russian climbing - Google Video

russian climbing - Google Video

I love these videos. These guys are awesome. The style is called Parkour and is an urban sport that originated in Europe, it’s a new way of bringing together the spring-loaded bodies of young males with stairways, park benches, the stuff of city blocks and suburban shopping malls. Call it skateboarding, but without the skateboards — a form of extreme gymnastics that swaps parallel bars and mats for fire escapes and concrete.

The sport was invented in the late 1980s by two suburban Paris teens, Sebastien Foucan and David Belle, who began experimenting with obstacle course-style exercises taught to them by Belle’s father, who had served in the military. Parkour is making way into the United States, helped along by word-of-mouth on the Internet. Check it out.