Female Traceur
Parkour, also called the art of displacement, is the ability to overcome obstacles in a fluid and gracious way. The philosophy of parkour also applies to the reality of life. Indeed, life is filled with obstacles that each one of us must face daily. By learning how to overcome obstacles with agility, life seems easier and more pleasant.
Like all the traceurs, I'm faced with environmental and mental obstacles. However, the number of girls who practise parkour being very small compared to guys adds prejudices and judgements. That creates pressure when you start practicing parkour. I also observed that guys who practise parkour do not have the same concept of fear as girls. Indeed, guys are more suited to making dangerous jumps and movements without hesitation. Girls tend to evaluate the risks of getting hurt and that leads to mental blocking. However, progressively, by practising parkour, I improved my self-confidence and developed my ability to face fears.
The physiology of girls is different from that of guys, and there is a difference in strength between the two. Guys, having stronger upper bodies, have less difficulty lifting their weight, which is a very important factor in practicing parkour. Indeed, several movements in parkour require strength in your arms. On the other hand, I find that girls are more flexible than guys, which allows them to carry out certain other movements of parkour more easily. With discipline and determination, however, both girls and guys can work to improve their weak points.
Parkour brings several advantages to those who practise it. I find that parkour is very advantageous for girls because it is a way of defending oneself. If a girl is being pursued by an unpleasant stranger, she can flee easily and climb walls in order to get away. Parkour improves the shape, the endurance and the strength of its practitioners, which is very useful and positive.
Several people think that girls cannot be as good as guys in parkour. For me, it is not a contest, and it is not a question of who is better. It is true, girls are made differently from guys. But that doesn't prevent us from practising parkour together and with our differences. I seriously think that we can learn from everyone, guy or girl, beginner or expert, an old person or young person.
I am glad that parkour is being practised more and more amongst girls. I think one of the goals of parkour is to gather various people who are ready to develop their potentials, guy, girl, old, young, from all nationalities so that we can explore and advance in the discipline together.
-Silex