What is Parkour?
There are many misconceptions about Parkour in our society. Mainly thanks to the media, a lot of people view Parkour, as jumping off rooves, doing somersaults, acrobatics, and daredevil stunts. Sometimes it is even considered vandalism and antisocial. However the true nature of Parkour, is much more deep and fulfilling than the public opinion.

Parkour could be defined as: The Art of Efficient Movement. It is about finding the most efficient route of escape through any given enviroment, whether it is the city, the forest, a beach, anywhere. It is about utilising your enviroment to train your body, and developing skills to be used in an escape or rescue situation. "To Escape or Reach" as the founder David Belle has described it.

History
The history of Parkour begins in the early 20th century with a French Navy Officer, called Georges Hébert. He was stationed at the town of St.Pierre, when in 1902 a volcanic eruption led Hébert to lead a heroic evacuation of the town, saving nearly 700 lives. This disaster was to change his life, and he began developing a discipline called "Méthode Naturelle" which involved participants to under go a series of lifting, climbing, leaping, and running exercises (as well as other manouvres) in order to be strong, to encounter any situation. "Etre fort pour être utile" was his motto which means "Be Strong, To Be Useful"

This "Méthode Naturelle" was to be a huge influence to a young french soldier named Raymond Belle, who fought in the Vietnam War. He used the training described by Hébert and put it to practical use in the Jungle whilst escaping the enemy. After the battle of Dien Bien Phu. Raymond went back to france and joined the "sapeurs-pompiers" which was an elite force of the fittest military firefighters. In this brigade, he found the perfect opportunity to further his skills and put them to good use.

Born into a family of Firefighters, filled with stories of heroism and athletic abilities, David Belle (Raymond's Son) was determined to follow in his fathers footsteps, and saught to excel in all forms of athletic ability to become strong like his father. Taking part in Martial Arts and Gymnastics as a child, he also became very interested in the skills his father had developed in Vietnam, and began jumping around, inventing his own movements. By the time he had moved to the Parisian suburb of Lisses, at the age of 15, he had already become extremely proficient at using these movements. It was in this city he found friends such as Sébastien Foucan, Yann Hnautra, and Kazuma, who became the group called the Yamakasi.

This group proceeded to become quite famous in France, during the mid 90's appearing on TV and in internet videos. Practising what they called "l'art du déplacement" which focused mainly on freedom of movement, rather than efficiency. David and Sebastien eventually left the group and went their separate ways, over a dispute over money.

David took the discipline, he had created with his friends, and reshaped it into what he felt the discipline should be. Removing all acrobatics and useless movement from it, he created what he named Parkour, which is the discipline we know today.

Misconceptions
After the split of the original Yamakasi, Sébastien took the discipline they had been practicing and turned it into what he called "Free-Running" this was essentially the "l'art du déplacement" just with a much more media friendly name. Calling himself the founder, he took part in a number of documentaries, such as Jump London and Jump Britian, in which the words Parkour and Freerunning, were used synonymously, which is partially to blame for the opinion that parkour and Freerunning are the same thing, when in reality they couldn't be more different. The use of flips and big roof gaps, in these documentaries, is also partially to blame with the upsurge in the opinion that these are both a part of Parkour.

Philosophy
Parkour is not only a physical discipline, but a mindset. It comes with a very developed and deep philosophy of bettering oneself. Traceurs (Parkour Practioners), often find their whole lifestyle is changed due to Parkour, such as changing diets, and beginning intense conditioning routines. Parkour serves not only as a physical exercise, but a mental liberation, the concept of finding the most efficient way often relates its self back to other problems in life.

Another huge part of Parkour is the fact it is non competitive, due to the nature of Parkour, having no set movements, it is impossible to judge who is a "better" Traceur, as everyone should find their own most efficient way of training, and their own most efficient routes. No one can be taught Parkour completely, only guided. Parkour is an internal journey, overcoming fears and obstacles, to liberate yourself, not for others, or the media.

Ultimately Parkour is a discipline, in a league of its own, more akin to Ancient Martial Art than any modern sports, it boasts a deep and meaningful purpose and philosophy, as well as keeping the Traceur in shape and fit. It is fast becoming an extremely popular discipline, and has already had a number of appearances in hollywood blockbusters such as Casino Royale, and District 13. As well as official coaching awards being set up right now, the future for Parkour looks very bright.