[custom_adv] Masuleh is approximately 60 km southwest of Rasht and 32 km west of Fuman. For the first time ever they hosted a Parkour sporting event. Running, leaping and climbing through the city isn’t just a test of strength and stamina – it’s also now an official sport. Parkour – a form of urban acrobatics, originating in France – is now officially recognized by sports councils across Britain. On a practical level, this means that it can be on national educational curricula, apply for lottery funding and access the benefits enjoyed by other major sports. [custom_adv] Parkour is quickly becoming one of the stand-out movements of the 21st century, and yet for something growing so fast, many aspects of parkour remain a mystery to the every day city-dweller. But really, what is parkour? [custom_adv] Parkour can be defined as the practice of moving logically and creatively through a - typically - urban setting to get from a start point to an end point as quickly as possible. This involves physically overcoming barriers on any given route, creating inventive but practical ways in which from get from A to B as efficiently as possible. [custom_adv] Practitioners of the discipline are often referred to as tracuers or traceuses, and the word parkour actually derives from the French ‘le parcours’, which Raymond Belle, the father of the ‘father of parkour’ David Belle, used to encompass all of his numerous training methods, from climbing and running to jumping, balancing, vaulting and more. [custom_adv] Parkour Generations are a pioneering company that work across every field in their discipline; from training and educating people about the art of parkour to participating and consulting in professional projects, film-making, and even advising and testing out the strength of high-security facilities. [custom_adv] “People get involved for all sorts of reasons, but often just for the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of moving and using the body the way it has evolved to be used. It's a challenging activity that actually asks you to use your physical and mental capabilities to overcome movement tasks and achieve more than you thought possible." [custom_adv] Parkour is said to be a practice that sees the athlete take the most direct route possible between two points, whereas freerunning values more self-expression, improvisation, and the use of movements for aesthetics-only, such as flips and twists, that would not be seen in parkour.
