Parkour by Jacob Rogers Parkour is an up and coming sport with growing popularity. Not many know where parkour originated from, or if it should be considered a “real sport.” Parkour is more than just jumping off of stuff and trying to get killed. It’s a way of life. Parkour comes from the French word meaning park running. Traceur is a person that does parkour and is literally translated to plotter. Doing parkour involves trying to plot new routes to get over obstacles rather than around. The Belle family is known for growing Traceurs in the family. David Belle has been doing parkour for most of his life and pursued a career in acting. His grandfather Gilbert Kitten, father Raymond Belle, and brother Jeff Belle have been highly skilled rescuers in the French military fire service. “Isn’t parkour just doing flips, jumping off stuff, and through trees?” asked senior Tobias Gassman. “It’s like flying, like Superman.” Parkour is not just a sport that has someone “jump off of stuff.” It’s an actual sport that requires skill. When one does parkour, he must come prepared and stretch the legs, ankles, and arms out–it’s a workout. Parkour actually has no flips in it. The purest form is just getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Free running is the more flashy trick sport. One can put parkour and tricking skills together to show off their supreme powers. Many people don’t know this, but ISU has a parkour team called Team Impulse. They welcome any new members wanting to learn parkour. They have two members that have gone to Red Bull’s Art of Motion competition. The ISU team has not offically started their practices for this year, but they will be starting soon in 2 to 3 weeks.