FIBO 2010: parkour and freerunning

(THE URBAN FREEFLOW NETWORK. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

FIBO 2010, the world's largest event devoted to health, fitness and well-being, opens on April 22 in Essen, Germany and this year's event boasts a packed program with the FIBOactive highlighting the latest fitness trends including a parkour and freerunning (obstacle sport running) course.

For the past 24 years FIBO, as the key health, fitness and wellness trade event of the year, has introduced the latest fitness trends, techniques and products. 2010 is no different and over 50,000 health industry professionals and health enthusiasts from 60 countries will have the opportunity to test their skills in the parkour set-up in Hall 6 as well as see Realpulse GmbH, fitness trendsetters and athletes in action.

If you are not familiar with parkour or freerunning, here are some basics:

- To some parkour is synonymous with freerunning but to those that practice it, known as traceurs (men) and traceuses (women), parkour is about efficiency - "the art of forward motion in spite of obstacles, or to put it simply: the art of movement. Parkour's chief aim is never to move backward but instead to overcome obstacles fluidly, with strength, originality and speed." Freerunning, on the other hand, has a different philosophy, more concerned with "freedom of movement" and "urban acrobatics."

- Traceurs and traceuses have been known to hone their craft and work in film and television to recreate awe-inspiring moves combining sick jumps with rolls, free climbs, acrobatic twists and flips like the webster, roundoff back, wall flip, speed vault, and kick the moon. Take a look at parkour in motion with these video clips:

http://www.3run.co.uk/tutorials.html (tutorial moves)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhXCINN4SXE&NR=1 (3Run French Family)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtY0978oni8 (Gaëtan Bouillet of the Speeder team from Belgium)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x98jCBnWO8w (David Belle, ‘founder of parkour' -over 5.5 million views)

Although both parkour and freerunning are recognized as sports - many traceurs and traceuses are not keen on parkour competitions, like Red Bull's Art of Motion that will take place May 7 in Vienna, Austria.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5mSw-oO6P8 (video of past event) and for more info for May 7, check out: http://www.redbull.at/artofmotion

To attend FIBO and give parkour a try, a day ticket costs €13.00 online and €17.00 on-site, for more information on FIBO, FIBOactive, visit: http://www.fibo.de/en/gruppe_privatbesucher/privatbesucher_home.php