Parkour has become a mainstream sport that has been growing exponentially over the past 10 years. This new sport has led to videos of supposed parkour practitioners going viral. However, these videos show dangerous stunts that can not be considered parkour.

Unfortunately, these videos leave many misconceptions about parkour to the viewer. Amos describes the main misconceptions of parkour “being stunts, or an extreme sport, something not accessible to most people”. While in reality most parkour movements are very “calculated and precise”. Unfortunately, the videos do not show parkour in its true nature.

Amos defines parkour as, “a movement art and training methodology in which the mind and body are trained to safely and efficiently navigate any environment”. By this definition, parkour is shown as the simple movements it is, not going for the most dangerous stunt possible for internet fame. The second misconception Amos sees most people have about parkour is that it is “not accessible to all people.” When someone watches a person jump between two roofs, it makes parkour look crazy and like something that they could never do.

However, parkour can be done by anyone regardless of age or ability. Parkour is “movement to pass over, through, under, and around all types of obstacles.” This does not mean these obstacles have to be high or dangerous at all. Most of the time these obstacles are low to the ground and very safe. Amos describes, “The sheer amount of videos that highlight the most sensational aspects of parkour can often leave an incomplete picture in people’s’ minds.” Amos has worked for many years to try and remedy these misconceptions and show parkour for what it truly is.

Hopefully the public’s view of parkour can be moved away from something dangerous, and focus on what parkour truly is, a safe and efficient way to “navigate any environment”.

For more information about parkour and Amos’s projects, go to his website https://amosrendao.squarespace.com