(2007-04-17) Parkour

Alec Wilkinson on Parkour. Through Jeff, David was exposed to the methods of Georges Hebert, a French sports theorist, whose motto was "Be strong to be Use Ful." Hebert believed that modern conveniences such as elevators were debilitating. He thought that Africans he had met while travelling were healthier and stronger than Europeans, and that the proportions of the bodies he saw in Greek and Roman statues were ideal. The philosophies and the exercises he developed, which are part of a French fireman's training, were also meant to cultivate Courage and discipline.... David was briefly a fireman recruit, until he hurt his wrist. While he was recuperating, he started thinking things over and saw that the life of a fireman had too many rules, and not enough action, and he decided to join the Marines, but he didn't find the same Value-s among them, the "traditional values." He left the Marines and went to India, where he stayed for six months... "I was at a waterfall one day," David Belle went on, "and there were huge trees all around, and in the trees were monkeys. There were fences and barriers around them, so they couldn't get out, but I went around the barriers and played with the monkeys. After that, I watched them all the time, learning how they climbed. All the techniques in parkour are from watching the monkeys."... Ordinary life really upsets him, though, because this world the rest of us live in is not where he finds his pleasure. He's easily disturbed by ordinary things. But he's also asking, "Why am I doing this parkour?" All his family who did this physical stuff were doing it for a reason, but he's asking, "Why am I doing this, what does it mean (Meaning)?" " Jeff added, "He's simple in his purposes. He doesn't like talking very much. He's someone who is looking for his way." I asked what sort of routines David observed in his training (Diet And Exercise). Jeff shook his head. "He's still eating Big Macs and drinking Coke," Jeff said. "He likes chicken sandwiches. He trains when it comes to him. He's usually sleeping in the morning. He's really a night guy."