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Parkour World Championship hits London
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by mchawk | August 31, 2008 at 04:16 am
7672 views | 43 Recommendations | 24 comments
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For a sport that originated in France, Parkour has been taken to Britain's heart - notably in the Channel 4 doumentary Jump Britain, where the country's most famous landmarks were turned into playgrounds for these urban gymnasts.
This Wednesday, London will play host to some of the worlds top free-runners.
For one night only, the first-ever Barclaycard World Freerun Championships will be staged at our legendary Roundhouse, where a specially-designed course will be constructed as a massive challenge to more than twenty of the world’s top freerunners .
This ground-breaking event is a global celebration, which will showcase the awesome artistry of the best from the worldwide scene. Each athlete will perform to the accompaniment of his own individually selected soundtrack and in a unique twist, each will be judged by his fellow performers, on athletic skill, creativity, complexity and above all, “flow”.
The competition is the brainchild of "EZ", aka Paul Corkery, the head of the sport's international organisation, Urban Free Flow. Corkery, 34, left his first love – boxing – when he married in 1998. "I had a kid and had to get sensible," he says. "I saw a piece on television about free running and went on to a message board to find out more."
There he hooked up with fellow enthusiast Asid, and they began training together, founding Urban Free Flow in 2003. Jump London – the Channel 4 film that preceded Jump Britain – aired later that year, and the team took off, starring in ads and starting to train other. "The great thing about the sport is that it is accessible to everyone," Corkery adds. "It's about how you tackle obstacles, and you can go out and do it anywhere."
At the championship [...] the competitors will be judging each other as they tackle a multi-level, indoor course.
"People are going to see 25 athletes at the top of their game," says EZ. "It is going to be a visual treat."
The Barclaycard World Free Running Championship is at the Roundhouse, London NW1 on Wednesday. For tickets, call 0870 4000 601
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at 09:02 on August 31st, 2008
mchawk, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 10:11 on August 31st, 2008
True art in motion. Wish I had the wherewithal and time to pursue Parkour. Not sure it should be a judged event though.....seems to me to be against the basic ideals.
at 11:14 on August 31st, 2008
mchawk, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I'm not working today but I saw this story and had to flag it! I wrote an article for one of my final projects for my MA in London on the phenomenon of 'free running' and was totally hooked on the whole concept of it.
I met some of the guys from 'Jump Britain' and thought about making a career change... it would just so fun to watch and try - although I wasn't very good at it..
at 12:05 on August 31st, 2008
Thanks all for the GS!
moonwolf - i couldn't agree with you more.
World_Groove - If I could do so much as a forward-roll, I'd be trying this sport. As for judging the event - I think that's why the competitors are judging each other, so they're just deciding between themselves who's the best.
Amy - I'm honoured that you flagged this on your day off!
at 12:16 on August 31st, 2008
mchawk, I would hurt myself soooooo badly. These look like the future action heroes of the UK.
at 12:04 on September 1st, 2008
a new way... in this old cities...
matthieu roggero has contributed a photo to this story.
at 12:20 on September 1st, 2008
rmelihhov has contributed a photo to this story.
at 16:43 on September 1st, 2008
Good coverage, but I figure I'd point out something quickly:
Is really not true and we'd like it not to be portrayed that way. Parkour and Freerunning have no accepted representative organizations at this time, and UFF would definitely not a chosen candidate.
Competitions are a rather sore topic among traceurs, and we'd rather not any of the groups behind them trying to pass themselves off as in an official position.
at 14:14 on September 3rd, 2008
Hi Tyson,
Thanks for the comments and feedback. Sorry if I've painted Parkour in the wrong light, with this article suggesting there's a central organisation. It's a mistake only a non-traceur could make.
I can't see why competition should be a sore topic though. No competition means you'll never be in the X-Games or Olympics.
Just a thought.
at 16:26 on September 3rd, 2008
No competition is a rather fundamental thing to Parkour actually. One of the biggest draws in Parkour is how there are no judges, no rules, no timers, no team pressure, and no captains telling you what to do. It's all about self progression and what works well for you to learn safely.
Of course that doesn't rule out the utility of using Parkour and related movement arts in competitions and performances and the like because it is very aesthetic and useful, but most traceurs are concerned about things being represented poorly and the core tenants of Parkour and why it started in the first place will be lost or replaced by some new commercially oriented image.
at 13:40 on September 4th, 2008
I guess that rules and regulations would take the "free" out of "free running." And the corporations must just hate a sport that requires no equipment or fixed venues. I just dream of the day when the Olympics (and their like) reflect the sports that real people are taking part in.
That said, you can't imagine my horror when I first saw Tae Kwon Do in the Olympics. The version I studied bares no relation to that god awful Olympic version. It would be a travesty it Parkour got bastardised like that.
at 01:01 on September 2nd, 2008
Urban free flow is the best thing about england at the moment
somethingtoseehere has contributed a photo to this story.
at 09:06 on September 2nd, 2008
mchawk, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I'm glad sports like this are being taken in a more serious way.
at 14:24 on September 2nd, 2008
mchawk, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 13:23 on September 3rd, 2008
i dont think this is a good idea because parkour is about self-development not competion, which is why i dont think it would be a good olympic sport. thats just my opinion
at 00:07 on September 4th, 2008
from what I have seen this isnt a pakour championship, it is a free running championship. Parkour in no way involves flips, if you want to know what moves are parkour then think about what you would do if someone was chasing you.
at 03:33 on September 4th, 2008
AGH! Parkour and Free-running are NOT the same thing!
There will never be a parkour "competition" as non-competitiveness is part of the parkour philosophy, alongside the need for efficiency. If a move isn't efficient (i.e a flip) its almost always going to be free-running rather than parkour.
at 18:29 on September 4th, 2008
parkour in a match =0 What is this shit? fuck if ... its mountain of waste ... the parkour there is competition ... vocêis that they are willing to compete ... the competition in their asses sons of a bitch!
Who can put a carrot more rapid in their ass? this is competition get all ai =D
flock of gays
,,|,,
at 01:17 on September 7th, 2008
Thanks for that well-reasoned argument
at 05:13 on September 5th, 2008
I took this photo of my brother in Horsham, West Sussex, England, earlier this year for part of my college photography course.
lorni3 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 10:59 on September 22nd, 2008
parkour is not also known as free-running. They are two different things.
1. Parkour is getting from A to B as fast as possible jumping over and around different obstacles such as bins, walls etc.
2. Freerunning is tricking such as flips, wall flips handstands etc.
Please don't get them mixed up
Thank You
at 13:19 on September 22nd, 2008
Please forgive my ignorance in this matter, but that's like saying that skateboarding a half-pipe has nothing to do with grinding a rail. Sure - they're different disciplines, but they're still skateboarding.. I understand what you're saying but, to an outsider, it looks like the same sport to me. I've never been offended by people saying that steeplechase and dressage are both "horse-riding" and they're about as far apart as you can get for equestrian skill-sets.
But thankyou for the feedback and the clarification - I'm just learning when it comes to this one.
at 05:53 on September 30th, 2008
I think this is really interesting. Thanks for the story. Pretty scary sport to be involved in though.
at 20:41 on November 17th, 2008
While parkour and freerunning are similar, they are two very different disciplines in philosophy. To look at your analogy, mchawk, while steeplechase and dressage are both forms of horseriding, steeplechase is not dressage. Similarly, while parkour and freerun are both forms of movement, they are not the same thing. Parkour is very deeply embedded with philosophy, like a martial art. Is it efficient and functional, and intended for personal growth, both physically and mentally. Freerunning is focused instead on aesthetics, including flips, unusual vaults, and other non-efficient moves. It looks great, but you wouldn't use it in an emergency (e.g. escape situation). It's true that they seem similar in a lot of the basic moves, and are of the same category of sport, but because these sports are relatively young, there isn't common name for that category yet. Even the names of the moves seem up for debate. While similar, they are most definately seperate sports. Hope that helps differentiate between PK and FR...