#WEARENOTGYMNASTICS
This isn’t about keeping art du deplacement and parkour the same, or about it being true to its roots, or about it not making money. Parkour changes, evolves, shifts, diversifies, institutionalises, commercialises. Communities grow and decline, companies appear and disappear, top level athletes come and go. What’s being argued here is that the practitioners should be the primary influence on that evolution with a sense of authenticity and autonomy. The imposition of gymnastics as an authority over parkour undermines that. The idea that an unelected, unwanted, unjustified and unaccountable authority can come in and start making huge decisions about parkour’s culture is a threat to what makes us who we are. Parkour’s community is not fixed, nor is it unified. Some of its decisions are great, and others are disastrous. Some of its community leaders are not necessarily representative of the broader community, and some top level athletes speak amazing truths while others talk rubbish. Whatever its direction, this all comes from WITHIN parkour. These are OUR decisions, made by practitioners. Here at Skochy we value autonomy and authenticity. FIG is a threat to the spirit of parkour. We stand with our thousands of brothers and sisters around the world who are coming together to fight their self-imposed authority. We are not gymnastics. Please share and spread the word as we can still make a change.
