Perspectives with Robbie Corbett
What are the challenges and opportunities in advancing Parkour as a sport, a community activity, and a professional field?
The conversation explores the evolution of Parkour and its integration into schools and professional spaces.
“The idea is we want a place that they can be creative, and not just be forced to do [movement] by the book. Maybe they could build stuff, maybe they can make new challenges.” ~ Robbie Corbett (1:24)
The discussion begins with reflections on the creation of a pop-up Parkour playground tailored for schools. Emphasis is placed on designing spaces that encourage creativity and adaptability, offering both basic and advanced challenges. Robbie shares experiences working with equipment manufacturers and schools, highlighting the importance of lesson plans and collaborative design to maximize the utility of these spaces.
The conversation then shifts to broader topics, such as the evolution of Parkour as a sport and its interaction with other industries like film, Ninja Warrior, and tag. Challenges include appropriation of Parkour concepts without acknowledgment and competition from larger organizations like FIG. Despite these issues, the conversation recognizes the diversity and creativity within the Parkour community, showcasing its potential to innovate through unique events and grassroots gatherings.
Takeaways
Designing adaptable spaces — School playgrounds and pop-up structures can encourage creative movement and multi-age participation.
Challenges in recognition — Parkour faces appropriation from industries and organizations, hindering its independent growth.
Opportunities in collaboration — Collaboration with schools and communities can enhance Parkour’s accessibility and value.
Creativity in competition — Events like jams and non-traditional gatherings showcase the sport’s diversity.
The struggle with governance — FIG’s control over competitions creates barriers for Parkour’s self-regulated development.
Community engagement — Bridging small, insular groups could foster a more unified and collaborative environment.
Resources
World Freerunning and Parkour Federation (WFPF) — A global organization promoting Parkour through events and certifications.
Parkour Certification — Provides training for coaches and athletes, ensuring safety and skill progression.
MoveNYC — A unique event blending competitions, workshops, and communal activities for Parkour practitioners.
(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)
— Hello👋 I’m Craig Constantine.
In the Movers Mindset podcast, I talk with movement enthusiasts to learn who they are, what they do, and why they do it. I’m interested in the nature and philosophy of movement and in exploring themes like independence, self-direction, and human excellence. My interests color each conversation and provide some structure to Movers Mindset. But since I like to take the scenic route, every conversation ends up going somewhere unique.
The purpose of Movers Mindset is to create and share great conversations with movement enthusiasts. Each conversation feeds my insatiable curiosity, but I share them to turn on a light for someone else, to inspire them, or to give them their next question.
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My personal mission is creating better conversations to spread understanding and compassion. And Movers Mindset is one of the things I do in service of my mission. Drop by https://craigconstantine.com/ for my weekly email, my other podcasts, writing and more.
The Movers Mindset project grew from conversations I started having as part of my personal journey rediscovering movement. The project started late in 2015, and it was initially simply a web site that shared others’ writing. The project grew, and in 2017 I started the podcast. I’ve worked extremely hard, but none of this would have been possible without so much help from so many people.
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