Parkour - True Sport of Urban Jungle

Parkour is the art of movement through concrete and steel jungle of contemporary city. Parkour was created by David Belle and his longtime friend, Sebastien Foucan while growing up in a Paris suburb under influence Belle's father, Raymond, an elite ex-soldier and firefighter in the late 1980s. Combination of Asian martial arts, Zen philosophy and old school hip hop attitude, Parkour seems to be natural self expression for neglected and abandoned by mainstream society youth of housing projects. Ugly dehumanizing concrete architecture creates obstacles and constrains for natural movement, as poverty, lack of education and a very few opportunities for advancement in life limits personal growth. This evokes inner need to overcome them. Art of movement evolves into something more, ability to break out of social and class restrains, be free as person and become Traceur - athelete, but more so, an artist.

Oleg “Red” Krasnyanskiy from Dvinsk Clan. Daugavpils, Latvia.
You see world with different eyes when you become a Traceur: architecture, the path, and your way of life transforms. As a Traceur person fulfill human need to move and live efficiently. And that is what parkour is, art of moving through our environments as efficiently as possible, and ability to find perfect escape route.