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Messages - kanarwc

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Martial Arts Topics / Re: Parkour : Sources
« on: May 09, 2007, 08:33:39 AM »
The sources of Parkour are interesting :

History

Inspiration for parkour came from many sources, the foremost being the 'Natural Method of Physical Culture' developed by Georges Hébert in the early twentieth century. French soldiers in Vietnam were inspired by Hébert's work and created what is now known parcours du combattant. David Belle was introduced to the obstacle course training as well as Hébert's methode naturelle by his father, Raymond Belle, a French soldier who practiced the two disciplines. David Belle had participated in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics, and sought to apply his athletic prowess in a manner that would have practical use in life.

After moving to Lisses, David Belle continued his journey with others. "From then on we developed," says Sébastien Foucan in Jump London, "And really the whole town was there for us; there for parkour. You just have to look, you just have to think, like children." This, as he describes, is "the vision of parkour."

Over the years as dedicated practitioners improved their skills, their moves continued to grow in magnitude, so that building-to-building jumps and drops of over a story became common in media portrayals, often leaving people with a slanted view on the nature of parkour. In fact, ground-based movement is much more common than anything involving rooftops.

The journey of parkour from the Parisian suburbs to its current status as a widely practiced activity outside of France created splits among the originators. The founders of parkour started out in a group named the Yamakasi, but later separated due to disagreements over what David Belle referred to as "prostitution of the art," the production of a feature film starring the Yamakasi in 2001. Sébastien Foucan, David Belle, were amongst those who split at this point. The name 'Yamakasi' is taken from Lingala, a language spoken in the Congo, and means strong spirit, strong body, strong man.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour



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Martial Arts Topics / Re: Parkour
« on: May 09, 2007, 08:26:47 AM »
(Le) Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or art du déplacement (English: art of displacement) is a physical art of French origin, the aim of which is to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anythng in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — so parkour can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Male parkour practitioners are recognized as traceurs and female as traceuses.

The cultural phenomenon parkour is a physical activity which is difficult to categorize. It is definitely not an extreme sport, but an art that resembles self-defense in the martial arts. According to the founder David Belle, the spirit of parkour is guided in part by the notions of "escape" and "reach," that is, the idea of using quick thinking with dexterity to get out of difficult situations. So having a hostile confrontation with a person, you will be able to speak, fight or flee. As martial arts are a form of training for the fight, parkour is a form of training for the flee. Because of its difficulty to categorize, it is often said that parkour is in its own category: "parkour is parkour."

An important characteristic of parkour is efficiency. The basic meaning of this is that a traceur must not merely move as fast as he can, but move in a way that is the least energy-consuming and simultaneously the most direct. In addition, since parkour's unofficial motto is être et durer (to be and to last), efficiency also involves avoiding injuries, short and long-term.

Parkour is also known to have an influence on practitioner's thought process. Traceurs and traceuses experience a change in their critical thinking skills to help them overcome obstacles in everyday life, whether they be physical or mental boundaries.[

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour

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