Take Flight

Back in 2008 Take Flight posted an interview with David Belle that included a portion about how he and Sébastien Foucan had grown apart over the years. Well just a few months ago David Belle was interviewed by Sébastien Foucan and we knew all the fans would be interested.

It is incredible to see the founder of Parkour joined with another original member of the Yamakasi across from “Le Dame du Lac”, one of the most iconic structures in all of Parkour. In the interview David discusses what Parkour was for him in the past, and what it has become today. Truly a “must see” interview for any and all Traceurs. Whether you have been training and following the growth of Parkour since its beginning or just starting out, the words shared in this interview will educate and inspire you.

The 2 part interview has been translated into multiple languages, so if you prefer different subtitles or would like to see the original videos you can find them at:  http://www.youtube.com/user/FreerunningTVDotCom

David and Sébastien cover topics ranging from the original inspiration of Parkour from David Belle’s father to social media today and how that, and the rapid growth in popularity, have changed the way Parkour is viewed and practiced by many people. Below we have both parts of this interview, so sit back and enjoy learning the history and truth of Parkour from David Belle himself.

In February, Take Flight partner Texas Parkour will be hosting a Parkour workshop lead by members of the Yamakasi and Majestic Force! This is a huge event for the Parkour community and one of the first times that the US Parkour community has been graced with the experience and presence of these coaches. More information is below:

Who: Yamakasi and Majestic Force (ADD Academy)

What: Some of the most well know and respected Traceurs and Parkour instructors are coming to Texas to teach a workshop for everyone in the US. The workshop will be a three day event lead by Châu Belle Dinh and Yann Hnautra.
Where: Austin, Texas (USA)

When: February 11-13^th, 2011

Cost: One Day: $30 -  Two Days: $60 – Three Days: $80

Texas Parkour’s goal is to help spread movement in the world. We felt that there would be no better way then to bring the founders of the art out to show people movement again. Many of us here at Texas Parkour have studied and followed many of the coaches and their training for years.  It has influenced us on a Mind, Bondy and Spiritual level and we would like to carry that onto everyone that has the chance.

Click here to RSVP for the Official Facebook event and to see more details!

The last day to purchase your pass to the workshop is February 3^rd! So make sure to make plans as soon as you can and get your tickets!

Here is a fun edit from Parkour Generation’s 2nd annual Rendezvous event. The video was filmed by Julie Angle and features the Yamakasi founders Yann Hnautra, Châu Belle-Dinh, Williams Belle and Laurent Piemontesi along with Kazuma, the Vigroux Brothers, Forrest, Sébastien Goudot, Daniel Ilabaca and others. This video is an enjoyable watch as it shows the more playful side of Parkour training.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spaGrSBF-Nk

Here are two scenes from the 2001 film Yamakasi. Written by Luc Besson -the writer of District B13 and B13 – Ultimatum- and featuring Châu Belle-Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontesi and others, this movie is widely understood to be the film that caused the split of David Belle from the Yamakasi team. As such this film holds a notorious place in the history of Parkour which is why we have decided to include two of the film’s most action packed scenes in our video library.

Whether this film was an appropriate commercial use of Parkour or whether it was an “exploitation” of the discipline will continue to be debated for years to come. It may take many years as well before a consensus can be reached as to whether the commercial use of Parkour, such as this film, has helped promote or pervert the art. Regardless of the views in favor of either case, the athleticism displayed in this film is undeniably impressive, and the action itself holds a strong case as representing Parkour for the utility art that it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhUAIEJfRpA

Here is another classic Yamaksi video featuring Yann Hnautra, Châu Belle-Dinh, Laurent Piemontesi, Willams Belle and some of the Yamakasi’s students. Most of the performance and movement is directly attributable to the Yamakasi style, in the case of what is showcased in this video most of it would not be considered Parkour. Nevertheless, as a way to enjoy movement and train, this is all very good for developing the physical capability, including the sense of trust and confidence essential to Parkour. This video was edited by William Belle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjjeyCNoBlI

Here is a spectacular Parkour mix-tape featuring the Yamakasi. A handful of their students also perform in the video, but the majority of the footage includes Yann Hnautra, Châu Belle-Dinh, and Laurent Piemontesi. You may recognize many of the locations as being in and around Lisses and Evry, however many of the moves performed are original to the structures and specifically attributable to the Yamakasi’s style. Although there is a noteworthy amount of flips and aesthetic non-necessary movement in many of the sequences, the majority of the action is a pure demonstration of efficient Parkour athleticism. Highly entertaining for the outstanding athletic performance and faced paced action showcased in the video, an excellent music accompaniment also contributes to making this mix-tape extremely engaging for its viewers.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3Wd_2_Y-4

This is an older, but nevertheless superb compilation of great Parkour action. The video features many prominent Tracers including David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Stephane Vigroux, and members of the Yamakasi to name a few, and contains footage from Le Tuyau, Un Lundi Cool, the Bont Commercial and BBC Commercial both featuring David, Accroches Toi, Speed Air Man, and other prominent videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdahQf0S7yc

Here is a documentary about the Yamakasi and the Art du Déplacement. Titled Vol au dessus des cités: Génération Yamakasi this film is spectacular to say the least. It has great action, excellent insight and highlights the Yamakasi who are by far some of the best athletes in the world. At 71 minutes in length if you have not seen this then you owe it to yourself to watch it in its entirety.

Note: Of course the Yamakasi don’t call their art “Parkour,” but regardless of the verbiage it is still the same discipline which is why we have posted this video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3773384792923323349

Here is a video from Rendezvous I put on by Parkour Generations. The workshop was conducted in London on the 13th and 14th of May, 2007, and prominent instruction was given by Forrest and Dan Edwardes. You may also recognize other famous Tracers who attended the event including Stephane Vigroux, Sébastien Goudot, Kazuma, Cicso, Thomas, and Yann Hanutra and Laurent Piemontesi from the Yamakasi. We posted three videos from Rendezvous II in our What is Parkour? series that we conducted almost a month ago. Unlike this video which highlights the physical training from Rendezvous I, those videos from Rendezvous II exclusively highlighted a questions and answer time with the Yamakasi. Divided into three parts, you can view the videos from that interview by going to our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th installments of that sequence.

Here is the fourth installment of our What is Parkour? series and the last piece of our three part mini-series featuring the Yamakasi. Stay tuned to MisterParkour.com as we end our five part series tomorrow with a rare video of David Belle speaking openly about Parkour and what it means to him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP6sCV9lA8Q