The discipline of urban sport known as freerunning originated in France in the late 1980s, and is often referred to by its French name parkour. Deeply influenced by different cultural reference points including movies (notably The Matrix), video games, break dancing, and martial arts, freerunning became a lifestyle and sort of philosophy. In its orthodox form, freerunning is a strictly individualistic, non-competitive and non-commercial activity, with the ultimate aim to cross physical thresholds of urban space.
