|
|
 |
Frequently Asked Questions
(click the icons on the left to expand the topic)
- About New England Parkour
- New England Parkour (NEPK) was founded at the start of 2006 with the
goals of spreading the original ideals of Parkour in a positive light
throughout the northeast, and building a harmonious community. In
order to follow those ideals we maintain that parkour cannot be
competitive, and attempt to help our fellow traceurs whenever possible.
We welcome Freerunners and people of all disciplines to join our
community and come jam with us. NEPK is dedicated to serving its
members, and proceeds from this site go back into the community. By
helping our members train and travel to jams, we hope to encourage them
to help each other and remain part of a healthy community.
- What is Parkour?
- Parkour is a non-competitive natural method to train the human body to
be able to move forward quickly, making use of the environment that's around
us at any given time. This 'art of displacement' requires neither specific
structure nor accessory for its practice. The body is the only tool. It's an
athletic discipline accessible to all, because it combines all the natural
skills of the human body: running, jumping, climbing, etc. It's a utility
sport that permits exploration of the potential offered by your body. It's
about being able to face the obstacles with which you are presented, whether
they be in the natural environment or in the urban environment, in a search
for movement that combines effectiveness and control. -Paraphrased from
parkour.net
- Who is David Belle?
- David Belle is not only the founder/creator of the discipline of
Parkour, but also a man we all look up to very dearly on this site. David
Belle was born on the 29th of April 1973 in Fécamp, the Seine-Maritime
departement of Normandy, and later moved to the Parisian suburb of Lisses,
just outside of Evry. Running, jumping, vaulting, climbing, hanging,
balance, surpassing himself, developing his self-confidence, being able to
overcome obstacles so he could continue to advance... For David, all these
things became an obsession. An obsession to release himself from all
obstacles, constraints and fears, and to be able to go wherever he chose to
go; achievements owing as much to mental development as to physical prowess.
At the age of 15 he found others that would eventually share this passion
with him and further develop Parkour with him. Today he can be seen on
television and in the movies further promoting his ideals and the art he
helped thousands in the world start. David Belle wanted to carry on
the spirit of his father, grandfather, and many other firemen & soldiers who
had dedicated their lives to helping others. In that spirit, a traceur's
only competition would be to see who can help the most people. -Paraphrased
from parkour.net
- What is Freerunning?
- Freerunning is a discipline similar to parkour founded by one of David
Belle's old training partners Sebastien Foucan. Foucan combined parts
of parkour with his own philosophy to create a new discipline called
Freerunning. Freerunning incorporates flips, spins, and any other
movement the practitioner deems beautiful. The main difference between
parkour and freerunning is the intention. A freerunner intends to move
beautifully whereas a traceur intends to move quickly and efficiently. For
information on why freerunning is constantly confused with parkour, please
read
this article.
- Is it dangerous? I've seen videos of people jumping from roof to
roof...
- Parkour is only as demanding as you make it. Practitioners
generally make a slow, safe progression, so that they do not try any
techniques that are beyond their limits. Community members will help
you at jams with techniques to progress safely. Furthermore we
discourage roof jumping as it can easily lead to injury or arrest. The
large majority of techniques can be practiced at a ground level.
- I'm not sure if this is right for me. I'm worried about
[age/weight/gender/fitness].
- Although our average age over the 6 states is 17, we have had people
from 12 to 40 join our jams. Our community welcomes anyone willing to
learn with open arms. We have boys, girls, whites, blacks, traceurs,
and freerunners all jamming in harmony. Also since there is such a
wide range of techniques to practice, weight and fitness is not an issue.
Parkour is great because there is no ultimate goal to accomplish, no set
paths, no set difficulty level; it is fully scalable to whatever you are
capable of or however hard you want to push your limits. You are not
required nor pushed to do anything at meets and pending on what you want to
do, you can be given small tasks in order to build your skills up. All in
all, you are free to just watch the first few times as well while getting
accustomed to what we do.
- How do I get started?
- You can start by
signing up to our forums and introducing yourself. You will find
that community members are welcoming and eager to teach. Or you can browse
our
Jams section, find the date and location of the next jam near you, and
just show up! Just bring a good sturdy pair of shoes and a positive
attitude. If you want to train on your own at first, take a look at our
hotspots for places to train. You might want to take a look at the
examples
page before trying out new techniques for the first time. Browse our
forums for more info on
getting started and
shoe
reviews.
- What do I do if I see police, security, or property owners?
- Keeping a positive image for a parkour is very important to us. The most
important thing to remember is DO NOT run! If someone asks you to leave then
do so respectfully. Apologize and leave immediately. If they ask for an
explanation, then do your best to describe parkour briefly. You can mention
that traceurs have the utmost respect for other's property, and do not mean
to cause any harm. Remember that the way you act when confronted with
authority figures reflects on the entire community, so please be respectful
no matter how rude they may be.
|
|
|
Copyright © New England Parkour . All rights reserved.
|
|
