Free running and Parkour

A couple nights ago my friend linked me to this insane Japanese game show called Ninja Warrior. It consists of a contestant running through obstacle courses of increasing difficulty. The feats of skill and strength displayed are really inspiring, there is just such a great deal of grace involved in these movements. Somehow this led me back to look over some parkour/freerunning clips, District 13 and the beginning of Casino Royale. I then watched Jump London which features Sebastien Foucan and two other free runners running through London. In this documentary Foucan describes free running as an act of freedom, one where all these constructions are meant to limit movement and control people's actions but within free running you take these obstacles and turn them into playthings and thereby completely change their purpose. Aside from being beautiful and courageous, these acts speak to me on a different level, I want to view these obstacles in my path not in a serious fashion but in a subversive one, how can I take this and draw enjoyment from it? Is this rail really meant to keep me in line or is it just a more exciting way of getting from point a to b.

There is a really playful childlike aspect to this sport. Which is something we need to maintain in all aspects of our life for success. So how does this all relate to things other than running around injuring your knees, ankles, and fingers? Foucan says free running is a way of life, a way of escaping from all these controls and defying them. In my life I am only attracted to things so much as they enable me to become free. Free from need, free from thought, free from doubt, free from fear, and this art ties directly into that desire. I am interested in exercise because it frees me from my thoughts and imaginary reality, it grounds me. I am interested in social interactions because they allow me to see the beliefs that still chain me into certain accepted ways of expression. I am interested in certain spiritual teachings because they enable me to see the ways in which my ego traps me. I desire to live a life of complete freedom, not freedom from consequences but freedom from restriction, containment, and limitation.