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This page is for information about Parkour, training and safety, and community-oriented initiatives.

What is Parkour?

"Parkour, the art of movement,  is a sport that consists in moving while overcoming all the obstacles one might find in his or her path. It implies to adopt a state of mind that seeks the paths a traceur (a practitioner of Parkour) can follow. When a traceur goes down a street, he will spontaneously find spots he will pass through that nobody will use but himself. He seeks the obstacles he can overcome. These movements are not done at random, but must be effective, efficient, flowing, fast, easy and to some extent aesthetic. Acrobatics (flips, etc) are thus discouraged, as they don't have the qualities of effectiveness and efficiency. Acrobatics can bring aesthetic and personal pleasure, but they are not Parkour. Parkour is practiced in natural as well as urban settings, it is only the traceur who envisions the path he will follow, the obstacles he will cross, from his own possibilities and limits. Parkour is also a philosophie, a way of life (meaning a regular practice, not an occasional sport). This discipline created in France by David Belle (and inspired by George Hebert's natural method of physical education) spread throughout the world. It requires a good physical condition to endure shocks and to increase one's capabilities, agility, mental focus and self-confidence. Training must be regular and not dangerous, meaning that risks must be measured and no step should be skipped in the progression; practicing on rooftops is unnecessary, the ground offers many more obstacles to overcome.

A warning Parkour is a dangerous sport. One of the key rules of this sport is to never hurt yourself. The practitioner who injures himself goes against the spirit of the sport. One must learn progressively, without forcing the body. Everyone can do it, in a reasonable and progressive maneer. Training in gyms can be a good solution to avoid injuries when learning new skills. In the end, Parkour is only dangerous to whom overestimates his abilities. By being progressive and conditioning regularly, the risk of injury is considerably reduced. Stay vigilant!"
Some links:
APK's definitions of Parkour, Freerunning and some history.
Wikipedia's article on Parkour gives a good presentation, with a nice historical perspective.


Information for parents

Links:
Washington Parkour has a great FAQ for parents.


The 'Leave no trace' initiative

As traceurs, we feel it is essential to show respect to our environment. We strive to maintain a low impact on our training grounds and to improve them when we can. "Leave no trace" means our goal is to leave any place we train in the same or a better shape than we found it. It means no littering, picking up trash, avoiding to use damaged structures, etc.
 

Safety first

We will post here some useful info about safety, preventing injury and pacing your training. To get started, check out the APK forums on General Fitness. Check out also a short video from Phytolith on ankle strengthening exercises.