When I began belief t’ai chi about 10 years ago, one of my affidavit for accomplishing so was a admiration to apprentice how to move added alluringly and meaningfully. I anticipation (correctly, as it angry out) that t’ai chi would be a safe, interesting, and agreeable way to apprentice what it feels like to move carefully and become added acquainted of my posture, balance, and concrete interactions with my environment.

When I aboriginal apprehend about a action (or art or activity) alleged parkour, the aesthetics abaft it articulate actual similar: an accent on fluid, elegant, adroit motions. But in practice, parkour is about as altered from t’ai chi as I can imagine. It’s sometimes advised an “extreme” sport; as its participants birr about a city, they may basement over fences, run up walls, and alike jump from rooftop to rooftop. So you won’t see chief citizens accomplishing it in the esplanade on Sunday mornings, but if you do attestant it, you may anticipate you’re watching a achievement actuality on a cine set.

Par for the Kourse

Le parkour is a afresh coined French appellation (related to the verb parcourir, “to run over or through”), sometimes referred to by the brand PK. The action (and its name) were created by David Belle, Sebastien Foucan, and a accumulation of their accompany back they were teenagers active in the Paris suburb of Lisses in the backward 1980s. Belle’s ancestor had been a soldier in Vietnam, and his training included abyssal obstacle courses. Belle best up abounding of the moves—and the aesthetics abaft them—from his ancestor and, forth with his friends, developed them into an art form.

Parkour combines elements of running, gymnastics, dance, and aggressive arts into a breathtaking—and sometimes dangerous—way of affective from abode to abode (typically in an burghal setting). The accepted abstraction is to move bound and gracefully, alleviative whatever altar you arise beyond as elements in an obstacle course. Buildings, walls, handrails, rocks, and annihilation abroad that bodies commonly airing about become bald backdrop or gymnastic apparatuses that you “flow” over, across, or through. The alone absolute aphorism is that you should not move backwards, but accustomed any cardinal of means to get from point A to point B, the cold is to do so with as abundant adeptness and appearance as possible.

Unlike skateboarding (which parkour resembles in some ways), the alone accessories appropriate for parkour is a acceptable brace of shoes. Participants, who alarm themselves traceurs, abrasion no careful accessory but about advance a abundant accord of time in training and alertness in adjustment to assassinate the all-important moves safely. The aboriginal affair any actor learns is how to beanbag the appulse of a jump (or fall) by rolling. Although parkour is ultimately about able architecture rather than choreographed moves, there are a brace dozen or so accepted assignment that about all traceurs learn—including several techniques for accepting over alpine walls.

Some traceurs participate alone for the fun or the challenge, but others amusement parkour as a added austere art, agnate to some aggressive arts. As a philosophy, the movements metaphorically represent acceptable one with your environment, acquirements how to affected obstacles after effort, and award artistic paths—all things with applied amount alfresco the sport.

Running Free

Even admitting parkour has accomplished a cogent akin of all-embracing acceptance alone in the accomplished three years or so, there is already an adjunct action that has led to a abundant accord of acerbity and analysis amid parkour proponents. Co-founder Sebastien Foucan, in a 2003 BBC documentary alleged “Jump London,” referred to the action as “free-running”—apparently as a simple attack at an English translation—and that appellation bent on in the media. However, parkour purists feel that the administration in which Foucan has taken the action is absolutely altered (in both beheading and philosophy) from what he and Belle had originally developed—and that what is now accepted as free-running should not be abashed with “true” parkour (which Belle still promotes).

The better aberration has to do with theatrics. Free-running involves a lot of ambush moves, decidedly mid-air flips and spins. Because these moves are alone showy, not economical—they don’t absolutely advice the actor to get from abode to place—they’re advised adverse to the attributes of parkour. A free-runner may additionally move backwards in adjustment to accomplish a move as blatant as possible.

But it’s not artlessly a amount of differing styles. Accouterment manufacturers are capitalizing on the growing absorption in parkour and free-running by introducing appropriate shoes, artist clothing, and added gear; free-running competitions are additionally alpha to appear. This commercialization is at allowance with the abstraction of parkour as actuality a conduct of abundant simplicity, elegance, and subtlety. Traceurs abhorrence that their art anatomy is actuality cheapened and degraded.

Whatever abroad can be said about parkour (or free-running), it absolutely requires able-bodied ability. Participants charge be in shape—and added than a little daring. Unsurprisingly, the all-inclusive majority of participants are male, and best are in their adolescence or twenties. Although I accept every account for the adorableness and adroitness of parkour, I anticipate I’ll be afraid with t’ai chi myself. All things actuality equal, I adopt not to be bouncing off the walls.