Friday, October 31, 2014

Wild Souls


Some use the word "sport" when referring to Parkour/Freerunning/Art du Déplacement. We do not.

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Sport:

Noun
1. an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

This one, we'd agree with:
Verb
1. amuse oneself or play in a lively, energetic way.
"the children sported in the water"

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We prefer to refer to it as a discipline. As it was originally meant to be. No competitions, no teams, no federations... only the spirit of the discipline was needed.

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Discipline:

Noun
1. activity or experience that provides mental or physical training.
2. a branch of knowledge, typically one studied in higher education.

Verb
1. train oneself to do something in a controlled and habitual way.

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Of course, play and creativity are still a big part of what we do. But it is not just throwing ourselves around until we "land" something "cool". We strive for discipline, safety... in our play and creativity as well! Yes, we take risks too... it's always there, but we manage it.

Training should come from the heart, not the ego in the head.

Wild souls... but disciplined.

Friday, October 17, 2014

NEW Thin Wristbands

NEW 1/4" wristbands with the names "Parkour Ways" and "Art du Déplacement Chicago", our logo, and a hidden message on the inside of the band! Get yours here!

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New video, old footage... this video was originally planned to be around 5 minutes long with a lot more content. It's tough for me to focus on making videos. One of the things that bothers me most in the global Parkour "scene" is the poor representation of our discipline on YouTube. Too often we see videos filled with huge jumps, massive drops, flashy tricks, dangerous stunts, and obnoxiously egotistical behavior. Nothing you see in this video will likely be very impressive or "big", but that is not the point. This video is comprised of simple shots of myself doing some night training. I believe night training is important, and that we don't see it enough in video form (probably because it's tougher to see things, of course).