What is Parkour?
Origin and philosophy
Parkour is a movement discipline connecting you to your body and its relationship within its environment.
Although most Parkour seen on TV, film and social media can appear dangerous jumping across rooftops, the reality is that 80% of it is practised on ground level. In fact there is no danger involved at all as the discipline focusses on managed risk.
Practicing such movements as jumping and landing, rolls, climbing, lache (swinging), vaults and balancing, Parkour is a journey of self discovery offering a way to understand yourself, your body, its capability and your perceived limitations.
What is meant by perceived limitations? It's a mental construct built by familiarity and past experience of safety and repercussion. An example explains this. Someone walks along a plank on the ground comfortably. The plank is then placed 6 feet in the air. The participant experiences fear and doubt although the plank is the same, the walk is the same. The only thing that has changed is the participants perception. Like most movement practices, parkour starts low and simple building in complexity as you become more familiar with the movements and yourself.
Benefits of parkour
It's physical benefits are numerous such as increased mobility, flexibility and physical strength helping your body remain efficient and grow younger.
Equal in their importance the mental benefits include increased confidence, sociability, self awareness, mindfulness, courage, focus and respect for ones environment.
The beauty of parkour is that anyone can experience these benefits no matter how old or able. Simple movements and practices can help toddlers to land correctly protecting their joints as they grow up. Similarly, simple balance and cognitive exercises can help an elderly person regain confidence in their day to day reducing the risk of injury and leading to a happier life.