Parkour and freerunning have different types of moves and competition. Freerunning is an offshoot of parkour with less emphasis on efficiency and more emphasis on expression. Both come from French military training and Vietnamese firefighters. David Belle is the leader of parkour, while Sébastien Foucan is the leader of freerunning. Parkour is generally free from competition, while freerunning can be performed competitively. The words are sometimes used interchangeably, but this may upset practitioners of these disciplines.
While there is no common consensus on the definition of these terms, the difference between parkour and freerunning typically boils down to the types of moves used by the person engaging in the activity and the form, if any, of competition. According to the World Freerunning Parkour Federation, freerunning is an offshoot of parkour with less emphasis on efficiency and more emphasis on expression. Parkour is generally seen as an acrobatic means of getting from one point to another as efficiently and directly as possible. Freerunning is very similar to parkour, except that you can add additional moves for a purely aesthetic touch, such as spins and somersaults. Parkour is also typically free from competition, while freerunning can be performed competitively.
Both businesses share the same origin, although they have differed from each other in certain ways. In general, this form of athletic activity comes from observing various forms of movement used in French military training, as well as movements used by Vietnamese firefighters. These methods have been further developed and refined by several individuals, perhaps most notably David Belle and Sébastien Foucan. The starkest gap between parkour and freerunning can be seen in the different styles of Belle and Foucan, as each has become a prominent figure in the two different guises.
Belle is generally regarded as the leader of the parkour movement and his training and vision for the sport involves efficient movement between venues. This means that extra moves, such as flips and spins, have no place in his activity form, as they are inefficient and require unnecessary energy and effort. As Foucan, on the other hand, wished to add such moves to his own movements, the split arose. Freerunning was first used as a way to provide an English name for parkour, but has since typically referred to a form that includes extra movement for visual flair.
A competitive aspect of such athletic movements can also be the difference between parkour and freerunning. Belle and other leaders generally want parkour to remain free from competition and to exist simply as a personal exploration of the world in a way that can be shared and mutually enjoyed. Freerunning, on the other hand, is often used for competitive means and can be played more like a traditional sport. Despite these differences, the words are sometimes used interchangeably, although this may draw the ire of some practitioners of these disciplines.
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