression, and before this, her son was her biggest concern. Now her boy is gone, and we don’t know if she can get through this.” It has been known that Wang Zijian’s body will be cremated today [April 15]. After Wang Zijian’s disappearance, other parkour enthusiasts in Luzhou had from time to time come to the riverside to mourn him. “Now that the child has been found, we’ll tell the other enthusiasts, so they can see Jian Jian one last time,” says Wang Zijian’s uncle.

Comments from Sina:

手机用户 [四川成都]:

These kids know only to do things they like, but forget to do things their parents like~which is to be healthy and alive!

guest [上海]:

Disregarding one’s safety is the worst way of being unfilial!

氷的眼淚 [上海]:

How could other people save him? By having another person jump down 40 meters? By the time people made their way to the riverside, he had been already been carried away [by the current]. This is a river, not some small brook in front of your home!

4371醉 [福建福州]:

So cool you died, right?! Next time, remember not to think with your ass.

[Note: 跑酷 pao ku is the Chinese word for "parkour" and literally means "running cool".]

手机用户 [广东深圳]:

Nowadays kids don’t know what responsibility is.

手机用户1793461937 [浙江杭州]:

This kid is so irresponsible to his mother. It wasn’t easy for his mother to raise him, yet just like this, he’s gone. “The grey haired burying the black haired”, it shouldn’t be like this!!!

手机用户 [北京]:

Although this is a case of suffering the consequences of one’s choices, I still want to say: Rest in peace.

手机用户 [山东潍坊]:

Parkour is a type of physical exercise, not for ignorantly showing off.

guest [新西兰]:

Now that you’re dead, there’s nothing “cool” left.

手机用户 [广东广州]:

You only live once, don’t treat life as a game.

Comments from Sina Weibo:

Simon__梁施文:

China needs this kind of fear-no-death spirit!

刚烈无双伏龙芝:

This Darwin Award winner… has been found.

Sir-Hunter:

Reading the comments, seems a lot of people are criticizing him. I want say: those who have different values have no right to speak! And people who are in pursuit of their dreams don’t ever need to be understood!!! Life itself is a bet, it may be colorful, it may be mediocre, it may be a worthy death, or it may be life-long gloom!!!

绿发魔女:

His bad judgement is a warning to other people. So everyone’s departing has something to do with his/her fate. He’s dead, and certain people are still taking pleasure in his misfortune. The real nao can are these people who show no respect to the dead. [弱][蜡烛][蜡烛][蜡烛][蜡烛]

冯小闹的祖国很傻很天真:

A SB’s behavior. Then there will be someone who’ll say: Live free and die proudly for your dreams.

还好没人叫这名:

Next time bring a condom, use it as a swim ring if necessary.

奋斗期的R:

Playing with one’s life and one’s life played out! Didn’t treat parkour as a sport/exercise, only wanted to attract eyeballs. God is above. Look at your mother’s torn heart, can you rest in peace?

Captain-Ares:

Wanted to play parkour in the water? Isn’t that too difficult?!

黄子洋VS滚滚子:

Overconfident. The price to pay is death. This young man is so really stupid.

老幼病残孕专座:

A worthy death, good, good. To die doing what one loves is better than most people dying slowly to their last breath on a hospital bed.

[mawali]

The last time I checked, the concepts of Le Parkour was part of a physical conditioning tool of using your environment instead of looking at it as a hindrance.
I also saw that Olivier Gruner had that type of conditioning when he was a naval marine. It could be part of Escape and Evasion training as well as part of a CQB training module. :D

[GeneChing]

Not to be mean, but I truly did laugh out loud at a few of these.

Parkour Fail Compilation (http://vitaminl.tv/video/611)

ouch.

[doug maverick]

no its not... is it an art..for sure..is it martial...not in the slightest.

[GeneChing]

This is just plain crazy.


https://sports-images.vice.com/images/articles/meta/2015/12/11/parkour-en-cheronbil-ucrania-accidente-central-nuclear-una-aventura-increble-o-una-locura-absurda-accion-1449854563.jpg

December 14, 2015
Pau Riera
PARKOUR IN CHERNOBYL: THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE OR A JOURNEY INTO MADNESS?
This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Spain and was translated into English by Andreu Navarro Lopez.

A death toll of more than 50 due to the initial explosion, followed by 10 days of fire that forced the evacuation of 350,000 residents. Almost one million people – colloquially known as liquidators – have helped to minimise the consequences of the accident. Nearly half of them have died as a result, while the survivors' lives have been shortened.

When Chernobyl's nuclear accident occurred in April 1986, it was said that the zone would be uninhabitable for the next 40,000 years. Although some are still living very close, unwilling to leave their homes, staying in the surrounding area is said to be tantamount to signing one's own death warrant.

But perhaps not.

Hit the Road, a parkour collective formed by four young freerunners living in Paris, travelled last summer to the actual centre of the nuclear power plant. "We wanted to see with our own eyes how nature had colonised the urban spaces that we only knew from what we had read or seen in photos", Clément Dumais, a member of the group, told VICE Sports at a pub in Paris.

Dumais co-founded the freerunning collective in 2012 along with Nico Mathieux and Paul RBD. Two years later another freerunner, Leo Urban, joined them. With the group now complete, their number one objective was quickly decided: climbing the Eiffel Tower.

https://sports-images.vice.com/images/2015/12/11/hablamos-con-los-traceurs-que-se-expusieron-a-la-radioactividad-de-chernbil-para-hacer-parkour-body-image-1449850309.jpg
A public swimming pool in Pripyat, the first city evacuated after the catastrophe. Photo via Hit the Road.

"Going to Chernobyl was totally worth it," says Leo "but we really didn't know what to expect and it left us speechless". Before steering towards the ghost town, the parkour collective visited Kiev to meet some of the traceurs – as those who practice parkour or freerunning are known – from the Ukrainian city.

During their time in the capital they searched abandoned bunkers. "That's where we found the suits and masks that we took to the prohibited zone," says Nico. He shows us one of the masks, which looks like a prop from a Hollywood movie. "They were all from the Cold War, in case there was a nuclear attack. We found them in closed boxes, totally new."

In Kiev they met with someone interested in urban exploring who had been to Chernobyl three or four times using GPS. "He knew the way and knew the police check points and, more importantly, how to avoid them," explains Paul. There are many military checkpoints around the nuclear power plant to prevent access to the prohibited zone. Those who break the law can go to prison without trial.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6VhvVzW1UY

"We drove from Kiev to a place around 12 miles from the first checkpoint. Then we climbed through a hole in the mesh fence and started walking," says Leo. The first night they walked for 12 hours.

In the power plant, the work to isolate the perforated sarcophagus continues with high risks of radioactive exposure, hence the military patrols and the ban on civilians.

"To avoid some of the guards we had to cross through highly radioactive areas that seriously worried us," admits Clément. "Leo got a cut in his hand and when measuring the radioactivity with the Geiger counter we saw it was seriously high". Some of the vegetation they touched was 14 times more radioactive than the safe limit.

https://sports-images.vice.com/images/2015/12/11/hablamos-con-los-traceurs-que-se-expusieron-a-la-radioactividad-de-chernbil-para-hacer-parkour-body-image-1449850360.jpg
It is known as "The Dead Zone" because there isn't human life, but nature has taken over. Photo via Hit the Road.

The limit of daily radioactivity is 0.30mSv. The group reached up to 5.20 mSv in the woods, but only during very brief exposures. They slept in places where radioactivity wouldn't exceed the limit, but they still had to be very careful. "We were amazed about what we were seeing and looking forward to coming back home," said Leo.

In order to arrive in Pripyat, the ghost town three miles from Chernobyl that was evacuated 36 hours after the accident, Hit the Road had to cross through rivers, woods and follow railway tracks. "We were exhausted from all the walking so we did very little parkour. We mainly explored the town and its surroundings," says Nico, looking at his trainers. "These are the same I was wearing. They are good to do parkour but not so good to walk. Not that many miles, anyway."

https://sports-images.vice.com/images/2015/12/11/hablamos-con-los-traceurs-que-se-expusieron-a-la-radioactividad-de-chernbil-para-hacer-parkour-body-image-1449850406.jpg
Members of the group walked almost 100 miles through radioactive zones in only four days. Photo via Hit the Road.

"The hardest part was accepting that we were completely exposed to the radiation and still carry on walking," explains Leo. The others nod. Parkour is their life: a discipline that goes far beyond inner mental and physical limits. And that is exactly what they did in one of the most radioactive zones on the planet.

Travelling from Paris to Chernobyl, they also time travelled from the 21st century to the reality of a Soviet Bloc nation during the 1980s. It is an untouched zone: everything looks like when it was left by the families that would never come back. There are communist symbols everywhere.

https://sports-images.vice.com/images/2015/12/11/parkour-en-cheronbil-ucrania-accidente-central-nuclear-una-aventura-increble-o-una-locura-absurda-accion-body-image-1449854803.jpg
Trees and plants taking over every corner of Pripyat. Photo via Hit the Road.

"We thought that after the work of the liquidators there wasn't much more left to do in Chernobyl. Nevertheless, we actually realised that without the Ukrainians studying and safeguarding the place the radioactivity would travel a lot further," said Paul.

"It feels like it was ages ago... but it has only been 30 years," says Clément before he leaves.

@21pauriera

[GeneChing]

In my day, we used to call these Jungle Gyms, not no fancy schmancy frenchy words. :rolleyes:


Parkour Equipment Coming to Riverside Park South (https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160223/upper-west-side/parkour-equipment-coming-riverside-park-south)
By Emily Frost | February 23, 2016 6:39pm @efrost1

https://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2016/02/1-parkour-1456261413.png/extralarge.jpg
https://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2016/02/2-parkour-1456261742.png/extralarge.jpg
https://assets.dnainfo.com/generated/photo/2016/02/3-parkour-1456261941.png/extralarge.jpg
Riverside Park Parkour Equipment
This equipment facilitates parkour practice. Parkour was started in France and involves different techniques of moving between structures, usually urban architecture like benches, lamps, bike racks or buildings.
Photo credit: undefined

UPPER WEST SIDE — The city is installing special equipment for parkour enthusiasts in Riverside Park as a part of a multimillion-dollar redesign that will begin construction this summer.

The Parks Department is installing the obstacle course-style equipment between West 69th and 70th streets in the park, just south of the basketball courts and under the highway structure, agency officials said.

Parkour, which first emerged in France in the 1990s and has spread in popularity across the world, involves acrobatic vaulting, swinging, jumping, leaping and rolling between objects. Typically parkour practitioners use urban infrastructure, leaping from benches to bike racks and over fences, or even between building roofs.

But classes for acrobatic kids and exercise structures, like the ones the Parks Department plans to install, are aimed at finding safer ways to practice the sport.

The installation will include equipment, likely from the manufacturer Lappset, as well as a safety surface underneath, new paving around the area and new fencing, said a department spokeswoman.

The parkour space is "specifically geared towards teens," said Parks Department Landscape Architect Meredith Bracken. "We feel that they’re underserved,"

The idea is for participants to move between the pieces of equipment in "a connective loop," she noted.

"It takes quite a bit of dexterity and practice," Bracken said.

This part of the larger Gale Brewer-funded plan to upgrade Riverside Park South, which runs from West 72nd to 59th streets, should get under way this summer, Bracken added.

[boxerbilly]

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Cataphract]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfJYJZovg0g

[Jimbo]

IMO, Parkour is a great sport/art. It can potentially offer many things to a MAist.

HOWEVER, as an art form, it is limited to the peak years of an athlete, in the same way that gymnastics, 'Extreme Martial Arts' (XMA), competitive performance wushu, etc., are. Meaning that for most people, by their late 20s (sometimes much earlier), they will have passed their peak performance capabilities at it and will have started to degrade. If one is racked with injuries (which is almost inevitable), the decline will be much quicker. It is not the type of art form that an 'artist' can continue to develop and refine over his/her lifetime. I remember seeing a special on XMA where a young guy/former XMA champion who taught kids was saying that he's old and no longer able to do certain stunts and was "passing the torch to the next generation" like he's an old man or something. As I recall, this guy was only in his 20s. By the time he's in his late 30s, I suppose his students' students will be tasked with "passing the torch."

Not to mention that, like any sport, Parkour isn't suited for everyone. There has to be some natural talent for it. Gymnastics might offer similar benefits to MAists, but to be honest, most people lack the potential to become great or even good gymnasts, even if they started young. Everyone doesn't have the potential to someday play in the NBA or the NFL. Even MAs require a combination of natural talent for it, proper instruction and hard, consistent training over many years, which is why almost everyone has 'done a bit of MA' but relatively few in the population stick with it, much less develop any real expertise.

[GeneChing]

What a senseless loss. I wonder why we don't hear of more Parkour deaths.


Russian chess master Yuri Yeliseyev dies in Moscow fall (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38129713)
28 November 2016

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/17835/production/_92690369_mediaitem92690121.jpg
RUCHESS.RU
Yuri Yeliseyev was admired in Russia as a grandmaster with original solutions to chess problems

Russian chess master Yuri Yeliseyev, 20, has died after apparently plunging from a balcony on the 12th floor of a Moscow apartment block.
A fellow chess grandmaster, Daniil Dubov, said Yeliseyev had been trying to reach another balcony but slipped.
Yeliseyev reportedly practised parkour, an urban challenge which involves climbing or leaping across roofs, fences or other man-made obstacles.
He became world junior chess champion in 2012 and was a grandmaster aged 17.
He won the Moscow Open 2016 chess tournament and ranked 42nd among Russian grandmasters. His world ranking was 212.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/15125/production/_92690368_mediaitem92690366.jpg
ROSSIYA 24 TV GRAB
Russian TV reports that he fell to his death from this balcony

Police quoted by Gazeta.ru news website said the marks on his body pointed to his having plunged from the 12th-floor balcony on Saturday night.
"Tonight my close friend died - an outstanding chess player and analyst, one of the most talented people I know, Yura Yeliseyev," wrote Daniil Dubov on Facebook.
"He was trying to climb from the window onto a balcony on the 12th floor but lost his grip."
The apartment block is on Moscow's Pyatnitskoye Avenue, in an area dominated by high-rise housing.
Does anybody still care about chess?


The origins of parkour

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/13D4D/production/_92692218_72929860.jpg
GETTY IMAGES

Takes its name from phrase "parcours du combattant", the military obstacle course training devised by French physical educationalist Georges Hebert (1875-1957)
Modern parkour was popularised by French actor and stuntman David Belle - his video "Speed Air Man" played a large part in popularising the sport
Practitioners of parkour are often known as traceurs

The Russian chess team's national coach, Sergei Yanovsky, said Yeliseyev "was a very talented chess player, a very bright lad, he was always very popular in the team".
"Yura always sought unusual methods in everything, he had a predilection for unorthodox solutions... This is a very heavy loss."
Mr Yanovsky said Yeliseyev "even as a young boy always wanted to show his daring and climb to places.
"But he didn't go to extremes - he kept within sensible bounds. For example, he'd climb to a height of two metres (6.6ft) and walk along the edge just to show that he had a head for heights."

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/B8CD/production/_92690374_mediaitem92690373.jpg
RUCHESS.RU
Another Russian chess grandmaster - Mark Taimanov - died in St Petersburg on Monday aged 90. He was Soviet chess champion in 1956.

Taimanov vied with US chess genius Bobby Fischer in 1971, in a bid to become world champion, but lost all six games.
Taimanov was part of an award-winning Soviet team and earned international respect for his contributions to chess theory.

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfI-bTdMcI

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpTEzp-6CkM

Parkour (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?28499-Le-Parkour) & Ninjas (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?44568-Ninjas!)

[GeneChing]

I've always thought 'parkour' gyms were sort of antithetical to the art. It's like teaching 'street fighting' formally at a school.


21 children injured after platform collapses at San Diego parkour gym for kids (http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/21-children-injured-after-platform-collapses-at-12351611.php)
Cleve R. Wootson Jr., The Washington Post Published 1:51 pm, Sunday, November 12, 2017

21 children and 2 adults were injured after a structure collapsed at a parkour center in San Diego
Media: People

San Diego's Vault PK is usually packed with bouncing and flipping children on Saturday evenings, when it hosts a "kids' night out" for budding athletes ages 5 to 14.
This past weekend was especially packed, parents said, as people cashed in a Groupon that got three kids into the parkour facility's open gym for just $30. The three-hour event is supervised by Vault PK staff members, so it doubles as a parents' night out too.
Some of the nearly 150 children present played on the America Ninja Warrior-styled obstacle course, but roughly a third had gathered on a 10-feet-by-30-feet wooden viewing platform, parent Cory Brizendine told San Diego ABC-affiliate KGTV. That's where the pizza was being served.
"Once the majority of kids got up there, the whole platform collapsed," he said.
The crumbling structure took a connected staircase with it, authorities and witnesses told reporters. Wood and little bodies tumbled to the ground - on top of children playing below - forming a heap of injured kids and gym equipment.
"It was business as usual until we heard a loud boom come from the gym, at which point our staff and some customers ran over to the gym to help any way we could," a spokesperson for Total Combat Paintball posted on Facebook. The business shares a building with the parkour facility and a cross-fit gym.
Zachary Smith, who was at Vault PK with his son for a birthday party, told the Los Angeles Times he was standing on the platform along with more than 30 others. Smith fell onto a young girl but neither were seriously injured, he said. Smith's son was also on the platform at the time but suffered only minor scrapes.
"It was a freak accident," Smith told the newspaper. He said it didn't appear the platform could hold so much weight.
No one answered the gym phone on Sunday afternoon. A recording said classes and birthday parties were "closed until further notice."
In all, 21 children and two adults, ages 72 and 46, were rushed to San Diego-area hospitals with moderate or minor injures, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Steve Wright. At least three had spinal injuries.
Alerted to the collapse, parents who'd dropped off their children rushed back and found a street full of ambulances and firetrucks.
"It is a very serious night for parents," Wright said. "They had to wait to get in to see if their children were affected or not."
Vault PK, which also has a facility in Torrance, California, has been open since 2014. It was started by a former gymnast who saw a market for a gymnastics-centered facility that appeals to boys and girls.
Vault PK's classes, which start with preschoolers, include safety training. The challenges increase as students become more comfortable with their bodies moving over obstacles.
A promotional video shows people of all ages vaulting over obstacles, tumbling and flipping through the air as upbeat music plays.
"Train like your favorite super hero or ninja warrior!" says a description of the school's mini PK class. "Learn how to run super fast, leap tall buildings, climb walls, vault over obstacles like your favorite ninjas!"
Kids night out is a bit different. It invites children to "Ditch your parents and come run, jump, and play on our warped walls, trampolines, bars, and obstacle courses."
It's $17 for members, $22 for non members, according to the facility's website. It's supervised by parkour coaches, but there's no instruction. Pizza is included.
Before Saturday, the gym had gotten great reviews.
"This place is fantastic for kids who are into lots of body movement, skater like moves, gymnastics and moving! It gives the kids all those opportunities but in a totally safe, controlled environment," one parent wrote in a testimonial on the facility's website. "Havent had a chance to do Kids night out yet, but i'm looking forward to it!"

[GeneChing]

I thought the object was not to fall. :rolleyes:

There's an embedded vid.



How the daredevil sport of parkour can help aging adults fall better (https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/22/health/parkour-reduce-fall-risk-sw/index.html)
By Lauren Lee, CNN

Updated 6:40 AM ET, Fri February 22, 2019

Play Video
What the sport of parkour can teach you about falling 01:20

(CNN)It looks like something out of a ninja movie. The extreme sport known as parkour involves vaulting high obstacles, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and literally bouncing off the walls.
It's all about moving through an environment quickly, jumping, crawling and climbing over obstacles. Parkour, also called "freerunning," is not for the faint of heart. But, with a few modifications, it might be just the thing for older people at risk of falling.
The basics of parkour entail balance and knowing how to safely break a fall. "A lot of what we are first working on is balance," said Austin Gall, who teaches a parkour class for beginners at Aerial Warehouse in Culver City, California. "Just being able to balance along a rail without falling off or just simple things like footwork and jumping really low small distances."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths in the United States for adults over 65. What's more, a non-fatal fall can have a tremendous impact on quality of life.
"Older adults who do fall sometimes experience an injury," said Kathy Cameron, director of the National Fall Prevention Resource Center. "About 20% of those who fall have an injury like traumatic brain injury or a hip fracture or other broken bones."
But it's not just the bodily injuries that make falling so harmful. The simple fear of falling makes some older people eschew physical activity. And that, ironically, can lead to greater falling risks.
"Physical activity is one of the prime ways that we can prevent falls," Cameron said. "Exercise programs that improve balance and strengthen muscles are going to enhance our gait so that we can walk better and have better balance."
In addition to focusing on balance, Gall said, there is one particular move that can be particularly helpful to someone prone to falls.
"I think the most important thing is being able to drop down into a roll to break your fall," he said.
A parkour roll is like a martial arts tumble. As the person hits the ground, they roll from one shoulder to the opposite hip. This sort of roll, correctly done, minimizes a fall's full force by distributing the impact across the body.
With the help of an experienced parkour instructor, aging adults can learn not only to recover from falls but to avoid injury. "I'm excited to see how parkour is going to evolve over the next few years as it's adapted for older adults," Cameron said.
"I think there are components of it that are really important for reducing fall risks."

[GeneChing]

There's a vid behind the link.


Silke Sollfrank: The former gymnast who says parkour 'slapped her in the face' and gave her freedom (https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/22/sport/silke-sollfrank-parkour-gymnastics-cmd-spt-intl/index.html)
By Ben Morse, CNN
Video by Noura Abou Zeinab, for CNN

Updated 5:08 AM ET, Tue December 22, 2020
Silke Sollfrank wants to encourage more women to take up parkour

(CNN)As she grew up, Silke Sollfrank competed at a high level as a gymnast. There was one problem -- she never liked "the competition" of the sport.

Everything changed for her when she was introduced to parkour.
Instead of worrying about "pointy toes all the time, Sollfrank discovered freedom in parkour, which involves jumping, climbing and running around urban landscapes.
"I realized that I need to set my own limits," Sollfrank told CNN Sport. "I need to focus on my movement instead of always comparing myself to other people as well.
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/201222094902-silke-sollfrank-pic-1-exlarge-169.jpg
Sollfrank admits she prefers to be "more chill" in parkour than "being very feminine" in gymnastics.
"All I did when I was a gymnast was comparing myself to other women and try to be better than them. And parkour kind of slapped me in the face and showed me: 'This is not this is not what you want.'"
Since switching to parkour in 2015, Sollfrank hasn't looked back.
The 23-year-old has competed in the world's biggest parkour competitions, making her debut at the Aurora Games in New York and also made the podium in the Red Bull Art of Motion event in 2019.
Sollfrank participated in the Netflix show Ultimate Beastmaster and was the last woman standing in her Ninja Warrior Germany episode.
She's also the only woman in the 15-member parkour group Ashigaru. And now she wants to encourage more people follow in her footsteps and take up parkour.
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/201222094859-silke-sollfrank-pic-2-exlarge-169.jpg
Sollfrank admits it took her "only two weeks" to have the basics of parkour shown to her.
"Doesn't matter how old you are, doesn't matter what gender you are, as long as you can see that you enjoy movement, that you enjoy challenging yourself," says, Sollfrank, who admits she's had to overcome her fear of heights to continue competing.
"There shouldn't be any fears of starting because everyone starts at their own level. Some people might have a lot of body experience and start a higher level. Some people don't know about anything, would like know how to do parkour and they start from zero. And that's totally fine."

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfOmRA4p3IM