About Parkour & Freerunning

Parkour (L'art du deplacement) is a physical discipline which stems from Georges Heberts methode naturelle. It trains practitioners to overcome any obstacle, physical or mental, in the most efficient manner possible. Practitioners, called traceurs (m) or traceuces (f), utilise a vast array of movements such as vaults, wall running, swinging, jumping and rolling to traverse any environment, be it urban architecture or a natural setting. Although it shares many traits with freerunning, parkour is not to be confused with that discipline. The key difference being parkour's focus on efficient, fast movement as opposed to the more aesthetically pleasing, technical moves (flips and spins) found in freerunning.  Parkour has its origins in the suburbs of Paris, developed by David Belle, Sebastien Foucan and the Yamakasi group, but is now widely practised around the world as a result of the influence of YouTube, documentaries and movies such as Casino Royale.