Clancy, I'd just like to say a few things..

Firstly, parkour is so much more and a lot deeper than just the constraints of efficiency.

Secondly...

- David Belle's application of _____ was suggested by Herbert Koundé to be called Parkour so a name could finally be given to describe his no-name practice - whose inspiration were drawn from various sources. Replacing the 'c' with a 'k' also made it more edgy.

- The Yamakasi split with dB and Seb. Foucan when they wanted to make the movie and disagreed over their application of _____ as L'art du Displacement - one of the terms (eg. le parcours) that were already in use from a very early stage, when all original Yamakasi members were still together.

- Sébastien Foucan's application of _____ started to move in a different direction to David's after the success of the Yamakasi movie and was coined by Guillaume Pelletier (a businessman in sports, media and IT related fields; and self-proclaimed founder of FreeRunning) as FreeRun when Guillaume produced the doco; so it would be easier to market Jump London to an English-speaking audience and also, to give Foucan an official sole-title of being the founder of the newly coined discipline.

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I have a few questions to present to you and I hope one day, you will find my answers in both the above and below explanations.

The general population currently accepts the existence of 3 official and separate disciplines which originated from the early Lisses days. Each with their own application method specifically for the purpose of that coined discipline and its underlying philosophy.

After seeing the success of Yamakasi and Seb. Foucan with their respective media ventures, another person by the name of EZ (ex-boxer, businessman, and self-proclaimed founder of FreeStyle Parkour) wanted to commercialize _____ and bring competition to his version of _____. However, there was a huge community backlash and his coined term was never officially accepted and thus, faded into a distant memory.


We all have our views on EZ and his many business practices. But that's beside the point. What makes his coined term less official than Parkour, L'art du Displacement, and FreeRun? Because he wanted competition and in our mind, he didn't care about prostituting parkour? Ok, what about the Yamakasi prostituting parkour by making the movie? Or Foucan by making the doco and later accepted his application of _____ as FreeRun purely for commercial convenience?

Wait ...before anyone accuses me of being a fundamentalist, I've also got something to say about parkour. What makes Herbert Koundé coining the term - Parkour - for dB more official and original than any of the others? Could it not be debated that parkour is also a diluted version of its various influences eg. Méthode Naturelle, le parcours, parcours, parcours du combattant, natural instinctive movements of Jaipur's monkeys...??


To some of us..

Parkour is just a descriptive term where bi-pedal human beings can learn to move again and train for an application purpose. But one day, I hope many others can also realize that once you strip it down to the core, descriptive terms are really just for linguistic purposes. The different application purposes for moving did not start with parkour or méthode naturelle. The words genetic, instinctive, and natural movements are some that comes to mind.

So if variations of this was later coined as ie. L'art du Displacement, FreeRun etc... then it is also for linguistic purposes to describe a variation in the application of natural movement.


As to whether I see the constraints or lack of it - between Parkour, L'art du Displacement and FreeRun - as the same or completely separate ...well, my answer lies in this post.

We all know that I have a knack for pushing the WA community's wrong buttons easily, so I ask you to read this post with an open mind. It is not my intention to come across as a condensending fundamentalist. However, I shouldn't be held responsible for the emotional insecurities of others.

I can be wrong and have been on many occassions. But at least I have made the effort to seek different opinions outside of the WA and pkaus community; not to hear what others have to say as gospel, but to have an open discussion and sharing our thoughts.

For the ones who cannot come up with anything better than a pointless flaming reply - I suggest you at least make the effort in taking it up with the source or people close to it; otherwise save your energies for a group wank where everyone agrees with everyone <<----- That was NOT directed at you Clancy

Dear Chippa

I wrote you an email a couple of days ago through APA's website. Just in case you didn't receive it, I decided to post my request here.

Personally - with the exception of 60 Minutes - I am not a fan of the media, period. Therefore, you have my best wishes in speaking to them.

We can't change the misinformed bad reps that have been put out by the media in the past. Whether it be a lack of research/understanding or contacting the wrong people who have their own commercial agendas.

Having a piece documented by 60 Minutes can be a sharp double edge sword. If they can do a good job in presenting the values and progression methods we hold dear, it would shine a positive light on our disciplines to the general public. However, if they follow the bad journalistic approaches which many newspapers and media channels have done in the past, it will add a very potent bucket to the pile of crap that has clouded over our community for a number of years.

I choose to have faith in the outcome of the first scenario.

Our continuous efforts to fend off the competitive events planned by EZ and Mark Toorock of APK; defending the values and core-conception, safe progression methods (unfortunately, often to over-hyped kids within our community), personal journey that can only be learnt by experience etc... have at times seem to be falling on deaf ears. Maybe it's time we stop defending, being anti-torch bearers and giving exposure to the dilutors.

EZ's belief of inevitability will encroach on us if we fail to stand above the commercial interests that is constantly banging on our front doors.

But inevitability is not a given. Life is about choices.

The motion of cause and effect.

If for nothing else other than choice, parkour has reiterate to many of its practitioners that life's experiences comes down to the will of that individual in accepting a more fulfilling or lesser choice.

Therefore, with the will power of collective thoughts, positive thinking, for-values and pro-action... I hope our community can take a new direction, which has already begun through the initiative of some individuals.

When I see parkour being spread positively through organised community programs by Forrest and Stephane Vigroux with Parkour Coaching, Pkdanno with PkTo, Zeric with ParkourPT, yourself with APA, and many others springing up all over the globe; I want to believe we can still find redemption through hope.


I would like to take this opportunity in asking you to propose the following requests to 60 Minutes:

1) Giving some air-time to Parkour Coaching's community workshops, its positive response from the City of Westminster and access to a copy of the Jump Westminster documentary - proof that organised community programs can benefit the city's youths in a positive manner.

2) Using the reach of 60 Minute's global distribution network; to confirm once and for all, that commercial competitions has no place in our disciplines. Regardless of who have changed their minds or become more flexible towards for-competition; this understanding stems from the overall community's respect for the core-values of PRO-parkour.

3) With all due respect to Stephane Vigroux, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontisi, Kazuma and Sebastien Foucan; 60 Minutes should make the effort to contact dB Productions in meeting with Jeff and David Belle. Considering the news crew are heading to Lisses, it would be extremely unfortunate if the Belle's were not contacted and given the opportunity to add their insights towards the piece being aired.

If 60 Minutes is after good footages from APK ...personally, I would be ecstatic to view un-seen old footages of David and circa 1997 photos of him in India, whilst learning all the techniques in parkour from watching the monkeys. There is actually a documentary call "Warriors of the Monkey God" on a tribe of monkeys in Jodhpur, India - moving exactly like traceurs.

This fact needs to be clarified. When David returned from India, he was in the process of perfecting the techniques further to suit the urban environment in Lisses. Some individuals from his core-group of childhood friends did contribute to this development, BUT there were no co-founders.

I sincerely ask that my request could at least be passed on to 60 Minutes.


Signed with hope,

gEo

Hey you guys, just some things that I've come across in the past...

Apparently, EZ had already sold off a big part of the U$F entity to another business sometime around mid-2006, somewhere in the vicinity of 60%-80% shareholding was transferred over. I can't really say for certain what type of industry this company has been involved with, but it's probably related with sports promotion, marketing of brands, retailing etc...

It's hard to predict what the actual plans are but I don't think EZ is actually moving to Australia and start afresh. I believe he is expanding to Australia first as part of his global ambition to grow U$F as a brand. My hunch is that he will still be based out of the U.K., and will be selling out licenses/franchises to use the U$F branding.

What I'm about to write doesn't resolve the situation with U$F's expansion plans into Australia. But I hope maybe some of you can find peace in accepting the reality of life.



When you walk down the malls, take a look at all the shops around you. Places where you have spent and will continue to spend money. A lot of mobile phone shops i.e. Vodafone, T3, Optus, 3, Crazy John's et al. are run or franchise owners by late 20'somethings. A lot of sports stores, coffee shops, Bakers Delight, McDonald's, Sanity, Harvey Norman etc.... EVERYTHING guys, it's all run by moms-and-pops who have bought a franchise/license to OPERATE that brand name. In return, they pay an annual 6%-12% license fee on gross sales, plus an additional 2%-4% for marketing budgets.

It is the company head office that handles all the payment systems, IT integration, shop set-up, marketing and advertising, public promotions, developing new markets etc... These systems are tried-and-tested methods developed by educated people such as ourselves - who are going through university right now so that we will move into these white-collar positions upon graduation - that have proven to work in the marketplace. All the individual owners have to do is pay their $1,500,000 franchise fee to buy a McDonald's store and just operate that store according to the franchise agreement.

In every corner of the world, the only thing people (almost everyone, maybe 99% of the world's population) really want from life is consistent material gains (who here wants to drop their standard of living to par with e.g. Bangladesh?), family, love, financial stability and personal fulfillment.

Many will not give a rats-ass to the values of e.g. 1) that the coffee Starbucks is selling is not profiteering from the inability of coffee bean producers from Costa Rica, Brasil, Ethiopia, Indonesia to receive fair market prices; 2) the shoes, clothes, electronics, fashion accessories sold in their - Foot Locker, Quiksilver, Walmart, Sunglasses Hut - franchise stores are being produced from factories in China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico, Turkey et al who are paying their workers $2 a day in slave labour conditions; 3) that the majority of consumer goods they are selling has no relation what-so-ever to the philosophical values, pure enjoyment and experience of skateboarding, surfing, parkour, martial arts etc...



In the scheme of things, EZ is a very small fish. I know he's annoyed a lot of us but as direct as his threats are right now to the dilution of parkour, it's only the beginning. The company who bought U$F over has much deeper pockets and more $ in their eyes.

Later on, will come the big boys such as Nike, Sony, McDonald's, Hollywood studios, advertising companies etc... the list is endless. These multi-nationals will care far, far less about the integrity, values and philosophies of parkour than EZ.



I am NOT taking a swipe at anyone with the following ok?

When people with very good skills (gained from years of dedicated training), sound values and respect for parkour/freerunning etc... originals like David Belle, Stephane Vigroux, Yamakasi, Sebastien Foucan; early adopters like Kazuma, Forrest, many French traceurs in Team dB; Jump London bandwagon crew - U$F team members, Mark Toorock's APK (USA) and many others around the world; even purists who are doing the right things by setting up community programs such as APA members...

Everyone who gets paid to do something that they love, don't love, don't care - it doesn't matter - because it only leads to one thing. You are feeding the monster, it's call the SYSTEM.

This system is everything and anything that makes up humanity. Mortgages to own a house, interest rates, consumption, paying bills, food, petrol, government construction of city parks, public buildings and services - absolutely everything. We all live in the system and it is created by us - civilization. We continue to feed the system because our very existence is dependant on the system feeding us.

Everytime we get paid or are sponsored to be involved with commercial promotions - we are feeding the system. In return, the profits received by individuals are used to consume products by Nike, Adidas, HP, McDonalds, Hollywood studios. Companies generate supply and manipulate demand, individuals create demand and consumes - that is the system.

Russia, China, Cuba et al. and many countries in West Africa during the 1960's, have all tried to break away from the system to create utopia. Now, Russia has it's right leg and China is neck deep into the system - and what was their quality of life whilst they were building the non-system?

I'm sorry guys, but this is the reality. Welcome to Economics 801 and Philosophy 901.



What you have to understand is that I have nothing against anyone such as David Belle, Stephane Vigroux, Yamakasi, Sebastien Foucan, Kazuma, Forrest, many French traceurs in Team dB, U$F team members, Mark Toorock's APK (USA), APA's Chippa and many other individuals around the world - feeding the system. Like it or not, the system feeds them.

I also feed the system because I need it to feed my very existence.

In the past few months, I have come across a few traceurs from .NET who understands we are all feeders to the almighty system - but we can CHOOSE what we feed to it. Some of us have chosen not to feed it by NOT getting involved with the companies that want to pay or sponsor us to sell their parkour related wares; firms such as Nike et al.

We choose to feed the system by consuming non-parkour related goods and services. Buying a Panasonic house phone, Toshiba laptop, Casio watch, fruits and vegetables, Telstra mobile account etc... But even then, if paying us to market their goods means selling more of their non-parkour related wares; one day, these companies will probably use the appeal of our disciplines to sell their non-parkour related wares also.

For example, I saw Stephane Vigroux in an ad a while ago for an ISP (internet service provider) company, I think. There's nothing wrong in what he did. He's making a living from something he loves and have trained hard for. It has absolutely nothing to do with parkour except to show that the ISP provides a service that is as fast as 'whatever Stephane' was doing in the ad.

Now, when people research as to who he is and what he does, they find parkour/freerunning. In a variety of different ways, people will continue to be introduced to our disciplines.

When you dedicate your life to your passion, it is very difficult not to feed the system through companies that are selling parkour related and non-parkour related wares; because the only thing you can use to feed yourself and put a roof over your head, is with the abilities you have gained from your life's dedication. They cannot work in a computer company, retail shop, or executive because they have CHOSEN not to give any of their time other than to their passion.



I have chosen to feed the system by consuming things that are non-parkour related wares and provide a living for myself by making money in selling products or working for a company that hasn't yet used our disciplines to sell their non-parkour related wares. From time to time, I may also feed the system by consuming things that are parkour related wares, such as buying a t-shirt that says "PRO-Parkour" or a $15 "Traceur" t-shirt from a parkour association that is teaching the original-undiluted values of our discipline to the community.

Now how many of us are willing to go even purer than me and become a monk?

Parkour and FreeRunning will continue to grow. The bigger our community gets, the more delicious we become as a target group to the companies that wants to add us to the apple pie - the SYSTEM.

All of us feed this monster. I have just chosen to feed it with a chicken bone rather than an apple strudel.

You can only find peace and humility within yourself.