I would like to draw your attention on a fundamental basis of Parkour which, in my opinion, several traceurs have somewhat lost sight of… including myself! Recently, in an article I read again on Parkour.net, I was touched by David Belle words in an interview. Several tracers from California have had the chance to meet, discuss and even train with David Belle for a few days. What struck me in this article was the mentioning of one of the vocations of Parkour, which is to help people in all situations when our abilities permits it, seems to have lost its initial importance in our community... This made me think! Here is my humble opinion on the subject.

To move, to exceed and to discover ourselves are aspects of the everyday life of a traceur, yes? We run in the street as if they belonged to us, while always seeking to be in movement! With great concentration, we look around ourselves and we observe every little corner thoroughly. For us, no path is to be excluded especially those which nobody other than a traceur would dare undertake. Even while leaving the grocery store, a bag in one hand, we analyze the surrounding structures while thinking of the possible movement. A ‘saut de chat’ over the grocery cart haunts your mind. A ‘passe-murraille’ on the wall next to you seems very enticing. But… do we really notice everything that occurs around us or have we contained our spirit? I am not talking about saving a family trapped by flames, but people in ordinary situations, where a simple gesture goes a long way. For example, in the preceding situation, where you came out of the grocery store with your bag in one hand, do you see the old lady next to you with her 4 bags? With your physique you could easily carry 10 of them but will you come to her aid, or even notice her?

As a traceur, we develop a reflex which makes us look at our environment differently from our every day life. But I think we should notice, with the same intensity we do for obstacles, situations where we can be useful. Pkdanno sent me an article which proves relevant to my thoughts. In Toronto, an old lady slipped and fell on the subway tracks. A 22 year old man, not even knowing there was an electric current, jumped between the tracks. He helped the lady rise and then leaned against the external wall while the train passed less then two meters from their face. The first questioned that I asked myself was: Would I have seen the old lady fall? Or would I have been too busy imagining myself doing a ‘saut de chat’ on the rail…

A traceur seeks to progress on a physical and spiritual level. We spend a lot of time concentrating on our interactions with inanimate objects, but do we think about the living beings that surround us? From all these thoughts which circles in my head as of recently, I came to a conclusion. Personally, I will, for the rest of my life, see the world through the eyes of a traceur… but also from a human being worthy of living in a community. I will always look at the obstacles with the same passion but I will also observe the people around me.

-Guardian