About my training
I started my first sport, Taekwondo, in 2000 at the age of 13. During the next 6 years I graduated until the brown belt.
 
In 2006 at the age of 18 I became acquainted with the art of movement, Le Parkour. I got in contact with some local traceurs and had my first Parkour training on April 29th 2006, a day I will remember forever.
 
Parkour enriched my life more than anything before.
 
Gallery: Model Benedikt
Video: Who I am... Parkour Sampler
Video: A retro Parkour movie
 

Thoughts about the art of movement
Long long time ago, the people needed be physically fit and resourceful in order to master their everyday life. Then the civilzation came for most the people and to importance of physical fitness decreased.
In the early 20th century a man called Georges Hébert developed the natural methode "Methode Naturelle". According to this idea every human being should train to get along in the nature. The natural method which is still tought in the french army today has 10 exercises.
 

• Walking
• Running
• Jumping
• Climbing
• Quadrupedal movement
• Balancing
• Lifting
• Throwing
• Self Defense
• Swimming

"Be strong to be useful" is the mottoe. Useful for you, and other people.
 
Parkour is an art to help you pass any obstacle. This art is developed by David Belle, inspired by his father.(www.parkour.net)
 
Raymond Belle was a child soldier in Vietnam. His life depended on perfect physical fitness, and the ability to move through the jungle. Years later in France he educated his son David Belle according to the ideas of the natural method. When David was 15 years old the family moved to Lisses, a suburb of Paris. He applied the ideas of movement to the urban sorroundings. Soon the group "Yamakasi" who were training together movement and acrobatics were founded. Later in the 1990s David wanted to follow his father's way and he founded the group "Les Tracers". During this time the idea of efficient movement got the name "Le Parkour", and the philosophy of Parkour was developed. The name "Le Parkour" was an idea of a friend of David Belle, who didn't train himself. "Parkour" springs from the french word "parcours". The "c" was exchanged for an "k" to show Parkour is nothing soft, the "s" got omitted because of the efficiency. The person who practises Le Parkour is called "Traceur".
 
etre et durer - to be and to last
 
If you start training Le Parkour seriously, you recognize a process of self-knowledge. I've learned to listen to my body, I learned about my physical limits but also of my potential, I even changed my nutrition. It's very important to listen to your body, and understanding the warning signales when its overextended. A good traceur has to master all the steps on his way, not only the big jumps. Beacause he wants to be strong, healthy, flexible and fit and so last so.
 
Here a qoute from Blane's Blog:
What will be the long-term effects of doing 12ft level arm jumps when the shoulders haven't experienced 10,000 smaller ones?
What will be the long-term effects of dropping 15ft to concrete when the legs haven't experienced 10,000, 5ft drops?
Time will tell.
 
But While passing physical obstacles I also encountered a lot of mental obstacles. The philosphy of Parkour says that every obstacle has to be passed efficiently. A problem in your everyday life is also "just" an obstacle, that can be passed. With that awareness my life changed a lot. I am more determined and more self confident than ever before. If you engage yourself in Parkour it will change you, but: "Serious Parkour has to be in your heart!" - (Owen Covill, TeamTraceur)
 
Parkour is like a deep blue see. You can see only the the smallest part and your reflection. (Stefan Biller)
 
Beyond Le Parkour there are some other sports that look similar to it. But they aren't.
 
The concept of Le Parkour is the effiecent movement. Parkour is not only the name of the "sport" you can see in videos, but the name of the idea standing behind the physical exercises. If you run through a pedestrian zone without loosing speed and without touching any person, you do good Parkour although you probably don't use any techniques like saut de bras or saut de chat." Andi Kalteis from Austria said: "Parkour is not about jumping gaps, Parkour is about efficency. Being in a hospital is not efficient"
 
Free Runnig was developed by Sebastien Foucan who is one of the first persons who were training with David Belle. It combines techniques from Le Parkour and Tricking. Free Running is about expressing yourself, style and aesthetics.
 
Yamakasi - L'art du déplacement is also a bit different. The Yamakasi also combine Parkour techniques and acrobatics. But "L'art du déplacement" is also often used as synonyme for "Le Parkour". On www.le-parkour.com you can read:
"Le Parkour , c' est l' art du déplacement , la science du franchissement, une discipline sportive permettant d'aller d' un point A vers un point B."
 
So we have a lot of definitions and confusion today. By misunderstandings people from the different "disciplines" began to argue, and the Parkour scene also got disunited. Daniel Ilabaca from Liverpool said something very important during a workshop in Berlin: "...so you can follow belle or the Yamakasi ...and do the same things like they've done ..or you just go your own way with your own ideas ..."
 
I myself train Le Parkour according the ideas of effiency, but I also train because I want to get the physical and mental ability to move everywhere in nature and urban surroundings. Because I think, real effiency can only originate if you've learned to move everywhrere. In addition to Le Parkour I also train martial arts and bouldering ... So my training is influenced by ideas of the methode naturelle. Can this still be defined as "Parkour"? Can I be defined as a "Traceur"? In every case my opinion says: A Traceur is someone who follows his way, who trains his art of movement with the thought of effiency,but he's not to proud to tolerate and checkout other kinds of movement.
 
Forget about the name and move!
For me it doesn't matter if somebody does Parkour, FreeRunning, tricking, art du deplacement or something else. Not the name of "the art" is important, but the person standing behind it. We move and that's it: We move, and want to improve ourselves.
 
In consideration of all the conflicts in Parkour communities all over the internet, perhaps it is the best you can do.
Go your way. Do your training!
 
If you read the complete text until here, you are really tough :-)
Yours, Benedikt.