Call it Euro-kookiness, but the sport of parkour is taking off in (and leaping across the rooftops of) North America
“Skateboarding without the skateboard” is how Mark Toorock describes his favorite sport. Others call it super-hero running, Euro foolishness—or just plain nuts. What sport is this? Toorock is one of North America’s leading practitioners of parkour, a running and jumping game developed by a pair of bored French teenagers in the late 80s.
Parkour, often called free running in the US, has evolved into an athletic discipline that sends participants (called traceurs) up walls, over fences and under railings in search of the smoothest, most efficient route through an urban environment. “It's all about moving with a purpose,” Toorock says, “sort of like you would through an obstacle course. But we take that urgency and apply it to movement for the purpose of bettering ourselves, like you would with a martial art.”
For San Francisco traceur Brandon Quan, the mental challenge defines parkour. "As you're free running, you're constantly looking for the best line through an environment," he says, "but you're also pushing your limits.”
Parkour may be big in Europe (where TK people participate), but can such a heady sport really find a future here? “Definitely,” says Toorock, whose AmericanParkour.com website brings traceurs together in cities across the country. “It’s been known about here for about two years, and in those two years we’ve probably gone from a handful of people to a few thousand practicing.”
Still, purists worry that growth will water down the spiritual side of parkour, turning it into yet another American “action” sport. “It’s very easy to overlook the philosophy behind it and just focus on the flips and flashier moves,” Quan says. “I hope we don’t see the day where there are 'no parkour' signs next to 'no skateboarding' signs, or where parkour competitions are televised on ESPN2 and traceurs are getting endorsement deals."
Become a traceur or just watch the action at www.americanparkour.com and www.urbanfreeflow.com.
