Startups: It's Not a Race, It's Parkour | Hacker News Reader

Startups: It's Not a Race, It's Parkour

kenbautista.com

72 pointswallflower22 comments

As someone who has been training Parkour for about 6 years, I think this is a great article and draws a lot of great comparisons.

I had no idea there was a word for that. I briefly did gymnastics when I was real young and I think Parkour is amazing. I also love the visual metaphor of navigating the urban landscape like this -- men in suits with briefcases doing this -- and the comparisons. Very spot on in my opinion. I would only add that you clearly need to be in good shape to do this and I think the same applies to business or any other "creative" endeavor (defining "creative" as "something you make up as you go). You can overcome a lot if you are starting out from a basic level of strength, flexibility, know-how and so on. But some people will need to do a lot just to get to that starting place.

If you're interested in starting, email me (in my profile) and let me know where you are. I know of people all over the place and can connect you with the local community.

It's never too late to start - like I said in my longer reply below, parkour is awesome because it can scale to anyone at any level of fitness.

Thanks, but I'm someone who is currently walking seven miles at least once a week so I can reverse the damage to my body from a deadly genetic disorder (that nearly killed me 10 years ago). That's currently enough challenge for me. :-) If I ever feel like I have gotten my body back from the demon that stole it, I will consider getting in touch.

Sounds good. Parkour is all about doing things that are challenging for you, not necessarily the next guy. If you're making moves to improve your health, you've got my support. :)

Isn't it's more like a marathon Parkour game?

You have to adapt, move with strength and all that, but you have to do that thousand of times until you hit what you're looking for.

People who practice parkour train movements a thousand times before they're able to do a lot of the things you see in popular videos. :)

Flat ground marathon running is for big companies that can just throw resources at a problem. For a small company to get ahead, it needs to take some creative shortcuts.

Sure, a lot of parkour is "frivolous" and "flashy", but so are most startups. For the serious traceurs and entrepreneurs though, finding a shorter path can be the difference between being a success and an also ran.

In short, do what it takes to get to where you need to be, obstacles be damned.

As I mention below, parkour is not actually "flashy". From Wiki: However, the term free running has come to represent a separate concept, distinctly different from parkour — a distinction which is often missed due to the aesthetic similarities. Parkour as a discipline emphasizes efficiency, whilst free running embodies complete freedom of movement — and includes many acrobatic maneuvers. Although the two are often physically similar, the mindsets of each are vastly different.

It's not just semantics; "real" parkour and free running are very different approaches to interfacing with the urban environment. This article clearly refers to literal parkour, not free running— a little confusing since the embedded video has a lot of flashy stuff going on that "real" traceurs wouldn't put up with.

If you want a better example of "real" parkour, think of the opening scene of Casino Royale. That guy (Sebastien Foucan, one of the "founders" of Le Parkour) was running away from a professional killer, he didn't have any time to stop and do a handstand. And yet the entire time that Bond is crashing through walls trying to keep up, Foucan is moving with speed, grace and elegance.

Parkour is not intentionally flashy for the mere sake of being flashy. However if the fastest way to go from point A to point B is to leap over an obstacle, a lot of people are going to be impressed with the leap regardless of why it was made.

Please see my response to shpoonj.

The metaphor only stands if you're willing to admit that your startup is entirely frivolous, strictly a trend, and flashy without any attention to substance.

So yes, your startup probably does have a lot in common with parkour. Shouldn't we change that?

Reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4

"Don't mess with my cadence."

I'm not sure why you think parkour is "frivolous, a trend, or flashy without any attention to substance."

I've been training parkour for almost 6 years, and I've seen a lot of misinformation out there.

Parkour is all about improving yourself, being creative, and play. We focus hard on increasing strength, flexibility, durability, speed, balance, and coordination - in addition to more specific skills like climbing, vaulting. But creativity and play is one of the best parts of parkour - finding fun or silly ways to wiggle through tiny spaces, swing through a jungle gym, or games to play in a field.

Seeing the changes in our students' attitudes when they first walk into our gym versus after they've been training for a year or two is amazing. They look healthier, they are more confident, and they are happier.

Parkour is more than just a trend in the fitness industry - it has the breadth and depth of something that is rooted in what the human body was designed to do. It isn't a game (contrary to the OP's post), it has no rules, it has no rankings or belts or levels. It's scalable to any person at any level of fitness and it's capable of constantly providing new challenges.

So I'm not exactly sure where you're getting your facts from, but it's likely based on shitty youtube videos of dumb kids jumping off of their roofs. Misconceptions from these videos are something I've spent years fighting, educating people one at a time.

You seem like a marketing guy for the "parkour 4 hackers" putting it against traditional martial arts just like the hacker culture is against corporate culture. I'm not against that, just a notice.

> You seem like a marketing guy for the "parkour 4 hackers" putting it against traditional martial arts just like the hacker culture is against corporate culture.

I've corresponded and chatted with Zach on the phone a couple times. I've got to tell you - he's not so much a marketer for parkour as someone who has been able to reach more joy and self-perfection through a discipline.

And I train in martial arts and not parkour at all, and Zach has never given me a hard time for it ;) I don't think he's anti-anything really, he's one of the nicest and most open-minded, cool, and creative people I've connected with in the last year.

He's probably sharing on parkour because he really loves it and thinks others could have better lives through it too. I'm happy he's doing so - more education from experienced people is always welcome.

I'm not sure where you got the impression that parkour is "against" traditional martial arts. I had been training various martial arts for about 7 years before I started parkour, and then kept training for another 3 or so afterward. I'm a huge fan of martial arts, as are many traceurs.

I'm not so much a marketing guy for "parkour 4 hackers" as I am a marketing guy for "people finding something they love and doing it."

It's been incredibly influential in my life and it's helped make me who I am. Because of that, I do tend to go out of my way to help correct misconceptions and misinformation.

Cool, really cool. I'm now trying to get into shape(loose weight, improve breathing and stamina) with simple jump rope and hope to start training something specifical in near future so looking into different stuff. I didn't want to offend you or something. That post about parkour being without any kind of rankings/belts just seemed like an argument against those rankings a bit, which just related to the hacker culture for me, that's all. Sorry for the trolling about it ;)

No worries. Never any hard feelings or anything. :)

Do you know what you want to train in the future? Whether it's parkour or not, I'd love to chat and see if I can help you find what's a good fit for you. Email is in my profile.

You're misinformed.

Le Parkour in its original form is about fast, efficient, fluid and aesthetic navigation of obstacles without stopping. Later practitioners merged this with traditional acrobatics and martial arts moves to create a style sometimes differentiated as "free running", which is much more about the exhibition value of the performance. Since it's flashier, and easier to film, you usually see this in videos— but lots of people will tell you that's not "real" parkour. (Not in a bad way; it's just a different sport.)

First of all, it's important to separate the actual quality of something from whatever trendiness Hollywood/Madison Ave bestows upon it.

Second of all, startups on average are chasing trends much more than actual traceurs are.

Fantastic post!

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