The Alternative
I heard many voices cry out in terror and then suddenly get silenced. Or however the quote goes. The fact is there was a great outcry against parkour becoming another discipline of gymnastics under the Federation International de Gymnastique (or FIG for short), though it was for nothing as it was too late for that kind of action. Right now, after it became reality, it seems everything and everyone is silent. All the sharp quick-witted statements disappeared and turned into something different, either the excuses of those who are joining FIG, or the silent piping and thinking of the rest (I should point out that I understand both sides, as I understand the reasons, even though I strongly disagree with those who, to put it bluntly, sold out).
Parkour is a movement art
or An open letter to first and second generation practitioners of parkour, freerunning and l’art du déplacement, as well as to those who lead and change the world not because they want to, but because they were chosen to by others.
The title says it, so if you don’t have time, you can leave it as it stands. But to get the nuances, you are welcome to read on.
Parkour is not gymnastics. Parkour is not a sport. But, parkour is not just parkour, a purely unique discipline existing on its own. And for it not to just survive, but to thrive, we all need to realize that it is a part of human experience, part of human knowledge. We have to realize that it belongs, that we belong, for it to belong.