Can jumping off of buildings, vaulting over tables, and diving under handrails really be considered an art? The answer is yes. What may be insanity to some is the art of movement to others.
Le parkour and free running consist of many different stunts and tricks that challenge the body to do what the mind thinks it cannot do. Some of the common moves of free running consist of the reverse vault, superman front flip, 360 wall run, and the kong.
These moves all consist of throwing the body off of something and making it look interesting while in the air. Free running and parkour have been featured in Casino Royale, Live Free or Die Hard, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, and many other movies and commercials.
The thought process behind the runner makes the art. It is all about contorting the body into something beautiful and free.
With the free runners at Chaffey, their views fit perfectly in this style.
"Balance is the key to everything," free runner Gabriel Martinez said. "Not just in free running, but in life. Once you are centered and balanced, things will turn out right."
Gabriel has been free running for four years, and found a team to do it with about two years ago.
"We learn from each other, no coach, no obligations, no rules," he said. "Just the feeling right before you drop. It's really exhilarating."
As Gabriel and the rest of the team jumped off the bridge by the gym, and scaled up the wall of the VSS building, they started to gather a small crowd of very curious people.
One student in particular, Franco Gutierrez, was curious enough to not only ask what the group was doing but also to ask if they could teach him a few moves.
When asked why he was interested in free running, Gutierrez said, "Evasion really, but also because I saw it on a Nike commercial."
The release of emotions and freeing of the body makes free running a true art. The want and need for a freeing experience is what has inspired many great artists of the past. Now this inspiration is being brought into the future with a outlook on releasing emotions - free running.
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