5 Values of Parkour
Parkour has a strong philosophical core with its own values, but much like the “unwritten” codes of surfing, there is no official codification. However, I’d say there are five values of Parkour—because people like lists.
1. Safety
The first rule is survive. Parkour can be dangerous, but when trained properly, it actually teaches you how to approach risk safely.
Be aware of your surroundings and do safety checks of obstacles. This is important when exploring new terrain outside. You need to be conscious of what you are doing.
2. Strength
Parkour develops both physical power and mental resilience, which is useful in and out of training. As they say, “be strong to be useful.”
It helps to be strong before starting parkour, but in practice you tend to build strength as you go.
3. Courage
Parkour is excellent at providing challenges that sit just outside your comfort zone. All the traditional parkour movements can be practiced at many different levels, making it easy to find the right challenge to face your fears gradually.
Facing fears is life-affirming and cultivating courage can allows you to overcome other obstacles.
4. Freedom
Parkour teaches you how to move freely through physical space, but it also encourages freeing yourself from comparison and letting go of rigid styles in favour of personal expression.
This is most clearly demonstrated with freestyle parkour.
5. Humility
For beginners, parkour is harder than it looks. For advanced practitioners, it can be dangerous to show off.
Parkour requires a comfort with looking goofy and being schooled by kids on the ninja course. Just have fun.
- Michael Paul Jacobsen
