I went running with a friend of mine that did parkour in college. I’m a terrible runner, so I asked if we could take it slow on the way back. We got bored walking and ended up balancing on the edge of the curb the whole way back and hopped to the sidewalk by using the streetlights as bounce points. we used the crossing guards as running points, and when we got back, my friend said I did parkour with her. She totally tricked me into thinking it was easy and fun XD
a lot of people have asked me if i was a ‘professional’ or have done ‘parkour competitions’ before. i always said no, which sometimes led to them asking why i trained then… yeah, this one is pretty much dead on.
While this would certainly be a shame, I have personally never seen anyone treat anyone like that in parkour, even the people who are the most pro-competition, those people have also been the most pro-getting started. So, while I think the message is a good one, I also personally feel that it is a bit “sky is falling” because it is preventing a problem that doesn’t exist. I invite people to comment if they have been treated that way by someone in parkour because of competition. (or for any other reason). Everyone I know and have met in the community and at competitions has been nothing but welcoming and helpful. – M2
Thanks guys for your feedback. Particularly to M2. It’s great to have the input of a prominent and longstanding member of our sub-culture.
A few things to say here. Firstly on the nature of parkour panels themselves. Like most other newspaper style comic strips, parkour panels are made to condense and communicate complex situations and ideas quickly and in a generalised way. The characters are archetypes (or stereotypes) that represent sections of our community.
Having said that, I’ve seen this situation play out on three separate occasions in my research travels and have heard many stories of similar exchanges and situations from other community members. I’d like to point out that the Salesman isn’t trying to discourage the kid from participating in parkour. He is just projecting his vision of what he wants parkour to be: focused on big movements, competitive, athletically elitist and focused on the spectacular elements of movement. What I’m describing above is that for people who are drawn to parkour because it provides an alternative to 90% of compatative/elitist western athletic disciplines this kind of ‘sportification’ turns them away from parkour.
The process of marketing culture follows a pattern. We’ve seen it over the last 50 years of marketing of the ‘alternative’. Applying the structures of sport to movement-based subcultures does a pretty good job of drawing them into the mainstream where they can be consumed as sports. While there are many upsides to this I’m more than a little weary of a process that replaces the original values of a sub-culture with the mainstream values of the open market. Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle. We’ve seen it with snowboarding, skating, BMX and others. The market benefits from having a divide between high-level participants (who can deliver a show) and passive consumers (who consume the spectacle, merchandise and ‘lifestyle’). This divide comes at the cost of active participation.
Although many people are sick of this debate it is an important one that is worth having. I’d love to hear more opinions. And I’m happy to be convinced otherwise.
Sorry for the verboseness, I’m happy to expand on any point above.
he problem exists just not as upfront as the comic makes it out to be. I’ve seen it throughout Canada and the USA which I’m most familiar with.
I get emails all the time from people who are depressed they are not good enough, not fit enough, think they are getting too old, can’t deal with parkour negativity within their communities, are mad they aren’t getting noticed…. etc etc. There is a lot of pressure on a lot of young Parkour guys that feel like they need to make videos and get sponsored to life a life they ‘think they want’. It’s a topic I’ve put a lot of time and research in lately, one very close to my heart.
In short; it exists, it’s there, it’s in front of us, it’s just not in this medium usually. At least yet.
I believe that this is more about the perception of competition by young people.
Although the attitude of the competitors in comps may be good. Some people are still going to think that competing is the main reason to train.
I’ve seen so many kids who struggled with the pressure of competition in sports.
When they started training parkour they do amazingly well. They thrive in a non competitive environment.
No matter how good the message. Just having the comps there is going influence peoples perception.
2c. There is a terrible trend away from participation which increases from around 13-14 (and it’s getting younger) due to the competitiveness which is being pushed deeper into the ground roots level of many mainstream sports.
Parkour has a healthy dose of teenage participation and I would hate to see that change (I have seen examples if competition pushing young people away already) because our discipline has been pushed down a path or forced into an existing framework where that’s inevitable…
Alex. What proof do you have that “sports” is a turn off for people? I don’t think parkour is special. It’s a sport or art (or whatever we feel like calling it today) like any other sport or art. Most people aren’t turned off to dancing, but dancing has many competitions.
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
If you gave any sort of example here you might have had a point. But you didn’t. You’re just assuming there is some sort of ambiguous “thing” that get’s lost and that’s your whole argument.
I’d like to see highly talented people be able to make a living doing what they love and put the most work in to. I don’t think there is any harm in that. Keep in mind too that not all of these people are cut out to be gym owners, or coaches…. or comic book artists.
I played soccer when I was a child. I didn’t play to get famous. I was well aware some people did. It was a fun sport, and I would still play for recreation if I could spare the time and energy from parkour practice.
– RES
“What proof do you have that “sports” is a turn off for people?”
While it certainly isn’t empirical evidence, my experience of coaching for quite a few years now supports this idea. I have often received positive feedback from people glad to find something which focuses on self progression rather than competing with others. This is particularly relevant to young students with weight issues, social issues and other factors for which they have been discriminated against for.
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
A good example is the way many martial arts have been heavily watered down to suit modern lifestyles, these McDojo’s have sprung up to make Karate/Taekwondo/Whatever more marketable, but the essence of the disciplines themselves are largely lost, I have experienced this on numerous occasions and know many others who have also.
“I’d like to see highly talented people be able to make a living doing what they love and put the most work in to. I don’t think there is any harm in that. Keep in mind too that not all of these people are cut out to be gym owners, or coaches…. or comic book artists.”
Making a living doing what the love is fine, and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who says otherwise (and has thought it through properly). But the key issue is that if what you love is competing with parkour-like movements, then what you love isn’t Parkour! It is something different. The non-competitive part of Parkour is, in my opinion, a defining factor. That being said – other forms of competition (Art of motion etc) which do not pretend to be Parkour are fine, they are doing what they love and they are loving it! I don’t support the competition side of it, but it doesn’t bother me if they aren’t hurting Parkour.
I remember when I was like this just a little over a year ago. I was turned away from parkour due to the massive amount of videos that glorified competition, big jumps, big tricks – not turned away, because I loved parkour, but you can say greatly turned down. I even took a year break from trainin to think for myself what parkour meant to me.
It was like Blane’s famous article about dilution. I had known parkour for a while and every video I would go through would be big drops, huge flashy stunts and so on. It was leading me on the wrong path. David Belle in his documentary with Foucan was talking about it – he said that picturing himself in the shoes of a 16 year old he would be lost.
Parkour has to be understood alone, solemnly, even if it is in darkness. But who said that someone cannot shine a light along the way? As long as it is the right light – the idea of what true parkour is. To understand that a traceur is one who tries to push the boundaries of his will and mind, each day more and more. A philosophical concept in many great arts of fighting against yourself – your troubles your fears. To keep moving. Regardless of what anyone says.
“There are no boundaries, there are only obstacles.”
A great comic with deep meaning and one I could relate to. Thanks.
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
While there are many things that would make up that thing that`s lost, Id argue one of the primary words and ideas is “FUN”. I have tons and tons of anecdotal evidence to back that up.
Personally I feel competition can co-exist in the PK community alongside non-competitive training. Competition isn’t inherently bad; the culture that often gets pushed as part of it is.
Take surfing as an example. There are thousands of surf competitions and pro surfers. There also thousands of small familial groups that surf purely for enjoyment, “soul surfers”. They bicker with each other about which is better but ultimately they still exist side-by-side and surfing has done nothing but grow in popularity and skill in the last 50-60 years. The same can be said for rock climbing or skiing: ‘lifestyle sports’ that attract plenty of everyday people but allows those who push themselves above the norm a chance to see how they stack up.
I believe Parkour can be this way as well. There will be those seeking to challenge themselves in a competition format and those wishing to train simply for self-improvement. If we allow both ideas to grow – while maintaining basic cultural ideals like altruism, discipline, and hard work – I think we’ll see a healthy, thriving art form.
To quote one of my favorite video game lines, from the game “Tony Hawk’s Underground”…
Player- Man, I just want to skate like the old days. It used to relax me, not stress me out.
Stacy Peralta – That’s your deal, man. Skating is whatever you make it. It didn’t change. You’re the one that changed. Now go skate. You’ll remember why you started in the first place.
Pava,
I think your explanation is very thoughtful and well presented.
I think that part of what is happening in this discussion is that people’s own personality and views come through in their assessment of something external.
Because my views are that competition itself isn’t to blame, I can easily rationalize that there are other causes for people not wanting to get into the discipline. Frankly, I don’t think there’s enough competition present to be the cause, but again, my views are just that, views.
The people I interact with, at least when they interact with me, don’t display the behavior that other people have experienced. That doesn’t mean that I feel anyone else is wrong, or that I am questioning their experience, just stating that mine is different.
My personal goal is to get ANYONE into parkour, regardless of their level of fitness, “sportyniess” or whatever other metric we want to use. I believe that parkour IS fun and that moving is human nature. I believe that parkour is good for people and in turn makes people into better people.
I believe there are many barriers for people getting into any activity, most of them societal. People are probably meant to live in small tribes where they share everything, not cities of millions where every day they interact with 10’s of people they don’t know but are supposed to form some sort of instant trust-bond with.
I believe it is the lack of ability to form a trust bond that is the barrier to many people starting many activities – and certainly the attitudes and behaviors which people are listing here as traits of competition would qualify as barriers to someone trusting another person and wanting to start an activity with or involving a person with that attitude.
With that, I’ll leave this as a closing: I agree that their are crappy attitudes out there, and that they exist in parkour. I do not feel that they are the result of any particular competition, but perhaps rather the competitive nature which undeniably exists in all life forms.
I believe and hope that people in the parkour community are helpful and inviting, and trustworthy, and create situations and circumstances where newcomers, and everyone, feels welcome.
The parkour competitions that I’ve been involved with, participated in, or spectated have all been some of the most positive events in parkour that I have witnessed. The athletes all support each other and have fun and people enjoy watching it. Jams are the same way and already embody an informal competition. Go ahead and criticize me, other coaches, and athletes who participate or organize structured competitions from your high horses. We’re having fun and pushing the sport in a positive direction, while you complain about how it isn’t ‘pure’ anymore and how evil money is…
How very defensive Tom. Its interesting how Pava will try to back up what he says with some evidence, and explain his reasoning, whereas people such as yourself don’t try and do such things, instead getting very defensive, hide behind words like fun as if it cannot be argued with and then say things like money is evil which hasn’t been said at all. Everyone would agree we need money, not everyone agrees money should be made at any cost.
“The parkour competitions that I’ve been involved with, participated in, or spectated have all been some of the most positive events in parkour that I have witnessed. The athletes all support each other and have fun and people enjoy watching it. Jams are the same way and already embody an informal competition.”
I consider that evidence. It may be anecdotal, but Pava’s evidence is non-existent and purely speculative. Where are his participation data? Where are the drop-out rates that he insists are so prevalent? And why do you think his speculation is evidence and my experience with competition should be dismissed? My guess is because you agree with him and you don’t agree with me.
Yes I use words like ‘fun’ because that is what is experienced. Who are you to tell an athlete they shouldn’t compete, when they enjoy it? Who are you to tell a spectator they can’t watch a competition, when they enjoy watching? Who are you to tell a competition organizer they shouldn’t hold their event, when the athletes and spectators are on their side?
Just to provide another example that disputes the premise of this comic: running. There are plenty of running products advertised all over the media: shoes, clothing, watches, ipods, magazines, etc. There are also lots of competitions ranging from novice level (1 mile fun runs, 5k races, adventure runs, etc) to elite level (track, cross country). Do people stop running because of the pressures of competition? Maybe, but it certainly doesn’t impede active participation. Many amateur runners don’t even participate in races. The marketing culture isn’t ruining running. Its fueling it. If you think parkour is special and unlike such sports and activities as running, soccer, dancing, music, etc then you’re deluded and naive.
Funny that you say I hide behind the word ‘fun’, when you hide behind the word admin.
Its not about hiding at all, I administrate the site and that’s what it puts when i post something. My name is Matthew, but people calll me Chippa. I run the Australian Parkour Association, look me up.
So both people have anectdotal eveidence, whats makes yours more persuasive? Pava din’t have a go at people and insinuate things like you did either. He is also an Anthropologist who is completing a PHD on parkour, so I tend to listen to what he says about such things as why competitions are started and where they end up. As a result of his work and training he tends to do his research, try to remain unbiased and look at the facts.
You are right about not agreeing with you. I will admit i don’t particularly support competition, but i don’t jump on blogs and start making shit up land cast aspersions like you do.
people here aren’t saying you cant have competitions, only that there can be, amongst other things, negative side effects to them.
People like you amuse me greatly tom, but at the same time make me sad.
I went running with a friend of mine that did parkour in college. I’m a terrible runner, so I asked if we could take it slow on the way back. We got bored walking and ended up balancing on the edge of the curb the whole way back and hopped to the sidewalk by using the streetlights as bounce points. we used the crossing guards as running points, and when we got back, my friend said I did parkour with her. She totally tricked me into thinking it was easy and fun XD
Sad but true story
This is truly sad… I hate that mentality.
a lot of people have asked me if i was a ‘professional’ or have done ‘parkour competitions’ before. i always said no, which sometimes led to them asking why i trained then… yeah, this one is pretty much dead on.
While this would certainly be a shame, I have personally never seen anyone treat anyone like that in parkour, even the people who are the most pro-competition, those people have also been the most pro-getting started. So, while I think the message is a good one, I also personally feel that it is a bit “sky is falling” because it is preventing a problem that doesn’t exist. I invite people to comment if they have been treated that way by someone in parkour because of competition. (or for any other reason). Everyone I know and have met in the community and at competitions has been nothing but welcoming and helpful. – M2
Thanks guys for your feedback. Particularly to M2. It’s great to have the input of a prominent and longstanding member of our sub-culture.
A few things to say here. Firstly on the nature of parkour panels themselves. Like most other newspaper style comic strips, parkour panels are made to condense and communicate complex situations and ideas quickly and in a generalised way. The characters are archetypes (or stereotypes) that represent sections of our community.
Having said that, I’ve seen this situation play out on three separate occasions in my research travels and have heard many stories of similar exchanges and situations from other community members. I’d like to point out that the Salesman isn’t trying to discourage the kid from participating in parkour. He is just projecting his vision of what he wants parkour to be: focused on big movements, competitive, athletically elitist and focused on the spectacular elements of movement. What I’m describing above is that for people who are drawn to parkour because it provides an alternative to 90% of compatative/elitist western athletic disciplines this kind of ‘sportification’ turns them away from parkour.
The process of marketing culture follows a pattern. We’ve seen it over the last 50 years of marketing of the ‘alternative’. Applying the structures of sport to movement-based subcultures does a pretty good job of drawing them into the mainstream where they can be consumed as sports. While there are many upsides to this I’m more than a little weary of a process that replaces the original values of a sub-culture with the mainstream values of the open market. Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle. We’ve seen it with snowboarding, skating, BMX and others. The market benefits from having a divide between high-level participants (who can deliver a show) and passive consumers (who consume the spectacle, merchandise and ‘lifestyle’). This divide comes at the cost of active participation.
Although many people are sick of this debate it is an important one that is worth having. I’d love to hear more opinions. And I’m happy to be convinced otherwise.
Sorry for the verboseness, I’m happy to expand on any point above.
Peace,
– Pava
he problem exists just not as upfront as the comic makes it out to be. I’ve seen it throughout Canada and the USA which I’m most familiar with.
I get emails all the time from people who are depressed they are not good enough, not fit enough, think they are getting too old, can’t deal with parkour negativity within their communities, are mad they aren’t getting noticed…. etc etc. There is a lot of pressure on a lot of young Parkour guys that feel like they need to make videos and get sponsored to life a life they ‘think they want’. It’s a topic I’ve put a lot of time and research in lately, one very close to my heart.
In short; it exists, it’s there, it’s in front of us, it’s just not in this medium usually. At least yet.
I believe that this is more about the perception of competition by young people.
Although the attitude of the competitors in comps may be good. Some people are still going to think that competing is the main reason to train.
I’ve seen so many kids who struggled with the pressure of competition in sports.
When they started training parkour they do amazingly well. They thrive in a non competitive environment.
No matter how good the message. Just having the comps there is going influence peoples perception.
2c. There is a terrible trend away from participation which increases from around 13-14 (and it’s getting younger) due to the competitiveness which is being pushed deeper into the ground roots level of many mainstream sports.
Parkour has a healthy dose of teenage participation and I would hate to see that change (I have seen examples if competition pushing young people away already) because our discipline has been pushed down a path or forced into an existing framework where that’s inevitable…
Alex. What proof do you have that “sports” is a turn off for people? I don’t think parkour is special. It’s a sport or art (or whatever we feel like calling it today) like any other sport or art. Most people aren’t turned off to dancing, but dancing has many competitions.
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
If you gave any sort of example here you might have had a point. But you didn’t. You’re just assuming there is some sort of ambiguous “thing” that get’s lost and that’s your whole argument.
I’d like to see highly talented people be able to make a living doing what they love and put the most work in to. I don’t think there is any harm in that. Keep in mind too that not all of these people are cut out to be gym owners, or coaches…. or comic book artists.
I played soccer when I was a child. I didn’t play to get famous. I was well aware some people did. It was a fun sport, and I would still play for recreation if I could spare the time and energy from parkour practice.
– RES
“What proof do you have that “sports” is a turn off for people?”
While it certainly isn’t empirical evidence, my experience of coaching for quite a few years now supports this idea. I have often received positive feedback from people glad to find something which focuses on self progression rather than competing with others. This is particularly relevant to young students with weight issues, social issues and other factors for which they have been discriminated against for.
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
A good example is the way many martial arts have been heavily watered down to suit modern lifestyles, these McDojo’s have sprung up to make Karate/Taekwondo/Whatever more marketable, but the essence of the disciplines themselves are largely lost, I have experienced this on numerous occasions and know many others who have also.
“I’d like to see highly talented people be able to make a living doing what they love and put the most work in to. I don’t think there is any harm in that. Keep in mind too that not all of these people are cut out to be gym owners, or coaches…. or comic book artists.”
Making a living doing what the love is fine, and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who says otherwise (and has thought it through properly). But the key issue is that if what you love is competing with parkour-like movements, then what you love isn’t Parkour! It is something different. The non-competitive part of Parkour is, in my opinion, a defining factor. That being said – other forms of competition (Art of motion etc) which do not pretend to be Parkour are fine, they are doing what they love and they are loving it! I don’t support the competition side of it, but it doesn’t bother me if they aren’t hurting Parkour.
I remember when I was like this just a little over a year ago. I was turned away from parkour due to the massive amount of videos that glorified competition, big jumps, big tricks – not turned away, because I loved parkour, but you can say greatly turned down. I even took a year break from trainin to think for myself what parkour meant to me.
It was like Blane’s famous article about dilution. I had known parkour for a while and every video I would go through would be big drops, huge flashy stunts and so on. It was leading me on the wrong path. David Belle in his documentary with Foucan was talking about it – he said that picturing himself in the shoes of a 16 year old he would be lost.
Parkour has to be understood alone, solemnly, even if it is in darkness. But who said that someone cannot shine a light along the way? As long as it is the right light – the idea of what true parkour is. To understand that a traceur is one who tries to push the boundaries of his will and mind, each day more and more. A philosophical concept in many great arts of fighting against yourself – your troubles your fears. To keep moving. Regardless of what anyone says.
“There are no boundaries, there are only obstacles.”
A great comic with deep meaning and one I could relate to. Thanks.
– Maxim
“Something important is lost when a culture becomes a sport or a marketable lifestyle.”
While there are many things that would make up that thing that`s lost, Id argue one of the primary words and ideas is “FUN”. I have tons and tons of anecdotal evidence to back that up.
Personally I feel competition can co-exist in the PK community alongside non-competitive training. Competition isn’t inherently bad; the culture that often gets pushed as part of it is.
Take surfing as an example. There are thousands of surf competitions and pro surfers. There also thousands of small familial groups that surf purely for enjoyment, “soul surfers”. They bicker with each other about which is better but ultimately they still exist side-by-side and surfing has done nothing but grow in popularity and skill in the last 50-60 years. The same can be said for rock climbing or skiing: ‘lifestyle sports’ that attract plenty of everyday people but allows those who push themselves above the norm a chance to see how they stack up.
I believe Parkour can be this way as well. There will be those seeking to challenge themselves in a competition format and those wishing to train simply for self-improvement. If we allow both ideas to grow – while maintaining basic cultural ideals like altruism, discipline, and hard work – I think we’ll see a healthy, thriving art form.
To quote one of my favorite video game lines, from the game “Tony Hawk’s Underground”…
Player- Man, I just want to skate like the old days. It used to relax me, not stress me out.
Stacy Peralta – That’s your deal, man. Skating is whatever you make it. It didn’t change. You’re the one that changed. Now go skate. You’ll remember why you started in the first place.
Pava,
I think your explanation is very thoughtful and well presented.
I think that part of what is happening in this discussion is that people’s own personality and views come through in their assessment of something external.
Because my views are that competition itself isn’t to blame, I can easily rationalize that there are other causes for people not wanting to get into the discipline. Frankly, I don’t think there’s enough competition present to be the cause, but again, my views are just that, views.
The people I interact with, at least when they interact with me, don’t display the behavior that other people have experienced. That doesn’t mean that I feel anyone else is wrong, or that I am questioning their experience, just stating that mine is different.
My personal goal is to get ANYONE into parkour, regardless of their level of fitness, “sportyniess” or whatever other metric we want to use. I believe that parkour IS fun and that moving is human nature. I believe that parkour is good for people and in turn makes people into better people.
I believe there are many barriers for people getting into any activity, most of them societal. People are probably meant to live in small tribes where they share everything, not cities of millions where every day they interact with 10’s of people they don’t know but are supposed to form some sort of instant trust-bond with.
I believe it is the lack of ability to form a trust bond that is the barrier to many people starting many activities – and certainly the attitudes and behaviors which people are listing here as traits of competition would qualify as barriers to someone trusting another person and wanting to start an activity with or involving a person with that attitude.
With that, I’ll leave this as a closing: I agree that their are crappy attitudes out there, and that they exist in parkour. I do not feel that they are the result of any particular competition, but perhaps rather the competitive nature which undeniably exists in all life forms.
I believe and hope that people in the parkour community are helpful and inviting, and trustworthy, and create situations and circumstances where newcomers, and everyone, feels welcome.
The parkour competitions that I’ve been involved with, participated in, or spectated have all been some of the most positive events in parkour that I have witnessed. The athletes all support each other and have fun and people enjoy watching it. Jams are the same way and already embody an informal competition. Go ahead and criticize me, other coaches, and athletes who participate or organize structured competitions from your high horses. We’re having fun and pushing the sport in a positive direction, while you complain about how it isn’t ‘pure’ anymore and how evil money is…
How very defensive Tom. Its interesting how Pava will try to back up what he says with some evidence, and explain his reasoning, whereas people such as yourself don’t try and do such things, instead getting very defensive, hide behind words like fun as if it cannot be argued with and then say things like money is evil which hasn’t been said at all. Everyone would agree we need money, not everyone agrees money should be made at any cost.
“The parkour competitions that I’ve been involved with, participated in, or spectated have all been some of the most positive events in parkour that I have witnessed. The athletes all support each other and have fun and people enjoy watching it. Jams are the same way and already embody an informal competition.”
I consider that evidence. It may be anecdotal, but Pava’s evidence is non-existent and purely speculative. Where are his participation data? Where are the drop-out rates that he insists are so prevalent? And why do you think his speculation is evidence and my experience with competition should be dismissed? My guess is because you agree with him and you don’t agree with me.
Yes I use words like ‘fun’ because that is what is experienced. Who are you to tell an athlete they shouldn’t compete, when they enjoy it? Who are you to tell a spectator they can’t watch a competition, when they enjoy watching? Who are you to tell a competition organizer they shouldn’t hold their event, when the athletes and spectators are on their side?
Just to provide another example that disputes the premise of this comic: running. There are plenty of running products advertised all over the media: shoes, clothing, watches, ipods, magazines, etc. There are also lots of competitions ranging from novice level (1 mile fun runs, 5k races, adventure runs, etc) to elite level (track, cross country). Do people stop running because of the pressures of competition? Maybe, but it certainly doesn’t impede active participation. Many amateur runners don’t even participate in races. The marketing culture isn’t ruining running. Its fueling it. If you think parkour is special and unlike such sports and activities as running, soccer, dancing, music, etc then you’re deluded and naive.
Funny that you say I hide behind the word ‘fun’, when you hide behind the word admin.
Its not about hiding at all, I administrate the site and that’s what it puts when i post something. My name is Matthew, but people calll me Chippa. I run the Australian Parkour Association, look me up.
So both people have anectdotal eveidence, whats makes yours more persuasive? Pava din’t have a go at people and insinuate things like you did either. He is also an Anthropologist who is completing a PHD on parkour, so I tend to listen to what he says about such things as why competitions are started and where they end up. As a result of his work and training he tends to do his research, try to remain unbiased and look at the facts.
You are right about not agreeing with you. I will admit i don’t particularly support competition, but i don’t jump on blogs and start making shit up land cast aspersions like you do.
people here aren’t saying you cant have competitions, only that there can be, amongst other things, negative side effects to them.
People like you amuse me greatly tom, but at the same time make me sad.