The history of Parkour as an intentional practice begins in 1896, when Georges Hébert began his deployment in the French Navy. During his travels, he observed the bodies and movements of native populations — noticing their physical adaptability and resilience. He would then later go on to use these observations to inform the creation of his own system of physical training: la méthode naturelle. Within this system he sought to train individuals to traverse and survive within any environment through movement and activities such as running, climbing, jumping, vaulting, crawling, swimming, throwing, and fighting.
By 1904, Hébert began testing this system, aiming to help people in modern societies reconnect with the kinds of physical demands he had seen being met by native peoples and labourers. His training method focused on practical movement skills and would eventually become a core element of French military training, spreading globally within France’s Second Colonial Empire.
Nearly half a century later, sees the emergence of the next figure of major influence leading to Parkour’s conception. An orphan from Vietnam, who gained French citizenship and became a famous military fireman in Paris. Raymond Belle was born in 1939 in French Indochina (now Vietnam). Tragically, he lost both of his parents during the First Indochina War and was raised in a French military orphanage. There, he was introduced to Goerge Hébert’s training methods.
Raymond dedicated himself to obstacle course training, drilling movements and techniques to develop his body and find the most efficient ways to traverse environments (a concept later articulated and that was referenced heavily to the point of cliche). He would often sneak out to train at night, creating his own courses to challenge himself further, and moving as quietly as possible to avoid being caught.
In 1954, Raymond was granted French citizenship and moved to Paris, where he joined the military fire service. Using the skills he had refined in his youth, he excelled in training, won firefighting competitions, and quickly became a legendary figure for both his abilities and his courage.
In 1973, Raymond’s son, David was born. Widely seen as the founder of the sport, and as one of it’s most famous practitioners. He followed his fathers footsteps and built an incredible level of skill and physicality which took him from live demonstrations to adverts and music videos, then eventually starring in movies and performing his own stunts. Many of his feats are still seen as iconic and held as benchmarks for performing at the highest level.
As a young person, David was involved in gymnastics and athletics but felt disillusioned with organised sport and formal education. He began speaking with his father about training, and Raymond passed on the teachings of Hébert, referring to them as parcours — meaning “course.” David began training on his own sometime in the 1980s. After moving to Lisses, he was soon joined by others who shared his passion. Together, they developed a new approach built on Raymond’s teachings, inspired both by real-life heroism and the feats of characters from martial arts media. This early “first generation” also included Sébastien Foucan, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontesi, Guylain N'Guba Boyeke, Malik Diouf, and Charles Perrière.
In 1997, David’s brother invited him and the other first generation practitioners to perform at a firefighter show in Paris. To present themselves to the public, they chose the name Yamakasi, derived from Congolese Linga, meaning “strong man, strong spirit.” Unfortunately, David later had a falling out with the group and left to form his own, which he named Les Traceurs, and that included members who would become the sport’s "second generation." David and his group coined the term Parkour, while the original Yamakasi continued to refer to their practice as L’ Art Du Déplacement (The Art of Movement). Despite the split, both groups began to gain wider recognition through performances, action films, and — eventually — mainstream media.
The early 2000’s saw a number of key pieces of media that helped parkour reach wider audiences as the first and second generations of practitioners gained recognition within film and television:
Yamakasi (film) – April 2001
Written by Luc Besson (director of ‘Léon: The Professional’) and starring the founding members of the group (minus Sebastien and David) - this movie introduces French and international audiences to both the group and the sport.
BBC “Rush Hour” – March 2002
David Belle stars in a short sequence, traversing London’s rooftops in order to get home from work to watch television. The feats shown include a huge jump over a gap between buildings and many people speculate that the ‘stunts’ are fake.
Jump London (documentary) – September 2003
Director Mike Christie showcases the sport and invites audiences to see it practiced in a number of London’s landmarks. Starring three of the first and second practitioners; Sebastien Foucan, Jérôme Ben Aoues, and Johann Vigroux. Within interviews, Sebastien first introduces the term Freerunning as an Anglici
Banlieue 13 / District B13 (film) – November 2004
David Belle stars as the main character in a dystopian action movie alongside actor, martial artist and stuntman Cyril Raffaelli. Luc Besson, writer of Yamakasi, also directed this film. Although fictional, and fantastical, the opening chase scene is held as one of the defining sequences for the sport as a functional means of escape.
Generation Yamakasi (documentary) – October 2006
Created for television channel, France 2. This documentary explores the history and training of the Yamakasi. Within it they describe their approach to practice and how they introduce their students to the sport. It also showcases examples of parkour trained in more rural locations.
As more and more people discovered Parkour through these pieces of media, they turned to the internet to discuss it, learn more, and share their own practice in short homemade videos.
As the popularity of online forums and early file-sharing platforms grew, practitioners took advantage of these technologies and international communities began to form. Enthusiasts from different countries would connect, watch videos, share knowledge and techniques, and organise meet-ups — often referred to as “jams.”
Parkour then gained real momentum with the advent of social media. Clips went viral. Hashtags emerged. And suddenly, parkour wasn’t just a niche subculture — it had entered mainstream consciousness.
Today, it continues to evolve as both a physical discipline and a creative outlet.
Its history is no longer just French — it belongs to the world.
Although it may be a relatively young sport by name, parkour’s roots stretch as far back as human movement itself. And while its development as a system begins later than many traditional sports, its story is every bit as rich and complex.
This brief introduction only scratches the surface of a deeper, more fascinating history. Parkour’s growth is tied to thousands of individual stories — of challenge, adaptation, and creativity — all of which have shaped how the sport is practiced today.
