I've talked to a lot of people about parkour training and the wonderful advantages it has over a "traditional" gym workout. The message resonates with almost everyone, but I invariably get the question "how do you do it and not injure yourself?"
It's a valid question that I think points to a larger issue within the parkour community. Public perception of the discipline slants towards the daredevil stunts and "big jumps." These are thrilling to watch but now the general public sees those types of feats as the parkour norm rather than a small group of young and/or highly skilled practitioners. The result? The vast majority of people think learning parkour is beyond their reach.
I don't think that is true. The beauty of parkour lies in the constant improvement and gradual development of skills. Here is what real, serious parkour training looks like:
This speaks to me much more than the freerunning highlight videos. It shows a great balance of play and discipline, community building, and skill development. If you are interested in learning parkour, this is what you should be doing.