So from very early there was this serious discipline but to me it was… I enjoyed physical activities but I was more looking for something cool. I realised it was my way of life very late very late cause we all have our own way of thinking but in my head I was conditioned, I was educated to look for a secured job, to have qualifications. So for a long time, even after we appeared in Stade 2 (french tv sport mag), I was looking for a job and a stable one When I first started to understand, it began with an event in Germany for Ford, and I had enough of my job back then I was a fire security agent, doing surveillance rounds was boring so I entered the artistic community and I’m still saying this today « I want to be surrounded by artists and live as an artist» it became my motivation It was at this time also I realised that I had something, when I did this, when I did Nike « the angry chicken », I knew what friends couldn’t tell be but that I had something in me.
I never considered myself as the best and I even enjoyed being the follower until I realized that I had something in me, maybe I wasn’t the best but I had something, that’s the moment things changed for me. I always was the encouraging type, but our mindset was a little bit more « do it or not it’s up to you », no one was there having your back saying « that’s great » but more like « we are warriors, we’re going outside, we’re going at war, then we’ll come back » there was no encouragement it was a code of honor, there’s the one who does it and the one who doesn’t, then he’s left with his own tears. You go back home… You didn’t succeed, you have to find the solution on your own. It wasn’t an era of pedagogy where you had to think, we were young, 14-15 years old… The story behind Freerunning first started, well it’s my mistake actually Well, what happened … Now we’re great with David but back then we split.
Our visions were different, he did « Sept à Huit » (french tv mag), the way he was portrayed hurt me because some aspects weren’t respectful to me, but whatever, it’s life, and during those days… I always accepted David’s way of doing it from his father, it was his legacy, it’s his story, that’s why he called it parKour. At the beginning for us itw as just « parcours » as in « parcours du combattant ». But David wanted to revendicate it, « it came from my father so to make a clear difference I’m gonna call it parKour », in order to say « it’s my method, my way of training ». As I respect that, I thought i’d do my own stuff as I also practiced for many years and I had my own ideas so I didn’t want to recreate Parkour even if I really was attached to it. A friend of mine, Guillaume Pelletier, asked « why don’t you call it Freerunning » because in England, well I didn’t speak english, « Freerunning is universal, people can get it, there’s the freedom and there’s running… » so I said OK let’s do it.
That’s when it all started. In « Jump London » you can even hear me saying sometimes Parkour, sometimes Freerun because I didn’t even know, it was the genesis. So the story of Freerun, Freerunning literally began with « Jump London ». What happened was… I’m talking about myself, i won’t talk about David cause he’d have to do it by himself. To me, I really have the experience of… t’s like you’re put as the founder of something but people don’t really accept you as the founder. It’s like you’re saying « I’m the founder of Freerunning » but everybody’s trying to add it’s own view, to define what freerunning is. So some we’ll say it’s the same thing, there’s no difference, detractor’s saying there’s nothing to create we don’t care. And others saying « yeah it’s our stuff, it’s brand new ». But those who said it’s something new weren’t saying that to be in the same view I was, it was more some kind of merchandising, to make money, in order to say « Parkour purists can stay there, we’ll make something with Freerunning ».
That’s what happened Freerunning became more commercial, making stuff to make money when parkour remained preserved. It created two groups as well… It was a little in England, then it went to the USA. What I appreciate in England is that they really embraced Parkour as it is, in its core. So there it is, Freerunning is something I created but at that time it still was something evolving, it wasn’t complete, not as what i do today is.
I say what I do, not Freerunning, it’s more mature than before. That’s why I say I’m an explorer, ‘cause now I really know what I am. I never disowned Parkour, I never disowned Freerunning but now I trully consider myself an explorer. When something new occurs, being movment or not, I find our original stuff we had when we were kids again : to explore. Just like in martial arts. Now there’s even ADD Art Du Déplacement (art of moving), just like in martial arts, everyone wants he’s own way and add he’s own sensibility, but the basics remain the movement.
The Freerunning, officially, not according to me, but when you look at it it’s guys doing flips, tricks, gymnastics movements that they add to Parkour. That’s Freerunning Parkour it’s guys doing the essential, they only do what they have to. Nowadays, what’s difficult is that you can meet a guy saying he’s doing freerunning but really he’s doing Parkour, being efficient, and you can meet someone doing Parkour according to him while he’s doing tricks. So it’s seems like everything mixed up and we get confused, even doing an interview is really hard. Now everyone does what he wants, it’s the generation « I do what I want », it’s a generation… well… some have respect but there’s also a lot of disrespect that clearly came, according to me, from Urban Free Flow.
There’s a period where they settled themselves as the movement, almost on the edge of saying « we don’t care about the founders ». They took advantage of the founders argument, ‘cause they’re not the only ones who did damage, we also created our own mess, and all of this led to where we are now. Even todays, founders are, well I don’t like this word « founders » but ok, the founders still don’t get along, have issues in weird ways and this keeps it from being clear. If you practice Aikido, there’s one Master : Ueshiba sensei, and then there’s lineage. Of course I’m sure there are issues too but at the top of the pyramid there’s a single guy.
For us, who that is ? The practice evolved. There’s some kind of responsibility that wasn’t there before, it was practicing together, you do as you want and I do as I want, I did not force you too… Now it’s different. There’s notion of coaching, teaching, it got bigger with media, more kids, more people have access to it so there’s some kind of responsibility that must be added, we must be careful to the way we practice. On the other side there’s also the artistic aspect that must be kept, that what makes this practice beautiful. So physiologically speaking, we’ll have to be careful as the human body has its limits, that eventually they will learn. The mechanical wear, every sport has to deal with it so somehow you have to understand those notions.
Freedom of speech is essential but what does that mean? where are the limits, some will say « Come on ! Now everybody’s gonna come in my garden… »… NO. We agree, the limit is your garden but if I climb in a tree in a public area, someone saying « Get down ! You can’t climb there », it’s kind of… That is also the beauty of the practice, asking this question « where’s the limit ? ». Who put those limits, who decided ? Why can’t I practice balance on a bench ? Can’t a bench have multiple fonctions ? Does it only have to get you sit on it ? Some will say « you’ll get it dirty », well not necessarilly, cause we’re practitionners and we’re not walking around with mud on our shoes, we have a way, a technicality. We make less damages than a skater or a rollerskater using wax, they do a lot of damages, I don’t want to blame them… But getting back to us, with our shoes, except for the trace we make doing an arm jump… Woops. Except that we don’t make a lot of damages. So to get back to what you were saying, it’s between yes and no.
You need to put some limits, but I don’t want them to come from bureaucrats. The ones in charge of those limits are the practitioners. And they must be adults, not teenagers who think they know everything because the can jump further, they can rule the world… No no. It must be a practitioner, who became an adult and can understand things, maybe a parent, who has a responsibility and understands we need limits. That’s the way the practice must evolve. It must not come from outsiders, with their fears « It’s gonna be a mess, they’ll jump everywhere » nor from the other extreme « I can do whatever I want cause I practice Parkour, they’ll never catch me », « bullshit, it’s not even a sport, it must be contained, in a park ». So, as we say, it can be everywhere, the world is our playground. So, as I was saying, the way Patrick Edlinger moves can’t be taught in school. You can learn climbing with ropes but then there’s another level, a higher level, a personnal level.
Just like Laird Hamilton surfing on gigantic waves… there’s a lot of surfing schools but there’s also gigantic waves so you can’t say « No ! Waves are forbidden ! » because it would break the inner force of what you’re doing, this can also be found in Parkour. The problem is everybody wants to get those big waves but you need to get to a high level to do so. So yes there are many risks, like in anything else, like I say it’s a natural selection. If you’re in denial of those risks, you’ll be confronted with nature. So I don’t have to say anything, I don’t have to introduce myself as a master saying « be careful ! », I could but if you don’t listen to me you’ll learn very soon. That’s why some people died thinking they were invincible, nobody’s invincible.
So this is a reality, but I’m still attached to this freedom. As you can see with a crew like Storror, they made a video in Asia, (Roofculture) I sent them a message saying I loved what they did. You can argue it’s borderline but I’m from a generation that watched videos of BMX, surf etc. Every guy we admired was borderline. I’m not saying you have to be like this but in the practice that is what brings that freshness. If you put to many limits… It’s like in martial arts to static you become a robot, to loose means no fundation. We need to learn together to find the balance. That’s why I think you need institutions, but beware if there’s too many cause they’ll put limits and with those limits we would never have been able to do what we’ve done. What we realised, people would have been like « No, you can’t do this », not forbidden because we’re breaking something, robbing or killing someone, forbidden just because you’re not allowed. Simple as that. Wow… That’s a big question… I would go with « Angry chicken », it’s where it started for me.
The real one. Prior to that, I had a mode of operation that changed after. From this moment I started believing in myself. Before, I only enjoyed being with my friends, even when they disagreed, I never took side. I wasn’t with David nor was i with the Yamakasi, if we go back there I never took side, even though I have my own opinion. Yeah I definitely changed the way I used to train, but it would require quite some time to explain as the evolution needed … I’m not even sure I’m still practicing Parkour.
You can look at me and say « yeah he’s still moving » but I’m not sure I’m still practicing. As I said, I evolved. I tried Parkour, understood what it was about, it’s good aspects, what it brought me to be bolder, to act more risky, to have a different view of what’s risky compared to those saying « wo ! ». Then I had to imply this in my everyday life, cause ok I was able to jump but still afraid in life. As I had a job, I realized it pretty early that it needed to be useful in my everyday life. Can all those reflexes I obtained through my practice be used in real life ? That’s when I started to mature this idea of Freerunning, mixing different concepts. Well it became a mess, it became what it is, whatever. Then I evolved. I have notions about the body, for me it’s not natural to be jumping year-round, on concrete. It’s my own conclusion. Even when I did « Jump London », I had already chosen to drop from height only twice a year.
I never spoke about it, only Jerome knew, only twice a year. I was like « okay I did this one, maybe I’ll do another one in few months and that’s it ». Because I already had this notions about mechanical wear and fully understood that the body is a vehicule, I enjoy moving so much, I hate being injured. You can only watch for your friends training, becoming better, waiting powerless. That, I get it and I added it to my training so I’m ok with other doing what they want. So yeah my training changed completely. I’m talking about 2003-2004, so just try to picture this now, with the seasons, maturity levels, technical levels all of this tends to, when someone says « Hey I’m gonna train with you », well no you can’t.
You can’t because you don’t know what i’m trying to achieve, you don’t know my level, you don’t know where my maturity level is at and you don’t even follow the seasons. It’s useless, you’ll waste my time and I’ll even have to explain everything. So my training changed this much. Getting back to my children, my youngest comes regularly to my academy, she also loves gymnastics, she always wants me to show her some moves. But I never forced my children, I already saw that with others and the children stopped by themselves. I’m by their side, ready to help, if they want to quit then they quit. It won’t matter, a lot of people are not practicing yet still doing great but if I can give some advice I will. Another thing that makes me feel good : there’s a lot of people I admire, just like when I talk about Bruce Lee, but he’s dead. I never met him, he never gave me any advice but even so I’m still following what he’s done.
That’s what cheer me up, you don’t have to force someone into doing something, if they are mature enough and willing to listen and take your advice, they will do it by themselves. That’s why I’ll always be there for my children but they’re free. Well, I was always careful with all the « suffer to not suffer », « to be and to last », what else I forgot… « be strong to be useful » cause all of this came from war eras, years ago, and it made sense back then. Not so much today. « be strong to be useful » ? No what was it again ? « To be and to last », yeah but i’d rather not say it. Cause you never know. You can act like it and die from cancer, anything can happen so i try to live according to that but getting back to my body, it’s not as it was when I was 20. I totally agree with Bruce Lee when he says you must be like water ; « running water never grows stale », that’s true you need to always keep moving, when you stop you feel it right away.
When I wake up in the morning it’s not like it used to be. It depends from time to time. Physical strength is pretty particular but there’s a lot I can still do especially because I manage my body in a good way. During years I was acting differently from others, from traditional sports etc. I litterally refused to do some things other were doing. They were like « yeah it’s sumer come on we’ll do this… » No, sometimes I don’t do anything. Maybe for 3 months you won’t see me moving around. So they were like « Ho but you’ll loose your abilities… », well search for yourself cause I already know.
Even now my level is different from several months ago but given the world tour I started, I’ll come back there step by step. I even came back from the ego side, willing to show off « woo it’s Sebastien Foucan, he’s gonna show us great stuff ». No, I’m practicing peacefully. And if people get disappointed then be it. I’m in a process that follows the seasons it’s different from a sport training where I have to prove something, show something, « Am I still able to realize this catpass ? ».
This never crosses my mind. Acting like this, I preserve my body from tendinitis, from impacts. When I’m injured, some we’ll say I’m not even moving, well no cause I’m injured. Last time I just sneezed and it hurt me so much I thought I tore my abs. First time ever, just a sneeze and even today I still feel it a little but I handle it. I move gently, no need to act tough like when you’re young. When you’re a teenager you go for it. So yes my body’s different. We were talking about toes.
We need to be carefull with moves like arm jumps where your toes go the wrong way. I think there‘s a specific type of training that must be done according to the movements we realize through a given discipline. For a catpass not so much, but when your toes go like this, we can talk about the knees you must flex, but toes going this way it’s just like if you do this with your fingers well soon you’ll be… How long you said I’ve been practicing ? 30 years ? Well 30 years of fingers like this, I can tell you when i don’t wear the right shoes it hurts ! So you have to handle it. Me, I was about to say I’m a freerunner but I’m an explorer. So now I practice massage, I learn about shiatsu… People don’t know what I’m connected to but I’m interested in so, so much stuff and I take what’s interesting. So I massage myself regularly, even about the food… When I say I don’t eat meat, I don’t eat fish « Ho you’re vegan !! », i don’t even know what it means.
I don’t. But i do know why I act this way, I’m not trying to convince people, I’m just in my explorer looking for my own path. So again my body’s different from before. Sometime I wish it was but I’m still… Few weeks ago I participated at the World Chase Tag, I did not feel like : « wow, those youngsters are so fast I can’t keep up », no, I still got what it needs because I’m a moderate.
In other sports, the calendar’s so full during the whole year where you always need to perform, to give it all, even when you do a catpass you’re not going this intense. I don’t know, enjoy yourself. There’s not much advice you can give, you can access to info about everything, with YouTube, this media era, everything you want. All I can say, this generation tends to go too fast, don’t try to skip steps. There’s a reason why the elders move in a different way that they used to. It’s not because they enjoy it less, look at me I’m still moving. The first thing I did getting here was asking « let’s move ! ». I still have this, but if I move in a different way is because I evolved.
It’s the same for others, you have to moderate, look out for what you see in videos letting you think you’re invincible, you can achieve anything, you’re a super hero. That’s not true, a lot of poeple hide the bad side, the get injured and hide it which is dangerous. So just practice, enjoy, meet people you can talk to, listen to those who have experience because they’ll give you good advice, have fun and preserve your body. Because there are injuries that you can’t recover from and we never talk about it. It’s always I hurt my tibia, my ankle, but some you won’t recover. If you damage your spine, it’s forever. Your knee, your shoulder, they have complex mechanics, some parts if you injure it will hurt for the rest of your life.
And think about your eyes, your head… This is something important that people need to know. We are not super heroes, it seems extraordinary, in a way it is extraordinary but we’re also very fragile. FIG ? Well now i’m less upset about it… .
As found on Youtube
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