Imagine climbing five stories up a building without using stairs, swinging through the branches of a tree or scaling a flat brick wall three times your height.

Some call it a sport; others call it art. To those who are serious and dedicated, it’s a discipline. The name: parkour.

It all began with a man named George Hébert, a French soldier in World War I who developed a philosophy called “Le Methode Naturelle” based on his observations when stationed in Africa. The Natural Method was based on the idea that humans had basic movement capacities, and that training those capacities should strengthen a person’s moral fabric. His motto: “Etre fort pour être utile” — be strong to be useful.

A little more than 90 years later, a young Frenchman named David Belle would inherit knowledge of movement from his father, a soldier in Vietnam who adapted Hébert’s philosophy. This knowledge would lead him to become the first traceur, or practitioner of parkour, l’art du déplacement (the art of displacement).

Slowly the activity leaked from France to the United Kingdom, and then around the world. It has since been featured in countless commercials and in blockbuster movies such as Casino Royale and Live Free or Die Hard.

Parkour is an activity in which the goal is to move from one point to another as quickly and efficiently as possible using only the human body and the obstacles of the surrounding environment. As a discipline, it carries a few main tenets: freedom, self-expression, self-development and mental control. Interestingly, traceurs work to keep competition out of parkour at all costs in order to maintain the benefits of the activity.

“Parkour is an altruistic thing — it’s meant to be helpful,” said Tyson Cecka, a former UW student and member of “The Tribe,” the most well-known and skilled parkour group in the United States. “The original purpose was efficiency, to accomplish good things. A lot of sports can benefit you personally, but competitiveness and team dynamics can really wear on you. In parkour, you set the learning curve; there are no judges or scores. It’s all about personal growth.”

This idea of personal growth has especially caught on in the Pacific Northwest, particularly at the UW. The parkour community in Washington has grown from a pioneering group of 10 members to an online forum membership of more than 850 in just three years.

“The size of the community isn’t even the important part,” said sophomore Daetan Huck, a leader in the UW parkour scene. “What is definitely important is that we’re a very strong community.

Interestingly, a discipline as physically active as parkour has a Web-centered following. It’s spread primarily through word of mouth and viral videos and maintained online through Web sites and forums. For Washington residents, the Washington Parkour forums at www.washingtonparkour.com are the place to go for anything from learning what parkour is to finding fellow traceurs to train with.

“I saw a video online, found the Washington Parkour Web site, and was out training the next day at Freeway Park,” said Huck, who maintains the UW Parkour Facebook group. “This thing really spreads by word of mouth.”

The beauty of the art and one of the reasons why it spreads so easily is that literally anyone can join in.

“There’s no equipment needed,” Cecka said, “and you can do it anywhere. You don’t have to go to a gym. You don’t need a schedule. You just go outside and start jumping over things.”

Experienced traceurs emphasize having a good foundation. If you want to get started, the best thing to do is find a “jam session” that fits you.

When out training, do what comes naturally. Though parkour is normally safe, just like any physical activity it carries some risk of injury, especially if basic precaution is ignored. Don’t push too hard too fast; some techniques can be dangerous if you don’t do them right.

Cecka said to avoid jumping from anything higher than you can climb. It avoids stress on joints. Additionally, people new to parkour should ease into using the new muscle groups it requires. Regular practice helps avoid strains and other injuries resulting from overusing muscle groups. Ultimately, the philosophy of independence and self-motivation means that traceurs are responsible for making wise decisions and proper judgment.

Though there isn’t an official UW parkour club because of the UW’s liability concerns, some community leaders are forging their own paths with grassroots organizations.

Cecka is the director of the Pacific Northwest Parkour Association (PNWPA), a nonprofit organization he founded with the help of a Mary Gates Endowment Leadership Grant to introduce parkour into public school physical education programs.

Meanwhile, Huck is developing his idea, the Urban Space Reclamation Project (USRP), which hopes to introduce the mindset of parkour, though not necessarily the action, by coupling space-conscious thinking with community service.

Although many leading traceurs have extensive backgrounds in physical training — Cecka has four or more years of experience in gymnastics, martial arts, fencing and rock climbing, and Huck has four years experience in rock climbing and a dozen in martial arts — it’s not necessary. The discipline is about using your own strength and bodily awareness, in whatever capacity that is, to move. Improvement comes with practice.

While parkour is certainly an activity that builds strength, endurance and agility, the benefits reach far beyond physical. Conquering obstacles is a theme that translates into all aspects of life.

“Parkour totally shifts your vision of the whole world,” Cecka said.

“What’s great about parkour is that it relieves stress, creates an opportunity for mental training and teaches creative problem solving,” Huck said. “It’s about a change in perception. We move our bodies, and learn to move our minds.”

[Reach reporter Nick Feldman at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]