I have been practicing parkour close to 20 years now. When we started training we would try to discover vaults and find out what is being practiced by the founders on the other side of the globe. In 2005 and 2006, there weren’t many accessible sources that formalized parkour and showed the different vaults that were part of Parkour techniques. When we found a technique we would want to learn, that learning intention made us search for a space in the city where that vault can be practiced.
Over a period of time our practiced revolved finding out spaces where the techniques can be tested and the boundaries pushed. There were a few of us who would push in terms of strength and power, there were a few of us who would push the boundaries in terms of flow and aesthetics. But it always boiled down to finding spaces where the vaults can be practiced.
With the years of training, I realized that the spaces that we would not explore or deemed boring were ones that have the perfect structure to execute a move. For example, everyone fancies doing a monkey vault. But the wall has to be at a certain height for a person to be able to execute it gracefully, there should be a nice space on the other side to land comfortably, the top of the wall where we place our hands shouldn’t be slippery, etc etc …While this was necessary to be safe and to learn techniques, the practice of searching for a spot to execute moves doesn’t truly embody the spirit of exploration that parkour thrives on.
Parkour is about exploring spaces. Period. If one can execute the moves that one already knows, great. If not then the pursuit of a parkour practitioner should be to create movements and techniques and explore the space that they are in. Not let predetermined moves dictate the flow of exploration in a space. While this might sound very unattractive on social media or for practitioners looking for an adrenalin rush, trust me when I say this – exploring a space through a parkour lens and not a vault lens is much more inclusive, enriching and intellectually/creatively stimulating.