NZ Parkour

Arguably, the essence of parkour has no origins. Co-founder Sebastian Foucan said “Free running has always existed, free running has always been there, the thing is that no one gave it a name, we didn’t put it in a box.” He made a comparison with prehistoric man, “to hunt, or to chase, or to move around, they had to practice the free run.”

Inspiration for parkour came from many sources, not least the ‘Natural Method of Physical Culture’ developed by George Hebert in the early twentieth century. David Belle was introduced to this method by his father Raymond Belle, a Vietnam soldier who practiced it. The word Parkour derives from “parcours du combattant”, the phrase referring to the obstacle courses of Hebert’s method. The younger Belle had participated in activities such as martial arts and gymnastics, and sought to apply his athletic prowess in a manner that would have practical use in life.

After moving to Lisses, Belle continued his journey with others. “From then on we developed,” Foucan said, “And really the whole town was there for us; there for free running. You just have to look, you just have to think, like children.” This, as he describes, is “the vision of Parkour.”

According to Foucan, the start of the “big jumps” was around the age of fifteen. Over the years as dedicated practitioners improved their skills, their moves continued to grow in magnitude, so that building-to-building jumps and drops of over a storey became common in media portrayals, often leaving people with a slanted view on the nature of Parkour. In fact, ground-based movement is much more common than anything involving rooftops.

The journey of parkour from the Parisian suburbs to its current status as a widely practised activity outside of France created splits among the originators. The founders of Parkour started out in a group named the Yamakasi but later separated due to disagreements. The name 'Yamakasi' is taken from Lingala, a language spoken in the Congo, and means strong spirit, strong body, strong man.