Parkour
[par-core] | noun
Parkour is the physical discipline of training your body to get from point A to point B as safely, quickly, and efficiently as possible, whilst overcoming all obstacles in your path.
The Back Story
Created almost 40 years ago in the streets of Paris, Parkour has a unique history. What began as a study in human movement, turned into obstacle course navigation, which evolved into techniques taught to firefighters.
French actor and stuntman David Belle caught onto those techniques from his father, and started doing le parcours with his friends.
The sport has come a long way since then, and we’re here to show you that Parkour isn’t just something for viral videos. It’s for real people who want to learn practical movement and make their bodies useful.
How Can Parkour Help Me?
Train your brain
More than just the sum of its physical moves, Parkour is about challenge — physical and mental. Parkour is about conquering fear.
When you train Parkour, you get better every time at overcoming challenges you never thought you could. Not only that, you’ll knock out challenges that seem impossibly scary, but finish easier than you thought. Your mind is powerful!
You could save a life
Parkour was originally created by a firefighter, Raymond Belle. His philosophy was that there should be nobody in any burning building that is unreachable. He taught practical movements to help firefighters navigate those situations.
In the unlikely event that you should find yourself in a similar situation, you will have the physical tools to save lives, whether another person’s — or your own. The diversity of disciplines you can learn here will keep you prepared.
Sometimes you need to hop that fence
Have you ever had a football or frisbee fly way out of the way, only to land on the other side of a fence?
With Parkour under your belt, your friends will watch you hop that fence and their jaws might just drop.
Parkour isn’t just about fences, either. Slipping on ice, climbing a tree, even just walking through a crowd. The increased body awareness and Parkour skills you’ll have will make you more agile in all parts of life.
Find Your Place
Parkour isn’t exactly what you would call mainstream. Sure, viral videos are probably how you heard about Parkour first, but what about the people that actually make up the community?
Because the Parkour journey is so personal, the community at large is incredibly welcoming to newcomers, and the community at Fight or Flight Academy is friendly — with a wide range of backgrounds. Enjoy the casual atmosphere, surrounded by like-minded people seeking to improve themselves.
5 Reasons to Train Parkour
We are teaching people how to be familiar with their bodies. As training goes on, you’ll naturally get stronger, faster, more agile. With some dedication to this ridiculously fun sport, not only will you be in great shape, but you’ll have some useful, safe skills too!
When you do Parkour, you’ll be so focused on learning sweet moves, trying challenges with others and having fun, that you won’t even know you are working out! Train at your own pace -- there's always something new waiting for you.
Parkour is built around incremental progress, so you can start small and finish big. It's all about continuous improvement. Fight or Flight Academy shows you a clear path towards your goals. They may not come fast, they may not come easy, but those achievements will come.
Bonding through training is a real thing. Everyone is here to cultivate improvement in themselves and others.
By putting yourself into a mindset of overcoming challenge, or being willing to fail, you create a bond. As long as you’re willing to participate, there’s friends to be made. Those friends are the ones that can teach you sweet skills too!
The community at Fight or Flight Academy is eclectic and warm. Parkour is a unique and growing sport, and thus it attracts unique and growing people. We are all here, having fun, and travelling our journey. Think of us like a non-PC safe space. Be yourself!
MYths & Misconceptions
Isn't Parkour
Risky?
Yes, but...
Isn't Parkour
Illegal?
Parkour is not a crime
Isn't Parkour for the
young
& fit?
Parkour is a lifelong sport
Don’t think of getting in shape to start Parkour, start Parkour to get in shape!