Gymnastics requires and involves strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, power, and endurance, just to name a few.
Parkour requires and involves strength, balance, flexibility, coordination, power, and endurance, just to name a few.
As we can see, the requirements are similar, even identical. Except that the former being mainly practised and refined in the gym, and the latter have their skills honed in a broad array of environments. Both disciplines will work the practitioner’s mental game (just like any sports). However, these are where the main similarities end. Yes, there are a lot of crossovers, in terms of techniques and skills; Gymnasts will see parkour practitioners doing a lot of flips, vaults, run-ups, etc, that are almost taken out straight from Gymnastics, and the parkour practitioners will attempt to execute “gymnasty” moves as it adds to the complexity of the same run.
Based on Philostratus’ claim, Gymnastics is a form of wisdom, comparable to philosophy, poetry, music, geometry, and astronomy. It was used as a way to train men for warfare in 146BC and first introduced to the Olympic games in 1896.
Parkour has a relatively shorter history, being founded in France by David Belle in 1988, and is developed from military obstacle course training. The idea behind it is to get from point A to point B in a complex environment in the shortest time, with little to no equipment.
In Gymnastics, every skill and technique is done to perfection, the execution flawless. Each element in Artistic Gymnastics has a huge requirement in how each move is executed: The poise, the form, the attention paid to every detail. Comparing two athletes of a seemingly similar routine, the one with the most attention to details will emerge victorious – Pointed toes, lock knees, proper shaping, etc are some of the points taken into account by the judges. There is a certain expectation of what is supposed to be performed on each apparatus. Of course, there is the difficulty level. Look at how Simone Biles executes a triple-double! The Layman will not be able to fathom what happened, even in slow-mo. New judges would not have been able to see or even judge what just happened before their eyes.
In Parkour, every technique will have its ideology based on practicality (or at least that was the idea behind it). There is not much fanfare as the athlete clears each obstacle safely and makes his way to the next. We can see different athletes execute different techniques to navigate the same obstacle. Here we can see stuntman/free runner Paul Darnell execute different vaulting techniques to clear the same obstacle.
As we can see, the difference in approach is starting to differentiate each discipline. Or does it?
I like to see Gymnastics as an Education business. It educates an individual on how to move one’s body. As such, the syllabus is readily available and referred to by everyone. Each skill is taught meticulously, so it can be executed flawlessly. The crash mats, foam pits, and all other safety equipment are the teaching materials, so the Gymnasts can practice again and again in a safe environment until they are ready to move on to the next progression, just like a school. Even if a student fails a major exam, it is not all over, as he/she can always retake it the next year. Did not get the podium finish in the Olympics? Maybe try again 4 years later! And with any form of education, it can be taught to the highest level, and even higher, as the syllabus is being “updated” regularly, be it the skill itself, the judging criteria, the standards for the apparatus, etc. Gymnasts have to adapt to the change in these requirements to meet the standard of the system.
Parkour, on the other hand, I see as the work sector. The individual has to navigate through the route and get the job done. It might not be always pretty, and given the environment, the solution might not be readily available. Each “employee” might have a different way to solve the puzzle, but the intention will still be the same. Traditionally, each athlete learns with On The Job Training, where they learn from a more experienced person, through trial and error. There is often a huge jump from one progression to the next, and a misstep might mean serious injury or even a loss of life. In the workforce, a major oversight can cost the company greatly, in terms of finance and/or reputation. The allowance to fail is much less. Very experienced practitioners might still find new tricks from the newbies! With no single textbook solution for each puzzle, the good practitioner is highly adaptable; being able to run up with both the master and non-master legs, clearing obstacles with different techniques, concerning the current situation and/or physical limitation. Such an adaptable and self-thinking employee is a very valuable asset to the company. The higher risk factor, and having to think on their feet created a higher level of adaptability of the practitioner’s brain.
There is a lot to learn from each discipline. And there have been many cross exchanges. Many Parkour coaches are Gymnastics coaches. Just like how a lecturer can be take up the role of a manager. There can be more freedom of expression, to discuss how to better execute a skill in Gymnastics between coaches and Gymnasts, instead of just one-way communication. Parkour practitioners can take a page from the Gymnastics handbook, and practice more complex moves in the Gym progressively before heading back out. Consider that skill upgrading so higher pay can be negotiated!
To end off, athletes from both disciplines are a force to be reckoned with.
High-level Gymnastics is the epitome of physical specimens. Like in Mathematics, the answer to a most complex question is probably useless in the real world, but we have to respect the dedication the mathematician puts into it. A double dismount off the beam in Gymnastics is probably overkilling it ( a simple jump down will suffice), but the amount of work to nail it is nothing but extraordinary.
A great Parkour athlete is a specimen of someone who is highly neuroplastic. It’s easy to lay explosives, but when demolishing a building in the city, a calculation error might result in disaster. Hence, in a different building, the placement of the explosives got to be calculated. A front flip is simple, but when faced with a different environment, each flip needs to be done with intention. Each bad landing will result in disaster. The next video shows Dom Tomato doing his things. You can see, a misstep in some of the flips will result in terrible consequences.
It will do Gymnasts good to go out and explore. That’s why there are field trips, projects, and experiments in an education setting. That is to expose the students to a variety of experiences, so they can relate to why they are learning what they are learning.
Free-runners, Parkour Practitioners, Traceurs, will benefit by going to the gym to rehearse themselves for higher-risk moves they have thought out, before hitting the real thing. That’s why workers got to get a license to operate certain machinery so that there will be less incidence of mishaps.
In a nutshell, the fundamentals of each discipline, or every discipline under the sun are of paramount importance. Once the fundamentals are solid, the potentials that can be exploited is limitless.
*Jay is a FIG certified Gymnastics Coach and has been dabbling in Parkour for a couple of years. His exploration has seen him venturing into BJJ. Before being a Gymnastics Coach, he also fought professionally in Muay Thai.
