Parkour is a physical discipline of French origin in which the participant - called a traceur - attempts to pass obstacles in the fastest and most direct manner possible, using skills such as jumping , vaulting and climbing , or the more specific parkour moves. The obstacles can be anything in the environment, so parkour is often practiced in urban areas because of many suitable public structures, such as buildings, rails, and walls.
There are fewer predefined movements in parkour than gymnastics and other sports , in that parkour is not made up of a list of appropriate "moves." Each obstacle a traceur faces presents a unique challenge on how they can overcome it effectively that depends on their body type, speed and angle of approach, the physical make-up of the obstacle, etc... Parkour is about training the body and mind to be able to react to those obstacles appropriately with a technique that works, many times that technique cannot and need not be classified and given a name.
Despite this, there are many "basic" techniques that are emphasized to beginners for their versatility and effectiveness. Most important are good jumping and landing techniques. The roll, used to limit impact after a drop and carry one's momentum onward, is often stressed as the most important technique to learn. Many traceurs develop joint problems from training too many large drops and rolling incorrectly.
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