Yamakasi
The Yamakasi () are the original group of l'art du deplacement (parkour) practitioners from Lisses, France. The nine original members were David Belle, Sébastien Foucan, Châu Belle Dinh, Williams Belle, Yann Hnautra, Laurent Piemontesi, Guylain N'Guba Boyeke, Malik Diouf, and Charles Perriére. Their philosophy was to become an individual who is physically, mentally, and ethically strong. The name has been used in popular references to parkour, including in French films about admirable lawbreakers who do their physically demanding deeds for charitable ends. Members of the original group have continued to appear in video reports on their history and the practice. History The development of the Yamakasi is traced back through David Belle to his father Raymond Belle, who was heavily influenced by Georges Hébert's methode naturelle. The group also drew influence from Asian culture and Asian martial arts, including the acrobatic antics of Jackie Chan in his Hong Kong action films, the martial arts philosophy of Bruce Lee, the Japanese shōnen manga and anime series Dragon Ball, and the martial arts films of Jean-Claude Van Damme. They considered Bruce Lee to be the "unofficial president" of their group. David initially trained on his own, and after moving to Lisses found