Parkour is not just a collection of techniques
As parkour continues to grow, it inevitably changes and adapts along with the people that practice it. But there’s one thing that sometimes is forgotten that I would like to see preserved: parkour is not just a collection of techniques, it is a training methodology and philosophy. As such, parkour isn’t defined by the movements used in it. Rather, the movements used in it are defined by parkour’s underlying objective.
The underlying objective of parkour is to learn to be capable of overcoming any obstacle safely and quickly*. The movements and techniques used in parkour are the means by which the practitioner achieves this. For example jumping, vaulting, and climbing are all used to overcome obstacles in parkour, but learning these movements is not the underlying objective of parkour. Rather, these movements are the means by which a practitioner overcomes walls, gaps, and other obstacles.
It can be helpful to think of parkour as a series of questions. ‘Can I get up and over that wall? If so, how? If not, how can I train to be able to in the future?’ These types of questions are about problem solving and adapting to the environment. To answer these questions we have to develop a flexible and ever-changing skill set. On the other hand, if we were to define parkour as a collection of specific skills and movements, then the question would look more like: ‘Where can I do a kong?’ This type of question is less about problem solving or adapting to the environment, and instead about adapting the environment to our skill set. Training in this way is common, beneficial, and important as a way to learn specific techniques and skills (I do it as well!). However, training for problem solving, adaptability, and flexibility is also necessary to accomplish the underlying objective of parkour.
By training in this way, the practitioner can better engage in creativity and problem-solving. These skills allow practitioners to better innovate and improvise in the face of new obstacles. Without these skills, practitioners rely instead on predetermined solutions to problems. For example, over the years many have argued that flips and acrobatics are not and cannot be parkour movements. However, it’s not hard to find examples in videos of flips being used to overcome obstacles and even recover from bails (not to mention that for many, acrobatics add an extra challenge and fun to their training). With creativity and problem solving skills, flips are used on a regular basis to innovate and improvise in ways previously never considered. Furthermore, even common parkour movements like many vaults wouldn’t exist without the creative innovations of early practitioners.
Remembering the underlying objective of parkour helps give each movement and technique context and a reason for existing. But as practitioners, students, and even coaches it can be easy to get caught up in the pursuit of all the movements and skills that others around us have learned. I know I for one can fall into the habit of feeling a bit dismayed that my peers can do X movement at a spot but I can’t. But it always helps me to remember that overcoming the obstacle is the underlying objective, doing it better, faster, cooler, harder, etc comes later.
*There are certainly other objectives that could be listed in addition to this one, but none are more fundamental than overcoming obstacles.