Parkour (sometimes also abbreviated to PK) or l'art du d?placement ( the art of displacement) is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment?from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls?and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour practitioners are referred to as traceurs, or traceuses for females.
Founded by David Belle and a group of friends in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop one's body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency.
Free running is a physical art, in which participants (free runners) use the urban and rural areas to perform movements through its structures focused on freedom and beauty. It incorporates efficient movements from parkour, adds aesthetic vaults and other acrobatics, such as tricking and street stunts, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving. It is commonly practiced at gymnasiums and in urban areas that are cluttered with obstacles.
The term free running was coined during the filming of Jump London, as a way to present parkour to the English-speaking world. However, free running and parkour are separate, distinct concepts ? a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline emphasizes efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement ? and includes many acrobatic manuevers. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different. The founder S?bastien Foucan defines free running as a discipline to self development, following your own way.
