Train Hard - Stay Humble

Dan Edwardes on the Parkour and Freerunning

Dan Edwardes on how parkour was created...

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Comment by Chris on December 11, 2008 at 7:52pm: "same" is a misleading word. Just because two things share an origin does not make them the same. It just means that they probably have similarities.

Comment by hillexallen on December 11, 2008 at 7:36pm: Let me tell you what I think the art of movement, parkour and freerunning are.

The art of movement is the art of movement. It is useful, efficient, expressive, and artful movement. The point of it is to become a strong person with a strong body, strong mind, and strong spirit. It was created by Yamakasi.

Parkour is the art of useful, efficient movement. The point of it is to obtain a strong body and a strong mind and to be able to get to or from any place when it becomes necessary. It was named by David Belle and is a branch of the art of movement, which means it can also be artful and expressive at times.

Freerunning is the art of expressive and artful movement. The point of it is to express oneself through movement. It was named by Sebastien Foucan and is a branch of the art of movement, which means it also focuses on building strength and being useful and efficient.

So, really parkour and freerunning are the same AND different at the same time. They are both the art of movement, which means they share the goal of becoming a strong person. They are different because parkour is a more useful, efficient branch of the art of movement, while freerunning focuses more on expressing oneself through artful movement.

I think this is a pretty good summary. Tell me what you think.

Comment by Fyrel on December 11, 2008 at 2:54pm: Actually, Foucan (generally referred to as the founder of freerunning) has stated that freerunning is a more artful form of parkour, emphasizing aesthetics over efficiency.

As for my own views on the names; I like to keep a distinction between parkour and freerunning, though both are equal in my eyes. Parkour is about efficiency and moving with a purpose, freerunning is a form of expression. I liken it to commercial art and recreational art: one is done with a purpose, to create a character or establish an environment, while the other is done to express oneself with visual mediums. In the end, though, both are art and based on the same principles, as is the case with parkour and freerunning.

For the most part, though, I don't care much about labels; just get out there and move! :D

Comment by hillexallen on December 11, 2008 at 2:42pm: Ok, yes, people refer to them as parkour and freerunning, two different things. That is the way it is right now.

But, we should remember that they are the exact same thing! "Freerunning" is an English translation of "parkour". The point of it is to be useful, not efficient or artful. Of course if you want to be more useful, you must be more efficient. Flips can also help you to be useful because they build strength and confidence. So, let's not worry about the names, and start being useful!!!

Comment by Seng on December 11, 2008 at 1:59pm: I agree that the movement is more important than the labels, but I think basing the argument on what the founders think is shaky since it largely ignores the market/marketing forces that play out when an activity grows bigger than the founders are able to influence.

I think the kernel of the discussion is how does one want to be identified and so is certainly a more significant question to those first encountering an activity than those who have been practicing it for some time. It is also important for those who act as ambassadors for the sport whether that's as a teacher in class or in everyday conversation when someone asks if you jump off buildings. If people had the attention span and openness to listen to the explanation of philosophy behind the training and movement, the labels wouldn't be so relevant, but living in an accelerated world where people would rather do their exploration on youtube than go train or have a conversation with an actual practitioner makes branding a more significant issue.

Comment by hillexallen on December 11, 2008 at 9:29am: Yeah, my opinio has totally changed now.

Freerunning=parkour=the art of movement=l'art du displacement

The point of all of them is to be strong and useful.