Free running

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This article is about the sport/physical discipline. For other uses, see Free running (disambiguation).

Free running is a physical discipline, in which participants (free runners) attempt to pass all obstacles in their path in a smooth and fluid way. Free runners interact with their environment using movements such as vaulting, jumping, somersaults and other acrobatic movements, creating an athletic and aesthetically pleasing way of moving.

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[edit] Overview

Sebastien Foucan
Sebastien Foucan

Created by Sebastien Foucan and inspired by the similar discipline of parkour, free running incorporates elements of tricking, which are not embraced by conventional parkour practice. Initially, the term free running was used interchangeably with parkour; however, as free runners became interested in aesthetics as well as useful movement, the two became different disciplines.

While free running and parkour share many common techniques, they have a fundamental difference in philosophy and intention. The aims of parkour are reach, the ability to quickly access areas that would otherwise be inaccessible, and escape, the ability to evade pursuers, which means the main intention is to clear their objects as efficiently as they can while free running is concerned more with aesthetics and the beauty of the certain vault, jump, etc. Certain free running moves may not involve any movement across the environment at all, such as a standing backtuck.

The easiest way to explain the differences is that in parkour you try to get from A to B in the quickest time whereas in freerunning you do it in a very stylish way.

Free running has also recently became more associated with the commercialism of the sports of Parkour/Free Runnning/Tricking such as the Urban Freeflow website, the documentaries Jump London and Jump Britain and the new video game coming out which is entitled "Free Running".

There also has been a clash between the Parkour and Free Running communities over the use of different terms for the same vaults. The parkour community generally refers to the vaults by their French terms or the English translation while the free running community headed by the Urban Freeflow website have created new terms such as the "Kong", "Monkey", etc. For example, the vault where one jumps putting their legs between their arms is known in French as the "Saut de Chat", while the English translation is "Cat Jump" but the Urban Freeflow site has renamed this vault the "Kong" or "Monkey" Vault.

Another contentious issue that may begin to make a rift between the Parkour and Free Running communities or may actually strengthen their bond is the idea of Professional and Amateur competition. From the start the Parkour community has been always against the idea of serious competition as it violates the foundations of the philosophy of Parkour. The Free Running community is not as strongly decided as a group as to their position on the matter although if Sebastien Foucan's thoughts on the matter were revealed there will be no doubt many will follow with whatever his position is both the Free Running and Parkour communties. Free Running Teams/Crews that make the sport know and love Free Running NE3, Adrenaline, 3Run, Urban Free Flow

[edit] History

Sebastien Foucan used the term 'free running' to describe a form of physical exercise that he practiced which was showcased in the Channel 4 documentaries Jump London & Jump Britain. The term has been in use since at least the early 1980s when it was used to describe a more adventurous form of jogging where the runner would incorporate a variety of movements transforming a jogging session into a more demanding, enjoyable and expressive physical experience. Jumping and tac-ing obstacles, rolling, and a variety of stretching movements would be used to break the regulated physical patterns of movement involved in basic running/jogging.

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] Film

  • The French film, Banlieue 13, produced by Luc Besson features a large amount of Parkour with some Free Running.
  • The French film, Yamakasi, les samouraïs des temps modernes (2001), is about a group of seven Parkour specialists (the Yamakasi of the films title) who resolve to use their amazing skills in order to undertake some highly energetic burglaries; A Free Running movie.
  • In 2005 Jump Britain was produced as a follow-up to Jump London. The Free Runners from Jump London were joined by Free Runners from the Urban Freeflow team.
  • An action sequence near the beginning of the James Bond film, Casino Royale features Sebastien Foucan being chased across a construction site using free running to escape.

[edit] Video games

  • Eidos Interactive has announced their intention to publish a Free Running video game on the PSP platform under the title Free Running, with a release date sometime in March 2007, however now the developers 'Core Design' are owned by 'Rebellion', they will publish the game on PSP and Playstation 2.[1][2]

What The Game is About Forget tubes, trains, cars, packed pavements and crowded platforms. In Free Running, the concrete jungle becomes your urban playground as you run, vault, jump and climb over obstacles in the most fluid and flowing manner possible. Test the boundaries of human ability as you perform leaps and tricks across inner-city rooftops.

  • Assassin's Creed, another game in development by Ubisoft Studios, has character movements inspired by Free Running and Parkour.
  • Prince of Persia has extensive Free Running moves which are performed by the main character. The moves that the main character performed slowly evolved from Parkour to Free Running, as his moves gained more and more extravagant and ostentatious flair during execution with each new sequel that came out. As the Prince also incorporates fighting into his movement, such flair may have a Parkour purpose in that it makes attacking him harder due to unpredictability.
  • In the zombie game Urban Dead, Free Running is a survivor skill that allows players to move between buildings without having to go outside, significantly lowering the chances of being attacked or being trapped outside.
  • In Crackdown for the Xbox 360 there is a certain degree of Free Running , in the way that when you are leveled up in your 'jumping skill' you can literally leap from rooftop to rooftop (no other skills or tricks are invovled in the game, apart from the Cat Leap move and a slight side vault when you mount up from hanging off a wall). Also when you have collected all 500 'Agility Orbs' you gain the achievment 'Free Runner'

[edit] Music Videos

  • Fort Minor has a video for their song "Remember the Name" and has few fans using free running.
  • Madonna has released a video for her new song "Jump" which features parkour and free running extensively throughout it.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Free Running Sony PSP. gamespot.com. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.,
  2. ^ Eidos Announces Free Running (PSP). gamespy.com. Retrieved on February 25, 2007.
  3. ^ YouTube: Super Mario 64 Freerun. youtube.com. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.

[edit] External links

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