We are all Skaters at heart

If you take the generally high skill level of your average skater and compare it to the generally low skill level of your average parkourist (I'm done with the term "traceurs", so I'm making up a new word), and given the two sport's similar nature one could come to the conclusion that parkourists are just failed skaters. Such behaviour is well documented with the "aggresive inline" fad of the early '90s.

Of course I'm grossly overgeneralizing things, as I've witnessed amazing parkour talent around Vancouver and the world. But I think it's fair to say that there are a lot more dumb kids playing parkour than there are kids playing skateboarding. In skateboarding, if you can't do a kickflip after your first week you are forced to hang up your skates. (It's true, there is an official Skateboard Standards Committee which enforces this rule worldwide.)

One may argue that parkour hasn't been around long enough to progress to a level at which skateboarding is at these days, and I totally agree. If you look at skate videos from the late 80s, all you needed to be pro was to do a kickflip, a handstand, and a caveman drop. Compared to new skate videos, that old stuff is embarrassing.

Similarly I think parkour is going through its growing pains, that awkward stage where everyone is rolling around on 29 mm wheels doing pressure flips. Sure we have our Tony Hawks of the sport who inspire us to do great things, but as a whole, we still have a long way to go.

For those of you who think I'm crazy, and that parkour is nothing like skateboarding, I give you the above video and this:

- Letter from Kenny Frazz: The Skateboard Is Missing

Sorry kids, the parallels are undeniable