Parkour:
For Parkour, I am not sure where to begin. The most logical place would be the start, origin. I also want to find out the differences between parkour and free running. Maybe which form of movement is older.
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As more and more urbanization occurs, there are less and fewer playgrounds that exist for the purpose of climbing, playing or similar. For that reason, sports like parkour and free-running are becoming more common practice / growing in popularity.
Definitions
Parkour:
the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping and climbing.
Freerunnning:
a version of parkour that typically places greater emphasis on acrobatic techniques and self-expression.
History:
Parkour can be classified as a descendant of climbing ; the origins of which are unclear. Climbing has existed since the beginning of man, as it was a form of movement that granted survival.
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Parkour on the other hand has roots in the 19th century as a recreational activity in France, Italy and England. However, "officially" parkour was created by the Yamakasi. The Yamakasi are the original parkour group (l'art du deplacement). The group was founded by David Belle in 1997. "This evolution"..."is much more complex than one or two charismatic individuals creating a sui generis sport". The activity pre-receiving its name was referred to as "parcours - referencing military obstacle course training (parcours du combatant)."
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Freerunning is a descendant of parkour and was founded by Sebastian Foucan who spoke about it in 2003 (in a documentary film : Jump London). Foucan stated that he developed freerunning as a more inclusive form of parkour.
Parkour features techniques and skills from various well established sports / disciplines, the main two being: gymnastics, and climbing. There are countless moves and skills within parkour. The list is constantly growing as people's abilities evolve. Similar to skateboarding, someone will introduce a flip over a ramp, and it will be developed into different combinations (e.g. double flip, half-twist flip ... etc). Moves can be categorized into air ground and climbing. However, generally moves aren't put into groups as there are hybrid movements and combinations which results in debatable categorization of particular moves.
•Landing
•Parkour Roll
•Cat Leap
•Dash Vault
•Monkey Vault
•Kong Vault
•Speed Vault
•Kash Vault
•Strides
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Safety Roll.
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Wall Run.
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Bar Kip.
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Two Handed Vault
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Turn Vault
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Precision Jump
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Lazy Vault
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Reverse Vault
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Underbar
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Tic Tac
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This is not an extensive list, including all the possible varieties of parkour techniques. However, it should highlight that there are many options.
Here is are two lists of vaults within, Free running and Parkour. There are similarities in the names and execution between both lists. However, the biggest difference is that Parkour focuses on speed ; the vaults are designed to traverse different environments and obstacles in as quick of a time as possible. Free running vaults, are about looking aesthetically pleasing / flashy. Within both disciplines, there are combinations, such as :
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Double Kong
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Kash Vault
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Reverse Kong push (inverse Kong)
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Kong gainer
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Kong-Safety
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Kong Pop
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Speed Safety
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Kong PRE (Kong to Precision or Cat Leap)
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Double Safety
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Double Underbar
Sport and Competition
Free running Vaults
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Reverse Vault
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360º Vault
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Spinning Vault
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Gate Vault
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Straddle Vault
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Kong Pop
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2 Handed Underbar
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Underbar 180º
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Lazy-B
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Rocket vault
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speedstep
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speedstep 360
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lazy 180
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Safety Vault
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Speed Vault
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Lazy Vault
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Dash Vault
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Kong Vault (monkey vault / cat pass)
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Side Vault
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Turn Vault (180 Vault)
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Pop Vault
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Dive Vault
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Underbar
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Thief Vault
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Double Vault
Parkour Vaults
As parkour is relatively new, there are not many competitions around; at least not ones that are publicly well known. Only recently, climbing was added to the Olympic (2020 Summer Tokyo Olympics).
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One of the most competitive competitions out there is the WPC (world parkour championship). A route is set up with a variety of obstacles mimicking an urban environment, and contestants must traverse from point A to point B in as little time as possible. The fastest person to traverse all obstacles and reach the end wins the competition.
Another popular competition is the "World Chase Tag". It was founded in 2011 by Christian and Damien Devaux. This sport contains a playground in which two contestants will traverse, running from or after one another. As the game tag suggests, one plays the role of a "hunter" and one is simply trying to not get touched for a set time limit. Multiple rounds are played through, with the hunter and runner switching. Players generally are part of a team and will substitute in and out after each round. The team that manages to get the most points win. If a hunter tags their opponent, they get a point. If the runner manages to survive the time limit, they get a point.
Culture of Parkour
Parkour is a sport that has developed within the Urban environment. This is a result of the face pace urbanization that is occurring - destroying any natural playground spaces that used to be available. As the natural gets replaced by the man-made, it leaves new areas for us to explore. Urban exploration has become a popular recreational activity. However, exploration on its own is not active enough for some people, and so a natural development into a more agile / fast pace form of exploration was created.
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Being a fast pace activity, the general attire for parkour is something that doesn't interfere with your range of movement. Key is comfortability - some prefer loose clothing, some prefer tighter clothes.
Environment
When looking for good locations for parkour, generally areas which have a lot of man-made features are a good starting point. This is because, various elevations, boxes, metal bars, walls etc allow for a more interesting and diverse set of movements/ techniques to be completed.
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Some recommended locations are:
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University/College campuses
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Playgrounds
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Beaches
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Gym
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Open Field
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Wheelchair ramps
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Forests
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Skateboarding parks
Articles
"Why Parkour is a cure for the fear of being human"
Within this article, the writer talks about how everyone has fears, and they are difficult to overcome. I think what he is trying to say about the sport of Parkour, is that the way progression works within the sport, allows us to acknowledge our terrors of losing physical control, understanding our limitations and finding ways to move past them. This is an important process that many are not familiar with and for that reason will live in fear. Parkour develops our adaptability and therefore can be attributed as a skill that improves our survival instincts.
This article has a selection of a few different points of discussion, with a theme of breaking down the technical and strategical aspect of parkour. Throughout the article, there are mentions of different strategies and characteristics that can benefit a "traceur"/"traceuses" when attempting to overcome different obstacles (specifically higher walls). Redirecting momentum and speed are vital components that allow experienced parkour athletes to complete challenging manoeuvres. Additionally, in the article, there is a mention of injury and how the risk of injury can be minimalized by reducing the time of which landing force applies. The landing is a crucial part of parkour and where most injuries are prone to occur, for that reason athletes will need to practice balance, flexibility, strength and overall technique in order to prevent any accidents.
Book
Finding a book on parkour was very challenging. Majority of them covered content that was very loose and not concrete/factual. Additionally, some texts had certain agendas (negative, generally towards parkour - which I did not want to explore). I am only interested in the factual aspects surrounding parkour, opinion based texts do not assist in my growing understanding of the topic. Furthermore, topics that are linked to politics do not interest me.
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However, I did discover this book, which I have found both interesting and useful. Throughout my research notes, I have used quotations from the book. It provides a very logical and clear insight into the start of Parkour, as well as some interesting thoughts surrounding the sport from professors. One of which was a human-computer relationships professor (Sherry Turkle) who said that new developments in technology; seeing things on a screen would make things in real-life possible. He continued to add that the internet would allow for rapid transmissions of ideas, images, videos etc which can contribute to many developments and evolutions (including a sport like Parkour).
KIDDER, J. L. (2017). Parkour and the City: Risk, Masculinity, and Meaning in a Postmodern Sport. Rutgers University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mtz7m8
Benefits & Drawbacks
Being one of the most active sports, there have been a number of studies conducted that have proven health benefits of practising parkour. It has been proven to be an "effective intervention" to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and strength in adolescent males". Parkour incorporates quick movements where athletes must control their momentum (acceleration and deceleration strategies and techniques will develop naturally and increase strength in the muscles that control these movements). Additionally, arm and back muscles will develop due to vaulting, hanging and occasional climbing. There is a huge variety of different moves in Parkour and within that large selection, the majority of muscle groups will become stronger with practice, including : back, arms, core, legs and even the brain (for problem-solving - how to tackle certain obstacles will play a part and co-ordination).
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The negatives are due to the intensity of the sport, there is a high risk of injury. Additionally, whilst practising or learning new skills/techniques, you are more prone to getting an injury (due to unfamiliarity and higher chance of an accident occurring). Injuries are most prone to happen during landings, as that is when a lot of momentum and force is put into your joints.
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As a whole, the intensity and cross-sport skills that are included within parkour make it a healthy activity for the body and mind. With all forms of physical activity, there are risks involved in the forms of injuries, these can be minimalized with proper practice and technique. Additionally, by selecting environments where there is less risk (e.g. park over rooftops).
Ninja Warrior Show
I remember when I was younger, I really enjoyed shows like Ninja Warrior, total Wipeout and Takeshi's castle. Those types of show, contained a lot of both entertaining moments (funny interactions between the challenger and obstacles, or commentator remarks). As all of those popular TV competitions feature, running, jumping, climbing and other movements, I was curious if they could be classified as parkour.
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There is no clear, conclusive source that states whether Ninja warrior is the same as parkour. However, there are plenty of opinionated pieces of journalism and forums that argue that Parkour is different to Ninja warrior:
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https://www.reddit.com/r/Parkour/comments/ly24lx/how_does_the_parkour_community_generally_feel/
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It seems the consensus of those who participate in parkour and use social media, is that parkour differs from ninja warrior, due to the skills and techniques required. "Ninja Training incorporates climbing and traversing, parkour skills, strength training, and martial arts oriented gymnastics." Parkour is an element of Ninja Warrior.
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In my personal opinion, with the development and evolution of Parkour, I could see it changing and growing into different pathways, one of which would bring sports like Ninja Warrior under its wing.
Urban Design
Urban design is an approach to buildings and the spaces between them. "Urban design" in recent times considers the bigger picture when designing the shapes and physical features of towns/cities. This means that social, environmental and economic issues should be thought about when designing new architecture. "Urban" itself is the relationship or characteristic of a town or city. Within the context of my research, I am focusing on "urbanization" - which is when "areas start to display the characteristics of towns and cities, such as an increased population, housing and infrastructure."
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https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Urbanisation_definition
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Some interesting city locations that I have come across which have very efficient urban designs include Barcelona (Spain) and La Plata (Argentina). Both of these cities are satisfying to look at, as the space is used as efficiently as possible. However, this does highlight the issue that space is limited and any space that previously was used for playground and natural environments is being replaced by urban, modern constructs. What does make me curious is, if birth rate is decreasing, why are we expanding so rapidly, why is there a fight for space when we are not growing as quickly as we are conquerring?
