The founding figure of modern Parkour

Parkour, a French born method of movement focusing on moving in speed and finding efficient and loose ways around obstacles, has its roots in French army training and African indigenous tribes´ model of physical skills. The crucial figure for the sports is David Belle, who grew up in the Parisian suburbs and who was surrounded by a family of sporting heroes.

In early 19th century, a French naval officer Georges Herbert travelled in Africa and was fascinated by the physical skills of the indigenous tribes there. He developed a motto of “be strong to be useful” and inspired by the tribes he created apparatus of exercise called methode naturelle. This method has since become a standard system in French military education and training, which David Bell also took part decades later in French Marine corps at Vannes.

David’s father, Raymond Belle was a firefighter in Parisian brigade and served in French Army in Vietnam. He had vast influence on David’s seeking for physical and mental freedom through discipline, strength and skill. Raymond was trained in methode naturelle at the French army and introduced it to his son as well. In the army service David’s favourite courses were parcours du combattant aka military obstacle courses and he gained the title of Regimental rope-climbing records holder. David however left the military life as he felt the rules were too restricted and the environment too regulated. The quest for overcoming the physical obstacles and gaining such way the freedom of mind had begun.

He did some odd jobs and left for India to study kung-fu for three months. In 1980´s David Belle had founded, together with his childhood friend Yahn Hnautra, a collective of Parkour trainers called Yamakasi, which eventually came to known as the originator of modern day Parkour. The ingredients of the sports came from the things David’s father had taught him from the idea of moving without physical constraints and the feeling of freedom. The idea of Parkour lives in the Yamakasis original Congolese Lingala language term meaning strong man, strong spirit.