Forum reply... parkour culture

I’ve been saving up a while to contribute to this one. I apologise in advance for the truckload of wank coming your way, but this is something I think about a lot, so I’ll probably go on a bit. Please feel free to tear my observations apart - nothing like a good correction to bring one down to earth.

I’ll start by taking things back to the idea of culture. There is no question in my mind that parkour in Melbourne (my only point of reference) has a definite culture. As far as I am concerned, a culture is a shared system of meanings (Clifford Geertz came up with that definition, and its the one many anthropologists - the guys/girls in the funny hats that study cultures - use). It can be localised, it can be global, what really matters is that those participating in a culture understand each other and share a common basis of experience. Within the boundary of each local culture this common exchange of meanings needs to be articulated and understood by its members, so the culture develops a language and a common set of goals. All this is often held together by a history and a shared philosophy. Put all of this is one sack, shake and allow to settle and what you will pull out will be a community. Correct me if I am wrong, but I definitely see that in Melbourne.

I suspect that the culture in Melbourne is distinct and unique. I wholeheartedly embrace the idea that leadership and organisation helps to cement and define a culture. Leaders cultivate the philosophy and history of a culture and define the goals of the community. Cutos to our leaders, the Melbourne culture is healthy, self-questioning and open. Having said all that, we must take for granted that both culture and communities are in a state of constant evolution and change - as 13th tribe pointed out earlier. Systems of meaning are re-interpreted, new meanings are formed and old ones are discarded, upgraded and forgotten. Communities change. Members come and go, numbers grow and shrink and communities divide and merge together.

All that said I don’t believe that parkour culture is still in the process of ‘forming’ – because it always will be – I believe that is constantly evolving. This is healthy and good. The second it stops forming it will be dead.

Now would be the time to go grab a coffee and a muffin, cause you’re half-way…

This thread has returned regularly to the idea of skateboarding as parallel culture. Something others often compare parkour to. Fair enough, the two are both similar because both involve the use of public (and sometimes privare) space in new and creative ways. Both are about practice and the refining of skill. Both are often perceived as forms of personal, physical expression. I’m not saying they are the same, but clearly many of us see the similarity. A clever bloke called Duncan Humphreys wrote an article about the artistic sensibility of activities such as snowboarding and skateboarding. These are forms of physical self-expression. Personal activities that are more akin to art than sport. I think parkour also fits this category. These are supported by personal goals and an over-reaching philosophy. However, the philosophies of skateboarding/snowboarding are different from the philosophies of parkour. Humphreys suggests that individualism and personal style are at the very centre of boarding. This individualistic focus is enforced by the influence of punk culture. Punk culture gives these activities an in-your-face, destructive, uncompromising, counterculture edge - an “I’ll do what I like and fuck you” attitude. You can find elements of this attitude in skater/boarder-videos, mags and the behavior of skaters themselves. Not all skaters try to be ‘punk rock’ (I skate a bit and snowboard a lot) but it is a part of the culture.

I don’t see the punk-rock element in the parkour community of Melbourne, though I do think that the underlying artistic sensibility is there. There are also elements of self-empowerment, altruism and physical and psychological discipline and responsibility. These things are nearly the total opposite of the self-destructive and anti-social elements of punk. The difference is massive. Outsiders don’t take the time to notice this, they see the similarities and assume these extend to self-destruction and anti-sociability, the fact that both activities have an element of risk makes things even more complicated. “These crazy people are trying to kill themselves! They’d think nothing of damaging our property…” is the reaction. I haven’t spoken to enough people who protest parkour, but I think this is part of the reason people have such negative reactions to traceurs in action.

There’s more to be said about psychological and physical changes that all traceurs experience as a result of their training. The passions and perspectives that they develop that help forge a common outlook on the world… These things also shape the culture of parkour, but these ideas are only half-formed, so I’ll save them for later. Whew, that was long.

Anything to add?