Le Parkour By South

I’m a runner. A runner who finds running rather boring, so when I heard about this new style of running called Le Parkour I had to see what it was all about.
Le Parkour, simply put, is free running or the art of movement. Running through the city scape in new and creative ways, be it crawling up walls or jumping down them; balancing on handrails and jumping from roof top to roof top. It is truly tremendous to watch.
It all started 13 years ago, when a young man by the name of David Belle decided that he wasn’t just going to walk or run the traditional way through his native Paris any more. He was going to take every obstacle that surrounded him and make it “part of [his] art.” With that philosophy he has managed to create this amazing new culture around him with companies like Nike, MTV, even Madonna after him and his posse, to help create a “cool factor.”
Why is this so cool? Why are these companies tapping into this sport so readily? Remember how skateboarding took off in the 70s? It was a sensation and it still is. The Zephyr team made skateboarding different, cool and a cult favorite, eventually becoming, as do most things, main stream. So you can imagine what marketing agencies think when they see kids jumping and crawling on buildings; the next big thing.
I feel something happening with Le Parkour. These guys and gals are essentially skateboarding without skateboards. They are bringing a new element to running and putting a new twist on skateboarding. Just as the Zephyr team conquered the asphalt waves and empty pools, Belle and his posse are conquering the cities too. They are using their bodies as their equipment and I think it is so rad!
Just wait. I bet there will be fashion surrounding this sport too. Adidas old school track suits and the like will be the outfit of choice and cordless tunes by skull candy will be essential.
I decided to check out the internet to see what I else I could scrounge up about Le Parour and I found a few wonderful site dedicated to the art. Some of them were just reporting on it, others were showing actual videos, which were fabulous; but another one I found talked about the actual physicality behind this sport.
The exercises that one must do to become a master of Le Parkour are intensive and specific. If nothing else you must to have a strong upper body for getting up onto rooves and structures, swinging around signs and hanging between buildings.
Legs are important too. So much of this sport requires the participant to absorb major impact. Jumping form a 2 story building (about the height of the high school) demands a perfect balance between leg absorption and body rolling, once landed on the ground.
Cardio is also huge with Le Parkour. These guys are running all the time. Running and sprinting, then jumping trough the air toward another roof top, it is totally insane. Guts must be part of the game too.
I am so interested in this sport an hope that there might be a few others in town that would share my interest. If so let me know. I think this could be such a cool past time. It could be done at night or in the day. In the city or in town. Everything, the bride and the parkades need to be conquered.