PARKOUR, The Art of Moving

PARKOUR (Sometimes also abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement is a physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation, using skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves.
The object is to get from a Point A to a Point B using only the human body and the objects in the environment around you. The obstacles can be anything in one's environment, but parkour is often seen practiced in urban places because of the many suitable public structures that are accessible to most people, such as buildings and rails. Parkour practitioners are often called traceurs if boy, or traceuses if girl.

1. TERMINOLOGY

The first terms used to describe this form of training were l'art du déplacement and le parcours. The term parkour (French pronunciation: [paʁˈkuʁ]) was coined by David Belle and his friend Hubert Koundé. It derives from parcours du combattant, the classic obstacle course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert.] Traceur [tʁasœʁ] and traceuse [tʁasøz] are substantives derived from the French verb tracer which normally means "to trace", or "to draw", but which is also a slang for "to go fast".

2. HISTORY

Its founder is David Belle, whose father (a fireman and military) taught him the natural method of George Herbert (used in the military discipline in which he seeks to overcome the natural obstacles using only the body) while he was young, along with military training.

David adapting this technique to their city tours Lisses (in France) by creating an urban version. After entering the French army, David realizes that the army is not your thing and you need the freedom of the road to well being. Later I found people who followed in their workouts, and so find Sebastian Foucan and other members of that first group tranceurs.

3. PHILOSOPHY

More experienced practitioners agree that Parkour is a philosophy. Of course, there is a specific philosophy and rigid for art in particular, but each means something different. For some may be just a sport that is entertaining, but live, and for other life revolves around him, others may feel it as an art with which they are expressed, and for others it is a philosophy of selves, or different paths to walk the rest of the people...

4. MOVEMENTS

There are fewer predefined movements in parkour than in gymnastics, as there is no list of "moves". Each obstacle a traceur faces presents a unique challenge. The ability to overcome the challenge depends on multiple factors, for example, on body type, speed, angle of approach, the physical make-up of the obstacle.

Parkour is about training the "bodymind" to react to those obstacles appropriately with a technique that is effective. Often that technique cannot and need not be classified and given a name. In many cases effective parkour techniques depend on fast redistribution of body weight and the use of momentum to perform seemingly difficult or impossible body maneuvers at great speed. Absorption and redistribution of energy is also an important factor, such as body rolls when landing which reduce impact forces on the legs and spine, allowing a traceur to jump from greater heights than those often considered sensible in other forms of acrobatics and gymnastics.

A. RECEPTIONS

• Reception basic: The ground contact must be made in order to distribute the weight of the impact throughout the body. The heels should not touch the floor should be kept slightly elevated to serve as a buffer. The knees should also be bent. His back bent forward, hands in front to have them ready for use if necessary.
• Reception with Roll: This technique will provide a receipt to a jump in speed, is supported on a shoulder blade somersault (whichever is more comfortable, rolling sideways on the back), allowing us to avoid some of the impact of the fall, after A reception with a lot of inertia forward.
• Receiving a precision jump: We performed with the front of the foot (between the ball of the foot and toes), and knees flexed the back so you divide up the impact of the jump as evenly as possible by the body, and also to hold the balance.
• Front arm break: There will be with the front of the soles of the feet and hands at the top of the obstacle. If a fence, flex your knees to cushion the impact. On one wall, are typically left leg slip to be hung on the wall with his hands only.
• Reception at branch: We only received at a branch with his hands, but leaving balance to avoid a sharp blow to the arms and back. Be careful not to fall backwards when we are in the front of the swing (first swing).

B. DESPLACES

• Speed: Fundamental movement which tries to overcome the obstacle of quickly and smoothly as possible by supporting one hand, this movement serves as a liaison in the race when there is a fence or similar item in the path and keeping your speed.

- Two-handed pass hurdles: Run straight toward the barrier, lean hands, in order to move the legs from the side…

- 180: It is a movement performed by making a simple pass hurdles; pass hurdles after making the need to rotate.

• Cat Kong and monkey: A leap in which a barrier is crossed leaning on it with his hands in parallel during the jump, and then moving the legs together and bent between the gap left by the arms in their support in the hazard.

Double or cat, monkey or Double Double Kong: After taking the first drive with his hands like a normal kong break without passing the legs must be pushed forward with the aim of finding another support with hands , and since then the legs pass through the gap left by the arms.

• Reverse: This movement tries to cross a fence, railing or wall, leaning on her hands, and performing a 360 º horizontal positioning the body in his back in front with legs up to prepare a good reception… or Reverse a hand: It's like a reverse two-handed but with one hand.

• Dash: It's like 'cat front', in which the legs go first, (pickup) and then put their hands (with legs straight but separated).

. Underbar fence or Low: Spends a fence or a hole under a variety of ways, generally, should be helped out of hand at the top of the hole to move the body.

• Thief: Supports one hand, they pass the feet sideways like a pass hurdles, and before he fully support his other hand to steady himself.

• Lazy: Like Thief but it is done perpendicular to the obstacle and in the air when we must raise the legs.

• Pass Vago: Put off the fence and leans on it to then put his hand under and climb down to the other side.

C. JUMPS

• Skip accuracy: This is a leap of 'precision' no rush, in which a reception to be accurate in a fence, wall or narrow curb. The jump can be made "a foot" or "both feet", which means that we will start the jump with one or both feet ending with two. Distention: A precision jump in which the receiving point is different at the exit point.

• Arm jump: This jump in order to cling to a wall or fence, or any site can not be reached without arms.

. Long jump: A precision jump in the race.

• Skip fund: This is a jump down and depending on the momentum that is carried forward, it will be convenient rotation.

• Jump of Angel or lion is to jump and extend your arms forward (like a lion) or open (like an angel) stop some of the fall with his hands when approaching the ground and then gently support the scapula to rotate .

D. OTHER

• Pass-walls: This is beyond a high wall, it will take a run to reach the top of the wall, hitting a kick to go up on this, and should hold up his hands (one and then another if it is too high) pulse to climb.

• Grimper: Grimper in parkour is a rapid escalation, or a wall with a steep, tree, etc..

• Iron (from iron in French): It consists of reaching a position where we put up on hands (to the waist) in a horizontal bar, from a position where we are hanging on their hands, fully stretched. It is an exercise of force that helps the pass-walls.

• 180: This is turn around in the air, against an obstacle (wall or fence), ending with his hands on it, on the other side, and in a position where we can slip through.

• Released: After a 180, be dropped. You can re-turn in the air to continue running in the same direction.

• Tic-Tac: This move consists of jumping over a fence or wall is not very high aid of some element, or wall having a lateral support on this one foot to kick that momentum to pass the obstacle.

• Balance: In a branch or bar, try to hang with her hands on, to let us swing. To go forward we must be careful not to fall backward. We must maintain a balance in which we get to keep the position in the air for reception.

• Laché (French name): Hanging from a branch (or tube) holding hands for reception in another, either lower, higher or parallel, maintaining a position in the air that we balance and cushioning.

• Balance: Make balance on a fence, either standing or walking on it.

• Movement quadruped (catbalance): Walking to 'four legs'. If done at ground level or on stairs, serves as a good exercise. In a thin wall or a fence, also working on balance (in this case is called 'balance of cat').

• 360 º: It's about a 360 º on a support (usually at walls) helping only those hands.

• 360 º invert: Same as above, except that instead of facing we will do with his back to support.

5. STUNT (Street Running)

The acrobatics, was the way I think Sebastien Foucan, also called acros are the death-defying jumps backflips, frontflips, sideflips, wallflips, aerials ...; not part nor are many utilities, are ornaments to magnify the beauty of a jump. There are people who make a sport acros aside and only practice this. The street stunts are considered a separate sport: The Street stunts.


MARÍA DEL PILAR MAHEDERO NAVARRETE