While David Belle is unquestionably known as the original innovator and spiritual figurehead of parkour, the discipline’s origins can be traced directly back to his father, Raymond, and his time as a child in Vietnam. Though details surrounding Raymond’s early life are rather hazy, it’s generally accepted that he was separated from his parents during the First Indochina War and taken in by the French military in the city of Da Lat as an orphan at just age 7 in 1946. According to later interviews with his son, Raymond was routinely abused as a child, which motivated him to become as physically fit and strong as possible so that he could protect himself and escape danger if it ever presented itself. While being raised in the Da Lat French military orphanage, Raymond underwent basic military training and education, the former of which he excelled at. As it turns out, Raymond would regularly sneak out at night and secretly use the obstacle course, repeatedly performing the same actions again and again until he’d boiled them down to their most efficient and basic forms For young people especially Parkour is an attractive discipline as there is no right or wrong way to carry out a move. They are free to use their imagination and be as creative as they wish about the way in which they challenge themselves. It is also considered by peers as a cool activity which requires a lot of skill. People in their late teens and beyond tend to look at Parkour in more of a practical way. The key reason for starting is to have fun, but they are also attracted to it because they are aware of the wider benefits. More often than not they want to have fun, lose weight, keep fit and get stronger