UPDATE: In the comments to this post, Richardson leaves a link to more of this sort of fantastic jumping and climbing. The "sport"-- if it can be called that-- is known as "Parkour," from the French "parcours," a word with several meanings, including "run-by." The object of the game in Parkour is to keep moving. Anything that crosses your path as an obstacle must be dealt with in a smooth motion; there is no stopping and considering how to cope.
A great place to read about Parkour is the official English-language website for a French movie called "District B13," a near-future dysto-pic about a Paris that has responded to the urban chaos by literally walling in the various gangs, leaving them to fend for themselves. The film features two cops, one of whom is a Vin Diesel clone, the other of whom is a Parkour expert. As you might guess, they team up and kick some ass in the ganglands. Visit the "District B13" site here.
Parkour is exhilarating to watch. To me, it looks like a spinoff of the stuff Jackie Chan has been doing for years. Buster Keaton, whose stuntwork and physical comedy arguably make him the cinematic godfather of Parkour, must be smiling in heaven.
I think Parkour would be a far more interesting Olympic sport than, say, freestyle snowboarding. What does Chan thinks about all this? Has anyone asked him?
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That is insane! That definitely wowed me. I just love that wall-jumping stuff.
ReplyDeleteIt's times like this, when I see what the human body is capable of, that I feel like an utter and abject physical failure.
If you like that, you'll love this...
ReplyDeletehttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929
Wow!
ReplyDeleteThe first guy was obviously playing up his being Asian by doing some of Jackie Chan's old stunts. The guy in the video posted by Richardson is amazing. It's like watching a computer game character. (By the way, parcours can also mean a trail, often in a race and sometimes filled with obstacles, Kevin. It can also be used to describe the whole of the different stages in computer games, such as Tomb Raider.)
ReplyDeletehttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7574479493549992341
ReplyDelete:)
Bubba,
ReplyDeleteI'm aware of the various meanings of "parcours" in French. I am not, however, capable of deciphering much French rap, which is what was blasting during most of the Russian video.
The dude in that video also does some of Jackie Chan's stunts, including running upward between two close-set walls.
Thanks for the URL.
Kevin
First rap song:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.patleck.com/lyrics/le3emeoeil/aveclecoeur.htm
The second and third rap song are from the same artist (http://www.keny-arkana.com/)
I gave up finding the full lyrics for the second one (no results for Keny Arkana and "attendre que le coeur" or "c'est la panic" and nothing about this song at her homepage)
This is the third rap song:
http://membres.lycos.fr/ryotiger/paroles.php?titre=style-libre
And the fourth rap song:
http://www.lavi2rue.com/lyrics/paroles-bandes-originales-bouga---belsunce-breakdown-3391.html