Herbetiste wrote ...
IMPOSTURE :

The act or instance of engaging in deception under an assumed name or identity.




At some point in parkour "history," actually not long ago, many people in the community were willing to accept and have everyone accept the idea of acrobatics as part of parkour.
Even though the non-utility acrobatic movements are not part of the purpose of parkour, they had their own arguments trying to convince the rest of the community and many conflicts and arguments arose.
One of their arguments was that we had nothing to worry about since we'd remain free to not flip if we didn't want to!
But we simply knew acrobatics was not a part of parkour and at no time could it be accepted as a part of it.
It wasn't about debating the benefits of training acrobatics and the freedom
for anyone to train and perform them.
It was simply to have them understand it wasn't and couldn't be part of parkour, ever. And that they had no right to portray parkour as involving artistic movements and their training as part of the purpose of parkour, since it would obviously affect the image of parkour and the way it is trained.
By strongly standing against, we made it not happen and therefore preserved
the utility and original meaning and essence of parkour.
By doing this we preserved the correct overall perception and image of parkour in the population and in the media.

We stood against and it worked.


We're now facing the same issue.
Many in the parkour community are discussing their own arguments and they're also using the very same argument, telling us we're free to not compete!
Remind you of something?
Just like it wasn't about discussing if acrobatics are good or bad, this is not a discussion about whether competition is good or bad.
Acrobatics are not part of parkour.
Competition is not part of parkour.

I don't need anyone to tell me I am free not to compete. I practice parkour partly because it's a rivalry free discipline. I will not accept a few individuals redefining parkour to suit their goals when it is clear what they are pursuing is contrary to what parkour is.
I want to know that parkour will keep rivalry free.
It is not just a great concern like people thinking parkour includes acrobatics.
It is a MUCH GREATER CONCERN.
It is about our right to preserve parkour from not only being portrayed, but also practiced, in a way that is OPPOSITE to its very essence: which is non-competitive, and rivalry free.

We did not accept the argument that parkour was aesthetically driven as well as utility driven, because one was original and the other was not.
We also cannot accept competition as part of parkour because it is antagonistic to the values of parkour
Because parkour is non-competitive.
Because the practice of similar movements but for a different purpose and with an OPPOSITE mindset must bear a different name.

For many years now I've understood that "fighting" FOR the reality you want is always much better than fighting AGAINST the reality you dislike.
So far, the parkour community has affirmed that parkour is non-competitive, but probably not enough, because there seemed to be no actual threat so far. There is clearly a threat now, it was stated and affirmed, by two commercial websites which are APK and UFF.
Sometimes it's good, and simply necessary, to say NO. In order to fight FOR the reality you want and the one you have and want to preserve, you need to fight against and show and fierce resistance, NOW and until that threat exists.

A few people, pretending to have a great understanding of parkour, are promoting values that show a total misunderstanding of parkour, and also a true disrespect for the discipline and its practitioners.
If they succeed with their plans, they are going to be responsible for a great DILUTION of parkour. That will create a new community of competitive people illegitimately calling what they do "parkour" simply because they will train the same movements, even though they neither understand nor respect the original ethics.
If they succeed they're going to dilute the original parkour, a rivalry free discipline, into a competitive sport that pushes people to fight against others for the satisfaction of a crowd and the benefits of a few businesspeople.
They also might be responsible for creating a DIVISION in the current parkour community.
The outcome of the current issue will greatly depend on the capacity of the community to resist and again to collectively stand against these plans to modify, alter and hijack the original philosophy of parkour.

"Freestyle parkour" didn't happen.
It's up to us to make sure "competitive parkour" shares the same fate.
We have to act now before it's too late and before the few decide for us all.

Show your opposition whenever and wherever it is possible.
Don't loose time and energy debating about competition itself anymore.
Indeed competition can bring positive as well as negative outcomes, we all know that, so it's not being against any form of competition, but about being against competition in parkour. As for "parkour in competition," it's simply nonsense. Parkour isn't only a set of movements, but training capacities of movement with a rivalry free philosophy.
You can enter any competition and use the physical and mental capacities and condition you got thanks to your parkour training, but as soon as you start competing, your mindset has already left the mindset that parkour demands: rivalry free.
As soon as you want to beat others, parkour ends. That's because parkour is above all about ethics, and an ethics which does not condone rivalry.
It means that any event based on people competing against each other cannot be called parkour.
It also means that someone competing in any kind of competitive event cannot be using "parkour." That person is only using capacities developed through parkour, but not with the mindset that parkour demands.
I do not believe the argument either about how other disciplines or sports
evolved to competition. Parkour is unique. Parkour is non-competitive, it is not even an option, it is part of its very core philosophy to not only be non-competitive, but also to avoid and stand against rivalry.

So my advice and suggestions:

First, don't buy the illusion that it is "inevitable." It is not, but it is what they want you to believe in order to weaken your resistance. They also count on your own curiosity for their future events. If the whole community stands against it, and make it VISIBLE we are against them, it's going to be a very BIG obstacle for those people convincing the media their intentions are accepted or approved by the community they're supposed to be "leaders" of. It will just show that what they do is an imposture, not the real discipline. Sponsors are very reluctant to invest money in events that might be counterproductive in term of advertising.

Second, just OPPOSE the introduction of competition in parkour, just like you opposed the introduction of acrobatics in parkour. Just say no; just tell them you don't want those competitions. Don't get fooled by their rhetoric. Keep in mind it's above all a great way for them to be in a position to be leaders of a commercialized discipline and make money, not to help a genuine community committed to the discipline's original ethics. Competitions and acrobatics can be good, but NOT in parkour, because it opposes what parkour is.
Oppose it wherever and whenever you can on forums, register to express this opposition right on their boards if necessary, and don't let those people promoting competition let people believe it's "ok" because it is not. It is a betrayal of the true nature of parkour.


Third, DEMAND they call their event something other than "parkour," because the movements without the parkour spirit of non-rivalry is simply not parkour anymore and therefore what their sport would be an imposture.

Fourth, make an anti-competition signature of your own, like:
"Keep parkour free of competition"
"Parkour is a rivalry free discipline",
"Competing is not a parkour value"
or such.

Fifth, put a "pro-rivalry FREE" or "anti-parkour competition" announcement on your personal blog or community website.
You can use the one made by TK17 and myself if you wish.
Make it visible everywhere; competition won't be tolerated within the community.

Sixth, they may tell you they don't intend to call their event "parkour" something. I say don't even tolerate the promotion of competitive events, existing or not, on parkour websites. It is the seed of confusion, alteration and dilution of the conception of parkour, and oppose it wherever and whenever you find it.


FORCE them to RESPECT the philosophy of parkour and therefore to respect
you.
There's no negotiation possible with people that pretend to understand
parkour while trying to justify and impose plans that stand against parkours philosophy and therefore stand against the parkour community itself.
Their so-called "freedom" to make parkour competitive is simply thinking
that "parkour is whatever you want it to be."
But there is more: this freedom is denying our own freedom to preserve the rivalry-free philosophy in parkour. Defending the non-competitive essence of parkour is natural and legitimate. It is our freedom. Their "freedom" is just an imposture.
I don't believe they should be free to hijack parkour for their own benefit
by DESTROYING the very essence of parkour.
If they succeed, it will be impossible to seriously teach and spread parkour as non-competitive.
Another kind of practice will spread that may be called parkour, but that won't hold its essence anymore.

One last thing..."imposture" is an act of deception.
Now that they affirmed they do plan competitive events, they're not deceiving us anymore indeed.
But by showing many people parkour is about competing, they engage in a massive act of global deception of all people that don't know parkour yet.
That is an extremely serious issue for parkour.


Yes, I do believe it is as serious as that.

STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHT TO KEEP PARKOUR RIVALRY FREE.

Herbertiste wrote ...
Here's the text TK17 and myself wrote.
It is free for you to use.


This community supports PARKOUR, not COMPETITION - Run Without Rivals

The members of this community stand firmly against the idea of organized parkour competition. Our reasons:

1.
We don't believe in elites.
We don't believe in any form of selection among practitioners.
We don't believe in the necessity of any form of hierarchy of performance among practitioners.
We believe to be "the best" doesn't mean anything in parkour, because winning or losing don't mean anything in parkour philosophy.
We do not accept such a drive as part of the parkour philosophy.

Instead, we believe the drive to train should always and only come from within.
We strive to be stronger for ourselves and others, not against people, but with and for others.
Therefore, we reject and disregard any form of rivalry between practitioners.
Instead, we value mutual respect and solidarity in making progress as individuals and as a community.

2.
We believe it stands against the philosophy of parkour to compete to win or earn anything that is not part of parkour values, such as medals, prizes, trophies, money, fame, recognition, or glory.
Same goes about showing off for a crowd.

Instead, we look for priceless and beneficial outcomes to our actions.
We also look for benefits we all can share.
We are givers, not takers.

3. Competition encourages the unready to sacrifice their health for early victories, or to reach a ranking that has no true meaning.
It forces elite competitors to constantly and repeatedly endanger their most precious good, health, because of obsession and obligation of victory, and whatever is at stake as a direct consequence of it, including money, rank or status, pride, and also professional or sponsoring contracts and profitable commercial deals.
It leads competitive practitioners to unbalance their training and focus only on the specific skills needed to win, leading to chronic injuries.
Despite official denials, doping is most of the time involved in every level of competition, that money is involved or not.
We believe the physical consequences of competing at high level goes against the philosophy of parkour which emphasizes on moderation and the necessity of enduring.

Instead, parkour is a humble, patient and lifelong discipline, and the human body requires incremental conditioning to ensure its resistance and longevity.
Moderation is a truly important value of parkour and an indispensable quality in order to preserve oneself and for the body to endure.
Therefore, we reject whatever goes against moderation and that impairs the body.

4. Parkour doesn't belong to corporations, sponsors, medias, and people sitting at home to watch.
We believe we must not accept activities and plans that are abusively called parkour, that misuse its name and hijack its image to draw public and medias attention to something that is NOT parkour, despite the resistance of the majority of the community against such intentions.

Instead, we affirm parkour is a non-competitive discipline that belong to all practitioners, to the local communities, to the teams and friends, and to the human race as a whole.
We believe we must stand together against ambitions that do not reflect the original philosophy of parkour and that are disrespectful to the parkour philosophy and the parkour community.



Competition is not inevitable - it is just another obstacle! Support original parkour, keep our discipline free!

Spok wrote ...
Go to your settings and find the signature section. Right click the signature that you want on your signature. Copy its link, and then paste it in your signature section. After that put tags around it.

9 A.D. wrote ...
competition is a lot like masturbation, in the end... well, you can all see where i am going with this

trACEur wrote ...
Lol, I'm curious as well...

How did David get so good? The Yamakasi? Team Traceur? Daniel Illabaca? Jujimufu and Antoine from Tricks Tutorials? The CORRECT answer is-- they did it with PERSONAL motivation and dedication, NOT because someone who was better than them forced them to.

If you think coroporate competition is what Parkour needs in order to progress, then you need to take a step back and learn a bit more on the subject.

wrote ...
Ever wonder why and how such strong-willed people such as David Belle, and Sebastien Foucan, the Yamakasi, Stephane Vigroux, etc. have been doing what they do for so long?
Because they know that they are their greatest competition, their own greatest fears, their own worst enemies, and their own best allies.