Parkour

Always wanted to finish posting this one but never got time to get to it...

Parkour is a form of "urban gymnastics" and has certainly made some noise lately in the US. It's kind of like doing the stunts we all are very familiar with in Hong Kong movies. The "traceurs" can throw themselves into walls and somehow move into a completely different direction with a kick of the foot. They can jump off from 5 stories high and land on the ground in one piece like a cat. Not to mention their creative ways to overcome obstacles to get to their destinations (the spirit of parkour: command and discipline oneself to move from point A to point B as efficiently and quickly as possible). My friend LS always wanted to do this. Actually there are now training sessions in several cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. And some are even on campus. You can read this New York Times article for more details.

This is the famous video:


And here you can read about the physics.

Disclaimer:
Parkour can be a dangerous activity. There are inherent risks in any physical activity, and Parkour is no exception. I do NOT encourage the practice of Parkour by an average person like you and me.