方长勇

Parkour: Walk the Unusual Way

"Parkour" comes from the French word, "parcours", meaning "impediment1) course". It's a physical activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. Basically, you just start running and adapt to your environment as you go without slowing down. If an obstacle is in your way, you find a way around it—through jumping, climbing, or other movements. It is amazing to watch because it requires martial arts2)—like reflexes and mental zen3) with your environment.

It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment—from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls—and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas. Parkour has appeared in various television advertisements and films. For example, many people have become familiar with Parkour movement from the famous action movie District 13.

Excellent Parkour Sequence in District 13

District 13 is the English-language release title of the 2004 French action film, Banlieue 13, directed by Pierre Morel4) and produced by Luc Besson5). The film is notable for its depiction of Parkour in a number of stunt6) sequences that were completed without the use of wires or computer generated effects. David Belle, a co-founder of Parkour, appears in the film as one of the main characters.

The story takes place in 2010 in a futuristic7) France. The government has built a wall around the ghetto8)—called District 13—to keep the drug dealers, gangs and crime lords from getting out. Inside, crime runs rampant9) but Leito (acted by David Belle) is one of the good guys who fights to improve his neighborhood and keep his sister Lola safe.

When the movie begins, Leito has just stolen several bags of heroin from the ghetto's most feared crime lord, Taha. He quickly washes the drugs down his bathtub drain just as Taha's minions10) arrive to beat the crap out of11) him and take back their dope12). But Leito's a slippery guy, schooled in Parkour, and thus begins one of the most impressive foot chases. Leito is absolutely breathtaking to watch as he jumps across rooftops, down flights of stairs, and dives through windows and small spaces without breaking his stride13). He makes it seem effortless as he gracefully avoids any obstacles in his way.

The film caught the public's imagination with its excellent Parkour sequence, and starred Parkour legend, David Belle, the founder of Parkour.

David Belle: Seek Freedom and Action

David Belle was born and raised in Seine-Maritime, France. His grandfather, father and brother have been highly skilled rescuers in the French military fire service.

His father Raymond Belle had a key role in the Parisian firefighters' first ever helicopter-borne operation. His many rescues, medals and exploits14) gave him a reputation of being an exceptional pompier15) and inspired the next young generation, especially his son David Belle.

Born in a firefighter's family, David was influenced by stories of heroism. At age 17, David left the school to seek his love of freedom, and action, and to develop his strength and dexterity16) to be useful in life.

It was David's love for martial arts films, especially the work of Bruce Lee17)—and the scenarios18) he imagined, often themed around rescue, escape and pursuit—that inspired him in the early stages of Parkour, and remains a source of inspiration for others.

Though David initially developed Parkour with friends, his exceptional athletic ability propelled him onward as the discipline's leader, eventually putting him into the spotlight where he remains today, though reluctantly. Other contributors to the development of Parkour include Sebastien Foucan, Kazuma and Stephane Vigroux.

Over the years, as dedicated traceurs19) improved their skills, their moves grew. From the Parisian suburbs, parkour became a widely practiced activity outside France.

跑酷：不走寻常路

“跑酷”这个词源自法文“parcours”，是“障碍物课程”的意思。这是一种尽可能高效快速地从一点移动到另一点的身体运动，主要凭借人体自身的能力。简单而言，你起跑后，在不减速的情况下，根据环境来变换动作。如果有一个障碍物挡在前方，你就想办法越过它——可通过跳跃、攀爬或其他动作越过障碍物。这项运动具有惊人的视觉效果，因为它需要练习者具有东方武术技能，比如对环境作出灵活反应，保持心智的最佳状态。

这一运动旨在帮助人克服在周围环境中可能碰到的任何障碍物——从树枝和石头到围栏和水泥墙——无论在农村和城市里都可以练习。跑酷已经出现在各种电视广告和电影中，比如，很多人通过著名的动作片《十三街区》熟悉了跑酷运动。

电影《十三街区》：

精彩演绎跑酷动作

《十三街区》是2004年由皮埃尔·莫瑞尔导演、吕克·贝松制片的法国动作电影《Banlieue 13》的英文版片名。该影片因其所呈现的惊人跑酷片段而闻名，这些镜头是在未使用钢丝或电脑特效的情况下完成的。跑酷运动的奠基者之一戴维·贝勒出演了该片的其中一位主角。

故事发生在2010年未来的法国。政府在被称为“十三街区”的贫民聚居区外建起了围墙，以把毒贩、黑帮和罪犯头目关在其中。在聚居区内，犯罪成风，但莱托(由戴维·贝勒饰演)是其中的好人之一，他积极行动来改进社区并保护他的妹妹洛拉的安全。

影片开头，莱托刚从十三街区最令人恐惧的犯罪头目塔哈手中偷出了几袋海洛因。当塔哈的爪牙来痛殴他并试图要回毒品时，莱托迅速地把毒品冲进浴缸下水道。莱托身手矫健，受过跑酷训练，于是就上演了一段精彩炫目的徒步追赶。看着莱托马不停蹄地跳过屋顶，跃下楼梯，飞穿门窗和狭小空间，真是令人惊心动魄。他在优雅地穿越挡道的障碍物时显得毫不费力。

该影片通过绝佳的跑酷片段激发了观众的想象力，并使得跑酷奠基者、传奇人物戴维·贝勒成了电影明星。

戴维·贝勒：

追寻自由和历险

戴维·贝勒出生并成长于法国滨海塞纳省。他的祖父、父亲和哥哥都是法国军队消防部门技艺高超的救援人员。

他的父亲雷蒙·贝勒在巴黎消防员第一次搭乘直升机的救援行动中表现突出。众多的救援经历、勋章和功绩使他成为一位名望很高的杰出消防员，也激励了年轻的下一代，尤其是他的儿子戴维·贝勒。

出生于消防员世家的戴维深受英雄主义故事的影响。17岁时，戴维离开学校，去追寻他热爱的自由和历险，并训练对生活有益的力量和灵敏身手。

戴维刚开始玩跑酷时的灵感主要来自他对功夫影片的热爱，尤其是李小龙的功夫片。与此同时，他还常常想象那些以营救、逃生和追逐为主题的场景，这些至今仍是其他很多人在玩跑酷时的灵感来源。

尽管戴维起初与朋友一起发展跑酷，但他非凡的运动能力使他脱颖而出，成为这一运动的领军者。虽然他本人不愿意成为人们关注的焦点，但他在这项运动中的地位至今仍无人可及。对跑酷运动同样做出过贡献的人还有塞巴斯蒂安·福冈、卡祖玛和斯蒂芬·维格罗斯。

年复一年，随着跑酷的练习者不断改善技巧，他们的动作也有所发展变化。这项源自巴黎郊区的运动，开始在法国之外的地区广泛流行。

Vocabulary

1. impediment

[Im5pedImEnt] n. 障碍物

2. martial arts: 武术(如柔道、空手道)

3. mental zen: 禅宗的定力

4. Pierre Morel: 皮埃尔·莫瑞尔，法国导演

5. Luc Besson: 吕克·贝松(1959～)，法国著名导演，兼任制片、编剧、演员、剪辑等。他的电影作品节奏快捷、风格奢华，极具商业价值。

6. stunt [stQnt] n. 惊人表演，绝技

7. futuristic [7fju:tFE5rIstIk] adj. 未来的

8. ghetto [5^etEu] n. 限制区，分离区

9. rampant [5rAmpEnt] adj. 猖獗的，蔓生的

10. minion [5mInjEn] n. 奴才

11. the crap out of: 彻底地，痛快地

12. dope [dEup] n. 毒品

13. stride [straId] n. 步幅

14. exploit [5eksplCIt] n. 英勇的行为

Parkour Moves and Training

For many traceurs, Parkour is a gateway to freedom from social constraints as they "free their minds" from society's messages of how public spaces and their body are to be used. Ez, the director of Urban Freeflow, an international Parkour organization based in Surrey, England, says, "I like to view it as a discipline that provides absolute freedom, and something that, through lots of practice, can put you in a position of being able to move in a way that is animal like, fluid, explosive and graceful. But I also like to use it as a means to keep fit, to build upper body strength and to keep my mind sharp." Parkour is as moldable as a traceur's creativity and physical capabilities allow. With that said, the number of possible movements is endless, but here are the basics:

跑酷动作和训练

对很多练习者而言，跑酷提供了挣脱社会束缚、通往自由的途径，他们能从社会有关应如何使用公共空间和他们身体的观念中“解放心灵”。设在英国萨里郡的国际跑酷组织“城市自由流”的主席伊兹说：“我喜欢将其视为一种可以提供绝对自由的修炼，通过大量训练，你能够获得像动物一样流畅、迅猛和优雅地行动的能力。不过我也喜欢将其作为一种健身的方式，用其来训练上身力量并使我的头脑保持敏捷。”根据练习者创造力和身体素质的不同，跑酷可以灵活多变。因此，可能出现的动作形式不计其数，以下是一些基本的动作：

Cat Leap

猫跳

This move consists of running and leaping from a take-off point. Before leaping, the traceur spots where his hands will grab hold of the wall. He launches from the take-off point at a 45-degree angle. As he approaches, he moves his body into landing position that appears as if he's almost sitting in mid air. With legs bent to absorb shock, the traceur makes impact and grabs hold of the ledge while his feet grip the wall. From there, the traceur bends his knees for the power to push up and climb over the ledge.

Landing from a jump, when the traceur is traveling forward, he lands and bends his knees to absorb the impact. As he does this, he uses the forward momentum20) to go into a roll over his shoulder to transfer the shock of the landing. He places his hands on one side of his head to ensure minimal impact between his shoulder and the ground and, in the meantime, protects his head. The momentum of the jump enables him to land, roll and continue moving so that he is back on his feet and in a running position. He does all of this in one fluid movement.

The traceur balances on the edge of a wall, rail or roof, and spots his landing point. After sizing up the distance, he leans toward his landing point while bending the knees. As he jumps, his arms go up and he straightens his body. As the traceurapproaches the landing point, he brings his legs forward to make contact while his descending arms provide necessary counterbalance. Upon landing, he bends his knees to slow down and makes a precise jump from point to point.

Traceurs use this move to propel themselves over a wall when running toward it. The traceur jumps with a good amount of space between him and the wall, and stretches toward it, planting his hands. By this time, he has made his legs parallel21) to the ground. As his legs catch up with the rest of his body, he uses his arms to catapult22) him forward. Before landing, the traceur makes sure his posture is correct and spots where he'll finish the move with either a roll (if executing from height) or will carry on running (if the move is executed at a low level).

This move allows traceurs to launch over a wall without compromising speed. As the traceur approaches the wall, he lays one hand down and leans sideways as he jumps. His hand briefly touches the wall to keep himself stable. He completes the jump and continues running without any break in momentum.

这一动作包括奔跑和从起跳点跳跃两部分。在起跳前，练习者应确定双手抓墙的位置。然后以45度的角度从起跳点跳起。快接近墙体时，将身体调整为落地姿势，看上去像坐在半空中一样。接触墙体时，练习者弯曲双腿以缓解冲击力，同时双手抓墙沿，双脚蹬墙体。接着，练习者需弯曲双膝，利用墙的反作用力翻越墙体。

跳跃落地时，练习者一边向前运动，一边落地并弯曲双膝来缓冲冲力。做这个动作时，可利用前冲力做前滚翻以转移落地时的冲击力。将双手放在头部一侧，尽量减少落地时对肩部产生的撞击力，同时保护头部。练习者借助跳跃的冲力落地、滚翻并继续前行，最后恢复双脚站立的跑步姿势。所有这些动作一气呵成。

练习者在墙头、栏杆或屋顶保持平衡，确定他的落地点。目测跳跃距离后，他朝落地点前倾，弯曲双膝。跳起后，他的手臂上扬，身体保持直立。接近落地点时，练习者双腿前伸触地，下摆的双手则用于保持身体平衡。落地时，练习者弯曲双膝以减速，然后完成从一点到另一点的精确跳。

练习者利用这一动作在跑步时越过前面的墙体。练习者在距离墙体还有相当一段距离的时候起跳，同时身体向墙体方向前倾，双手牢牢按住墙头。此时，练习者的双腿与地面平行。随着双腿向身体方向靠拢，练习者利用手臂力量将身体向前方弹出。落地前，练习者应确保姿势正确，同时确定落地后是应该滚翻(如跳跃点在较高位置)还是应该继续奔跑(如跳跃点位置较低)。

这一动作可以让练习者在不减速的情况下翻越墙体。当练习者接近墙体时，他将一只手放下，然后在跳跃的同时，身体向一侧倾斜。练习者的手在身体翻越的同时轻触墙头，以保持平衡，接着完成跳跃动作并继续奔跑，中间没有任何停顿。

A Note on Safety

安全提示

Parkour is a highly demanding activity that requires the entire body to be in good health and well-conditioned. Trying any of the Parkour moves without prior training, conditioning and proper instruction can result in serious injury. 跑酷是一项高难度运动，需要练习者身体健康、状态良好。如果未经事先训练、热身和适当指导，就贸然尝试跑酷动作，可能导致严重受伤。

Vocabulary

15. pompier [5pCmpIE(r)] n. 救火员，消防员

16. dexterity [7deks5terItI] n. 灵巧，机敏

17. Bruce Lee: 李小龙(1940～1973)，伟大的武术技击家，世界武功片电影表演家，截拳道的创始人。

18. scenario [sI5nB:rIEu] n. 某一特定情节

19. traceur: 由法语英译而来，意思是“障碍物训练者”，也就是Parkour的练习者。

20. momentum

[mEu5mentEm] n. 冲力

While parkour celebrates the individual's journey toward freedom and overcoming fear, it still remains largely an activity practiced in community.

尽管跑酷崇尚个人的自由之旅和克服恐惧，它在很大程度上仍是一项在特定群体中进行的a运动。

Parkour Crews & Community

The Parkour community not only provides safety but is instrumental in a traceur's growth. Parkour crews hit the city together and participate in what they call "jams" or "sessions", which consist of different drills or games like follow the leader, where each traceur does the same move as the one before. Community learning is vital to Parkour because it provides an appropriate context for the ability of non-professional traceur. This takes away the pressure to Perform movements outside of one's abilities and minimizes the possibility of injury.

As it stands, Parkour is still too new to have any literature printed in book form. Most information is hosted online by Parkour organizations and crews around the world.

跑酷团队和群体

跑酷团体不仅有益于提高安全性，而且也有助于练习者的成长。跑酷团队在城市中聚会，参加各种他们称为“jams” 或 “sessions”的活动，包括不同的训练或游戏，如跟在领头的练习者后做相同的动作等。对跑酷而言，群体共同学习至关重要，因为这能让非专业练习者更好地了解自己的能力。这消除了练习者做超出自己能力范围的动作的压力，从而使受伤的可能性降到最低。

事实上，跑酷作为新生事物，至今还没有出现在任何正式出版物上。大部分相关信息都是世界各地的跑酷组织和团体在网上发布的。

As Parkour gains media exposure through advertising, films and television, commercialization is inevitable. Only time will tell what the future holds for it, but one thing's for sure: Parkour will always be what you make of it.

随着跑酷通过广告、电影和电视获得媒体曝光，商业化在所难免。只有时间能告诉我们，跑酷的未来是什么样子，但有一点是确定的：跑酷的未来掌握在每位练习者手中。