Stripping Down to the Basics

If there is one thing I love most about the parkour community, it is the discussions among traceurs of personal philosophies and purpose of training. I have talked to many traceurs at jams, training sessions, and online about their views, and never once have heard the same words to describe their motivation. My philosophies on parkour have changed drastically in the several years since my introduction. As I delve into my personal beliefs on parkour, in no way do I mean to convince anyone that this is the way they should view parkour. I merely want to display my beliefs based on fact of how much I enjoy hearing others', and hope to spark those who read to ponder their motivation to train and how it has evolved since their introduction. I would first like to bring up the question, "what is parkour?"

In most definitions, parkour is mentioned as a discipline. Parkour is not a sport, for sport requires competition, which is a highly debated topic for another day. Nor do I see it as an art, because I believe art implies expression, which I would categorize under Freerunning. Also another debate for another day. Discipline, I believe, is the most important aspect to parkour's definition. Discipline in itself has many meanings, but two common definitions strike me as relating most to parkour: "1.) training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character," and, "2.) control gained by enforcing obedience or order" (Merriam-Webster). Parkour as a discipline allows it to be up to the interpretation of the traceur's purpose/goals meant to be achieved. The discipline is used to achieve those goals. Thus this is why the question, "what is parkour?" is usually followed by, "what does parkour mean to you?"


To me, the philosophy behind my past motivation correlates to the first definition of discipline mentioned above. As I was introduced to parkour, I was amazed at the physical capabilities of the traceurs around me. I found this to be the core motivation of my training - to push my physical limits and overcome mental barriers in attempt to discover the capabilities of the human body in natural movement. I saw my training as an interpretation of the definition 1.), but in a physical aspect. I trained to take a movement, practice it and perfect it, in the pursuit of being able to push my limits onto the next extreme. My overall goal in this sense was to constantly exceed my physical capabilities. I no longer view this as my motivation to train. Looking back, I can only view it as a "go big" philosophy - a reckless method of training that wore down my body and completely lacked the 2.) definition.


As I fell out of training over the past year, due to my lack of motivation from my past philosophy, I tried to look to the core of parkour and why I should really train. Going back to its origins, parkour was founded off the ideals behind George Herbert's "Natural Method." Too lazy to cite sources at this point, but did a 20 page informational essay on parkour for a writing class a year or so ago, so I guess take my word for it. The "Natural Method" was based on the philosophy "be strong, to be useful," Etre fort pour etre utile. This philosophy outlines the idea that we should physically prepare our bodies for emergency situations, so that in the moment we can "be useful." Herbert was part of the french navy back in the day and spent some time in Africa where he witnessed natives who could effortlessly and efficiently maneuver themselves in their environment, yet were not necessarily muscularly built. Thus he based his natural method program around the fact that in an emergency situation, it is going to be more important to maneuver your environment efficiently than it will be to lift weights (which the armed forces fitness was based around at the time). Soon after the parcours (french military obstacle course) was created. The origin of the name parkour.


This simple idea - preparing for the emergency situation - is what I feel the core philosophy of parkour training should be based around, and is what I have started to base my training around. I am sure many will look at this as a "purest" philosophy, and in ways I suppose it is, but I feel this is the true goal of parkour. Very much like how martial arts is a discipline based on self-defense, the fight mechanism, I believe parkour to be a discipline based on escape-defense, the flight mechanism. Even if it is extremely unlikely a situation that actually requires parkour occurs, the discipline is in the preparation.


So how is this philosophy going to affect and change my methods of training from the past?


Let me start with a scenario - you are running, from something or to something, in that rare emergency situation. Ahead of you is a vault-able wall, but you cannot see the other side. Are you going to run and do a massive kong? No, and there is my point. In my past training, and in the training I see in a lot of traceurs, the movements are based on environments we know, not environments we do not know. The environments we do not know is what I believe parkour training is supposed to help us adapt to. Back to the scenario, we obviously do not have time to run up, see that there is a clearable gap for a kong, run back and then do it. So how would we approach it? I would run up and safety vault onto it, assess my options, and act accordingly. If its a gap, I jump it, if its a drop, then drop into a cat and land. No matter how efficient of a movement as a massive kong could be in its own right, it would not be used in the unknown elements. Safety comes first, efficiency second.


Thus I am "stripping down to the basics," trying to analyze the movements that truly prepare me for those situations in which I must be strong, to be useful. This training is going to be based on the 2.) definition mentioned earlier. My goal in the discipline of parkour is to master control of my body through a structured and ordered training based on safety and efficiency.

Find the Traceur

I am at a loss in my parkour training, and have been for the past year. It has been truly hard to admit this to myself for a couple reasons. First, due to the responsibility I have to my community. I am extremely proud to be the co-founder and co-leader of Panther Parkour, The University of Pittsburgh's parkour club. Starting as just a way to reach out and unite unknown traceurs in the college scene, the club quickly grew into something unexpected: A microcosm for incoming freshman - trying to find their niche in the macrocosm of college. Aidan Gallagher (co-founder) and I - sophomores at the time - realized this after our first meeting of the new academic year, when 50 kids showed up, 90% of them being freshman and with no prior experience, let alone knowledge, of parkour. We also realized we were going to need structure. I've had prior experience running jams in my hometown of Philly, so the numbers weren't daunting. We decided to put everyone through an hour worth of QM to weed out the kids who joined the club thinking it was going to teach them to "backflip off shit." The true traceurs returned after that. The significance of this club was that it pushed an unforeseen teaching role onto me (being a leader of the club and one of the few prior members with credible experience). Thus the club became more than just the weekly jam sessions we initially intended. It soon became our responsibility to run conditioning sessions and skill workshops, and overall teach the philosophy and movements of parkour (something that a lot of traceurs actually get paid to do). This did not phase me since I truly love to teach, but recently it has become increasingly hard to show my commitment.


The other reason I have had trouble admitting hitting this wall in my training is a little more complicated. It comes to having to admit to myself that I am no longer in love with something that has undoubtedly had the biggest influence in my life - making me the person I am today. The reasons for this I am still trying to identify, but simplistically, the motivation to train is gone. The philosophies that have matured over the past 6 years of my training no longer get me outside. I am not disregarding the influence these philosophies, which I will delve into later, have had on my life. I still whole-heartedly believe in the ideas behind them. I honestly feel they have just matured beyond parkour training and into other aspects of my life, and thus no longer have effect on my drive to train.


Thus the point of this blog. I am not ready to admit the end of my training, but I am ready to admit that there must have been a change in my view of parkour. A change I believe I have recently discovered and hope to nurture. This blog will in effect be and open personal journal of my new training and philosophies as they mature throughout the next episode of my life, however long it may be. My hopes of this blog are to help myself track, identify, and discover my own views of parkour training as I attempt to "find the traceur" that motivates me to train. I hope this to be a positive influence on any traceur who reads this...


Next blog title Stripping Down to the Basics: a look at my past philosophies, and my newly discovered ones.