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If you haven’t watched “The Office” recently, then you probably saw it via YouTube or in “Casino Royale.” Parkour is sweeping the world. And now, apparently, it’s even reached Berkeley. That’s right–it’s been reported that about a dozen people on the UC Berkeley campus practice parkour every Thursday night.
So what is parkour exactly? Etymologically (oh yes, we’re going there) “parkour” comes from the French word “parcours” which means “route.” Basically, though, it’s a lot of people trying to find the most interesting way to get around, including leaping from building to building, jumping off walls, entering a room through a window, and lurching crazily from surface to surface.
The group in Berkeley seems pretty hardcore. (Hardcore parkour–yes, we had to go there, too.) These traceurs (the trendtastic word for parkour devotees) get accolades from bystanders.
Albert Kong, a linguistics student at Berkeley, is one such dude. “He moves around objects like river water around a stopped canoe. He looks both graceful and strong in the process,” the article gushes.
Pure poetry. Are we the only ones sensing a martial arts movie in the works? “Parkour on Lower Sproul,” perhaps? We can see the tagline right now: One man. One million ways to get around.
French-born parkour goes mainstream [Inside Bay Area]
Image source: JB London under Creative Commons
Tags:Casino Royale, crazy things, hobby, jumping, parkour, The Office, traceurs
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Nov 6, 2009 at 7:42 pm
yeah, epistemology has to do with under what conditions our beliefs or opinions can qualify as knowledge
Nov 6, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Guilty. Thanks, guys. Won’t do it again. Scout’s honor. 
Nov 8, 2009 at 2:01 pm
[...] to green [SFGate] · Powwow of planners: “making up for past mistakes” [Streetsblog] · Building-jumping parkour hits Berkeley [Daily [...]
Nov 16, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Hey, name used without permission? By the way, feel free to interview or ask for a picture. I don’t like being quoted without an opportunity to plug shamelessly.
Nov 6, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Wouldn’t that be “etymologically?” haha