THE BEAUTY OF MOVEMENT
By Roberto Carmona
When people ponder the last time they truly enjoyed moving their body around, they often will bring up fond memories of themselves at a park or playing with friends, a pastime that society has conditioned us to outgrow. We usually associate having fun by climbing monkey bars, jumping off slides, and hopping over fences as something for children playing around or viewed skeptically as behavior typical of troublemakers seeking a quick escape. But what if someone never lost that innate playfulness with movement? What would that be called? I would call it parkour.
Parkour is a movement discipline in which individuals learn how to move and adapt to the environment around them, refining each motion to the point where creativity in movement becomes a primary goal. As a kid, I wondered why traditional sports like soccer and football failed to capture my interest. Then, a friend recommended a television show, and from that moment, I was hooked. I began exploring different moves and ways to hop around my neighborhood by myself. I was never bored trying to push my limits. Yet, the feeling of being the only kid in this stuff made me feel the weight of isolation, and the loneliness of pursuing it alone eventually took its toll on the fun.
