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This article is about the physical art. For other uses, see Free running (disambiguation).
A man free running in Brazil.
A man free running in Brazil.

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. The performing arts are those forms of Art which differ from the Plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own Body, Face and presence Rural areas can be large and isolated (also referred to as "the country" and/or "the countryside over the course of time 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. Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (the art of movement is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking is one of the Performing arts, and is also practiced as a Sport. Tricking (Martial Arts Tricking is the informal name Street Stunts consists of executing any acrobatic movements and techniques on a urban environment varying from Tumbling moves and Gymnastics techniques to Circus related activities 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. Jump London is a documentary first broadcast by Channel 4 about Parkour and Free running in September However, free running and parkour are separate, distinct concepts — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline comprises efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic manoeuvres. Although often the two are physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different. [1] The founder Sébastien Foucan defines free running as a discipline to self development, following your own way. Sébastien Foucan (born May 24 1974 in Paris, France) is a French actor of Guadeloupean descent [2]

Contents

Overview

Sébastien Foucan
Sébastien Foucan

Heavily influenced by Sébastien Foucan and inspired by the similar art of displacement (parkour) which was founded by Foucan's childhood colleague David Belle, free running embraces elements of tricking and street stunts, which are considered by the parkour community to be inefficient and not parkour. Sébastien Foucan (born May 24 1974 in Paris, France) is a French actor of Guadeloupean descent Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (the art of movement is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently David Belle (born 29 April 1973 in Fécamp, France) is the founder of Parkour. Tricking (Martial Arts Tricking is the informal name Street Stunts consists of executing any acrobatic movements and techniques on a urban environment varying from Tumbling moves and Gymnastics techniques to Circus related activities Initially, the term free running was used interchangeably with parkour. However, as free runners became interested in aesthetics as well as useful movement, the two became different disciplines. Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called The term free running was created by Guillaume Pelletier and embraced by Foucan to describe his "way" of doing parkour. [3] Foucan summarizes the goals of free running as using the environment to develop yourself and to always keep moving and not go backwards.

While free running and parkour share many common techniques, they have a fundamental difference in philosophy and intention. The aims of parkour are reach, the ability to quickly access areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, and escape, the ability to evade pursuers, which means the main intention is to clear their objects as efficiently as they can, while free running emphasizes self development by "following your way". [3] Foucan frequently mentions "following your way" in interviews,[4] and the Jump documentaries. He explains that everyone has their way of doing parkour and they shouldn't follow someone else's way of doing it, instead they should do it their way. Free running is commonly misinterpreted as being solely focused on aesthetics and the beauty of the certain vault, jump, etc. Although a lot of free runners choose to focus on aesthetics, that is just "their way", the goal however is still self development.

The easiest way to explain the differences between the two activities is that in parkour you try to get from A to B in the most efficient and natural way, which could be exercised in case of a real threat, whereas in free running you may employ movements of your choosing. You might also do certain movements solely for their aesthetic value and the challenge of execution. Free running is essentially complete freedom of movement.

History

Sébastien Foucan used the term "free running" to describe a form of physical exercise that he practised which was showcased in the Channel 4 documentaries Jump London and Jump Britain. Sébastien Foucan (born May 24 1974 in Paris, France) is a French actor of Guadeloupean descent Channel 4 is a public-service Television and Radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom centred around a television channel of the same name which began Jump London is a documentary first broadcast by Channel 4 about Parkour and Free running in September Jump Britain is a 2005 documentary about Free running. Directed by Mike Christie and produced by Carbon Media, it is a The term has been in use since at least the early 1980s when it was used to describe a more adventurous form of jogging where the runner would incorporate a variety of movements transforming a jogging session into a more demanding, enjoyable and expressive physical experience. Jumping and tac-ing obstacles, rolling, and a variety of stretching movements would be used to break the regulated physical patterns of movement involved in basic running/jogging.

Movements

See also: List of flips

Moves specific to free running are not easy to define, as most free runners use a combination of street stunts and parkour techniques. This is a list of Gymnastics flips. Gymnastics flips are acrobatic moves in which a person executes a complete rotation of the body while in mid air with hips passing over Street Stunts consists of executing any acrobatic movements and techniques on a urban environment varying from Tumbling moves and Gymnastics techniques to Circus related activities Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or l'art du déplacement (the art of movement is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently Free running focuses on freedom and beauty of movements, so many parkour techniques, such as vaults, may be carried out in a more aesthetically pleasing way, despite the fact that it may decrease the efficiency of the move.

Street stunts tend to be performed on flat ground or off a height, whereas free running movements tend to involve the use of obstacles or the general idea of movement from one place to another.

Examples of movements which are more likely to be classed as free running moves than parkour or street stunts include:

In popular culture

See also: Parkour in popular culture

Film

Video games

Music videos

Television

Literature

Controversy

There has been a clash between the parkour and free running communities over the use of different terms for the same vaults. The parkour community generally refers to the vaults by their French terms or the English translation while the free running community headed by the Urban Freeflow website have created new terms such as the "Kong", "Monkey", etc. Urban Freeflow (often abbreviated to UF or U$F) is a company that was started in 2003. For example, the vault where one jumps putting his legs between his arms is known in French as the "Saut de Cat", while the English translation is "Cat Jump". But the Urban Freeflow site has renamed this vault the "kong" vault.

Another contentious issue that may either begin to make a rift between the parkour and free running communities or may actually strengthen their bond is the idea of professional and amateur competition. From the start the parkour community has been always against the idea of serious competition as it violates the foundations of the philosophy of parkour. The free running community is not as strongly decided as a group as to its position on the matter although Sébastien Foucan's thoughts were revealed. He mentions in an interview with Urban Freeflow that he doesn't like competition and it's not "his way", but it may be someone else's "way". [4] The conflict between free running and parkour occurred when the founder of parkour, David Belle, and his colleague Sébastien Foucan, split up and went their separate ways. David Belle (born 29 April 1973 in Fécamp, France) is the founder of Parkour. David Belle mainly stuck to parkour as efficiency while Sébastien Foucan focused on the freedom of movement, self-development and aesthetic aspects of parkour thus making free running more popular. Although both activities may be defined differently, still there is a lot of discussion on what is free running and confusion in its definition. [8]

References

  1. ^ Urban Freeflow Team. Sebastian Foucan interview. Archived from the original on 2006-05-08. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Retrieved on 2007-06-19. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros.
  2. ^ Sébastien Foucan (10/06/06). Sébastien Foucan (born May 24 1974 in Paris, France) is a French actor of Guadeloupean descent FREERUNNING. Retrieved on 2007-06-22. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom.
  3. ^ a b Sébastien Foucan (10/06/06). FREERUNNING. worldwidejam. tv. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat
  4. ^ a b ez. Sébastien Foucan interview. urbanfreeflow. com. Retrieved on 2007-07-29. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1014 - Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat
  5. ^ Curtis - Sébastien's stunt double. www. theurbanheroes. com (2006-11-29). Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Retrieved on 2007-05-14. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the  “Curtis was hired to be a stunt double in the recent James Bond film Casino Royale. He was on location in the Bahamas for 13 weeks working closely with Gary Powell, the stunt coordinator, to help plan and execute the opening chase scene. ”
  6. ^ Lemne, Bengt (Interviewer), O'Brien, Owen (Interviewee). (2008-02-29). 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours GDC 08 Mirror's Edge Interview (WMV). Windows Media Video ( WMV) is a compressed Video file format for several proprietary Codecs developed by Microsoft. San Francisco, CA: Gamereactor. Retrieved on 2008-05-12. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. "We took a lot of inspiration from parkour and free running because we wanted to do quite acrobatic moves, not just running, so that's basically where the original idea came from. "
  7. ^ YouTube: Madonna's video for "Jump"
  8. ^ kaos (2007-07-31). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently The Public Misconception of Parkour. neparkour. com. Retrieved on 2007-09-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul

Dictionary

free running

-noun

  1. The activity of combining parkour with gymnastics to pass obstacles and demonstrate athletic talent. Most often used in urban environments.
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