Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one’s body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency. Part 1 (2:49 min) David Belle Profile
Parkour is a physical activity that is difficult to categorize. Often miscategorized as a sport or an extreme sport, parkour has no set of rules, team work, formal hierarchy, or competitiveness. On the contrary it is more like an art or discipline that resembles self-defense in the ancient martial arts.
According to David Belle, “the physical aspect of parkour is getting over all the obstacles in your path as you would in an emergency. You want to move in such a way, with any movement, as to help you gain the most ground on someone or something, whether escaping from it or chasing toward it.
Next video is a 10:40 minute documentary on the history and philosophy of Parkour.
on Jul 26th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
these guys are amazing and nuts! I was visiting a friend a couple days ago and we were talking about these urban acrobats. My friend lent me this French movie called District 13 that heavily features these guys.
Watch the amazing trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suiYQLcrUoI
on Jul 26th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Watched a similar documentary on TV a few months ago. Yeah, these guys are amazing. Lots of upper body strength there, something we women don’t have much of.
on Jul 26th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Yeah, Sean… that trailer looks like an action packed thriller. I saw an excerpt of that when I was looking at one of the videos at YouTube. The cinematography is sweet.
Chaun, I added another video, on Page 3. It’s called Parkour Generations - GoGirls!
on Jul 27th, 2008 at 7:33 am
3rd video was fun! I wish I was younger… think I am too old and creaky for these moves~!
on Jul 27th, 2008 at 11:09 am
wow…amazing agility…seems the men’s parkour is more extreme, but both are great displays…these folks could make a career out of this as perf artists or stuntmen/women…
on Jul 27th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Go Girls!! Now I will just need to have the ambulance stand by before I attempt any of these…LOL!!
on Jul 27th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
hehe….CS, you might need the ambulance, but they could just bring on the body bag for me…
on Jul 28th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Ha ha… We are all in the same boat, aren’t we? I think I will go grab a Big Mac now…:~)
on Jul 28th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Ann…LOL…I was being over-optimistic there.