Le parkour is often described as "l'art du deplacement", which translates as "the art of forward movement", and it is exactly that. When practicing parkour, you use your surrounding obstacles to liberate your movement, instead of limiting it; whilst moving from one place to another. We (silent motion), see it in 4 elements - fluidity, grace, direction and creativity. We also try to induce silence, speed and control upon our movements, as this is again touching on bettering the aesthetics of the movement.

The name "parkour" came from the phrase "parcours de combatant", which roughly translates as "obstacle coursing". "Parcours", the verb from this phrase, has been taken from this and adapted to make it more suitable for the purpose, hardened as such. The fact that it was the verb from this phrase that was taken is very important, as it symbolises the action that parkour is based around.

There is a very strong philosophical side to parkour that is something you find along the way for yourself. All traceurs better this understanding through experience and time, and many liken their progression with parkour to a journey. This philosophy that many come to learn is something that cannot be explained or described, but is something you must discover yourself, and often varies slightly from person to person. Our understanding of the philosophical side as a group, although differs in areas between us, is centered around the 4 elements that were previously described.

Fluidity is a huge part of parkour, and is only really touched on once the traceur has a large amount of experience. Fluidity is the way a traceur moves, the way each movement merges into the next seamlessly, and the way it feels for the traceur whilst moving.

Grace can tie in a lot with fluidity. It is very much about the visual aesthetic of each individual movement though, and about how well it has been executed. Each person has a different style of moving; For some people their movements can look full of energy, power and force, while other's can look entirely effortless. With either style, an experienced traceur's movements are often very evidently graceful.

Direction is one of the key points in parkour for us. Parkour is often seen as a way to travel from A-B in the most direct route possible. We see it not as the art of movement, but as the art of forward movement.

Creativity is also very important. This can be the route taken, or the movements executed. Variation will almost always add to the aesthetics, and feeling of a run.

All of us within silent motion strive for silence, control and speed throughout our movements, and feel that these, coupled with the other elements, form our way of practicing parkour

Parkour can also been seen a state which you try to achieve - a state of 'mushin' (the state of no mind), where your actions are quick and spontaneous, and happen without thought. A friend of Silent Motion once said "When you walk you go into a trance, where you ignore the passage of time; you are somehow able to completely ignore certain obstacles that you just surpass with 0 mental effort. Parkour is an extension of that. It expands the size and variety of the obstacles you pass and speeds the whole thing up".