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Freerunning, Art and Social EthicsThe Philosophy of Street Culture Parkour: Mind-Body Usefulness
What appears to be urban acrobatics has links to mindfulness practices such as yoga and to efforts through fitness to develop strong, useful people.
In the Suite 101 article Parkour: Maximizing Body and Mind , Luke Armstrong tells the story of the development of “parkour” and “freerunning”. Not sports (as there are no rules and a philosophy of non-competitiveness), these pursuits involve moving at speed through often urban landscapes, leaping over gaps and walls and overcoming all obstacles to get from one place to another. Body and MindArmstrong’s article describes how practitioners of parkour/freerunning (called traceurs for males and traceuses for females) believe that the activity has the power to strengthen and enliven the mind. Through learning to overcome physical barriers, traceurs and traceuses are said to be able to cope better with mental challenges and obstacles in everyday life. This article adds to the story of parkour/freerunning with a discussion of the philosophy underlying the pursuit and some of the challenges facing its future growth. Learning from the Wisdom of the BodyParkour/freerunning shares with other activities that emphasize “mindfulness,” a desire to rediscover free and efficient movement. For example, according to Ruthy Alon in her book Mindful Spontaneity (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books: 1996), the intention of Feldenkrais practice is: “to support your orientation towards improvising movements that are healthier and more efficient….and to sharpen the judgement of your brain in evaluating and navigating….Your innate wisdom knows how to select, among many options, the one which best supports your life.” Ancient practices such as yoga also emphasize learning lessons from the body to enhance well-being. Physical Freedom and the Social GoodThe philosophy underlying parkour/freerunning can also be considered in terms of its objectives of creative spontaneity, and strength and usefulness. In this respect “parkour” and “freerunning” seem to have evolved differently. Although sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, freerunning may have more of an emphasis on acrobatics, aesthetics and development of the individual. Parkour appears to have retained a greater focus on the development of pragmatic skills, with efficiency a key principle. Creative SpontaneityTraceurs and traceuses (provided they are safety-conscious) potentially have the world available to them as a forum for movement and play. “Freedom” is a word often associated with the pursuit. According to co-founder Sebastian Foucan (quoted in the New Zealand Parkour website) “you just have to look, you just have to think, as children”. The sentiment is evocative of what J. Bronowski said was the “wish” of English poet William Blake: “to make a whole man who should remain a child”. (William Blake and the Age of Revolution. New York: Harper & Row, 1965). Strength and UsefulnessThe flipside of freedom is responsibility, the focus especially in parkour on developing strength and useful, pragmatic skills to use in emergencies or to help other people. The New Zealand Parkour website observes that thegroup name taken by early practitioners was Yamakasi, a Congo Lingala word meaning “strong spirit, strong body, strong man”. According to an essay on Urbanfreeflow, the “father” of parkour, Georges Hébert, wanted to cultivate strength with a purpose. An early twentieth-century French naval officer and physical education tutor, he developed a “natural method” of physical training which emphasized the cultivation of positive energies, such as willpower and courage, along with a moral sense. His motto was: “Etre fort pour être utile”. (Be strong to be useful). ChallengesThe pursuit of parkour/freerunning is spreading around the world. As with any activity that is not mainstream, people in smaller communities and rural areas can often have difficulty finding others to practice with. In addition, as an activity expands, it can move away from its roots: in this case non-competitiveness, and an emphasis on mind-body awareness, creative spontaneity and the development of useful skills. However, internet technology has been embraced by parkour/freerunning and appears to be offering solutions to these issues: linking people who want to learn, stressing safety, and offering information (both skills tutorials and history). In this way the “democratic” aspect of the internet is supporting “freedom”: the growth of a modern “mindful” way to nurture body and spirit.
The copyright of the article Freerunning, Art and Social Ethics in Personal Development is owned by Brenda Ann Burke. Permission to republish Freerunning, Art and Social Ethics in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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