Why parkour is dumb

Some might, and those people really are idiots. I dunno, I'm a little bias because a guy I knew at college has been doing parkour for years, he has travelled around the world doing it, been on TV doing it, teaches other people how to do it etc. So to me, it's just another street sport. While they are within their rights to do it, they shouldn't be be able to do it in any public location without the consent of the owners and signing a waiver that means the owners won't face charges if they injure themselves.

It's the threat to other people that is the key issue, ultimately. The whole point of parkour, assuming we're talking about actual parkour and not freerunning, is to be a means to move faster and directly from one place to another, especially in urban environments.

Not seeing how they'd be able to do it without doing it in others' property. Unfortunately property rights trump one's personal satisfaction. It would probably be satisfying to torch a structure but that's illegal for a reason. Consent is key in everything. A publicly-owned place like a park is slightly more of a gray area; that ultimately rests with the relevant governing body as governing bodies normally hold public places in trust.

It's almost like the issue with Skateboarding on someone else's property, except more suicidal to regular folk. And far more dangerous to those below.

A person falling from that height is going to kill someone. We could argue that's the case with airplanes, but airplanes serve an economically-useful purpose. This does not. To perform such feats you should have to obtain the consent of the owners where applicable once more, I'd say public parks probably are an exception given it's not really a threat to anyone but yourself, and I doubt the local government will care , and if it's private property in a public place you're even more screwed since that would mean waivers for any person who goes through the area Overall, parkour sounds like it needs to be kept to areas made specifically for it with waivers signed by all involved or games with cartoon hedgehogs.

Sucks but a lot of Daredevil acts need to be regulated for the good of public safety. I personally think parkour is cool BUT these kids should be wearing safety equipment of some sort; not a big-ass helmet but just something, you know? Parkour is THE anarchist extreme sport.

Nothing is more better for a person to challenge their limits than to perform this urban gymnastics. It's good for coordination and balace. A noob should perform in their yard and successively level up to a point they can perform in public though.

Unfortunately, laws still apply to you no matter how much you hate them. They are to be followed, or one risks being sanctioned, whether it be fines or imprisonment. No matter how professional they are, they are creating a risk of danger to other people in those areas should they fall; accidents happen. If they're real professionals, surely they'd be able gain permission from some owner of property somewhere; it would be a great publicity stunt.

The company could just assume legal damages that would theoretically be outweighed by the increased profits from more attention. Parkour may very well be economically exploited as an alternative means of transportation and cultural heritage.

Do not associate "economic purpose" with "associated corporativism", please. I'm sure driving through a public park with sufficient offroad capabilities might be more efficient in transportation than going on the roads around it as well.

If this really does serve a purpose, they should take it up with the relevant property owners. If they're as professional as they claim, they should have no problem obtaining permission or even convincing the owners. You need to be a member in order to leave a comment. Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy! Already have an account?

Sign in here. You must read and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy to continue using this website. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings , otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Sonic Hacking Contest Is Underway! Follow Me Inside, Outside The Sonic Stadium. Search In. Share More sharing options Having done Parkour for three years, I can tell you that I am ashamed to have been so stupid.

If you do an online search of Parkour being stupid, there are so many good points, and I will address each and add my experience to the complaints I saw. Jumping between rooftops is dangerous. Yep, one mistake can cause serious injury or death. And even though Parkour is not actually practiced on rooftops, except in the movies or by the very best who have sought permission, usually, it is legitimate to say all Parkour is stupid for that reason.

And Parkour is different than other sports. Bike riding can be as easy as riding a paved bike path or as hard as going down the side of a rocky mountain. Jumping on a trampoline can be anywhere between bouncing up and down to doing highflying triple flips at the Olympics.

But Parkour begins at jumping rooftops. Day one, jump between twenty story buildings. Day two, repeat day one. Day three, nobody survives the first two days. There is no reward for doing it. Yep, this rapidly growing, international discipline has no value and is performed because our brains are made of eggplant. I almost thought I did it because it was a great form of exercise, made me a more confident and capable individual physically and mentally, offered a great way to focus my mind, offered similar qualities to meditation, provided a great social experience, and helped me understand that I can overcome limitations both personally and societally.

But then I realized how stupid that sounded. The real dream is to be an obese, overworked, overstressed working drone putting all my time and thought into things like my next paycheck and a house mortgage instead of the beauty and wonder of the world and being alive. Oh yeah, and those six-pack abs we all seem to have from our training, gross.

No doubt. It is not certain if those who use the term are making fun of it, or are, in fact, impressed.

NOTE: avoid using this term at all costs, because the people practicing will give you a disgusted look and go somewhere else; it's a big red flag saying "I'm a douchebag! It's wrong if you call a Parkour practitioner a 'Parkourer'. A Parkour practitioner is called Traceur. Traceuse for female Parkour practitioner.

Some dude : Are you a Parkourer? Traceur : No i'm not, a Parkour practitioner is called Traceur.