It has recently been brought to my attention that not everyone has the time or desire to scour YouTube for the all best parkour videos. So! I’ve compiled a list of the video every traceur should see. Note that these are not necessarily the best videos, or the most influential, or the most viewed… Just the ones with which every serious practitioner should be familiar.
Storm Freerun Vol. 1
The combination of amazing editing, extraordinary moves, and great music gets Storm Freerun Vol. 1 top billing. The fact that it’s only parkour and freerunning, with no gym clips or extraneous tricking, is just icing on the cake. Delicious, delicious cake.
Choose Not To Fall
This video of Daniel Ilabaca has probably had the strongest ever effect on the philosophy of the parkour community. I say ‘probably’ only because there’s no way to objectively measure its impact. If there was… Well. It would probably be tops.
Imagination Is Everything
Tim “Livewire” Shieff’s response to Daniel Ilabaca’s video is just as inspirational. One of the things he says has stuck with me ever since the first time I heard it.
“You’ve got four limbs – two arms, two legs, feet, hands. And what are you using them for? To walk to the train station, to type on a keyboard. What’s that? We’ve got all this potential, and we’re not using it.”
TEMPEST FREERUNNING ACADEMY
You’ve probably already seen this one already because of its massive mainstream appeal. If not, then shame on you.
Ryan Doyle – I like to spin
This was the first parkour video that really “clicked” for me. Ryan Doyle’s style is just so graceful and unique. I’ve probably watched this video more than any other two on this list, and I still pick up new things with every viewing.
Parkour / FreeRunning – The best of 3RUN
Crazy awesome moves, good music, good editing, and 3Run’s love for each other combine to make a video that’s simply inspiring.
Kyle ‘Epic’ Mendoza – 2011 Parkour & Freerunning
Kyle Mendoza, a.k.a. Epic, is one of YouTube’s most famous traceurs – and for good reason. His tutorials are always extremely detailed and easy to follow.
WE ARE STORROR
Toby Segar’s heroic double kong at 1:50 alone would nearly have been enough to guarantee this video a place on the list, but the rest of WE ARE STORROR is nearly as awesome. The music and editing is considerably more aggressive than normal, which is an interesting change from the usual dubstep/drum ‘n bass and smooth cuts and transitions.
Parkour, Literally
One of the very rare videos that just pure parkour. No flips, no spins, no fancy vaults, just fast, clean, efficient motion. And there’s 3 more just like it! Here’s Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4.
Out of Time
And, of course, one of Oleg and his massively creative bar work. (Part two)
Honorable Mentions
These are not quite as prominent, but they’re still significant in their own way.
David Belle’s razor commercial
I’m not sure if this is the most recent video of David Belle moving, but it’s one of the most recent.
Sébastien Foucan Puts Fineside To The Test
Yes, it’s an advertisement, it’s still awesome to see Séb move.
Crazy Jump 100%
This moves in this video are so unbelievably advanced for their time, it really is incredible.
Also, corks in Speedos. Just sayin’.
Take My Strong Hand
Can’t have a list of significant parkour videos without at least one of Daniel Ilabaca moving. Choose Not to Fall doesn’t count, as the main message was philosophical, not movemental.
You’ve probably see these already
So instead of wasting space embedding, I’ll just link to them.
What do you think of these videos? Should there be anything else on this list?
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