Parkour
Parkour (abbreviated PK , / paʁkuʁ / ) describes a type of locomotion, the aim of which is to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible using only the capabilities of your own body. The parkour runner (French: le traceur "the one who draws a line") determines his own path through urban or natural space - in a different way than dictated by architecture and culture. An attempt is made to overcome obstacles in the way as efficiently as possible by combining different movements. The focus is on the flow and control of movement. Parkour is therefore also known as the "art of efficient locomotion".
Parkour is not competitive. It can be carried out on an obstacle course or is usually practiced in a creative reinterpretation of an urban space. Parkour involves “seeing” the environment in a new way and imagining the possibilities for movement around it.
Parkour was developed by Raymond Belle , his son David Belle, and other people in the late 1980s. Parkour became popular through feature films, documentaries, and advertisements in the late 1990s and 2000s.
origin
"Méthode naturelle"
The beginning of the 20th century, the development began in France a basic idea of the form of movement Parkour with the training method méthode naturelle by Georges Hébert . As a proponent of lifelong physical exercise, he believed that physical strength and dexterity must go hand-in-hand with courage and selflessness in order for it to be of benefit to the community. He taught at the University of Reims and introduced a hitherto new body-cultural lifestyle by building his training through a combination of a variety of physical skills (running, running, jumping, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, defending himself and swimming) . He let his students train in natural terrain and combined the whole thing with a 5–10 km long endurance run. The aim was to enable the students to use their physical fitness, strength, endurance and speed in any terrain. He spoke out against the competition because, in his opinion, it was a distraction from the training principles. Hébert was one of the first to propagate the training of locomotion techniques through an obstacle course from a non-military point of view; nevertheless, the "Méthode naturelle" had a special influence on the military training of soldiers in the 1960s . During the Indochina War , its principle was used by French soldiers to perfect escape techniques in the jungle. Raymond Belle was one of them.
Raymond and David Belle
Raymond Belle was born in Vietnam in 1939 and trained as a soldier for the French army at school. At the age of 12 he already trained efficient escape techniques with some comrades in order to increase his chances of survival in war. These skills later gave him a job in France with the Paris Fire Brigade in the Sapeurs pompiers de Paris unit , where he received several awards.
Raymond's son David Belle was born on April 29, 1973 in Fécamp (France). In childhood he practiced gymnastics and athletics, but - influenced by his father - preferred to train in the great outdoors, where he could apply and use the movements practically. At the end of the 1980s, he playfully transferred this method to the urban concrete and steel landscape of the Paris suburb of Lisses . From the playful chases of the children over stairs, table tennis tables, wastepaper baskets and small streams, the friends developed Le Parkour as adolescents by incorporating increasingly difficult obstacles such as walls, fences, scaffolding - later also building facades and high-rise buildings . David Belle originally organized Le Parkour in the Parkour Worldwide Association , but distanced himself from it in 2006.
"Natural gymnastics"
In the 1920s, the game and sports movement led more and more away from strict, systematic gymnastics. The children should be supported in developing their abilities and skills in accordance with their natural need for movement. Based on the Austrian school reformers Karl Gaulhofer and Margarete Streicher , the reform pedagogical concept of “natural gymnastics” developed and soon established itself in Germany. The focus was no longer on the style-appropriate execution, but the development of one's own abilities and skills based on complex movement tasks with the execution of natural basic forms of movement. As a "physical exercise", the formation of the personality of the whole person was important. The focus was on promoting individuality, creativity and independence. Faulty movements were important in identifying correct movements and understanding their usefulness. The "physical education" reflected the ideals of gymnastics according to GuthsMuths and L. Jahn, since instead of given movement patterns as in competition, special emphasis was placed on individual movement solutions.
training
Basically, as with any sport, parkour training consists of a warm-up phase, the main part (for example, technique, strength, endurance training) and a warm-up phase. Many traceurs develop their own training method over the years, but certain variants are particularly common. In the run , the traceur overcomes a path with obstacles from start to finish as efficiently and quickly as possible, according to the definition of the sport. The repetition of a certain individual technique or combination over a longer period of time, especially small jumps, serves to perfect and automate the sequence of movements. Training in a kind of jam session is also particularly common . A traceur demonstrates a technique that the others then imitate. You can also do parkour in the sports club, where you jump over sports equipment in the hall .
Principles
Belle herself sees parkour not only as a sport, but rather as a creative art that helps to recognize and overcome one's own limits set by body and environment , without wanting to impress others with his skills. However, it is not necessary to expose yourself to dangerous or daring situations. The philosophy of Parkour includes assessing the requirements for using a certain technique and always keeping an eye on whether you meet these requirements and can safely master the situation.
Another aspect of parkour is the respectful treatment of the traceur with his surroundings and his fellow human beings. The traceur is dependent on his surroundings and should therefore endeavor to keep them intact, even if he treads unusual paths that could suffer if not carefully visited. He is also dependent on the understanding of his fellow men when he goes his way. So he should be open to others who have unusual interests and not be dominated by prejudice .
However, the principles of parkour do not only relate to one's own body and mind or how we interact with other people, but are at the same time an artistic statement about public and urban space. Parkour is a recapture of urban space in times of its increasing occupation for private and above all commercial purposes, in which it is more and more privatized and is therefore hardly public space in the sense of a freely usable space.
With Parkour, the materiality of the public or urban space is made usable and tangible. Apparently fixed functions of material and places are expanded, material and place are reinterpreted, other levels or perspectives of material and urban space are shown and the latter are reinterpreted. Parkour thus also plays a role in the discourse of art in public space .
The different aspects of Parkour lead to one of the most important tenets: Parkour is not practiced in competition. This means that competitions of any kind are not necessary. The examination of one's own performance on the obstacles and the recurring reaching and shifting of boundaries are the basis and incentive enough for further training progress.
In the book The Art of Combat: 300 Martial Arts , written by Chris Crudelli , in which various martial arts, martial arts and self-defense systems are described, Parkour is also counted. David Belle is quoted as follows: “In an unpleasant encounter, there are basically three options: talk, fight or flee. Almost all martial arts and self-defense systems do not deal with escape at all. It is my hope that Parkour can fill this gap. "
techniques
As with many other sports, there are basic techniques that the traceur learns and perfects for himself. In contrast to many fun sports , not every combination of technology and obstacles in parkour has its own name. The method of how best to overcome the obstacle arises from the interaction with the obstacle itself. The French terms used accordingly only describe one basic technique, which is strongly adapted to the respective obstacle. The important thing here is the basic idea of overcoming the obstacle as quickly and smoothly as possible and yet only with minimal effort, without losing control of the movement. Unnecessary turns are seen as a hindrance and are more likely to be used in freerunning .
| synonym | description | other names | |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | German | ||
| Atterrissage | landing | Landing on the feet, usually with the upper body supported by the hands. | Reception |
| Equilibre | Balance | Walking or balancing on walls and poles. This trains the sense of balance. | balance |
| Franchissement | breakthrough | Swing through a gap (such as a window or two horizontal bars). | Underbar |
| Laugh | Let go | Let yourself fall from a hanging position in order to catch another object with swing. | Laughers |
| Passe muraille | Overcoming the wall | Overcoming a wall by jumping and pushing off the forward movement into one with an upward component. | Wallclimb |
| Passement | overcoming | General expression for overcoming obstacles. Especially for the respective technology, to overcome an obstacle with the greatest possible efficiency, i.e. with little loss of energy and speed. | passé |
| Demi tour | Half turn | A 180 ° turn over an obstacle in order to then land in a controlled manner; or to get over an obstacle (for example a wall) and then get into a hanging position (the legs are on the wall and you hold onto the ledge, the bar, etc. with your hands). | 180 |
| Réverse | Backwards | A 360 ° turn over the obstacle to land in a controlled manner. This movement can also be carried out in order to gain speed from the rotational energy for subsequent further movements. | 360 |
| Planche | pulling up | Move from a hanging position to a support position. Here you can work with momentum or with force (or even combine both). | Plancher |
| Roulade | role | With the roller, energy that occurs vertically is converted into forward movement. Here, too, you should make sure not to bend the knee joints more than 90 °. It is rolled diagonally over the shoulder and not over the back. | Galipette |
| Saut de bras | Arm jump | You jump to an object and get into a hanging position. The legs should touch the object first to cushion the impact. Then pull yourself up on the object with both arms (see planche). | |
| Saut de chat | A short hop | A squat jump (which looks very similar to the gymnastics support jump squat), in which you jump in front of the object and pull your legs up and pass them between the arms. The higher the obstacle, the deeper you have to bend down before jumping in order to gain height when jumping. | "Cat",
"Monkey" "Kong-" Vault |
| Saut de fond | Jump to the ground | Any jumps from height to the ground. Depending on the height or forward movement, you should then possibly do a parkour role. Beginners in particular should train their muscles and rolling techniques well before attempting higher jumps, as otherwise the feet can be deformed. | Drop |
| Saut de détente | Long jump | Another leap from one object to another. This technique is used, for example, to overcome (house) gaps or obstacles with a running start. Depending on your speed, you should then perform a role. | détent |
| Saut de precision | Precision jump | A jump to a previously defined landing point. The point is to be able to stand precisely on the landing point and to slow down any momentum so that, for example, you can land on a narrow pole. | "Präzi" /pʁe.zi/ |
| Tic Tac | Tic Tac | Pushing yourself off an object (such as a wall) to overcome an unstable or small object. This technique can also be used on closely spaced buildings and facades in order to climb up them, repelling from wall to wall. | zigzag, dragon ball, yamakasi |
| Passement rapidly | Fast overcoming | Often used to get over an obstacle as quickly as possible; For example, the Speed Vault is very efficient if you run head-on towards a wall that is not too high, as you practically do not lose any speed. The technique works in such a way that you jump out of the barrel and support yourself with one hand on the wall while your legs are swung sideways over the wall. The landing takes place in step position so that you can continue walking. | Speed Vault |
| Lazy Vault | In a lazy vault, similar to a gymnastics scissor jump, you jump sideways over an obstacle, but use both hands one after the other. As soon as the legs are completely over the obstacle, you put on the second hand to be able to push yourself away from the obstacle. So you can control your momentum and direction after the obstacle very well. | ||
| Dash Vault | In a Dash Vault, unlike most Passements, you first kick your feet over the obstacle before you push off with your hands. The use of this technique is controversial in the parkour scene, David Belle, for example, considers the technique impractical, but there are also many dissenting voices in the scene. | ||
health
Since parkour requires good physical and mental fitness, special attention is paid to the well-being of the body. Hard physical training is an integral part of the principle of this sport. Before training, stretch and warm up to avoid injury.
Initial attempts can easily lead to injuries or even be life-threatening, so you should proceed with particular care and obtain sufficient information. An important sentence is: "Parkour is only as dangerous as you make it yourself." The traceur must be sure that he can overcome the obstacle, otherwise he should look for an easier one first. You only dare to jump if you are sure that you can do it. The level of difficulty is increased in very small steps.
A frequently cited point of criticism is the enormous stress on the joints when doing deep jumps. Many traceurs use a role to redirect the fall energy into forward motion, but due to the relatively young sport on this topic, there are no sports science studies. An objective assessment of the hazard potential is therefore difficult.
Parkour in physical education
In a slightly modified form, Parkour can also be used in physical education at school . Above all, it is about overcoming obstacles that are connected by running. Speed should not be decisive in the assessment, but rather effectiveness , creativity and a fluid and natural sequence of movements within the scope of the students' abilities . The students are required to have conditional and coordinative skills , creativity, self-assessment and a willingness to take risks. Important basic elements are running, balancing, turning, jumping and landing, dangling and climbing.
Parkour in the media
The use of parkour in and for the media is always controversial. It carries the risk of commercialization with loss of the training principles. The criticism, however, contradicts the history of the sport's dissemination, as it only became widely known through spectacular film and television reports.
In the movie
- In the episode Goldsmuggling / The Snake Mouth of the television series Knight Rider and the resulting series Code of Vengeance , the main character David Dalton uses movements that are derived from the Méthode Naturelle.
- In 2001, the film Yamakasi - The Samurai of Modernism was made in France , directed by Ariel Zeitoun . This film portrays the Yamakasi group in which parkour developed.
- The art / sport became known through the 2004 film Ghettogangz - Hell before Paris , which describes the growing crime rate in the suburbs of Paris. In the film produced by Luc Besson , some French parkour athletes such as David Belle played. In the sequel Ghettogangz 2 - Ultimatum , the parkour scenes are again in the foreground, again filmed with artists from the scene.
- In Die Hard 4.0 , Cyril Raffaelli , a French stuntman and friend of David Belle, delivers several parkour inserts. Raffaelli already starred side by side with David Belle in Ghettogangz - Hell Before Paris .
- As a parody of Parkour two scenes in Mr. Bean holiday too (2007) Rowan Atkinson considered are where the hero in Paris from the Grande Arche to the Gare de Lyon straight walk through Paris. The second parodied “parkour scene” is his way from the high roof of the Festival Palace in Cannes to the beach. There is no particular artistic or sporting performance from “Mr. Bean ". In the first sequence of scenes the joke is based on the chaos it causes and the reactions of the people, in the second on the coincidences that enable him to make his way over the yawning depths from the festival building and over the multi-lane coastal road, while he does does not pay attention to the path, but looks through the viewfinder of a video camera that he has aimed at the beach.
- Presented in American Pie: The College Clique uses a representative of the geeks in the assignment Demeter's Festival of the Greek Olympics Parkour to solve the assignment.
- Parkour elements are also used in the Bourne trilogy .
- In The Purple Rivers 2 - The Angels of the Apocalypse you can also see a chase that is very reminiscent of Parkour: Reda is chasing one of the black monks .
- In The Department Store Cop , some members of the parkour scene form part of a group of criminals who take over the department store, in which lead actor Kevin James plays a security officer and whom he has to fight during the course of the film. The skills of the traceurs and the aspects of parkour come into their own.
- In Breaking and Entering - Burglary & Theft .
- In Fast & Furious - New Model. Original parts. there is also a parkour sequence where the cop Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) pursues the initially suspect David Park (Ron Yuan).
- The 2009 German feature film Parkour is about the young parkour runner Richie. The film also contains parkour sequences.
- In 2010, the eponymous film for the game Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time by producer Jerry Bruckheimer , the "daredevil Prince Dastan" has to overcome obstacles again and again - with the help of parkour. The inventor of this sport himself (see above) directs the stunts.
- In 2011 in the movie Step Up 3D , parkour is used as training for the hip-hop competitions.
- The short film Tic Tac from 2011 takes up the technology of the same name.
- In 2014, the remake of Ghettogangz - Hell Before Paris was published under the title Brick Mansions , again with David Belle in one of the leading roles .
- In 2015 the film Tracers appeared with Taylor Lautner and Marie Avgeropoulos in the leading roles.
In music videos and video games
Parkour elements are increasingly appearing in music videos in recent years, albeit mostly in a toned down version suitable for video clips.
- Parkour was used in videos by the following artists, among others: Madonna in the clips Hung Up , Jump , David Guetta vs The Egg , Liza Li , 3 Doors Down in It's Not My Time , Die Trying , Fort Minor , Daft Punk and Eric Prydz , Jean Michel Jarre with the computer-animated clip of Teo & Tea , Maksim Mrvica ( Kolibre ), Sugababes ( About You Now ) and ItaloBrothers Feat. Carlprit boom .
- Parkour elements are also used in video games, particularly in the Prince of Persia series, the Assassin's Creed series and the Tomb Raider series (especially Legend , Anniversary and Underworld ). Mirror's Edge has also been known as a parkour game since 2008 ; the game is shown in the first person perspective and is physically very real. In Dying Light , a survival horror game released in 2015, the protagonist also moves through the game world with the help of parkour techniques.
In literature and advertising
- In the novel Oneiros - Tödlicher Fluch , written by the German fantasy author Markus Heitz , the main character uses parkour techniques to escape from pursuers. Sport itself is mentioned and dealt with in the novel in passing.
- Parkour gained more media attention through an advertising campaign by the Austrian Federal Railways .
- In an Airwaves commercial , several traceurs run after the chewing gum.
- In a BBC commercial , David Belle tries to get home from work as quickly as possible.
- A parkour scene was also used in the advertisement for the Aston Martin Cygnet , in which two runners try to get to the vehicle as quickly as possible.
- Parkour plays an important role for one of the characters in Ian McDonald’s science fiction series Luna . Since the novels are set on the settled moon, the form of movement is exercised under conditions of reduced gravity, which gives it an additional charm.
Related movements
Freerunning
Freerunning is not a synonym for parkour, but a separate discipline, the techniques of which partly overlap with those of parkour.
Freerunning means moving in any environment. Movement should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself, that is, moving is the focus. You move your body creatively and can make use of your entire environment without restrictions. When freerunning, the whole body should always be in motion. The principle of parkour, efficiency, is not in the foreground here.
The repertoire of movements in freerunning is not subject to any structure, no limits, it is constantly being expanded through the creativity of the fans. Acrobatic movements from gymnastics or martial arts trick often offer initial suggestions or are adopted and the techniques adapted to the environment.
Freerunning spread very quickly around the world and is becoming more and more popular, which aroused the interest of companies and the media.
The first major international freerunning event took place on October 6, 2007 in Vienna. The “ Red Bull - Art of Motion” competition invited a limited number of well-known freerunners from all over the world and presented a competition to the media. Most of the participants saw this event not as a competition, but as an opportunity to get to know others to exchange experiences.
Sébastien Foucan became known through his appearance in the film Jump London (with Johann Vigroux and Jérôme Ben Aoues , 2003), which is considered an important video by many traceurs despite the style differences between parkour and freerunning. Another important work in this direction is the film Jump Britain (2005) in which the UrbanFreeFlow team is also presented, which is accused of being responsible for the name chaos concerning the techniques (through the Americanization of French terms and the introduction of many "new" techniques) be. Foucan gained further notoriety through his freerunning stunt appearance in the James Bond film Casino Royale . In it, a spectacular car chase lasting several minutes is staged in which he takes on the role of the villain Mollaka.
Members of the Royal Marines also took freerunning lessons from the British stunt company Urban Freeflow in order to better prepare for street fights on missions abroad, for example in Iraq or Afghanistan .
In the action thriller Freerunner , the theme is taken up and transformed into a game of death, as the freerunners wear explosive collars. The actual element, freerunning, is therefore only touched on at the beginning of the film and in some sequences.
The video game Free Running is based on the sport of freerunning.
Freerunning (like parkour) is also used in advertising. For example, in a Nike commercial , Sébastien Foucan flees from a chicken in the suburbs of Paris.
Yamakasi - l'art du deplacement
Members of David Belle's first group, "Yamakasi", who participated in the development of parkour, represent a style called "l'art du déplacement", which Ariel Zeitoun and Luc Besson in their film Yamakasi - The Samurai of Modernity have set a monument. “The art of locomotion” is developing into an umbrella term that unites all styles that emerged from Parkour according to David Belle. This presents itself as an important development that could unite the disputed directions. The Yamakasi also use acrobatic elements in their run, but they don't give them as much space as free runners. Efficient locomotion was and is still very much in the foreground for the Yamakasi and today's followers of this style.
Martial arts tricking
Tricking or Martial Arts Tricking is a mixture of different sports. The techniques are divided into three categories: twists , flips and kicks . Tricking for example, combines the acrobatic rotational and jump kicks from the Taekwondo with acrobatic Turn elements from the floor exercises , such as flip-flops or Salti . It also contains all of the freestyle elements as well as parts of Capoeira (Double Leg) and breakdance (Flare) . Connections from parts are free to everyone, the aesthetics of the execution is the most important thing.
literature
- Sascha Rochhausen: Parkour sport in school running: Le Parkour & Freerunning - practical handbook for indoor training with children and young people. Books on Demand publisher. 2009. ISBN 978-3-83910-832-1 .
- Jan Witfeld, Ilona E. Gerling, Alexander Pach: Parkour & Freerunning - Discover your possibilities. Meyer & Meyer Verlag. Aachen 2010. ISBN 978-3-89899-541-2 .
Web links
- Link catalog on Parkour at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
- Parkour-oriented physical education. (Flashplayer (11:27 min)) YouTube , accessed on June 22, 2014 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jan Witfeld, Ilona E. Gerling, Alexander Pach: Parkour & Freerunning - Discover your possibilities . Meyer & Meyer, Aachen 2010, ISBN 978-3-89899-541-2 , pp. 19th f .
- ↑ Jan Witfeld, Ilona E. Gerling, Alexander Pach: Parkour & Freerunning - Discover your possibilities. 2010. p. 22f.
- ^ Bauer, Thomas 2008.
- ↑ Jan Witfeld, Ilona E. Gerling, Alexander Pach: Parkour & Freerunning - Discover your possibilities. 2010. p. 21f.
- ↑ Interview with David Belle on YouTube (English subtitles)
- ↑ Dash Vault . In: Parkour Wiki . ( wikia.com [accessed December 14, 2016]).
- ↑ Jörg Haas: Parkour sports in the hall . Script of the State Seminar for Didactics and Teacher Training Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau 2013.
- ^ F. Hartnack: Trend sport tricking. Gymnastics, martial arts and breakdancing in school. In: M. Pott-Klindworth, T. Pilz (Hrsg.): Turnen, a movement culture in transition. Writings of the German Association for Sports Science, Volume 231. Czwalina, Hamburg 2013. pp. 41–48