MTV has a new parkour show!
You can watch the full pilot episode of MTV’s Ultimate Parkour Challenge below. (NOTE: Videos are restricted by region so international viewers may not be able to view them.)
If you have any interest in learning about this art, I think you’ll really enjoy watching the whole 42-minute episode. You’ll see a lot of basic and advanced techniques, plus striking examples of their practical applications. (Parkour is mostly about running away, and there is really no better skill you can master in terms of survival.) You’ll also get a fascinating look at the kinds of people who practice parkour, and what the art means to them.
There are a lot of accidents, but only one involves blood and it’s no worse than you’d see on a cooking show. But the number of accidents and their potential severity is exactly why it’s important to have parkour classes — to give kids and adults a safe place to learn this incredibly unsafe but practical art. I don’t take parkour at White Lotus, but I watch the classes regularly, and they’re absolutely amazing. One of our instructors, King David, competes in this episode.
This show has been officially picked up for a full season, and Travis Wong, the son of White Lotus Grandmaster Douglas Wong and Master Carrie Ogawa-Wong, will be one of the hosts! Sifu Travis is an amazing martial artist, a fantastic teacher, and the driving force behind our school’s embrace of parkour and freerunning. He’s a mover and a shaker on the new frontiers of martial arts. Here’s the trailer for the new episodes — beginning in May!
I think parkour is beautiful, powerful, and practical… but then again, efficiency is one of the principle tenets of my life. I also think it requires an incredible blend of bravery, body awareness, strength, coordination, and raw hutzpah. If I were young, I’d want to learn it for sure. Nowadays, all I can think of are excuses not to try. (Most of which involve hospitals.)
So…do you find this art interesting? Is it something you’d like to learn? And the kicker — would you let your kids (real or imaginary) practice parkour?
