What is Parkour?
Parkour is a physical discipline where the practitioner trains the mind and body utilizing movements such as running, jumping, climbing, hanging, vaulting, rolling… etc, by adapting to ones environment and situations. By doing so it aims to bring out the human potential to the maximum.
History of Parkour
The origins of Parkour started during the World War I, called Methode Naturelle which was created by a Navel officer named Georges Hebert. Methode Naturelle utilized 10 types of natural human patterns such as walking, running, jumping, crawling, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, self protection and swimming. This method was used by the French Military to prepare their soldiers for the battle field and later on Militant obstacle course training called “Parcours du combattant” was created through Heberts methods.
Later on, during the 1980s a group of young boys started to use this method in the streets Paris and called what they practice “l’Art Du Déplacement/ADD.” These boys will name themselves “YAMAKASI” (which means strong body, strong mind, strong person in the language of Lingala) and they are known as the founding fathers of the discipline of ADD, Parkour and Freerunning. The nine founding members of YAMAKASI are David Belle, Sebastien Foucan, Yann Hnautra, Chau Belle Dinh, Laurent Piemontesi, Guylain Boyeke, Charles Perriere, Malik Diouf, and Williams Belle , and they created the base line of what we call Parkour today.
In 1998 the group split due to difference in opinion and direction and David and Sebastian left the group. To differentiate what they practice from ADD, David created the word Parkour which comes from the French word “Parcours” which means “path” or “the way.” David focused on efficient movement and finding ones path through utility of movement.
Parkour spread in the world like wildfire especially after the movie created by Luc Besson featuring the YAMAKASI, documentary showed in UK national television called “JUMP LONDON” and the development of social media such as YouTube and Instagram. Now Parkour is known to be the fastest growing physical discipline in the world.
