Man of Parkour
“– What is your secret?
– Our actions are different.
– What’s the difference?
– When I do something I do it entirely. And you do it by parts.”
From the book “Shaman’s Laughter”
I know a lot of guys who jump. And much more of those who used to jump, used to call themselves traceurs, and then, as it often happens, “gave up”. I know a lot of those who like to gabble throwing the words about their eternal love to parkour and about it being their love “forever”. Besides every day I see the guys who think that they practice parkour. Most of them moved to Puma Park from VG*. Now one can train peacefully at Vorobyevy Gory without thinking that some jerk will break himself at any time nearby. Yes, I write bitterly because there is difference.
If you practice parkour, practice it. All the other things are just excuses. Parkour is for the strong. And for those who want to become strong. Parkour is not for theorists. When people not practicing parkour write may words in social networks or forums it’s just ridiculous. You can’t feel parkour without “dying” several times during the training. You can’t say you do parkour without feeling a pleasant after-training pain in muscles at least three times a week. You can’t learn to be a traceur and still remain fashionable and exposed to other people’s opinion. Parkour is inside you. It’s impossible to practice parkour casually. Parkour must bring pleasure. You can’t attend trainings like a job you don’t like. Even when you feel lazy. Especially when you feel lazy.
Overcoming something must become your habit. Emotion control and good-hearted attitude, respect to the people around and to the spot where you train – an integral part of a traceur.
Dedication and complete immersing into movement is the pledge of efficiency and safety. Parkour can’t be done “in a slipshod manner”. It can’t be done just to “f..k around”, just for a swank or on camera. Parkour can cripple and disable you or can facilitate your encounter with God if used carelessly without giving anything back. And it is not that much what you need to give back, respect to the discipline and complete immersing into it. Absolutely. Or otherwise it has not sense. You can do fitness during fitness trainings. Gymnastics during gymnastics training. Parkour can be done only alone with yourself, even if you train in a group or a team – alone anyway. In parkour you are always face to face with yourself and your obstacle that you have to love, that helps you to become stronger.
Most of traceurs think during their movement. Any number of things. But there can be no thoughts during the movement. A man doing something does it. If he thinks about something else he does something else. There is just no any third option. Absolute concentration on every element during your movement is possible only if you stop all that mess in your head which is heard all the other time.
If you practice parkour just practice it. Love parkour, become a part of it. Be stronger every day, be a man of parkour.
“Man of Parkour” is a state of complete merging with the discipline that can’t be described, you can only feel it. Not when you half-train and pity yourself, but only when you are the Parkour yourself. Its integral part. A Traceur. Let all the others keep calling themselves “parkour-athletes”.
*VG-Vorobyevy Gory, name of one of the most popular Moscow spot – translator’s note
