Dylan Baker – The Story Behind Manhood (Parkour)

For those who have never encountered parkour - free running - it has become one of the fastest growing training and fitness models in recent years, partly because it requires no equipment, just an environment in which to practice. According to Wikipedia:

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated PK) is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping. Traceurs (parkour practitioners) train to be able to identify and utilize alternate or the more efficient paths. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles offer many different training opportunities.

Dylan Baker is one of the legends of the sport. I think the title of the post comes from his refusal to be defeated by a skill or trick - even though it nearly killed him. He overcame his fear and a year later landed the trick.

Filmed and Interviewed by Frosti
Edited by Knox

Dylan Baker – The Story Behind Manhood (Parkour)
Thursday, November 24th, 2011

This week’s article is not going to be covering any movements, but will be covering an inspirational video that I think everyone who practices parkour, or does anything that requires motivation and dedication for should see.

“Dylan Baker – The Story Behind Manhood” presented by American Parkour

The video is an interview of Dylan Baker, who almost died doing a movement while training one day, but he did not and got out of the situation safely. However, the fear of the movement kept him away from doing the same movement in the same place for over a year; however, a year later, he conquered his fear and did the move smoothly. He, also, expresses that no matter how much you do train on certain moves (and overall); there is always a chance of something happening that could cause you harm, which should always be considered while training or doing something new.

Other than that, the interview is inspirational to a lot of people (I think), because it goes on to express the love of parkour (or anything really), and it shows that you should not allow yourself to be held back from something you love by something like fear (or any other obstacle; mental or physical). Even if you do take a break from something you love, only allow that to be a break, not an end; come back to it when you are able to or feel comfortable enough to go back and continue doing it.

Music:
Get Down by Nas
Angel by Massive Attack
Luchini Instrumental by Camp Lo