Parkour Around a City
There are many ways to travel within a city. But no matter which way we travel, we have to follow the route the city planners laid down for us.
To them, there are no designed routes. There are no walls and no stairs they jump, climb and crawl to move across, through, over and under anything they find in their path.
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has noticed that this activity is drawing more and more people to it—there are 100,000 people taking part in parkour (跑酷) today in the UK alone, according to The Guardian and how it is helpful for people to be much stronger: It trains coordination and balance.
But parkour enthusiasts themselves don't seem to be happy with the idea. They see parkour as "a lifestyle". Indeed, many do parkour just to escape the daily routine and experience the city in different ways. They see parkour as a way to express themselves through relaxing moves and creative routes while freeing themselves from the pressure.
It's great that the FIG wants to develop a new sport and stay close to a new cultural form. But it would be greater if they knew that not everything in life is a competition.
A. The city is their playground.
B. We can walk, cycle, or take a bus.
C. Parkour is more interesting than you ever know.
D. Parkour began in France, back in 1988, in the suburbs of Paris.
E. However, Parkour enthusiasts sce the city in a completely different way.
F. For them, it is a competition against the conditions rather than just a sport,
G. So the FIG is thinking about recognizing parkour as a new sport and adding it to the Olympics by 2024.
