Parkour: Implementation London

There are fewer predefined movements in parkour than with gymnastics, martial arts and other extreme sports, in that parkour is about unlimited movement over obstacles and the ability to improvise is as important as being able to replicate previously practiced moves.

Despite this, there are many standard 'basic' movements that many traceurs practice. Most important are good jumping and landing techniques. The roll, used to limit impact after a drop and to flow easily into the next movement, is often stressed as the most important move to learn.

Vaults are used to clear solid obstacles and come in many forms. Some recognised types of vaults add only technical skill (and hence sometimes aesthetic value) to a move and often not functionality, even sacrificing functionality for a more impressive look. These tend to be looked down on, as they are inefficient movement and thus not truly Parkour. Many vaults are maximally functional to certain situations, but learning any number of vaults is as worthwhile as learning to improvise and adapt to differing situations.

For clearing gaps, a number of methods are generally used; each is dependent on the particular obstacle in question, of course, and as with the vaults a good improvisation technique aids free runners far more than a pre-learned collection of techniques.

Tricks, such as flips, are a topic of much debate amongst traceurs. Many agree that since these disrupt the fluidity of a run they cannot be classed as parkour, others argue that parkour is about being free to move how one wishes and try to incorporate certain tricks into their style of movement.

David Belle has since released a statement that states in no uncertain terms that Parkour is about efficient movement, and therefore flips and tricks are (in almost all cases) not Parkour.

Jumping over one gap is not parkour, but combining a number of jumps into one flow is parkour.