Parkour (or art of displacement) is a discipline that consists of moving through the urban or natural environment, overcoming the obstacles that arise in your journey (fences, walls, void ...) in the most fluid and efficient way possible, and with the only possibilities of the human body. This discipline requires a great physical preparation to perform the different movements (jumps, ramps, climbing, etc.) that implies, but it is also necessary a determined mind to overcome their own fears, a great concentration, and a strong spirit.
HISTORY:
Its creator is David Belle, whose father, fireman and military man, taught him the so-called "Natural Method of Georges Hébert" (discipline used in the army in which one seeks to overcome natural obstacles by using only the body) since he was little, together with a military training. David adapted this technique to his travels through his city Lisses, in France, creating an urban version. After entering the infantry corps of the French army, David realizes that it is not his thing and that he needs the freedom of the street to be at ease. Later he found people who followed him in his training, and thus found Sébastien Foucan and other members of that first group of traceurs. Later, Sébastien emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he surprised everyone with his skills.
For those who follow the "original" idea of Parkour, it is not about spectacle, it is not about money, it is not any type of vandalism. The fundamental idea is self-improvement.
In many places, Parkour is seen as a kind of vandalism that is dedicated to spoiling street furniture. This idea is completely wrong and hinders the expansion of this philosophy.
PHILOSOPHY:
The most experienced practitioners agree that Parkour is a philosophy. Of course there is no specific and rigid philosophy for art in particular, but for each one it means a different thing. For some it may simply be a sport with which they entertain themselves, but they live it; and for others his life revolves around him, others can feel it as an art with which they express themselves, and for others it is a philosophy of self-improvement, or of walking paths different from the rest of the people, etc.
We must bear in mind that a good traceur never bothers people or the environment, never endangers his own life if he is not sure that a certain jump will achieve it, and never competes against other people.
The objective of parkour is free and fluid movement. A rule in parkour is not to back off. Its motto is: "To be and to last". This means that the traceur does not have to put itself in danger and go surpassing each day, and it must not compete nor try to surpass the others.
NOTES:
Parkour (or its abbreviation pk): It comes from "parcour" which means "journey" in French.
Traceur: Parkour practitioner. It means "tracer". The feminine is "traceuse".