Parkour (defined by Wikipedia) is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping.
Simplified, Parkour is a movement technique used to get from point A to point B as soon as posible, leaping over obstacles, cover high walls etc.
The people who practice Parkour are called traceurs and their number has lately greatly increased. Parkour has become a global sport practiced by milions of people.
The origin of this movement technique leads back to the beginning of the 20th century, but the one who made Parkour what it is today is David Belle. A Frenchman (born 29 April 1973) who used his gymnastics and martial arts skills to create a sport who he later names "Parkour"
More on David Belle here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Belle
Soon after Parkour had it's global fame a new, very similar movement appeared which looked quite same to Parkour but it wasn't the same, I'm talking about Freerunning. Freerunning unlike Parkour (which is based on movement and efficiency ) is based on (well put in blunt) looking as awesome as you can while moving. Actually unlike traceurs (who tend find the fastest way to get from point A to point B) free runners take their time and tend to do a lot more tricks than traceurs. You can say freerunning is more creative, and it uses a lot more skills like acrobatics, tricking even street dancing.
These days Parkour and Freerunning is trained as one, and the very best practitioners use the very perfect middle of this two to do what they do best.
Now i said that i'll tell you what Parkour and Freerunning means to me and how can it change your life. By starting this sport like any other you exercise and strengthen your body, so in a short amount of time you'll get very fit ( i know i did). Second and a lot more importantly, Parkour gives you a new perspective to life and your surroundings. Let me explain, when I see a new surrounding I start to break it down and analyze every part of it, measuring a certain wall's height and asking myself "can i jump over this", or "can i do this".
Parkour is all about conquering your fear, I know how i felt the first time i did a hard move outside, it took me 30 minutes to beat my fear and do it, but once I did it, I felt a giant rush of adrenaline and pleasure unlike any other. So for those of you who still hesitate on trying out Parkour listen to me "try it don't hesitate" if it's not your thing then quit, but don't miss out on at least trying this out.
Finally let me finish this post with this awesome Parkour / Freerunning video from the Storm freerunning team which is one of the best I have ever seen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHy9W9LpvlQ
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