Monday, July 21, 2014

Running, Jumping. Leaping, Spinning Parkour Training Returns To Roosevelt Island


According to the World Freerunning Parkour Federation, Parkour:
... comes from the French “parcours”, which literally means, “the way through”, or “the path”. What we now all know as “Parkour” with a “k” had its origins in a training program for French Special Forces known as “Parcours du combattant”, or “The Path of the Warrior”. It was David Belle, a French dude, son of a Parcours Warrior and the “inventor” of Parkour, who changed the “c” to a “k” and, along with his comrades, the Yamakazi, began the worldwide movement you are now officially a part of and which also includes the phenomenon known as Freerunning (confused yet? Don’t give up! You’re almost there!)

According to the strictest definition, Parkour is the act of moving from point “a” to point “b” using the obstacles in your path to increase your efficiency. Sounds like a fun game, right? A basic repertoire of moves developed over the years, like the “tic-tac”, the “kong vault” and the “gap jump” that make Parkour immediately recognizable to most people who see it, even if they don’t know what it’s called!

But a funny thing happened on the way to Point B. The cool, super-creative moves that the Yamakazi came up with started morphing, and since there was no one chasing them (most of the time) the efficiency part got less and less important to some of the Yamakazi, who decided they wanted to start throwing flips and stuff, and just generally expressing themselves through movement. The leader of that splinter group was named Sebastian Foucan, the guy from the beginning of CASINO ROYALE. David Belle decided he wanted to stick with the efficiency program, so he and Sebastian kind of went their separate ways, and the “two” sports started developing along separate but parallel paths...
Here's some Roosevelt Island style Parkour training



and more information on Parkour at Roosevelt Island.

1 comments :

mookie113 said...

Yet another ear shattering steam release with no prior notification. Residents whose apts face east are subject to continuous noise pollution. If you think it was bad across the street, you can't even imagine what it's like facing this monstrosity. This particular instance was actually painful to the ear & Transcanada should be subject to whatever repercusions are tied to failing to keep noise @ safe levels. But that would take support from local politicans to enforce, which, of course, we don't have. Additionally, for the entire day, and continuing throughout the night I'm sure, there has been the stressful, loud sound of a steam being let off. This is what you have in store if you live in roosevelt landings.