Danger
Danger is always present when practicing Parkour, but it has been said that the discipline is "only as dangerous as you make it." The risk of injury is obviously at a maximum if the traceur is going beyond his abilities, attempting overly difficult maneuvers for show, or is tired and losing focus. The danger is minimised by checking the surroundings for any loose objects regularly, and progressing at a reasonable rate. However, many young teenagers forget that traceurs such as David Belle have been practising for close to twenty years. They want to immediately perform the same kind of moves as the traceurs they see in videos. They forget their limits and incur injuries.In August 2005, a UK teenager, Alex Leatherbarrow died after trying to jump a two-metre gap between two buildings. He and a friend had just seen some traceurs at a local skate park and decided to try Parkour. While his friend made the jump successfully, Alex slipped while standing on the edge of the building and eyeing up the gap, later dying of his injuries. The global parkour community was incredibly saddened by the tragedy, which highlighted the inherent danger in untrained traceurs attempting to replicate the large roof-gaps they see on TV, which are almost always set up purely for the media.
