While being a fun way to stay physically fit, parkour has many other benefits and uses!

Here at The
Movement Park, we strive to inspire the best in all our students through these various uses of parkour:

Parkour teaches quick-thinking - When navigating obstacles quickly, you’re trained to think on your feet.
Eventually, this quick-thinking will become more instinctual in everyday life.

Parkour invites creativity and innovation - Not all paths or obstacles have an obvious solution, creative
paths are made and out-of-the-box thinking will get you from point A to point B quicker. Seasoned
traceurs will use this creative mindset when facing any problem.

Parkour creates joyful movement - Adults often reach a point in their life where they stop playing;
exercise just becomes work and often not something that is done for fun. Parkour inspires movement in
a playful way, naturally as children do.

Parkour teaches spatial perception and body awareness - Parkour helps you be aware of your
surroundings constantly; quicker and more efficient paths can best be found when being aware of
surroundings. Safe jumps can only be made when a spatial calculation is made. Parkour is also often
practiced with other people so traceurs have to not only learn to be aware of unmoving objects but also
other people that are in motion.

Parkour inspires confidence - When first faced with a hard move or a big jump it can be scary and seem
impossible but with training and practice almost anything can be achieved. Conquering these fears and
struggles continually builds confidence.

Parkour reduces the risk of injuries - Learning how to fall and how to efficiently navigate everyday paths
is an integral part of parkour. While injuries and falls are inevitable in life; parkour provides experience
and practice to help stay safer when it does happen.
Originating from France in the early 1900’s, parkour is a sport that has quickly gained popularity
throughout the world. From entertainment, fitness, military training, and even robotics; parkour has
made its impact! Here at The Movement Park, we study parkour because the sport isn’t just about
physical fitness but also about mental health and discipline. The founder of parkour, David Belle, says he
trains people because he wants it "to be alive" and "for people to use it". Other traceurs describe
parkour as freedom and expression; parkour is about overcoming mental and emotional obstacles.
Traceur Dylan Baker says, "Parkour also influences one's thought processes by enhancing self-confidence
and critical thinking skills that allow one to overcome everyday physical and mental obstacles.”

It’s no wonder that a sport that teaches mental toughness was first practiced by French naval officer
Georges Hébert. After his rescue efforts in the eruption of Mount Pelée on Saint-Pierre, Martinique in
1902, he set out to become a physical education teacher. His teachings focused on ten fundamental
groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, balancing, throwing, lifting, self-
defense, and swimming’ much of which was similar to what we now know as the parkour discipline.
During WWI and WWII the basis of his teachings were used to develop "parcours du combattant"
translated to ‘military obstacle course’. It was this obstacle course style teaching that would later
influence David Belle to found parkour.

David Belle, was born in 1973 to Monique and Raymond Belle in the suburbs of Paris. His father,
Raymond Belle, used military obstacle courses in secret, and also created courses of his own that tested
his endurance, strength, and flexibility throughout his childhood. Following in his Father’s footsteps,
David Belle, yearned to learn skills that he felt were useful to him in real life. Training with some
guidance from his Father, Belle eventually formed a group with others that had similar goals and they
trained together constantly. Their training was often inspired by martial arts and action film stars like
Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. The group was disciplined and developed many core principles that traceurs
follow today. Everyone was encouraged to have knowledge of their own abilities and limitations and
successes we’re only counted if every member of the team could repeat the action at least ten times.

As the groups’ skills developed they named themselves Yamakasi and began to have performances at
shows and on TV programs. Many members of the group worried that these performances gave a false
ideal of the discipline; showing only the successes and not the hard work and values that came with it.
Popularity quickly grew through these performances and Belle split from Yamakasi to pursue acting; he
coined his skill as ‘parkour’.

Since then, parkour can be seen in numerous action movies. Such as Taxi 2 (1998), Casino Royale (2006),
Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). Parkour stunts have also
become commonplace in video games such as Assassin’s Creed and Mirror’s Edge.

At The Movement Park, we believe that the Parkour discipline is about having fun with movement;
progressing at your own rate, and creating movement paths that meet your individual preference and
needs. We use parkour to build strength that directly correlates to efficiency with daily activities and
reduces the risk of injuries. Not just physical fitness but, parkour is an engaging and diverse movement
experience that invites creativity and innovation while improving self-efficacy in your ability to overcome
obstacles in real life. Our mission is to re-introduce people to joyful movement and give permission for
adults to move and play naturally as children do.