The Strange Parkour Vs Freerunning Debate 

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We all do parkour. We’re all free runners. Yay.

"If the majority of what you do is not pure efficient movement, you're a free runner" Me, who doesn't do anything: I guess I'm a free runner now

Aah now i can send this vid to my friends because i dont want to explain it anymore, Thanks!

I got into Parkour AFTER I had already been a gymnast for years, so I of course was more of a free runner. Recently I’ve been working more on the “Efficient” moves as you mentioned, because one day I met some dudes at a local parkour gym who were like “You’re not into parkour, you just like to flip off of things.” WELL NOW IM REALLY GOOD AT VAULTS AND PRECISIONS SO SUCK IT GYM DUDES.

imo "traceur" sounds dope af, which is why i use it to describe what i train

Another banger of a video! What a blast from the past to see that post from Alfred!

Great video. When I grow up I want to be a parkourist like you.

I'm not even super into parkour/freerunning but I always find myself watching your content. I like the way you deliver info and you put a lot of effort into your vids

Parkour back then: "Alright! Efficiency here I come!" Parkour now: "Let's make things intentionally difficult for ourselves!" I came to this realization recently when teaching. A lot of the time the challenges that we give ourselves can be done in ways that are a lot easier. To me this sounds more like pushing yourself and personal development than just A to B.

If you were really doing parkour thus getting as far from A to B you'd take the bus

I think you forgot about one side of the argument, Jimmy. When I first started with parkour in 2005, some people argued that they're only *practicing* for parkour, but not doing the thing itself. All the inefficient movement that's not directly from A to B, even if without flips, was just practice for a hypothetical situation that might occur. So, if you were running away from someone or escaping from a burning building or something like that, that would would be the actual parkour, where you'd probably go for the most efficient route. Sure, nowadays nobody would bother with this distinction, but back in the day, when people were seriously arguing about whether parkour is even a sport or just a "physical discipline", it was a different situation.

Bahahaha!! Jimmy!! You showed my best clips straight from the archives! =P Great video as usual! Definitely a good common debate that persists to this day. Thanks for the feature.

Parkour or freerunning? "Italian community joins the chat"

I remember that period very well. For what it's worth "Traceur" comes from the french verb "Tracer" that basically means to trace a line. Colloquially it means moving very fast, efficiently and with purpose, i.e. while ignoring distractions. Basically what you would do if you're evading someone. Perfect name for the original definition of Parkour, but you need some colloquial french understanding to appreciate it. Small bonus, the original french word this kind of activity is Parcours (pronounced the exact same way). David Belle renamed it Parkour because he thought that the more efficient orthography of using a 'k' for the same 'k' sound and dropping the silent 's' fitted the original philosophy well. That looked kinda silly for french people back then, but with time it got accepted. Most lay people will still think it is spelled 'Parcours'. Efficiency was backed into the DNA at the origins of Parkour in every way possible. Goes a long way at explaining why the Parkour vs Freeruning was such a heated debate back then. In early 2000s Flips felt all kinds of wrongs.

*In Russia we had such a debate since 2007* ))))

On the topic of aerial awareness, one of the guys I used to train with in Horsham got knocked off his moped at a junction and instantly tucked into a sideflip in the air. Over rotated on the landing and still injured his leg, but the paramedics said that it was the reactions of that which were life saving for him. Incredible video once again! looking forward to more man!

Slapping that Skater comparison at the end really made this video all come together! Good one

I think the term "traceur" sounds pretty cool. I've been to these disciplines for a fairly long time and been around this debate. I see both aspects, the effiency and creative movement as valuable. They both have their uses. Nowadays I don't really care anymore about whether people do flips or not. I remember there was a time like 4 or 5 years ago when it was difficult to find videos without flips. Sometimes you would just want to find a video with really good flow and efficient movement without too much flips, and when you search for "parkour" all you got was videos of people doing mainly flips. Now I think there has become a better balance, probably partly because likes of Storror that focus more on efficient lines with less flips. I gotta say, it still is kinda annoying if you are working on something more "parkour" type of movement like a precision or something and people come by asking you to do a backflip. Maybe its more about the interruption of your training and the neediness people display, like "show a backflip (for me)". Like they want something from you.

(Also it's 'tra-ceur' - the 'tra' as in 'tram' and the 'ceur' as in 'certain'.)

finaly a sponsor on this channel that doent try to sell me noodles

I'd love of a video that's a sort of "where are they now" with some of the older peeps maybe like all the dudes from upk, they were all so interesting to young me and I think it would be fun to see who's still training and what they're up to now

I definately remember that being an argument that I heard about when the notion of either had crossed my path back in school...I remember there were some kids that were rather angry at the people who were doing flips and such and especially at the people calling it "parkour", and that group being also angry when they did their efficient movements for the same course no flips or anything, just straight forward and were told that they were "too stiff" and that they needed to "loosen up" and things like that. I remember looking up the issue between them online and finding out about the actual meaning behind the name "parkour" and that there was a "sub-group" that was the "free-runners" who did the flips and such and had more fun with the sport...To me it was like comparing 2 parts of dance between that of your "Ballroom" dancing and your more interpretive dance or hip-hop dance...they are both the same sport, it's just different training that went into them, neither is less hard than the other, just a different approach...I always thought things like that were silly, and my friends on either side of the debate were given absolute HEADACHES when they tried to get me to take a side and instead of taking a side i told them they were all being dumb as it was just different versions of the same sport. >.> After a while they stopped talking to me about trying to get me to choose a side and instead would ask for impartial constructive criticism to help them improve their runs...even though i wasn't one who did either and still am not, I tend to have an eye for detail and so was able to help point out where some improvements could be made, or if they landed differently than before and so they took a spill but were unsure why, things like that. Over all it didn't effect me, but i do remember it being a HUGE deal for my friends and other kids when i was younger...though now those same people use the terms Parkour and free-running interchangeably *shrug* times change so do the meaning of words and how tightly people hold true to the original meaning tends to loosen over time as well...though that's my thoughts and opinions on the matter.

the one thing that does irk me still is every now and again I'll come across freerunners who train outside once every two months, mostly in a gym, can't do anything parkour related, but are very good at flipping off things indoors and outdoors. To me they are very good trickers because they lack some of the fundamentals like even safety rolls. Not turning my nose at it, but calling it free running gets under my skin

"...but in fact, people did go around saying they want to be tracer. they even made a song about it"

Oh man. This debate. I rember arguing amongst my parkour peers about the truth of this issue. Its very complicated, and interesting, and am so glad to hear your two cents. Cheers!

As a vanilla pedestrian, parkour appears to me like "someone running from the police", while freerunning seems like "showing off for TikTok".

The way I see it is there's 3 variables to parkour/free running, skill, speed, and style. Purely skill movements are rigid and technical, so this would be the parkour side, style would be more so how you can make it look, so the free running and flipping aspect, and then speed is the bridge between the two, can you do a stylish movement while being fast and precise.

when i do parkour at leastone person per day asks me if i can do a flip and then i have to explain that parkour isnt the same as free runing

Loooove it, Thank you Jimmy for sharing this PK/FR knowledge, Love to hear in a future video about Parkour, Freerun, and Art Of Motion (ADD=Art de Deplacement=Yamakasi) Much respect 🙏

Great video as always. I'm amazed how you find all this old footage to illustrate the points you are making. Great stuff. Perfect mix of nostalgia and new motivation.

I really enjoyed this video. You have the perfect balance of: - practical knowledge which informs your opinion, - educating without being patronising, - acknowledging your bias - 10 yr old kids doing backflips can pee off - and just being incredibly informative. Thanks!!! I've followed.

Been waiting for vid like this explaining the difference n that

I just call myself a parkour athlete now, it's way simpler, legitimises the sport when ppl consider us athletes and just sounds better

Dude! For the last 6 years I was an olympic weightlifter. Won nationals every year but deeply inside I knew that parkour gave me more pleasure. I trained parkour from age 9 or 10. Developed to streetworkout, tricking, gym and eventually weightlifting. Your video gave me those parkour goosebumps just like I remember it years ago, Watching videos before training and feel those butterflies in your stomach that urges you to go out and train. Because of your video im gonna clean the rust and go out to play once again. Love from Israel❤

When I was younger and this divide was more prominent I was more into the parkour side of things. Something about the speed and efficiency and flow of it all. Nothing beats the feeling of getting a good line really smooth and fast. The frustrating thing for me was wanting to see videos of people doing what I was doing but at a much higher level. I wanted to see the ultimate in speed, efficiency and flow. So I would go to youtube and no matter what keywords I would put in when looking for parkour videos the most common ones would be some dude doing a gymnastics routine in an empty field, maybe with a ledge involved. That was what bothered me. The inaccuracy. It was as if you were desperately trying to find videos on longboarding, but could only find x-games footage.

I've just started looking into this culture From an outsiders perspective, parkour seems like the sport side while free running is artistic expression. With some individuals combining both for personal challenge... and most importantly fun

Had no idea there was such divide between the two groups in some places. I was one of only a handful of people training around 2006 where I am so if anyone else wanted to come jump about on walls I wouldn't care if they wanted to do any inefficient movements! At the same time I was always more passionate about good old fashioned efficient movement and appreciated it more, and I did also have that slight snobby outlook on people who could flip but couldn't stick a jump. Edit: I should say, I do totally remember the endless debates and online arguments but I didn't know people would actively avoid training with people on the other side of the sport.

Another banger Jimmy - you’re making me get nostalgic and wanting to get back in the scene every time I watch one of your videos. I remember the huge divides and arguments - especially on the UFF, 3Run and parkour.net forums. I also loved the fact you used 3Run videos - I feel many of the young generation don’t realise how much 3Run, TCT (I think that was their name... with Liv?) and UF actually inspired thousands of us youngsters to get out and do parkour, Freerunning or even exercise!

Found your videos since you did a few things about rollerblading, which were spot on. Really enjoying going back through your parkour content though, this is good stuff.

Honestly, as a 14-year-old boy, traceur sounds way cooler than freerunner

Being a spectator of the sport, I've always seen it under the single label of parkour. I also guess the term Freerunning could be interpreted as the freedom of expression through movement. Idk I have no real stand on it, but as long as you're happy with what you do then that's all that really matters Callum is more of an A to B and he's happy with that. Benj throws allot of flare into his movement and lines and he's happy with that On a final note, if you look a at a group like storror, they have a wide variety of movement specialties, and they learn and adapt from each other. Not all of them can kong like Toby or jump like Callum, so they still impress each other, so they respect what each other do that much more I might be looking into it a bit much but that's what I interpret

Yees great video as always👏🏼👏🏼 I think your arguments are valid. The comparison with skateboarding is perfekt

In France we have a word to regroup parkour and freeruning , it's "art du déplacement"

I think that parkour and freerunning are the same sport with different styles and ways of moving. Like gymnastics has different disciplines but the person performing the skills are still a gymnast. Personally, I always preferred to be called a freerunner, although sometimes people said the 'parkour person' =). Got to go train parkour as a traceur or should I say 'trakuoer' lol.

Damn man Im scared of getting into this comment section after all those petty debates back in the day 😂😂😂 I agree with most of what you said in the video. For me PK and FR are just synonims, there is no use to dividing them anymore 🤷🏻‍♂️

It was a really necessary video for the community. Thanks bro!

I had a vague idea of the "difference" but really enjoyed this in-depth description! Thank you!

When I was active in the scene waaay back in the mid 00s, the division was pretty clear between the UF forums and the ADD/parkour.net forums. At that time a lot was made of some David Belle quotes regarding Parkour not just as the art of movement (l'art de deplacement), by that it was also the 'art of escape'. In that the purest example that [still] exists of actual parkour is the chase scene in Banlieue 13. I recall that the parkour forums (not the UF nerds) reached a bit of a consensus that 'parkour' was actually not simply moving efficiently, but but taking the most inefficient route, in the most efficient way. The freerunners obviously didn't like this, but even now when I'm stumbling across videos like this showing what the scene has been up to in the many years since I stopped, I still find myself cringing at the 'freerunners' bouncing through an area with flips and spins like a human pinball - literally taking the most efficient route and in the most inefficient way possible. I really wish there was a way at getting back at those old forums and reading through the 100s of pages of discussion on this. Anyway, you make cool videos, one that was missing from the 'most important' one was the 'training 3' video (i think) by Jin of TCT. It had Witness the Fitness by Roots Manuva in the background, and i bet even by todays standards it'd still stand up. I was lucky enough to train with the TCT guys after travelling halfway down the country to Cambridge. Heady days. Cool story bro...

sees that you posted a new video : calm its not a video about parkour : panic

Awesome video. Got an audible laugh from me with the "traceurs started attempting websters" clip

dude... that is a really great video. I don't mean that your other videos are not as good but I enjoyed this sooo much.

Love this video! Bro, can't wait for you to get to a million subs! also, how are you doing today Jimmy? (just callin u Jimmy, cuz it's easier. lol) but actually, how're you?

I think “efficient” is a bit stretched out in terms of defining characteristics of parkour, because efficiency can also pertain to energy as well. It’s gonna be easier to walk up a flight of stairs versus running up a wall and doing a climb-up. Just a thought

Great video 👍 Keep them coming

Thanks for always giving some great content

What about the use of "Freerunner" and "Traceur" being modes we switch between ?

haha

Man, All you videos are extremely well put together, really enjoy them

another great video Jimmy, way to go!

We do parkour, we are freerunners... In my opinion :)

If parkour is A to B, when Benj do this line we have to imagine he just couldn't run straight. For exemple We can imagine there is people to avoid in the way so he have to make is line longer and make detour . In my opinion it's still A to B.

Thank you so much for this great video! Fascinating, informative and entertaining :) For literally 20 years I've wondered what the difference is between freerunning and parkour! 😄

Thanks for doing this Jimmy!!🙏

Talking about free running *shows tricking*

I think that the line between the 2 is so thin, that's why I like the spectrum definition. Including a flip or not in a line is only a decision of the athlete. I think the moment you start creating a line you are creating a choreography, being that movement from a to b or else. Maybe we should take in consideration the question " what is the most efficient way to execute this line?" that for me makes freerunning parkour. Example: in the line of benj, wouldn't be efficient to start with the opposite foot that he used. Or if that happens it's a decision and has to be executed as efficiently as possible. That makes parkour a sport cause efficiency transforms the movement in technique and technicality it's a phisical achievement. That sets a goal for others to reach or to challenge with a new technicality. But this sport sits a bit in a weird spot because it has a huge artistic side. Thats why I find it beautiful, cause is not a only an execution but also an expression. I dont know if i messed up my reasoning but ye is cool

i'm so glad you covered this, i thought tbh this debate ended till like start of this year i posted in one of the parkour redits and got my ass cvhewed about it. also i agree what you think what parkour/freerunning is, its the same sport but different styles

Great video, very informative and I love the idea of it being two different 'disciplines' within the same sport.

I’m glad you bright this argument up. I wouldn’t have suspected that you had a “camp” once upon a time. I’m also glad to see you’ve out grown such a silly division. And you’ve adeptly highlighted just how silly this “division” is. Great work.

Great Videos man !

dead on with the analysis as usual. i agree with the idea of two styles of the same sport but i always thought it was hard to define the sport as a whole in that sense. with skateboarding it’s literally just if you’re riding a skateboard you’re skateboarding, but there’s so many different movement styles. people incorporate tricking, breakdancing, gymnastics, etc. into their free running styles so what’s to differentiate a really flowy type line from dancing? just the urban environment? spot on analysis of the difference between parkour and free running just being different styles of the same thing which i have always agreed with, but a think a more solid, common definition of the sport as a whole is needed

Lovely video mate! Again. Cool to see you always try to be objective!

I've been waiting for this! Also, I hate it whenever I talk about doing parkour and people are like, "Oh yeah? Can you do a backflip? No? Then you don't do parkour."

Sooo interesting! Thank you!

Thanks man !!! Learned a lot bro

Another brilliant video. Excellent points and I do agree that they are different styles of the same sport.

Awesome video Jimmy

Love this bro. I remember those day 😂 Also really enjoy the videos and athletes you chose to distinguish each style, such old school stuff.

Jimmy thanks for the video i agree. Love the content man!

Well conveyed idea, keep it up 👍🏼

Great video, I do not have before watching a definition of what I am doing but now I know, thanks you man !

Great,vid man!

This is what I call quality content mate!

Today you’ve earned a sub, keep it up mate!

Just exactly this!!!! I love the community with every issue we have had and sometimes still have.... I still remember me beeing a 8 year old just flipping and then my mate tenz and noa telling me to start doing parkour when i got 12 and now its just a complete interaction between the 2

Well made video bro ;) Will love for you to make videos about Parkour coaches and Parkour gyms. Sometimes I think educators are undervalued but I feel its most important job in a culture to cultivate and mentor the next generation

Great topic - bewildering how this was so important to so many. in my experience passionate traceurs hated freerunning because they were terrible at flips and freerunners didn't care for parkour because they didn't have the discipline to practice parkour movement.

Love your videos!!! But yeah 7 ads in between pissed me off😅😂😂

I love that you referenced a clip from the documentary 'People in Motion'. It is actually the documentary that made me fall in love with parkour and is still one of my favourite parkour documentaries :)

Man waited for so long finally

Totally agree with you man, nice video!!

I love seeing the old storror clips in ur vids 👍

Love your videos dog so well put together ❤ much love

lovely video mate you bring up some good points

Yeeesss half way in, like! Awesome video, thanks a lot for these informations, hints and und clues. Got some nice Ideas :D

Nice one Jimmy, I like the "two styles of the same sport" line/idea. A small thing I would pull you up on though is that if we take David Belle's defenition of parkour from heaps of interviews, he very consistently says "Parkour is a training method to overcome obstacles ....fast and efficient...blah blah blah", the key words there being "training method". So the idea is not so much that Parkour is only doing direct A to B lines, but training for being able to do that, in case you ever need it in a reach or escape scenario. Parkour is the training with a particular intention, not the end result or movements and lines themselves, if that makes sense? To me, that's why the term "Parkour competition" is an oxymoron. You can't really compete at training. You can compete in skills and challenges, or with races etc...but if Parkour is a method of training to overcome obstacles, then a "parkour comp" makes no sense if you take it litetrally. For the record, I train both Parkour and Freerunning, do stunts for a living, lean more towards parkour than free running in my training, and am totally fine with comps. But, I do think that when it comes to wording/desciribing some of the comps we see, "speed run comp" instead of a "parkour comp" makes much more sense. Peace bro

This dude gets me in an insane level. I’m kinda young but I remember when all this was happening and after some time I just came to this same conclusion on my own. I simply love the movement and look to becoming better whilst having fun :D

Please make that history of parkour video

Great video man, I’m pretty in the middle, like I don’t do flips (because I can’t) but I don’t necessarily always do the most efficient movement, much like that clip from benj

I discovered this channel a week ago and now I see how much I've missed - I didn't even know there was a division in the sport. And it sounds strange to ever have been one. Another perspective on the topic that plays with the definition - I've always seen them as one - Whenever I hear parkour or freerunning what I imagine in my head is freedom of movement. Simple as that and I think it's accurate. Btw great channel! Seems surprising that I found out about it so late.