Check out the new sport that's all the rage in Europe right now.
Parkour's founder and chief practitioner is David Belle. It supposedly stems from French military training during the Vietnam War era, which made extensive use of obstacle courses.
Free Running was started by Sebastien Foucan. He basically took Parkour and adapted it to a British audience.
While thy seem very similar on the surface, practitioners cite significant differences. Parkour is very similar to martial arts. It has the practical applications of escape and reach, and is also meant to be a kind of life philosophy. The goal in Parkour is to get from point A to point B in as fast and efficient a manner as possible, with an emphasis on problem solving and overcoming obstacles.
Free Running, on the other hand, is more like an extreme sport, with its emphasis on tricks and "going big." It lends itself more readily to commercialization and competition, and is more concerned with the beauty of a particular move than its usefulness or efficiency.
Parkour article in the New Yorker
Video of David Belle falling
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
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2 comments:
Have you seen last year's Casino Royale? Right after the opening credits there is a foot chase scene, and the bad guy uses Parkour to run around on a construction site. James Bond just smashes straight through drywall.
Coolest foot chase ever.
That's actually Sebastien Foucan in the movie.
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