Philosophy and Physicality
Movement is the nature of all things. The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously proclaimed ‘Everything flows; nothing remains’[1], and both human history and modern science have proven him right. All is process, all is movement: all is flow. That is why this art speaks so strongly to us, because it is our nature to be always in transition, changing, moving, and not only on a physical level but on a mental one as well.

For those who are serious about the art, parkour is a way of life as well as a way of travelling. It’s a way of thinking, an art of movement, a discipline of physicality. Parkour is a pathless way, a method that has no one method of practice, and it is for the individual alone to find his or her own route. For freerunners, those elements we used to see as obstacles are that no longer – they become stepping-stones that carry us forward as we move towards personal liberation and self-mastery.

In this Handbook we have focused on the physical attributes you must develop to give yourself a good start in your own training. However, by far the most important attribute to develop is what can be described as ‘spirit’. Spirit, for the freerunner, means strength of character, an inner commitment to progress and self-improvement at all times; and it is based on possessing a high level of competence within a number of different, yet interdependent, fields of thought. These are the virtues central to the practice of parkour, and include the following:

* Self-discipline
* Focus
* Determination
* Control of fear
* Humility
* Helping others
* Knowledge of one’s limits
* Persistent testing of the self

Your spirit is your approach to training, and is essentially the means and the end of practising parkour. This art of movement is, for those who devote themselves to it, a way of strengthening one’s inner spirit through mastery of the body.

This mixture of philosophy and physicality is not a new concept in history, but it is renewed and revitalised in parkour. There is no one philosophical concept behind the art, no complicated and convoluted intellectual webs to unravel. Parkour concentrates on placing you fully in the here and now of your life and helping you to see your surroundings and yourself as they are.

For me, and for many of us, parkour is an expression and an exploration of the power and versatility of the human spirit. It acts as a mirror to the self, exposing one’s fears, self-imposed limitations, and our conditioned thought-processes. It is a method by which one can overcome all these things, as with all transformative practices, so it is in truth much more about mastering the self than about conquering a few high walls. Our everyday surroundings provide the ultimate training ground for this and so in a very real and immediate sense, with the fresh vision that parkour offers us, we can see ourselves reflected with great clarity in our environment.

When you do so, you may rediscover a deep sense of harmony with your world that reminds you of the simple pleasure of being alive.

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[1] Quoted by Plato in Cratylus, and by Diogenes Laertius in Lives of the Philosophers Book IX, section 8.

Labels: Book Excerpts

About the Author : Dan