Parkour Defined

Short and Sweet Version

(for the impatient ones who can't be bothered reading long explanations)

Parkour (A.D.D.) is the art of art of human locomotion, which involves getting from one point to another, overcoming any obstacle in one's path, using only one's own body as a tool. Parkour (A.D.D.) teaches one to traverse over any given (land-based) terrain, using any means of locomotion possible, but without the aid of external tools.

Now for those of you who are intrigued to find out exactly how we arrived at the above conclusion, read on.

Very Brief History and Evolution of Parkour

(and how it relates to the definitions)

Before beginning any activity, it is important to define the meaning and the scope of the activity. This serves as a common reference point for all those then referring to the activity, so that they know they are talking about the same thing, and then, understanding the meaning behind why someone says a particular thing with regards to the activity becomes clearer.

In this case, the activity being a phenomenon called Parkour, which has, over time, been misread, misinterpreted, and misrepresented by practitioners and third parties alike, so much so that there is still, to this date, no common consensus in the parkour community as to what is a common, accepted definition of parkour, and practitioners will go to any lengths to start full-scale crusades whenever the topic of the definition of parkour (or the related discipline of freerunning) is brought up online.

However, a common ground must be reached and agreed upon, in order to better understand each other when they refer to the activity, and the resulting training practices that are followed based on the agreed upon common definition. The closest the (sensible pockets of the) parkour community has come to agreeing upon a common definition of parkour has been the American Parkour company's community definition of parkour, and closer home, NOS' two in-depth articles on the essentials of parkour, and on the topic of flips technically not being a part of freerunning.

However, these articles by NOS are usually considered to be detailed articles suitable for study by those digging deep into the meaning and semantics of Parkour, and are not suitable for people looking for a quick, short, and simple definition of the terms. At the same time, Parkour Mumbai does not fully agree with the APK community definition and its scope, and therefore the way it approaches its own training in Parkour is a bit different from the scope laid out in the APK definition.
It is for this reason, we are coming up with our own version of what we believe to be the truest representation of the meanings behind the term Parkour, and its related disciplines. The definitions presented below are the basis behind all our teachings, training, philosophies, practices, and decisions with regards to parkour and freerunning.

Le Art du Deplacement (A.D.D.):
When we say the word Parkour, we are actually referring to the discipline called Le Art du Deplacement (A.D.D.), and in the strict sense, we are not referring to the definition given to the term 'Parkour' coined by Hubert Kounde, and defined by his friend, David Belle. However, owing to the worldwide popularity and widespread usage of the term Parkour, in many places it has come to be used in lieu of the name A.D.D as well, and that is why we will stick to calling it Parkour, even though essentially what we are talking about is the discipline of A.D.D.

Definition - Parkour (A.D.D.) is the art of art of human locomotion, which involves getting from one point to another, overcoming any obstacle in one's path, using only one's own body as a tool. Parkour (A.D.D.) teaches one to traverse over any given (land-based) terrain, using any means of locomotion possible, but without the aid of external tools.

We would just like you to note that although there is nothing wrong in employing any kind of external tools in order to move around, it becomes a separate activity altogether with its own nuances and its own training approach, and its scope is beyond the realm of either A.D.D., or Parkour, or Freerunning.
Also note that although swimming across shorter distances or very small bodies of water are considered by some to be a part of tool-less human locomotion, any form of water-based locomotion is a separate discipline in itself, requiring its own specialized training and methodologies, and thereby is beyond the realm of A.D.D., or Parkour, or Freerunning. If you're still not convinced, watch the movie The Guardian.

That said, we also need to clarify what a lot of people mean, when they say the words 'Parkour' or 'Freerunning'. Since most people are unaware of the history behind the development of these terms, which is very important to understanding their meaning, we'll just take a minute to elaborate. A.D.D. is the root of all related branches of locomotion arts that evolved out of France in the mid-80s. It was developed by a group of youngsters who called themselves the 'Yamakasi', of which David and Sebastien were just a part. The remaining Yamakasi members still call the name of the discipline they practice A.D.D., and more or less, still stick to the broad definition we have outlined above. Although they use different words to describe this phenomenon, in-spirit, they still believe and follow the same thing we outlined above in the definition of Parkour (A.D.D.).

Parkour:
In the late 90s, David Belle split off from the Yamakasi group, and Sebastien Foucan left along with him. David decided to create his own separate discipline with a unique identity, something he could be the founder of. He used a term coined by his friend Hubert Kounde, from the french words par cours (full form par cours du combattant, which loosely translates to military obstacle course), and attached a meaning to it that was limited in scope from the main discipline of A.D.D., and although it was but a different and narrower concept from its original source material, it could still be seen as its own separate discipline.

David Belle's Definition of Parkour is - Parkour is the art of getting from Point A to Point B in the fastest and most efficient manner possible.

Notice how despite being more or less the same thing as A.D.D., David Belle attaches a temporal element to Parkour, thus limiting its definition only to that branch of movement which is utterly practical, and is only useful in a time-bound scenario, thereby disregarding any locomotion done to achieve the same movement from one point to another without having a sense of urgency or efficiency in mind, even if the movement is utilitarian and efficient in nature. Which means that a slower movement done to get across the same two points, keeping, say, safety in mind, wouldn't get classified as Parkour under David's interpretation.

Freerunning:
Later, Sebastien Foucan in turn, split off from David Belle, and decided to be the founder of his own discipline, instead of being known as the co-founder of Parkour along with David, and despite that only always getting second-billing. Freerunning was originally a term coined by Guillaume Pelletier, a producer on the Parkour-based documentary, Jump London, as an anglicized term for the word Parkour, so that it would be easier-sounding on English ears, and would be readily accepted and understood, instead of the French word Parkour. Sebastien Foucan had a major on-screen role in the Jump London documentary, as well as in its sequel, Jump Britain, both of which were made to introduce the new French art to British audiences. Between 2004 and 2005, acting under the naive influence of vested commercial interests, Sebastien created what he called was his own discipline of 'Freerunning', which was ever so different from Parkour despite having been derived from the same sources, Parkour and A.D.D.

Sebastien Foucan's Definition of Freerunning is - Freerunning is the art of freely and creatively expressing the human body through the art of locomotion, while getting from one point to another.

Sebastien's definition subtlely distinguished itself from Parkour by making Freerunning more about freedom of movement and creativity, rather than the urgency and efficiency based movement of David Belle's Parkour, or the practical or utility based movement of A.D.D.

Please note that unlike David Belle, Sebastien has never expressly defined Freerunning in concrete terms, but has instead given vague and conflicting statements over the years on what he thinks Freerunning is. However, carefully reading between the lines, and picking on the common thread running behind all of Sebastien's statements, we have been able to give some solid words to his discipline in the definition above. The words in the definition above are ours, and not expressly Sebastien's.

Unrelated Disciplines

(which are often confused for Parkour and Freerunning)

We now list out a few unrelated disciplines, which are unfortunately often erroneously mistaken for Parkour or Freerunning, or are even practiced in the name of Parkour and Freerunning, to the extent that some people actually accuse true practitioners of Parkour and Freerunning of not practicing Parkour or Freerunning, since they are not performing movement patterns more native to these unrelated disciplines that are mistaken for the real stuff. But just so that people are clear about the differences between all these disciplines, we'd still like to point them out all the same for the benefit of everyone.

There is nothing wrong with practicing these disciplines though, and they are excellent pursuits in themselves. These are more expressive art forms than practical, and depend on freedom of expression through movement. It is then easy to see why these disciplines are often confused with Freerunning, at least. And also how they can very well be utilized in Freerunning, since Freerunning itself is about freedom of expression through locomotion. However, a distinction must be made about 'freedom of movement' and 'freedom of locomotion', as movement is a very broadly encompassing term, which incorporates the smaller subset of movement called locomotion. As a result, these unrelated disciplines can be utilized in Freerunning, but cannot be Freerunning themselves.

Gymnastics/Acrobatics/Tumbling:
Gymnastics is an Olympic sport involving the performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Tumbling and Acrobatics are subsets of the formal sport of Gymnastics, which involve more of somersaults and acrobatic manoeuvres.

Street Stunts:
Street Stunts is nothing but Urban Gymnastics, in which practitioners utilize Gymnastics movements in urban environments, and try to find individual objects to perform flips off from. There is no 'run' involved, nor does it require movements to flow into one another. It can be as simple as climbing up a telephone booth, backflipping off it, end of story. Street stunts can include anything in the range from climbing to handstands to large drops to flips and spins, and it can utilize parkour techniques and have moves that flow into one another, but it usually does not. 'Stuntmen' utilize large, stationary obstacles such as balconies, rails, walls, and other urban architecture. A street stunts video usually follows one or more stuntmen in non-constant motion throughout an environment, as they take each location and perform some stunt involving the obstacles nearby. Most street stunts videos do not include any clips from a gym or other safe environment because the appeal of the video is the stuntman's ability to control his own body in dangerous environments without protection.

Tricking:
Tricking is a mix of fancy Martial Arts kicks & spins and freestyle Gymnastics, performed in a controlled, gym environment, or on softer surfaces such as grass or sand, where the practitioner combines tight spins, kicks, and flips to perform aesthetically pleasing 'tricks', usually done on flat ground with plenty of space. Although tricking can be done in single techniques, there is usually an emphasis on a continuous flow from move to move to move, with momentum remaining high throughout. Because of this, tricking requires the ability to generate explosive power with single-leg take-offs and a great deal of coordination and body control. 'Trickers' usually do not utilize any obstacles, but sometimes a small obstacle might be flipped over or used to boost height. A tricking video usually shows just one tricker in a variety of different environments, often including a gym or a grassy area, because the emphasis is on the tricker's motions themselves, on his flow and his ability to flip and spin, rather than on the dangerous nature of his environment. Indeed, it is in a tricker's best interests to seek out the ideal soft, flat terrain so that he can push his limits without unnecessary risk.

Capoeira:
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music. It is known by its quick and complex moves, using mainly power, speed, and leverage for leg sweeps. Capoeira sometimes utilizes gymnastic techniques in its movements. It is more of a dance form rather than a proper martial art.

B-boying:
B-boying or breakdancing is a type of street dance associated with the hip hop culture, and incorporates a lot of capoeira movements, and sometimes even acrobatic gymnastics and/or tricking.

Free-Styling/Multi-Level-Moves/3Run:
What do you get when you combine all of the above? You get Free-Styling, which isn't exactly the name of a discipline, per-se, but rather an approach. Hence, this paragraph is not a definition of a discipline, but a description of the most open-ended of approaches to movement. This is the ultimate creative freedom in movement, where a practitioner is not bound by names or definitions, but is free to choose the movement path that he desires. There are a few groups who practice their own free-style approach, but choose to add their own names to their approach, like Joe Eigo's Multi-Level-Moves, or 3Run/Team Evolution's 3Run, which, though they may be tagged differently, are nothing but free-styling. Also, we have noticed that most videos on the net that are (mis)labelled 'Freerunning', are actually not Freerunning in the strictest sense of the term, since they focus on movement and not on locomotion, but are nothing but Free-Styling. Going by the inherent nature of Free-Styling, you do not have to combine all of the above disciplines in order to free-style. Even if you mix in two or more disciplines and bring in your own creativity, you're still free-styling.

It's important to remember that these definitions are not meant to limit your own personal activity. Feel completely free to mix and match your skills, doing whatever interests you most. You may find yourself more attracted to tricking, but still enjoy one or two parkour techniques, or you may be a genuine traceur who nevertheless loves to do backflips off of high objects. The definitions are there to provide a framework for communicating with other people, and to maintain respect for the boundaries of the original disciplines. As long as you understand where the lines are and you acknowledge when you have crossed them, you are totally free to play to your own strengths and preferences.

*some definitions courtesy of Duncan Germain (TK17).

Philosophies of Parkour

Parkour, as a discipline, follows certain philosophies. Many of these were originally developed by the founders as they realized the importance of the discipline they had helped create, and are good principles to follow in general. Some are common-sense guidelines that will ensure safe practice for many years to come, seeing as Parkour is a very dangerous and high-impact activity. Others are common-sense guidelines that will ensure you get to train in your favorite training environments for many years to come. Many of these philosophies are not really unique to Parkour either, and can be found (and followed) elsewhere. At the same time, we believe that the philosophical part of Parkour is a purely subjective and personal interpretation for each practitioner, and a secondary layer to the core physical practice of the discipline, and as such, need not be followed by everyone, or rather, only need be followed as per one's own needs and interpretations. Since these form a part of the secondary layer of interpretation or meaning of the discipline, it would be quite foolish to say that one who does not subscribe to these philosophies does not practice Parkour (or A.D.D., or Freerunning), since these are primarily very specific physical pursuits. However, we still list them out below, because it would be incomplete to leave out some important aspects of the discipline that make it a complete discipline, and not just an activity.

At the same time, we would also wish to clarify that we at Parkour Mumbai value these philosophies, and hold them dear in our training, practice, and approach to Parkour. And we value and respect those practitioners and communities that also believe in and practice the same philosophies and approach to Parkour. And also, as a warning, state that we are not very keen on interacting with those people in the Parkour world that do not subscribe to these basic human values.

Core Philosophies

To Be and to Last:
This is the core of the philosophies developed by the founders of the discipline, and it provides an important insight into how they structured their own training, and how and why other practitioners should structure their training accordingly. Any person who wishes to practice Parkour wishes to be strong and capable, but at the same time would also wish to last for a longer duration. No practitioner wants to be at the height of his abilities and only stay there like a briefly flashing meteor for a short while, only to fade away within a few years. Therefore, the core message that Parkour teaches is to slowly build up your capabilities in such a manner that you are able to physically perform all the abilities you have developed for a lifetime, and not just be able to perform them while you are young and engage in them as long as you are enjoying the frivolities of adrenaline-raising stunts.
Parkour is a dangerous discipline, if practiced incorrectly. It has the potential for immediate damage in the form of accidents (that usually happen when people push too far too soon), and for long-term damage in the form of joint-overuse injuries (which again happen when people try to push too far too soon). Both of which will ensure that your Parkour training career does not last too long.
Or another factor that makes people quit training too soon, is when people approach Parkour in a frivolous manner with unrealistic expectations, and expect to become experts overnight, and/or wish to only have 'fun' as long as they are training. Soon what was 'fun' in your initial stages becomes a mundane reality later, and people stop training when the fun stops. Don't try to have fun training, try making your training fun. Or you will definitely stop training once the novelty wears off, and will never have built any useful skill.
Stay safe. Build up slowly. Enjoy the journey, not the destination. Last for a lifetime.

Be Strong to be Useful:
The second of the core philosophies teaches utility and usefulness to society, and to oneself. Merely being strong or capable in itself does not hold any value to anyone, unless you apply it somewhere, and make it useful. The whole point behind developing your strength and your capabilities is to be able to use it to help yourself or others in a situation, or it's of no use. This could be as simple as developing the strength that you use in a situation to help an old lady push her broken-down car up a hill up to a service station, which has nothing to do with Parkour, but is still using your strength and capabilities in a situation. In the same way, if your Parkour capabilities are not developed to be useful in a situation, then what is the point of putting so much effort into your training?
This also means that an important pre-requisite to Parkour practice is to be strong and conditioned first. Because Strength is the most important of all physical attributes, and all your Parkour skill is useless without the presence of Strength to execute it.

Subjective Secondary Philosophies

Respect:
Respect for all people and things, and for inanimate training spots, is a key value Parkour inculcates. All the other philosophies outlined below also stem from the basic concept of respect. For without respect, you are just another hooligan lunatic running around for no reason.
Respect comes in various forms. First and foremost, Parkour teaches respect for all people and things.
Respect for authority, because practitioners are not here to break the law. Stay within the law when practicing.
Respect for people, because practitioners are not here to inconvenience others just for the sake of their own training. More often than not, Parkour training happens in unconventional places, places that have not specifically been designated for Parkour practice. So most training ends up happening in public places, where you have maximum chance of interaction with other people, and with authority figures. Always respect your surroundings when training outside, and your surroundings will respect you back. Do not get in people's way when training outside.
Respect for your training surfaces, which is covered in the 'Leave No Trace' point below.
Respect for private property, which is covered in the 'No Trespassing' and 'No Rooftops' points below.
Respect for your own body, which is covered in the 'Step by Step Progression' and 'No Rooftops' points below.
Respect for other practitioners of your own discipline, and those of other disciplines, which is covered in the 'No Showing-Off' and 'No Competition' points below.

Leave No Trace:
Hot on the tail of the topic of Respect, comes the Parkour ideal of Leave No Trace. What it basically means is that all practitioners should strive to leave their training environments in as good a condition as they found it in, if not better. Take care of your surroundings, and your surroundings will take care of you. Try not to damage your surroundings in your quest to achieve movement through them. For instance, if you train on a brick wall, and through your actions slowly start chipping away at the wall over time, not only are you willfully damaging public or private property, but you are also destroying your own training ground that provides you with sustenance. One day, that wall will have been destabilized enough that you won't be able to train there any more. Another example is leaving scuff-marks on frequently climbed walls. If you can't avoid leaving those ugly marks on what was once a good coat of paint, at least you can offer to paint it once in a while, to undo the damage you have caused to your environment.
Leave No Trace can also be extended to the idea of Not Littering your surroundings, and picking up your own trash, which is a useful philosophy to follow in life, and not just in Parkour, or not just if you are a traceur. Don't be a litter-bug. Use a bin. Dispose off all trash appropriately.
American traceurs later took the Leave No Trace philosophy a step further when they started volunteer missions and events where practitioners specifically gather to clean up a particular area of all its trash, whether it is a Parkour hotspot or not.

Step by Step Progression:
This is perhaps the most important aspect of the Parkour ethos that most traceurs need to be aware of when training, as it ensures a long-lasting training period, and you don't have to stop training within a few short years because of burnout. As the name suggests, trainees must try to progress one step at a time, and ironic though it may sound for a discipline like Parkour, not try to jump from Step A to Step Z or even Step E directly, bypassing the other logical in-between steps that happen in a training program. Parkour values slow and steady progression, and teaches trainees to slowly build up to larger jumps and movements over a period of time, measured in years, and not weeks or months. Parkour encourages practitioners to stay away from bigger jumps and technically complicated movements till they are strong and conditioned enough to attempt them, and have also built up a considerable level of skill and experience over years of steady progression, so that they can be safe enough during execution.

No Trespassing:
An important philosophy that Parkour values is the ideal of No Trespassing. Parkour practitioners are people out to train and better themselves, not to break laws in the process. If this means that their favorite training spot happen to be someone's private property, then they are either going to approach the property owners and get permission to train there, or not train there at all. It is very important for practitioners to respect laws and other people's privacy and their right to property. It is for this reason that Parkour strictly discourages any kind of trespassing in order to find a training spot. If you can't train somewhere because you don't have permission, move along. You'll always find a better spot. But never break into places without permission, even if the 'breaking-in' part is as simple as scaling someone's boundary wall. And if asked to vacate a spot, respect the decision and move along. Don't try to argue back, or worse, sneak back in later.

No Rooftops:
Parkour is the art of Locomotion, it is not the art of jumping across rooftops, or off rooftops. The one thing that Parkour does not teach or promote, is rooftop-antics. Rooftops are a dangerous place to be for all but the most advanced and experienced practitioners. Up here, one slip could prove fatal, and not only do you harm yourself through your negligent act of daredevilry, but you also harm the reputation of the entire discipline. Not to mention, in many parts of the world it is also illegal to be out on the roofs unauthorized. Or it is probable that either direct or indirect laws exist that outlaw jumping across or off roofs. India has indirect laws which make rooftop action bordering on illegal. Also, in most cases, by being up on a rooftop, you are most likely trespassing on someone's property, which is both illegal and unethical.
Bottom line, stay away from the roofs. You can have as much fun training on the ground as on the roofs, if not more.

No Showing-Off:
This one's a no-brainer. Parkour does not promote show-off behavior, because showing off almost always leads to people pushing too far too soon, and trying out insane and dangerous stunts in the name of Parkour, thereby not only opening themselves up to immediate and long-term damage, but also misleading other people coming into contact with them as to the true nature of Parkour. This show-off behavior, which has been picked up by the media and glamorized, is the exact reason everything that is wrong in the Parkour world today exists. This promotes excessive risk-taking behavior and a daredevil stuntman attitude, going against all conventional wisdom that stresses on slow, step-by-step progression and the ability to last long in the discipline. It is for this reason the ethos of Parkour are against showing-off, and instead focus on self-development and acquisition of useful skill through training in a step-by-step manner over a period of time.
We have also noticed that showing-off is inherently not suited to an activity like Parkour, which is based on locomotion, and cannot effectively be confined to a single location for the purpose of display. When this happens, the people trying to show-off move further and further away from the truest representation of the discipline of Parkour, and have to start mixing in other disciplines in the name of Parkour, thereby their practice not being Parkour any more, but it still tends to get labelled as Parkour all the same, creating more misconceptions about the definition of the discipline in the mind of the world at large.

No Competition:
This philosophy is a mixed bag. Although the original practitioners of the discipline developed a strict anti-competition stance for the fear of having the discipline diluted in the showing-off that inevitably accompanies competitions, and for the fear that people would push themselves too far too soon for the sake of winning, further causing damage to themselves and to the discipline. But this proved unfounded, and the show-offs went ahead and showed off regardless of organized competitions, and the genuine practitioners continue sticking to the ethos of the discipline.
For this reason, Parkour Mumbai supports organized and unorganized competition in Parkour, because it serves as a motivator for people to continuously make improvements in their training, and pushes them to excel. That said, the 'bad competition' that we refer to in Parkour; the one where you let the idea of competition consume you and drive you toward a less safe training lifestyle, or drives you toward rivalry; is not something we endorse at Parkour Mumbai either.

Parkour Teaches/Inculcates

Physical Capability for All:
Parkour helps to develop a broad range of physical capabilities in humans. As discussed in this excellent TED Talks video, human brains primarily evolved to our current advanced stage not to think or feel, but to control physical movement. Or 'locomotion'. Because locomotion is such a fundamental aspect of human existence and survival, it is wise to develop it to its utmost potential, and would be unwise to neglect its development. And what is the science, study, and practice of human locomotion? That's right, you guessed it -- it's Parkour (A.D.D.)!
The famed French physical educator, Georges Hebert, who is also the originator of many modern day worldwide military training practices (such as obstacle courses), developed a philosophy called Methode Naturelle, which stated that every human being should possess certain basic physical skills, like the ability to walk, run, swim, carry, throw, fight, move on all fours, climb, balance, and jump. The first half of this list of activities is already well-documented and frequently practiced by humans, and several of them are entire separate disciplines in themselves. But the latter half, comprising of what can today be called unconventional ways of locomotion (i.e., apart from the accepted ways of locomotion of walking, running, and swimming), is what the practice of the discipline of Parkour develops, which is something that is very highly neglected by most humans today, despite being fundamental things all humans should be capable of.
Most living beings when faced with an external stressor or a stressful situation, will react to it with what is called the "sympathetic nervous system's stress response", more commonly known as the fight-or-flight response. This basically means that the being will either choose to stay and fight or tackle the situation head-on, or will choose to flee. This does not necessarily have to mean the being will actually fight back physically or flee away physically, as stress that triggers this response can come in many variants, including psychological and mental factors, but we are primarily concerned with the physical manifestations of this response. Thus, in the physical world, the two choices faced by the being are either to actually physically fight back, which is trained by the various martial arts disciplines; or to flee, which is trained by Parkour.
The physical capabilities developed by Parkour can be used in many escape-or-reach, or chase-or-rescue situations. For instance, by a fireman who needs to reach a man trapped in a burning building in order to rescue him. Or a man trapped on the top floor of the Mantralaya during the 2012 blaze, who needs to escape from his peril. Or someone who needs to escape aggressors while trapped inside the Taj Hotel during the 2008 Mumbai Terror Attack. Or a policeman who needs to chase down and catch a criminal. All of these become easier once you have developed your physical capabilities to their broadest and utmost potential.
Thus, the correct practice of the discipline of Parkour will help build a truly physically capable society.

Changed Perception of Physical Spaces (Pk Vision):
A practitioner of Parkour develops a certain vision after a period of time, a vision that allows him to perceive spaces and architecture around him in a much different manner than most human beings. Where most humans see a wall, or a railing, that limits and redirects their movement, traceurs see a path. Where most humans see a hindrance, or a dead end, traceurs will see an opportunity. Where most humans will see a dull, boring city-scape filled with obstacles that they have to navigate their way around (such as benches, railings, sidewalks, bus stops, phone booths, stairways, short walls, large walls, anything), traceurs will see a playground. In Parkour, we call this the 'Traceur Vision'. This is a very keen sense, which once developed, provides endless possibilities to the person who tries to perceive his surroundings. This person is likely to never get stuck in any environment, nor feel stifled or claustrophobic in any environment. In short, it changes the whole way you see and perceive the world around you. And it opens your eyes to the joy and wonders of a whole new world you never knew existed.

Creativity:
Parkour and Freerunning (A.D.D.) are not just about practical or utilitarian movement. They are also about creativity and play. Even if you try to find the best utilitarian way of moving from one point to another, it still requires a little bit of creativity in thinking out of the box and solving the navigational challenge using movements you would not ordinarily think about using. In fact, one may argue that because modern humans have become so far removed from the ways of moving that were once commonplace to our species, that in the modern world the act of Parkour itself in seeking alternative methods of moving is an act of creativity. Nothing challenges or develops your creativity more than forcing the mind to think up of novel ways of moving around and solving navigational challenges presented by a given environment.

Importance of Play:
Most humans develop social and other inhibitions as they grow up. Play is looked down upon as a derogatory four letter word that comprises of juvenile antics and is best left to children, in a world where adults are expected to behave more like uptight adults, which more often than not, also destroys all avenues adults have for any manner of physical activity.
Not just adults, but most children these days are moving further and further away from physical play during their formative years, and are adopting more sedentary, indoor-based lifestyles. Physical play in childhood is very important for the proper development of children, so that they learn important lessons for adulthood, which does not happen in modern society because of lack of outdoor play.
Public playgrounds the world over are also evolving, and are a far cry from what today's adults used to play on when they were kids. There is an increasing emphasis on changing the nature of playground structures to something more simplistic, and padding every available surface in an effort to improve the 'safety' of such equipment, which tends to take away the process of natural exploration that kids engage in, and learn valuable lessons later in life. The increased emphasis on safety is not only ironically making playgrounds less safe by instilling a false sense of safety, but is encouraging kids to take unnatural risks because of an assumption of a safe environment, messing up their natural learning process with regards to risk-taking, evaluation, and decision making.
Parkour helps to alleviate some of these problems by encouraging the value of play, and by providing the same manner of play that younger kids usually engage in if left to their own devices in the absence of artificial 'safe' play environments and heavy parental supervision, to both kids and adults, and helps people regain the joy of physical movement and exercise.

(The last two aspects that Parkour teaches, about Overcoming Fear and Overcoming Obstacles in Life, are something that can also be considered as the secondary philosophies of Parkour.)

Overcoming Fear:
An important thing learnt through the practice of Parkour is the ability to overcome all kinds of fear. By continuously pitting the practitioner in situations which force him to challenge the status quo, putting him in situations he has never faced before, forcing him to let go of his own pre-conceived fears of doing something he has never done before, of leaping into the unknown, all gradually instill a mindset of challenging one's fears, and tackling them head-on, thereby allowing one to eventually start overcoming one's irrational fears.

Overcoming Obstacles in Life:
Parkour is the discipline of human locomotion, that primarily focuses on overcoming any manner of obstacle in one's path, in order to get to one's destination. Most of the training that participants engage in are focused on learning to overcome a wide variety of obstacles in different ways. Because of constantly challenging the mind to find creative and effective ways of overcoming physical obstacles presented to the practitioners while training, at a deeper psychological level this helps instil the mindset of overcoming obstacles through creative thinking and determination in other parts of life as well. The traceur is therefore less likely to feel stuck and frustrated in other areas of their lives when faced with a situation, and will apply the same overcoming-obstacles mentality to find the best solutions to their problems.