Posted by Situational Movement.
Another term for what we practice in parkour.
Words like ‘functional’ and ‘practical’ tend to evoke certain limited vocabularies of movement, aligned with existing fitness industry or sporting paradigms. Situational includes the functional and the practical, but is not limited to either.
But parkour is, in truth, an adaptive movement concept; we shape our movement at any given moment to fit a given situation, which leads to infinite variability and endless application. We are both products of our environment and masters of it at the same time.
And surely this is ideal, because that’s how our brains evolved to be as they are – not just through constant adaptation but by evolving to be constantly adaptable. And the body is the tool of the brain.
This goes far beyond mere exercise. Situational movement leads to an expansion of the self into the environment; a connection with the world around you on multiple, deep levels, many of which are not conscious at all.
Workshop coming this summer.
Dan Edwardes 