Table of Contents

What Is Parkour?

Parkour is the physical discipline of moving through an environment — typically urban — by running, jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, and swinging over obstacles in your path. The goal is efficient, fluid movement from one point to another. A wall isn’t an obstacle — it’s something to vault over. A gap between buildings is something to jump across. A railing is something to swing under. Parkour treats the built environment as a playground and the human body as the only equipment needed to move through it.

Where It Came From

Parkour was developed in the late 1980s and 1990s by David Belle in Lisses, a suburb of Paris. Belle’s father, Raymond Belle, was a firefighter and military athlete who trained in the natural movement methods developed by Georges Hebert — a French naval officer who, in the early 20th century, created a training system inspired by the movement abilities of indigenous peoples he’d observed.

Hebert’s method (methode naturelle) emphasized practical physical skills: running, jumping, climbing, swimming, lifting, throwing, and defending. Raymond Belle adapted these for his own training, and David Belle took the principles further, developing a systematic approach to obstacle navigation in urban environments.

The name “parkour” comes from parcours du combattant — the obstacle course used in French military training — adapted to remove the military context. Belle and his childhood friends, forming a group called the Yamakasi, trained together in Lisses, developing techniques for navigating the concrete, metal, and glass of suburban architecture.

The Core Movements

Parkour techniques are functional — each one solves a specific movement problem.

Vaults clear obstacles at waist to chest height. The speed vault is a one-handed hop over a railing. The kong vault sends you over a wall hands-first, legs passing through your arms. The lazy vault swings your body sideways over a barrier. Each vault suits different obstacles and approach angles.

Jumps cover gaps and reach elevated surfaces. The precision jump lands on a specific target — a wall edge, a rail, a ledge — with control. The running precision adds speed. The arm jump catches the top of a wall at full extension for pulling up. Gap jumps cross spaces between structures.

Climbing techniques get you up walls, buildings, and structures efficiently. The wall run uses momentum to gain height on a vertical surface. The cat leap catches a wall edge from a jump. Climbing in parkour is about speed and energy conservation, not the slow, deliberate approach of rock climbing.

Rolling disperses impact energy when landing from height. The parkour roll is a shoulder roll performed diagonally across the back — not a gymnastics forward roll. Done correctly, it can reduce landing forces from drops of 8-12 feet to manageable levels.

Swinging uses railings, bars, and branches to redirect momentum. The underbar swings feet-first under a horizontal bar. Laches (swinging releases from one bar to catch another) are advanced movements borrowed from primate locomotion.

The Philosophy

Parkour isn’t just a collection of cool moves. Belle and other founders emphasize philosophy and mindset alongside physical technique.

Be useful. The original ethos was about developing the ability to help others — reach someone in danger, escape a threatening situation, or respond to emergencies. The question isn’t “can I do a backflip?” but “can I get from here to there when it matters?”

Progressive training. You don’t start by jumping between rooftops. You start by jumping between lines on a sidewalk. Then curbs. Then low walls. Then higher walls. Each skill builds on the last. The discipline requires patience — mastering a movement at low height before attempting it at greater height.

Know your limits. Every good parkour practitioner has declined a jump or a drop because they weren’t confident in that moment. The ability to honestly assess your capability and walk away from a movement you’re not ready for is a core skill, not a weakness.

Training and Community

Parkour can be practiced solo, but most practitioners train in groups. The community aspect is important — training partners provide spotting, encouragement, and feedback. More experienced practitioners teach newer ones, creating an informal mentorship culture.

Organized parkour gyms have opened in cities worldwide, providing indoor training environments with padded surfaces, adjustable obstacles, and structured classes. These facilities make the discipline accessible to beginners who might be intimidated by outdoor training and provide a controlled environment for learning new skills.

Outdoor training remains central to parkour’s identity, though. The discipline is fundamentally about moving through real environments — parks, buildings, urban infrastructure. Indoor training builds skills; outdoor training applies them.

The Cultural Impact

Parkour exploded into popular culture through viral videos, documentaries (most notably Jump London in 2003), and film sequences. The opening chase scene in Casino Royale (2006), featuring Sebastien Foucan, introduced parkour to millions. Video games like Mirror’s Edge and Assassin’s Creed built entire gameplay mechanics around parkour-inspired movement.

YouTube and social media have been both beneficial and problematic for the discipline. Beneficial because they’ve spread awareness and attracted new practitioners worldwide. Problematic because they incentivize dangerous stunts for views — people attempting rooftop jumps without the years of progressive training that make such movements survivable.

The responsible parkour community actively pushes back against this trend, emphasizing that the impressive movements seen online represent years of dedicated, unglamorous training — conditioning, repetition, and gradual progression that social media doesn’t show.

Getting Into It

If parkour interests you, find a local gym or training group. Many cities have organized communities that welcome beginners. Start with ground-level movements — balance training, quadrupedal movement (moving on hands and feet), basic vaults over low rails, and precision jumps between flat surfaces.

Build conditioning alongside technique. Parkour demands pulling strength (for climbing), pushing strength (for vaults), leg power (for jumps), and core stability (for everything). Basic bodyweight exercises — pull-ups, push-ups, squats, and planks — provide the foundation.

And be patient. The movements that look effortless online took years to develop. Parkour rewards consistent training over time, not weekend warriors trying to replicate YouTube highlights. Start small, train regularly, and your environment will start looking very different.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between parkour and freerunning?

Parkour focuses on efficient movement from point A to point B, overcoming obstacles with the minimum wasted motion. Freerunning, developed by Sebastien Foucan, adds acrobatic and aesthetic elements — flips, spins, and creative expression. Think of parkour as the functional discipline and freerunning as the artistic extension. In practice, many practitioners blend both.

Is parkour dangerous?

Parkour has risk, like any physical activity involving heights and hard surfaces. However, injury rates in studies are comparable to or lower than mainstream sports like soccer, basketball, and gymnastics. The discipline emphasizes progressive training — mastering small movements before attempting bigger ones. Most injuries come from untrained people attempting advanced movements they saw online without building foundational skills.

Do you need to be in shape to start parkour?

You don't need to be an athlete to begin, but basic fitness helps. Parkour builds strength, flexibility, and coordination as you train. Most classes start with ground-level movements — balancing, quadrupedal movement, small jumps, and basic vaults — that don't require exceptional fitness. The discipline is progressive; you start where you are and build up.

Further Reading

• World Freerunning & Parkour Federation
• Parkour UK
• FIG - International Gymnastics Federation (Parkour)