Bay Area Parkour

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Traceurs Fighting Commercialization

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Traceurs Fighting Commercialization

We know what parkour is, and we want to keep it true. Members of this group will be expected to TAKE ACTION against competition and commercialization.

Location: World
Members: 24
Latest Activity: Jun 21, 2012

FIRST MISSION: WFPF

From the BAPK "RESOURCES" section:

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This month production begins on a MTV television series called "The Ultimate Chase" that will attempt to portray parkour and freerunning. As the title describes, the series will set well known practitioners (Danny Illabaca, Ryan Doyle, Oleg Vorslav) as well as lesser known practitioners against each other on an obstacle course. "The Ultimate Chase" which will be introduced by a one hour special will feature both man vs. man and man vs. course events.

The show is the brainchild of a few entertainment professionals who formed the "World Freerunning and Parkour Federation" (WFPF) by signing athletes from around the world who were trying to break into the entertainment industry. Televised obstacle courses have been around for some time, but this rebranding for English audiences will take advantage of the popularity of the disciplines of parkour and freerunning. The WFPF claims their competition remains true to the philosophies of both parkour and freerunning which were founded and defined as non-competitive disciplines.

While their audience will consist largely of non-practitioners, the WFPF has worked closely with practitioners to form a palatable marketing strategy for the existing community. It is their position that competition is the inevitable future of a discipline which is practiced by tens of thousands world wide in a non-competitive fashion. While this may seem illogical, their position comes into focus when considering the money involved. It is virtually impossible to make money off of parkour in its current non-competitive format. It cannot be argued that a competitive format is more lucrative. This 'inevitability' stance has been trumpeted for the past several years only by those interested in profiting off the community (i.e.: Mark Toorock of APK, and Paul Corkery of UFF), but was shot down by a global movement which popularized such slogans as "Pro Parkour, Against Competition" and "Competition is not inevitable, it is just another obstacle!" To further satisfy the non-competitive community the WFPF claims all competitors will strive together in a communal fashion. However, they diverge from the community theme when they claim on their website to be a "Federation for the teams". The global parkour scene is not made up of teams, which are generally viewed as a means to further careers in the entertainment industry, but rather all-inclusive communities that foster the utilitarian parkour philosophy.

While the WFPF has taken a direct page out of the APK/UFF playbook, they are not collaborating with the two organizations since initial discussions turned sour. Both APK/UFF and WFPF camps claim the opposition is taking advantage of their athletes. Although some WFPF signees are rumored to be unhappy with their contracts, for those willing to partake in a competition labeled as parkour the partnership with WFPF seems like a step in the right direction in terms of safety. The industry professionals will be using the UFF Barclaycard competition as an example of what not to do. At the aforementioned event there was only one medic on site when an athlete was seriously injured, and required emergency treatment. The entire event had to be put on hold until the medic returned to a jeering crowd and uneasy participants.
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It is the responsibility of anyone and everyone in this group to TAKE ACTION against this!!!

Here are some things that we can do:

1. Send messages to MTV about "The Ultimate Chase" (Contact information to come).
2. Send messages to contestants of "The Ultimate Chase" (Contact information to come).
3. Send messages directly to the WFPF (Contact information to come).
4. Add anti-competition and anti-commercialization slogans to signatures on parkour and freerunning forums. ("Pro parkour against competition")
5. Help direct brand new practitioners to accurate information about parkour and freerunning.
6. Don't watch "The Ultimate Chase", don't support practitioners who are on the show, don't purchase items from parkour and freerunning companies.
7. Get people to join this group!
8. Crate accounts on many parkour forums, then post information about this problem.
9. Post anti-competition and anti-commercialization comments on internet videos that promote or involve competition and/or commercialization in parkour and freerunning.
10. Don't compete, and don't support companies who want to take over our discipline!

WHEN YOU DO ANY OF THESE THINGS, POST IT IN THE DISCUSSION FORUM IN THIS GROUP, SO WE CAN TRACK OUR PROGRESS.

Discussion Forum

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2 Replies

Started by hillexallen. Last reply by Kirill Mar 4, 2009.

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Comment by COMPLEXproductions on September 14, 2009 at 3:42pm
We all need to stop the branding and the selling of parkour. Im against commercialization of parkour because it will kill the entire point and meaning of it. and it will lead to something we will all despise!!!! If we dont stop the commercialization of parkour, its meaning will be reduced to nothing more than a fad. IT WILL BECOME THE NEXT TWILIGHT!!! Its already started... go to your local high school and ask around. all you will hear is that every other kid "had always loved it" and dont even know what they're talking about. I dont want to keep parkour all to ouselves. i would love meeting people that GENUINELY love parkour. meet people who honestly get what it means to them. i want this way of movement to be known, but not advertized and sold. worse yet, yesterday, my cousin (who is a freshman in high school) told me that he was walking and a group of kids asked him if he wanted to do parkour. he asked what it was and they laughed at him saying somethin like "You dont know what it is? Freerunning?... never mind". Please help stop this from becoming a fad. im not saying to stop newcomers. i want more people. but not if theyre doing it because its "cool".
Comment by hillexallen on March 5, 2009 at 10:17pm
@Kirill, in that case, it falls under instinct. ;)

Let's start another thread for this, shall we, or is it closely enough related to the subject of this group?
Comment by hillexallen on March 5, 2009 at 10:16pm
And B13 and other movies aren't what I'm referring to as commercialization. I'm talking about companies trying to make themselves the NBA's and the NHL's and the MLB's of parkour and freerunning. Movies don't attempt to do that.
Comment by Nick Romero on March 5, 2009 at 10:02pm
I think Maslow had a good idea of what drives people
Comment by Chris on March 5, 2009 at 8:54pm
You guys should learn when to start a new topic in the forum. Sex is great, but you are distracting from the purpose of the group.
Comment by Kirill on March 5, 2009 at 8:51pm
@Alex- Sex isnt a pleasure of the senses.

Its what we are biologically made to do.
Comment by Philosofist on March 5, 2009 at 7:27pm
My question is. does David Belle know about this? Because he can do a lot more if he is also against it. But then again he is in the B13 movies. I think people would highly oppose the WFPF, keep parkour pure.I would hate to see all of this commercialized, especially the WFPF part.
Comment by Anthony on March 5, 2009 at 4:44pm
pain vs pleasure, principle of utility, w/e
anywho i believe that though competition and commercialization are not inevitable, they're probable because i can imagine most people may not initially understand parkour through first impressions. and what's equally important to expressing our opinion against competition is to be able to present our own views on parkour
Comment by Kirill on March 5, 2009 at 4:29pm
Wrong- sex is the drive of all life. Why you want to feel important?

Basically so you can obtain all of the members of the opposite sex....
Comment by hillexallen on March 5, 2009 at 12:25pm
Here is what I think: Two things drive people. They are the need to feel important and pleasure to the senses (taste, smell, etc...). If you can think of anything besides that, I'll be really impressed.

Money can buy pleasure to the senses, and it makes one feel important. Greed is a natural way of obtaining money, material items, and power, which all make one feel important.
 

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