PARKOUR

Parkour or ParCour (sometimes also abbreviated to PC or PK), or l'art du déplacement is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible. Skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves are employed. The object of parkour is to get from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment. The obstacles can be anything in one's environment, but parkour is often seen practiced in urban areas because of the many suitable public structures available such as buildings and rails.

The term freerunning is sometimes used interchangeably with parkour. While freerunning is more to do with expressing yourself within your environment, parkour is aiming to get from A to B the fastest. However, there is some controversy over the exact definitions of the two terms. Though disputed, many "parkour purists" say that the biggest difference has to do with theatrics. Free-running involves a lot of trick moves, particularly aerial rotations and spins. Because these moves are merely showy, not economical, and do not actually help the participant to get from place to place, they are considered contrary to the nature of parkour. A free-runner may also move backwards in order to make a move as flashy as possible. This is contrary to the philosophy originally laid down by David Belle.

A practitioner of parkour is called a traceur if male, or traceuse if female.

Overview

In September 2009, American Parkour began a community effort to define parkour. They invited the entire community to post their personal definition of parkour. It was edited into the final version by a committee of American Parkour employees and people outside of American Parkour to ensure that it was truly a community effort. Their result: