The Strange Parkour Vs Freerunning Debate

[@JimmyTheGiant]

The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/jimmythegiant10202

[@jackydevries7264]

Hello Jimmy, just wanna say your videos are amazing!

[@JimmyTheGiant]

@@jackydevries7264 big love bro

[@jeremyanderson5328]

get the bread

[@arthurkr222]

Been loving these history of Parkour videos you are doing, I'm new to your channel, so I might have missed it, but what's your take on Yamakasi, I got a bootleg dub of that film from my brothers friend and that was my introduction to parkour. Keep up the great work.

[@JimmyTheGiant]

@@arthurkr222 I'll make a video on them one day

[@DomTomato]

We all do parkour. We’re all free runners. Yay.

[@Better2burnthanFade]

this

[@stefancantemir4810]

Ye

[@jarranzen]

Lol, way to be wise guy lady.

[@gabrielmourao2854]

I mean is there one parkour academy that doesnt teach you flips after 2 to 3 years

[@twistliketwist8578]

Yeah baby hell yeah

[@pedrocorreia_10]

"If the majority of what you do is not pure efficient movement, you're a free runner" Me, who doesn't do anything: I guess I'm a free runner now

[@rathorical]

Aah now i can send this vid to my friends because i dont want to explain it anymore, Thanks!

[@juliuszierrath6479]

Truue

[@papillon465]

yep! :)

[@jaredbashaw3828]

I got into Parkour AFTER I had already been a gymnast for years, so I of course was more of a free runner. Recently I’ve been working more on the “Efficient” moves as you mentioned, because one day I met some dudes at a local parkour gym who were like “You’re not into parkour, you just like to flip off of things.” WELL NOW IM REALLY GOOD AT VAULTS AND PRECISIONS SO SUCK IT GYM DUDES.

[@JimmyTheGiant]

I feel that passion bro

[@jaredbashaw3828]

@@JimmyTheGiant I left the comment before I was even halfway through the video, then later you said “A lot of parkourists had a gymnast background” and I felt represented 😂 Great vid as always man. Definitely sharing this one with my friends. Keep it up brother!

[@ironguardian1970]

Lol those people are no fun. I prefer pure parkour myself but I love watching the freerunners. I do a bit of freerunning myself but I prefer sticking a small line that goes big on the environment. I used to skate and I see parkour as more similar to vert skating and freerunning as street. This helps me make sense of the difference. Same sport, different style and use of environment

[@jonnygranville281]

Love the attitude and confidence.

[@howlingwolvesgroup1821]

@@JimmyTheGiant same!

[@MatthewTraceur]

imo "traceur" sounds dope af, which is why i use it to describe what i train

[@catcat4697]

To me it sounds like how a fan of lil Tracy would call themselves

[@mateoreynoso1996]

I could not agree more. Traceur sounds very cool, far better than "rock climber," "Soccer player," or "golfer." Imo the only term that comes close is Martial Artist, it just has the same type of foreignness to it which gives it a little breath of newness to it.

[@MatthewTraceur]

@@mateoreynoso1996 to put it bluntly, it sounds "spicy"

[@mateoreynoso1996]

@@MatthewTraceur yes lol

[@joshgreen194]

@@MatthewTraceur spot on

[@DrewIsSharing]

Another banger of a video! What a blast from the past to see that post from Alfred!

[@EliaszPimpicki]

good to see you here m8

[@olivernordin]

Great video. When I grow up I want to be a parkourist like you.

[@austinparkour4378]

parkourista*

[@jakehodge8596]

*exerts a painful roblox death sound*

[@JimmyTheGiant]

Parkourian*

[@austinparkour4378]

@@JimmyTheGiant lawls

[@oz_jones]

I prefer tracerunner

[@AsatorIV]

I think you forgot about one side of the argument, Jimmy. When I first started with parkour in 2005, some people argued that they're only *practicing* for parkour, but not doing the thing itself. All the inefficient movement that's not directly from A to B, even if without flips, was just practice for a hypothetical situation that might occur. So, if you were running away from someone or escaping from a burning building or something like that, that would would be the actual parkour, where you'd probably go for the most efficient route. Sure, nowadays nobody would bother with this distinction, but back in the day, when people were seriously arguing about whether parkour is even a sport or just a "physical discipline", it was a different situation.

[@daniel_toman]

Kámo teď jsem zjistil že si Čech a mám stejnej názor. Upřímně dělám parkour a freerun ale říkám tomu jenom prostě "parkour". Ale jak si psal, kdyby šlo o vážnou věc dostat se z bodu A do bodu B tak bych zvolil tu nejrychlejsi moznou cestu bez zbytečných triků a flipů

[@jonathan2350]

@@daniel_toman wtf bro? englis

[@brandoncrabb7195]

I'm not even super into parkour/freerunning but I always find myself watching your content. I like the way you deliver info and you put a lot of effort into your vids

[@JimmyTheGiant]

Honestly man that means the world

[@howlingwolvesgroup1821]

@@JimmyTheGiant brandon crabb i fell the same about jimmys content! so good

[@papillon465]

@@howlingwolvesgroup1821 ??? what happened here with the replies??

[@stvia]

If you were really doing parkour thus getting as far from A to B you'd take the bus

[@JimmyTheGiant]

😂😂😂

[@stanleyezepk]

😂😂😂 Well the definition of Parkour includes using just your physical abilities

[@LegendaryTony.]

But a bus is limited by roads, I suppose flying is the ultimate form of parkour. 🤔

[@jaredtweed7826]

@@stanleyezepk What about if you jump on top of the bus???????

[@stanleyezepk]

@@jaredtweed7826 🤔🤔 well, jumping is a physical skill. Being atop the bus is fast and energy efficient. Okay! You win. Genius!! 😁🏆

[@coreykrochmal3465]

Parkour back then: "Alright! Efficiency here I come!" Parkour now: "Let's make things intentionally difficult for ourselves!" I came to this realization recently when teaching. A lot of the time the challenges that we give ourselves can be done in ways that are a lot easier. To me this sounds more like pushing yourself and personal development than just A to B.

[@lastplace2905]

Fax efficient from a to b is like street skaters and the non efficient make shit difficult on purpose is showboating that shit like vert skaters

[@ironguardian1970]

@@lastplace2905 dude this is 100% my exact interpretation too, going from skateboarding to parkour. Although I see it as opposite. Classic Parkour being vert and freerunning being street. But yeah I agree with the premise

[@MoveWIthMendoza]

Bahahaha!! Jimmy!! You showed my best clips straight from the archives! =P Great video as usual! Definitely a good common debate that persists to this day. Thanks for the feature.

[@JimmyTheGiant]

Haha I was hoping you'd see so I could tell you I loved your shit back in the day! but when I was trying to find an athlete who had insane tricks but was new to parkour i remembered your older clips. All love bro!

[@Habsnska]

When do you apear in this video???

[@MoveWIthMendoza]

@@Habsnska look for the shitty climb ups and sloppy free running.

[@Habsnska]

@@MoveWIthMendoza what's the timing

[@elmonomasgrande]

I remember that period very well. For what it's worth "Traceur" comes from the french verb "Tracer" that basically means to trace a line. Colloquially it means moving very fast, efficiently and with purpose, i.e. while ignoring distractions. Basically what you would do if you're evading someone. Perfect name for the original definition of Parkour, but you need some colloquial french understanding to appreciate it. Small bonus, the original french word this kind of activity is Parcours (pronounced the exact same way). David Belle renamed it Parkour because he thought that the more efficient orthography of using a 'k' for the same 'k' sound and dropping the silent 's' fitted the original philosophy well. That looked kinda silly for french people back then, but with time it got accepted. Most lay people will still think it is spelled 'Parcours'. Efficiency was backed into the DNA at the origins of Parkour in every way possible. Goes a long way at explaining why the Parkour vs Freeruning was such a heated debate back then. In early 2000s Flips felt all kinds of wrongs.

[@jurgenparkour9337]

Parkour or freerunning? "Italian community joins the chat"

[@onlythoms]

Lol. As an italian freerunner I can say that, at least where I live, every movement that seems a little more difficult and agile than a normal action is considered parkour

[@lollodalber]

probabilmente uno dei tanti motivi per il quale siamo ancora indietro rispetto ad altre nazioni

[@reinismartinsons]

Can you explain? Not really familiar with Italian parkour.

[@jurgenparkour9337]

@@lollodalber sicuramente. I gruppi più importanti dei primi anni, Milan Monkeys e ParkourWave, hanno speso un sacco di tempo a dibattere d queste sottigliezze e a perderci la testa sopra anziché lavorare su tutti gli altri aspetti. Se non fosse stato per il Krap credo che la comunità italiana sarebbe rimasta molto più indietro rispetto a quello che è oggi.

[@jurgenparkour9337]

@@reinismartinsons basically the same debate in other parts of the world. Some people, the first groups to practice, went down the rabbit whole with the philosophy and this whole aspect of the discipline, going quite full nazi and insisting on a pure root to be preserved for the coming ages, arguing a lot againts flips, videos of big movements and jumps, snobbing people at jams and insisting to keep things as they were transmitted to them. A lot of people, old and new, including friends of mine, still are arguing that the new generations have no values. These discussions heated a lot of people, and a lot more argued passionatly. I don't know well the current state of affairs, but I guess that the discussion has been, for the most part, settled, and the majority of the present community doesn't care that much anymore

[@CallunLav]

On the topic of aerial awareness, one of the guys I used to train with in Horsham got knocked off his moped at a junction and instantly tucked into a sideflip in the air. Over rotated on the landing and still injured his leg, but the paramedics said that it was the reactions of that which were life saving for him. Incredible video once again! looking forward to more man!

[@joseville]

Wow! Years ago, I was in a cycling accident. On a bike path, going downhill, I hit a rock or a bump, lost control, and went over the handlebars. I have no idea what happened while I was in the air. I probably closed my eyes too. One moment, I was on the bike. The next, I was laid out on the ground at the side of the bike path. Thankfully, I was wearing a helmet and suffered only a broken clavicle. I think it could have been worse, but thankfully it wasn't. But now I'm wondering if it's ever too late to develop aerial awareness...

[@MeteorRed]

*In Russia we had such a debate since 2007* ))))

[@jurgenparkour9337]

Italy too✌

[@t_p8286]

Yeah. It is still going, I know few guys, who practice just "pure" parkour and they dont want hear anything about flipping or creative flow.

[@nicholasbrimer4434]

Slapping that Skater comparison at the end really made this video all come together! Good one

[@miromoves2472]

I think the term "traceur" sounds pretty cool. I've been to these disciplines for a fairly long time and been around this debate. I see both aspects, the effiency and creative movement as valuable. They both have their uses. Nowadays I don't really care anymore about whether people do flips or not. I remember there was a time like 4 or 5 years ago when it was difficult to find videos without flips. Sometimes you would just want to find a video with really good flow and efficient movement without too much flips, and when you search for "parkour" all you got was videos of people doing mainly flips. Now I think there has become a better balance, probably partly because likes of Storror that focus more on efficient lines with less flips. I gotta say, it still is kinda annoying if you are working on something more "parkour" type of movement like a precision or something and people come by asking you to do a backflip. Maybe its more about the interruption of your training and the neediness people display, like "show a backflip (for me)". Like they want something from you.

[@papillon465]

well said

[@davarrashayde]

I definately remember that being an argument that I heard about when the notion of either had crossed my path back in school...I remember there were some kids that were rather angry at the people who were doing flips and such and especially at the people calling it "parkour", and that group being also angry when they did their efficient movements for the same course no flips or anything, just straight forward and were told that they were "too stiff" and that they needed to "loosen up" and things like that. I remember looking up the issue between them online and finding out about the actual meaning behind the name "parkour" and that there was a "sub-group" that was the "free-runners" who did the flips and such and had more fun with the sport...To me it was like comparing 2 parts of dance between that of your "Ballroom" dancing and your more interpretive dance or hip-hop dance...they are both the same sport, it's just different training that went into them, neither is less hard than the other, just a different approach...I always thought things like that were silly, and my friends on either side of the debate were given absolute HEADACHES when they tried to get me to take a side and instead of taking a side i told them they were all being dumb as it was just different versions of the same sport. >.> After a while they stopped talking to me about trying to get me to choose a side and instead would ask for impartial constructive criticism to help them improve their runs...even though i wasn't one who did either and still am not, I tend to have an eye for detail and so was able to help point out where some improvements could be made, or if they landed differently than before and so they took a spill but were unsure why, things like that. Over all it didn't effect me, but i do remember it being a HUGE deal for my friends and other kids when i was younger...though now those same people use the terms Parkour and free-running interchangeably *shrug* times change so do the meaning of words and how tightly people hold true to the original meaning tends to loosen over time as well...though that's my thoughts and opinions on the matter.

[@Sway___SD]

I'd love of a video that's a sort of "where are they now" with some of the older peeps maybe like all the dudes from upk, they were all so interesting to young me and I think it would be fun to see who's still training and what they're up to now

[@schyena6043]

finaly a sponsor on this channel that doent try to sell me noodles

[@ViteRamen]

buy my protein squiggles

[@ViteRamen]

Seriously though, we're just out here supporting a dude who's doing some good stuff for the parkour community. Super happy to see him getting other sponsors though, he deserves it!

[@juliuszierrath6479]

@@ViteRamen in german I would call you guys Ehrenmänner❤

[@JimmyTheGiant]

@@ViteRamen y'all some real ones 🍜

[@schyena6043]

@@ViteRamen it was just a joke. We all love you for supporting one of our favorite creators but we just get tired of seeing the same ad every single video

[@degah12]

Oh man. This debate. I rember arguing amongst my parkour peers about the truth of this issue. Its very complicated, and interesting, and am so glad to hear your two cents. Cheers!

[@joe94c]

the one thing that does irk me still is every now and again I'll come across freerunners who train outside once every two months, mostly in a gym, can't do anything parkour related, but are very good at flipping off things indoors and outdoors. To me they are very good trickers because they lack some of the fundamentals like even safety rolls. Not turning my nose at it, but calling it free running gets under my skin

[@youtubeuser.1]

IMHO I wouldn't mind them calling themselves freerunners, but to call yourself a parkour artist/traceur/equiv. definitely requires basic skills such as safety rolls.

[@joe94c]

@@youtubeuser.1 do you think a free runner should at least be able to do basic vaults?

[@youtubeuser.1]

@@joe94c haha yeah probably now that I think about it not knowing basic vaults would be almost disrespectful

[@Hardmanferdead]

Oh man I thought I was the only one who has noticed this trend. This especially bothers me when I see those “Gymnasts learn Parkour” videos the PK athletes don’t really teach the gymnasts any other PK related moves other than “cat pass/kong” and “precision”. I don’t see any other vaults being taught such as the safety, speed, lazy, dash etc… I also don’t see going over safety rolls either.

[@soundlesspeal]

"...but in fact, people did go around saying they want to be tracer. they even made a song about it"

[@lucaswalne6801]

The way I see it is there's 3 variables to parkour/free running, skill, speed, and style. Purely skill movements are rigid and technical, so this would be the parkour side, style would be more so how you can make it look, so the free running and flipping aspect, and then speed is the bridge between the two, can you do a stylish movement while being fast and precise.

[@federicopk1203]

Been waiting for vid like this explaining the difference n that

[@MrMastergoku]

Dude! For the last 6 years I was an olympic weightlifter. Won nationals every year but deeply inside I knew that parkour gave me more pleasure. I trained parkour from age 9 or 10. Developed to streetworkout, tricking, gym and eventually weightlifting. Your video gave me those parkour goosebumps just like I remember it years ago, Watching videos before training and feel those butterflies in your stomach that urges you to go out and train. Because of your video im gonna clean the rust and go out to play once again. Love from Israel❤

[@mw5360]

(Also it's 'tra-ceur' - the 'tra' as in 'tram' and the 'ceur' as in 'certain'.)

[@juliuszierrath6479]

Yees great video as always👏🏼👏🏼 I think your arguments are valid. The comparison with skateboarding is perfekt

[@IsThatPinkDrako]

when i do parkour at leastone person per day asks me if i can do a flip and then i have to explain that parkour isnt the same as free runing

[@bouloukwassim]

Loooove it, Thank you Jimmy for sharing this PK/FR knowledge, Love to hear in a future video about Parkour, Freerun, and Art Of Motion (ADD=Art de Deplacement=Yamakasi) Much respect 🙏

[@oscarmac2145]

I just call myself a parkour athlete now, it's way simpler, legitimises the sport when ppl consider us athletes and just sounds better

[@MitchsKitchenUK]

Another banger Jimmy - you’re making me get nostalgic and wanting to get back in the scene every time I watch one of your videos. I remember the huge divides and arguments - especially on the UFF, 3Run and parkour.net forums. I also loved the fact you used 3Run videos - I feel many of the young generation don’t realise how much 3Run, TCT (I think that was their name... with Liv?) and UF actually inspired thousands of us youngsters to get out and do parkour, Freerunning or even exercise!

[@ChrisTF]

Had no idea there was such divide between the two groups in some places. I was one of only a handful of people training around 2006 where I am so if anyone else wanted to come jump about on walls I wouldn't care if they wanted to do any inefficient movements! At the same time I was always more passionate about good old fashioned efficient movement and appreciated it more, and I did also have that slight snobby outlook on people who could flip but couldn't stick a jump. Edit: I should say, I do totally remember the endless debates and online arguments but I didn't know people would actively avoid training with people on the other side of the sport.

[@TaswcmT]

As a vanilla pedestrian, parkour appears to me like "someone running from the police", while freerunning seems like "showing off for TikTok".

[@enzopalmer4745]

Honestly, as a 14-year-old boy, traceur sounds way cooler than freerunner

[@stubear]

Found your videos since you did a few things about rollerblading, which were spot on. Really enjoying going back through your parkour content though, this is good stuff.

[@idutamoad1042]

I've just started looking into this culture From an outsiders perspective, parkour seems like the sport side while free running is artistic expression. With some individuals combining both for personal challenge... and most importantly fun

[@AerowOne]

Great video as always. I'm amazed how you find all this old footage to illustrate the points you are making. Great stuff. Perfect mix of nostalgia and new motivation.

[@ZestWagon]

Being a spectator of the sport, I've always seen it under the single label of parkour. I also guess the term Freerunning could be interpreted as the freedom of expression through movement. Idk I have no real stand on it, but as long as you're happy with what you do then that's all that really matters Callum is more of an A to B and he's happy with that. Benj throws allot of flare into his movement and lines and he's happy with that On a final note, if you look a at a group like storror, they have a wide variety of movement specialties, and they learn and adapt from each other. Not all of them can kong like Toby or jump like Callum, so they still impress each other, so they respect what each other do that much more I might be looking into it a bit much but that's what I interpret

[@connortremblay1259]

When I was younger and this divide was more prominent I was more into the parkour side of things. Something about the speed and efficiency and flow of it all. Nothing beats the feeling of getting a good line really smooth and fast. The frustrating thing for me was wanting to see videos of people doing what I was doing but at a much higher level. I wanted to see the ultimate in speed, efficiency and flow. So I would go to youtube and no matter what keywords I would put in when looking for parkour videos the most common ones would be some dude doing a gymnastics routine in an empty field, maybe with a ledge involved. That was what bothered me. The inaccuracy. It was as if you were desperately trying to find videos on longboarding, but could only find x-games footage.

[@mw5360]

When I was active in the scene waaay back in the mid 00s, the division was pretty clear between the UF forums and the ADD/parkour.net forums. At that time a lot was made of some David Belle quotes regarding Parkour not just as the art of movement (l'art de deplacement), by that it was also the 'art of escape'. In that the purest example that [still] exists of actual parkour is the chase scene in Banlieue 13. I recall that the parkour forums (not the UF nerds) reached a bit of a consensus that 'parkour' was actually not simply moving efficiently, but but taking the most inefficient route, in the most efficient way. The freerunners obviously didn't like this, but even now when I'm stumbling across videos like this showing what the scene has been up to in the many years since I stopped, I still find myself cringing at the 'freerunners' bouncing through an area with flips and spins like a human pinball - literally taking the most efficient route and in the most inefficient way possible. I really wish there was a way at getting back at those old forums and reading through the 100s of pages of discussion on this. Anyway, you make cool videos, one that was missing from the 'most important' one was the 'training 3' video (i think) by Jin of TCT. It had Witness the Fitness by Roots Manuva in the background, and i bet even by todays standards it'd still stand up. I was lucky enough to train with the TCT guys after travelling halfway down the country to Cambridge. Heady days. Cool story bro...

[@ViteRamen]

@@dreadfulmaniac3717 If you're looking for those old school style discussions, we've got a bunch of channels just for that in the JimmyTheGiant Discord channel :) discord.gg/vhVcvfu

[@makiducky2305]

I recently learned that art du déplacement is actually different from parkour, thus making this debate even more complicated

[@MitchsKitchenUK]

@@dreadfulmaniac3717 oh snap that’s a name I haven’t heard in years!

[@mw5360]

@@dreadfulmaniac3717 Andi! Yes absolutely! He taught us in the UK so much. I'd totally forgotten about him!

[@FireXwing]

In France we have a word to regroup parkour and freeruning , it's "art du déplacement"

[@felixghiringhelli5852]

Damn man Im scared of getting into this comment section after all those petty debates back in the day 😂😂😂 I agree with most of what you said in the video. For me PK and FR are just synonims, there is no use to dividing them anymore 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@noel1435]

It was a really necessary video for the community. Thanks bro!

[@edwardwhitehead8143]

I think “efficient” is a bit stretched out in terms of defining characteristics of parkour, because efficiency can also pertain to energy as well. It’s gonna be easier to walk up a flight of stairs versus running up a wall and doing a climb-up. Just a thought

[@Novelways]

I too have always thought that the word efficient was not the most accurate way to describe pure parkour. If I was being chased, I would likely expend a lot of energy and take the biggest drop or do the highest wallrun to get away. We are closer to a 4WD than a Prius.

[@skyworm8006]

I thought it was more about perfecting the movement you're doing, its efficiency, not that it's faster or more energy efficient than just running on flat or getting in a car or walking up stairs. Like if you're going to do a movement instead of making it rough or inserting tricks into it, you make it as clean/efficient as possible. The A to B thing never made sense to me but it sort of makes sense if you're thinking of only one movement.

[@scoutsleepe3620]

I really enjoyed this video. You have the perfect balance of: - practical knowledge which informs your opinion, - educating without being patronising, - acknowledging your bias - 10 yr old kids doing backflips can pee off - and just being incredibly informative. Thanks!!! I've followed.

[@josiahsavonoff4579]

I think that parkour and freerunning are the same sport with different styles and ways of moving. Like gymnastics has different disciplines but the person performing the skills are still a gymnast. Personally, I always preferred to be called a freerunner, although sometimes people said the 'parkour person' =). Got to go train parkour as a traceur or should I say 'trakuoer' lol.

[@cenkrobat]

dude... that is a really great video. I don't mean that your other videos are not as good but I enjoyed this sooo much.

[@k.nobody]

What about the use of "Freerunner" and "Traceur" being modes we switch between ?

[@mikesnow.]

Nice one Jimmy, I like the "two styles of the same sport" line/idea. A small thing I would pull you up on though is that if we take David Belle's defenition of parkour from heaps of interviews, he very consistently says "Parkour is a training method to overcome obstacles ....fast and efficient...blah blah blah", the key words there being "training method". So the idea is not so much that Parkour is only doing direct A to B lines, but training for being able to do that, in case you ever need it in a reach or escape scenario. Parkour is the training with a particular intention, not the end result or movements and lines themselves, if that makes sense? To me, that's why the term "Parkour competition" is an oxymoron. You can't really compete at training. You can compete in skills and challenges, or with races etc...but if Parkour is a method of training to overcome obstacles, then a "parkour comp" makes no sense if you take it litetrally. For the record, I train both Parkour and Freerunning, do stunts for a living, lean more towards parkour than free running in my training, and am totally fine with comps. But, I do think that when it comes to wording/desciribing some of the comps we see, "speed run comp" instead of a "parkour comp" makes much more sense. Peace bro

[@Winningpk3]

Yes yes man. David Belle had a good philosophy I think it's important to really study his ideas if only to understand that whole side of things. It's very powerful stuff very much inspired by and reminiscent of martial art philosophy.

[@prusaitis8]

haha

[@anniereddj]

I had a vague idea of the "difference" but really enjoyed this in-depth description! Thank you!

[@DiamondBeyblade]

Love this video! Bro, can't wait for you to get to a million subs! also, how are you doing today Jimmy? (just callin u Jimmy, cuz it's easier. lol) but actually, how're you?

[@JimmyTheGiant]

Lets get it man, love seeing this community growing! 💪 I'm very well thank you man, I'm going on holiday to the Lake District next week so I'm excited. How are you doing?

[@DiamondBeyblade]

@@JimmyTheGiant wow that sounds awesome! I'm doing pretty good too, no big plans, but am going to start a parkour channel around Christmas time, and I can't wait! I've been doing parkour since the 6th grade (im in 8th now) and am still enjoying it. Good to hear that you're doing good man!

[@davvovid3361]

I think that the line between the 2 is so thin, that's why I like the spectrum definition. Including a flip or not in a line is only a decision of the athlete. I think the moment you start creating a line you are creating a choreography, being that movement from a to b or else. Maybe we should take in consideration the question " what is the most efficient way to execute this line?" that for me makes freerunning parkour. Example: in the line of benj, wouldn't be efficient to start with the opposite foot that he used. Or if that happens it's a decision and has to be executed as efficiently as possible. That makes parkour a sport cause efficiency transforms the movement in technique and technicality it's a phisical achievement. That sets a goal for others to reach or to challenge with a new technicality. But this sport sits a bit in a weird spot because it has a huge artistic side. Thats why I find it beautiful, cause is not a only an execution but also an expression. I dont know if i messed up my reasoning but ye is cool

[@IsThatPinkDrako]

sees that you posted a new video : calm its not a video about parkour : panic

[@johnlindsay7301]

I’m glad you bright this argument up. I wouldn’t have suspected that you had a “camp” once upon a time. I’m also glad to see you’ve out grown such a silly division. And you’ve adeptly highlighted just how silly this “division” is. Great work.

[@melldferalviarez847]

We do parkour, we are freerunners... In my opinion :)

[@condog_axis7950]

i'm so glad you covered this, i thought tbh this debate ended till like start of this year i posted in one of the parkour redits and got my ass cvhewed about it. also i agree what you think what parkour/freerunning is, its the same sport but different styles

[@Gabrielbht]

If parkour is A to B, when Benj do this line we have to imagine he just couldn't run straight. For exemple We can imagine there is people to avoid in the way so he have to make is line longer and make detour . In my opinion it's still A to B.

[@JesteR00160016]

Yeah , agree

[@SnailHatan]

I’ve made that exact Vert/Street comparison when explaining Freerunning/Parkour to people. It’s really apt. Vert ramp is for sick tricks and huge hair, street skaters largely grind and jump stairs and such (of course street guys do tricks, as well, but this is a generalization); while freerunners do sick tricks and look cool, and “traceurs” do roof gaps and jump stairs and such. It’s a pretty apt comparison, imo.

[@lukeconlin3612]

Talking about free running *shows tricking*

[@AJHaydenTV]

I've been waiting for this! Also, I hate it whenever I talk about doing parkour and people are like, "Oh yeah? Can you do a backflip? No? Then you don't do parkour."

[@metemercan1147]

Awesome video. Got an audible laugh from me with the "traceurs started attempting websters" clip

[@mikek8729]

Thanks for doing this Jimmy!!🙏

[@jaredmiller7645]

dead on with the analysis as usual. i agree with the idea of two styles of the same sport but i always thought it was hard to define the sport as a whole in that sense. with skateboarding it’s literally just if you’re riding a skateboard you’re skateboarding, but there’s so many different movement styles. people incorporate tricking, breakdancing, gymnastics, etc. into their free running styles so what’s to differentiate a really flowy type line from dancing? just the urban environment? spot on analysis of the difference between parkour and free running just being different styles of the same thing which i have always agreed with, but a think a more solid, common definition of the sport as a whole is needed

[@Night-Owl-]

You summed it up with the skateboarding analogy. They're both a different spectrum.

[@jibog3056]

I discovered this channel a week ago and now I see how much I've missed - I didn't even know there was a division in the sport. And it sounds strange to ever have been one. Another perspective on the topic that plays with the definition - I've always seen them as one - Whenever I hear parkour or freerunning what I imagine in my head is freedom of movement. Simple as that and I think it's accurate. Btw great channel! Seems surprising that I found out about it so late.

[@DirectorToby]

Great topic - bewildering how this was so important to so many. in my experience passionate traceurs hated freerunning because they were terrible at flips and freerunners didn't care for parkour because they didn't have the discipline to practice parkour movement.

[@TahirKhan-zq3xc]

Man, All you videos are extremely well put together, really enjoy them

[@squishrabbit]

Parkour: it's not about showing off and getting attention! Freerunner: *does a flip* Parkour: hey how come they're getting more attention 😟

[@alexcooke7377]

Great video 👍 Keep them coming

[@Aurla-R2-D2]

Thank you so much for this great video! Fascinating, informative and entertaining :) For literally 20 years I've wondered what the difference is between freerunning and parkour! 😄

[@BrettRobert]

I'd add that people were genuinely mean to eachother over this. Communities split up, friendships ended, you were lightweight expected to pick sides in beefs that started before you began training, people tagged eachother in passive aggressive memes. People acted like one's preference indicated moral superiority or inferiority. It was dumb. Have fun, be nice, do good things.

[@Real_MisterSir]

*Rule of thumb:* *Parkour* = getting through your environment as efficiently as possible *Free running* = Utilizing your environment to creatively express yourself through movement *Tricking* = Creatively expressing yourself through movement without utilizing your surroundings The thing is, you can practice capoeira and taekwondo. They are inherently different, even though skillsets transfer and they can be intertwined - for example in MMA. Capoeira isn't a martial art as such, but it can still be used in martial arts as a way of giving distance, balance, and fluidity and momentum to your kicks and punches and takedowns. In a similar way, Free running and Parkour are different, but they are not necessarily mutually exclusive in all scenarios. 90% of the time, a flip will be detrimental to a parkour run when the goal is to be efficient and maintain momentum, but in some few cases there is potential for overlap. Still, it would be detrimental to not differentiate the two arts of motion, as they are inherently very different in their purpose and what they achieve. Also the argument of "in reality, what most people do while practicing parkour, isn't actual efficient parkour runs, it's mostly just jumping from one spot to another etc that we think would be cool to do". I get the idea here, but in reality that's just called practice. You practice each part so you can string them together for a full run. Likewise a taekwondo martial artist will train the same kick over and over, the same single rotations. Even if they aren't actively fighting someone in a ring, they are still practicing taekwondo -key word being "practice". Practicing parkour and performing parkour are associated directly. You practice that climb up, that precision, that cat 180 over and over, you practice your mind to read your environment and practice that cool run, so that you are prepared for any real future parkour scenario that may involve similar needs. Or when a singer practices different notes over and over they aren't really "singing a song", but they are practicing so that they can sing a song with those notes in the future.

[@Falney]

I always thought that "Parkour is getting from A to B as fast as possible" was weird since practitioners of parkour go to a spot and stay there for 30 mins plus, trying everything they can before moving on to another location, rinse and repeat. Not really going anywhere fast. I also always thought that freerunning was just a discipline of parkour rather than something separate.

[@ngardnerPV]

I love that you referenced a clip from the documentary 'People in Motion'. It is actually the documentary that made me fall in love with parkour and is still one of my favourite parkour documentaries :)

[@gt4590]

I love how the things I thought were important in my teenage years are now humorously analyzed as historic quibbles.

[@blueguy7137]

Great,vid man!

[@Zahlenteufel1]

I mostly agree. IMO the spectrum is different though. Pure Parkour (100% efficiency) on the one side, freerunning in the middle, and pure tricking (100% unnecessary but cool) on the other side. You can place people, one person at different times, lines, or particular movements etc. on this spectrum. A line can be made up of 100% Parkour movements (i.e. as efficient as possible over a given obstacle) but be itself more freerunning (because of how these movements are combined). Since most people do not fall even close to one of the extremes, it makes the most sense to call most people freerunners. IMO it makes sense to make freerunner the supercategory with subsets if you fall particularly close to an extreme. But in the end it doesn't really matter since most people do both anyway. Also, personally, I think traceur (and Parkour) is a much cooler word but maybe that's because I'm German and it's easy to pronounce for me (properly, "tray-sir" lol). Freerunner sounds bland in comparison, but that's taste.

[@cliveandersonjr.8758]

Sage Anctil commented "... exploring the full extent of Human Movement". That sentiment is the essence of this debate. No matter what you say you train or what you call yourself, it's all Movement.

[@4soandypk]

I love seeing the old storror clips in ur vids 👍

[@hawkzrl2109]

Just exactly this!!!! I love the community with every issue we have had and sometimes still have.... I still remember me beeing a 8 year old just flipping and then my mate tenz and noa telling me to start doing parkour when i got 12 and now its just a complete interaction between the 2

[@pkfreak93]

Lovely video mate! Again. Cool to see you always try to be objective!

[@oskars.albujas.4136]

This dude gets me in an insane level. I’m kinda young but I remember when all this was happening and after some time I just came to this same conclusion on my own. I simply love the movement and look to becoming better whilst having fun :D

[@pm-5565]

Countless internet arguments I've had over this back in the day...

[@sfu187]

I remember going on a bit of a tangent with caring mostly about being as silent and controlled as possible without realising that if you're looking to be noticed silence doesn't do much especially compared to flips or Oleg style movements :)

[@smansoorhaider]

After watching your videos feel so proud to be part of this community

[@ryusaranyawut7913]

As I been doing parkour/ free running since 2014, I always say to people that '' I'm a parkour athletes ''. Even if I'm doing more bboy-free running style, I will always say that I'm training parkour and having fun jumping around. For me, the word parkour is more easy to say. So, it doesn't matter for me to say that I do parkour but end up doing style spins and flips. I will always say '' I'm a parkour athletes '' in the end. Edited: I don't really like it when people are so strict doing parkour. For me, I do parkour out of love and joy. Same with flips. Love doing it because of the freedom of movement and the world is your playground.

[@willwillett]

I actually remember being at Basingstoke 3Run academy and someone who I won’t name due to his new found popularity, once said to me, after I told him I don’t really flip, ‘that’s pretty gay and dumb.’ Since then, I watched as he committed to more parkour based movements which helped him gain more of a following than before 🤦‍♂️

[@smansoorhaider]

Man these 3run family gatherings videos bring back so much nostalgia😍😍😍

[@maxanthonyvlogs]

another great video Jimmy, way to go!

[@takoshihitsamaru4675]

Honestly, I used to lean pretty heavily towards the "It's not parkour if it's got expression of movement (flips and tricks/gymnastics)" but after I got introduced to Storror, I began to shift my views. there is so much more nuance to it now, hard to say something is or isn't parkour just because it's creative. Benj's reversals are a really good example of the two marrying perfectly in the middle. So for now, I just call it Freerunning or Parkour, either works, but Pure Parkour is definitely a thing.

[@nicolaicrabtree1336]

I love how you use small clips from STORRORS start.

[@dirkvoltaar]

From a former skater’s perspective, I see similarities. Rodney Mullen brought Freestyle skating to Street and effectively created a new form. Not too many skaters “just” do technical flatground tricks (unless they are playing SKATE), but combine a beautiful technique with a beautiful line and you’ve got magic.

[@jonferrer9802]

Love this bro. I remember those day 😂 Also really enjoy the videos and athletes you chose to distinguish each style, such old school stuff.

[@jonferrer9802]

*those days

[@hatred9427]

"But there is a place where this conversation still remains." Me: I bet it's reddit. "In the subred-..." Me: Called it.

[@LeBataillon]

Hello Jimmy, that's a really cool video and your vision about Parkour - Freerunning & co is yours like you said. I'm from France (so, this is my vision of speaking english) and few years ago I considered myself like a TRACEUR because I was fascinated by the Parkour History and I wanted to live the training method from "the founders". With years of training, adventures and meetings I understood something : I'll never experiment what "founders" lived about this training method because it was a very personal quest (different visions even between the "founders", ADD -> Art Du Déplacement). Si I chose my own way, experiment new things etc... But I'll not put a name on it because it's just personal. When i'm training with friends, some do vaults/climbing/flips or whatever but the most important is just to take pleasure, laughing, filming for the memories etc... I'm more concentrate on my own training method when i'm alone. In this time, we have the chance to do all these things. So, guys and girls, don't waste your time and move to find your own way and to get crazy memories to tell to your family, friends and maybe grandchildrens in the future. ENJOY THE JOURNEY. Flo

[@mofurry8430]

This is what I call quality content mate!