For a while I thought my obsession with categorizing, fuzzy edges, and crossovers with different movement pursuits had weirdness written all over it. Maybe it has, but at least I am not alone. Recently I came across a parkours & freerunning book that includes this visual of these sports’ development and connections with related pursuits:
It is not by chance that the authors, like me, are German. The anal urge for comprehensive treatment, and extensive overviews of what something is rooted in, is typical for German academia, and thus the way we are socialized. Learned that a longer time ago, reading a thoroughly enjoyable essay on cultural differences in academic ‘style’ by Johan Galtung, and keep coming across phenomena that prove this stereotype right.
So let’s celebrate my heritage with some appropriate teutonic sounds: