Introduction
Some people say Parkour, Freerunning and L'art du dépplacement (ADD) are not the same and say parkour is the shortest and most efficient way from A to B, Freerunning is doing tricks on one place and ADD is also something else, but other people say it is the same and it is an art of creative movement. The clip "SALTUS - A Brief History of Movement" from JUMP Freerun already gives an impression and very basic overview about the different styles and the development.
If you have a look at the history of Parkour and Frerunning you will soon find the name David Belle and after some time you will also hear “Yamakasi”, “L'art du déplacement”, “Lisses” and Sébastien Foucan. The (first part of the) documentary from Jump London provides some more information about the disciplines, the relation of this names and the development.
The development of Parkour and L'art du dépplacement (ADD)
David Belle and his father Raymond Belle, who was a former Vietnam soldier, are probably the founders of this movement. Raymond Belle taught his son in the forests of North France the Méthode Naturelle.
Méthode Naturelle, also known as Hébertisme, is a discipline, which already includes a physical and mental training, in the nature. The motto of this discipline was „Être fort pour être utile“ (Be strong to be useful). The other main parts of the training are
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With the age of 11 David Belle moved to Lisses in France and practised with some in the town (not only in the forests). One of his friends was Sebastien Foucan, who later founded Freerunning. Sometime later some of them formed a group and called themselves Yamakasi and there discipline "L'art du déplacement" (ADD) which they developed end of the ’80.
L'art du dépplacement (ADD) is, as the name says, an art of movement. This means that the movement is an art itself and that there is interaction with others like every other art.
For the Yamakasi ADD were a spiritual form of exercise and much more than just a sport. Brotherhood and altruism was very important for them. This also means that everyone is the same (independent of level, body properties etc.) Furthermore they handled the roll that they finish together what they started together. They also wanted to show themselves in a good way to the public. This was not alone due to movement but also with other art (music etc.) (Parkour Disciplines). By ADD creativity and experimenting is also very important. Consequently a movement does not need to be useful. Consequently ADD is not so much about being fast between two points during the training, but more about an art and having a flow. Moreover it allows you to train on your own, to develop your own style, find your personal challenges and to find out what your own body can. It is always important to be one with your body and the obstacle. However if you are in a nod situation this movements and abilities can be useful. As you don’t know how such a situation looks like. (Daniel van Wissen van THS). |
David Belle had the feeling that the Yamakasi where not crediting his father enough. Because of this he developed his own discipline which he called parkour, derivative from the French military discipline parcour.
Parkour is is a displacement of Méthode Naturelle from the forests into the city. The motto (Be strong to be useful.) and the core remained the same. To train the body very often bodyweight conditioning is used. A very important part of parkour is to challenge your self and to have no limitations and to overcome every (physical) obstacle. Furthermore efficient movement is important which is for a big part based on strength and condition. Next to that supporting each other is important. This is also shown very well in the following documentaries. The male partitioner's of this discipline call themselves traceurs and the female partitioner's traceuses.
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by Obsidian1138 / Northern Parkour
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The Development of Freerunning
Sometime later out of parkour freerunning developed.The reason for this was that David Belle and Sébastien Foucan had different needs. David Belle kept the name parkour and for Sébastien Foucan is a name just a name so that he called it "freerunning". Sébastien Foucan does not have the need to do tricks and flips outside, but to express himself due to movement. He also wanted a more personal movement where he could use his own method, practice and include everything he likes. This can for example be parts from a dance. Furthermore he wanted to expend from overcoming every physical obstacle to every obstacle in life. For him there should not be the question “what if”, but “is it really what I want?” This can be illustrated with a example. Imagine you are standing on top of a building and you are thinking about jumping to another one (you can jump the distance). Then you should not ask yourself what will happen if you fail, but do you really want to get to the other side (with the jump)? If the answer is yes you should go for it (and take the risk). As a main point is to express yourself doe to movement freerunning will probably not so much influence your life than that your life influences freerunning. With other words the wish to express yourself doe to movement already exists and freerunning will make it possible. On the other hand you learn to overcome every obstacle; not only physical and that will influence your life. Furthermore it will help to make a choice and to stick to it as you learn to take the risk, if you really want to reach the goal. The following documentary gives even more information about freerunning and Sébastien Foucan.
by LondonRealTV
Is ADD, Parkour and Freerunning a lifestyle?
As you already have seen in the documentary “Nature of Challenge” from Northern parkour and the descriptions of the different disciplines, this disciplines can have a big impact on the life. Among other this disciplines can improve your self confidence and influence how you think about things. It is possible to project the “sport” into daily life and to see for example a exam or new working conditions as a challenge. From parkour you know that you can succeed if you try hard enough and from freerunning you know that you should go for it. If it becomes a part of the life of a traceur / traceuse and how he / she sees the discipline is up to the person self, but the chances are high that a serieus traceur / traceuse will include it in some way into daily live.
Summary
There is a big discussion if the three terms (parkour, freerunning and ADD) are the same or something different. The three terms are very related and have a huge common ground due to the same origin - The Méthode Naturelle. Non of the disciplines is a competitive sport. It is always about you and what you want to do with the obstacle. This also means that everyone can do it and that the big jumps are side effects. Consequently the aim is not to be cool or to impress someone. Perhaps the three terms can be seen as different focuses whereby the original parkour does not include flips but focuses on being strong to be useful, be prepared for every situation and to challenge yourself. The original focus of Freerunning is expressing emotions whereas ADD is about the art of movement.
The disciplines also mean something different for everyone and it can be a live style, but probably everyone agrees on that point that it is 100 % freedom.
If you want to watch and reed more about parkour, ADD and freerunning then have a look at the links.