BE STRONG TO BE USEFUL: THE RISE AND RISE OF PARKOUR
The year was 1902.
28,000 people perished in a deadly volcanic eruption in the Caribbean island of St Pierre. George Herbert, a French naval officer, was in-charge of evacuating 700 indigenous and European nationals. This is when he noticed something. While indigenous folk moved through the hostile environment with ease, the Europeans stumbled ﹘ looking for familiar paths that didn’t exist anymore.
Herbert realized that modern men, despite their advancements, couldn’t navigate efficiently. Three years later, Herbert published a book, La Methode Naturelle, to highlight the values of athletic skill, physical conditioning, courage, and altruism. He also coined the phrase ‘Être fort pour être utile’ meaning ‘Be strong to be useful’, which went on to become a motto for the method.
Today, this sport is known as parkour.
Parkour can be defined as the art of moving through an environment in the most natural and efficient way possible. Which is why practitioners of parkour, known as traceurs, are not bogged down by obstacles in their path. In fact, obstacles are used to climb, jump, and vault over!
So what makes parkour so great?
It’s fun: Parkour can be anything you want it to be. Let your imagination run wild by transforming your world into a giant playground, pretending to be part of an exciting chase in a zombie movie, or revelling in a thrilling exploration game ﹘ it’s all upto you!
It’s good exercise: Parkour promises a full-body workout by enhancing your body awareness and fine-tuning your coordination. You’ll need it if you’re running, climbing, jumping, and swinging your way through the city!
It pushes your limits: Parkour is a great workout for your body and mind. As you train yourself to try bolder moves and take on bigger challenges ﹘ you become stronger, fiercer, and better coordinated. Navigating around new obstacles makes you more creative, quick on your feet, and enhances your decision-making skills. That’s not all, it also boosts your confidence by pushing you to attempt and surmount challenges. In short, parkour helps your push yourself further, every day.
It makes you more creative: Unlike working out in a gym or any environment you’re familiar with, parkour trains you to rely on your instincts and maneuver through new environments effectively. You no longer use architectural structures as they’re meant to. Every staircase, wall, fence, or a gap is your opportunity to try a new move!
It’s social: Parkour is typically practiced in groups, making it an excellent avenue to socialize and make new friends. What’s better, parkour isn’t a competitive sport! Instead, it aims at helping you improve your skills and make sure that you have a gala time doing it. With parkour, your only real competition is you.
So whether you think of it as a niche fitness trend, a unique hobby, or a way of life, parkour has its merits. After all, few sports match its level of fun, rigor, and creativity.
<div class="at-above-post-cat-page addthis_tool" data-url="https://freeasiam.jockeyindia.com/2017/08/28/be-strong-to-be-useful-the-rise-and-rise-of-parkour/"></div>The year was 1902. 28,000 people perished in a deadly volcanic eruption in the Caribbean island of St Pierre. George Herbert, a French naval officer, was in-charge of evacuating 700
