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What is Parkour?

Parkour is a movement based discipline in which practitioners ('traceurs') move as effectively or efficiently as possible, driven by the notions of reach and escape. Parkour provides the ability to overcome physical obstacles within the surrounding environment, allowing a traceur to reach a place quicker or more directly, or conversely to leave an area or evade a pursuant.

One trains for Parkour in a similar way to how one might practice a martial art - this is, by teaching the body a widened variety of movement-based abilities so as to build key skills such as bodily and spatial awareness, strength and flexibility. These, along with basic techniques from which many movements stem, form the fundamental components that allow a traceur to move effectively should the need to do so arise. There are no set 'moves' within Parkour, only those that a particular traceur finds most effective under a certain situation. Obviously there are countless ways of moving across any given environment, and what works best for one person will not necessarily be the fastest option for another. Furthermore, these decisions often differ over time to reflect a traceurs personal changes in ability, physique and mindset.

Who are SilentMotion?

SilentMotion consist of some of the first people to begin practicing Parkour in and around Reading, UK. Since 2004 we have offered an online space for local traceurs to communicate, share thoughts, ideas and media, and most importantly organise regular training. The most important thing to know about this is that everyone is welcome, regardless of ability, age, sex or race. We welcome all new practitioners, and even if parkour isn't for you and you just want to talk to us about what we do, then we encourage you to join us at one of our regular training sessions. If you have any questions feel free to post on our forum or contact us directly, info(at)silentmotion.co.uk .