In a world where, more and more often, the answers to liability and risk are structure and conformity, have we lost our sense of "play?" Cushioning our falls may put Bactine and Band-aids out of business. But what else have we lost?

Colin Pistell, trainer and owner of the Chapel Hill-based Fifth Ape training, is mounting an alternative to what he terms the "over-industrialization of health" by injecting the fun back into fitness. He wants a return to natural movement training, including Parkour, barefooting and other basics.

"Kids say their favorite period at school is recess, and they naturally want to move, but they don't naturally want to do 'physical education,'" Pistell said.

Pistell contends that American culture has made a counter-productive leap away from activities and movements that are natural to are bodies.

"You can't take us away from our own environment and hope that we thrive," he said. "Do that to any other animal, and they'd go nuts."

The goal of Pistell's training is what he would call "evolutionary fitness" -- fitness comprising activities that are practical, playful, and, well, primal.

Thus, the name Fifth Ape.

"We all know there are four great apes: Gorillas, Orangutans, Bonobos, and Chimpanzees," says Pistell's website. "There is, however, a fifth great ape: humans. ... My goal is to provide the best of mankind's many millennia of wise physical and dietary traditions, updated and delivered in a daily practice format. It's all about natural movement and evolutionary fitness."

Pistell grew up playing in the woods and streams in southern Connecticut. Though he participated in cross country and track, organized sports didn't hold that much appeal to him.

"I didn't like arbitrary rules," he said. "It seemed so structured, and I liked to be more free."

After graduation from film school at the University of Southern California, Pistell worked for both Disney and Sony Pictures before moving to Chapel Hill in 2008 to work toward his MBA at UNC. It was then that Colin began formulating his theories on the interconnectedness of play, fitness, public health, and environmental health / sustainability, his website said. It was also then that he discovered Parkour.

"I was like, 'Man, I already do that stuff' -- that urban exploration," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, there's a name for this?'"

Practiced by enthusiasts called traceurs, Parkour's finer points are traditionally learned by trial, error and a host of abrasions. Further, Parkour is not to be confused with the showier display of freerunning.

"It's all movement," Pistell explained. "I don't like making distinctions between the two, but Parkour is more about efficiency; free running is about expression."

Pistell said many students too often come to him wanting to imitate freerunning or Parkour moves they've seen on YouTube. On the other hand, parents approach Pistell wanting reassurance that Parkour and Fifth-Ape training is safe.

"I have to tell them that it's not dangerous if there's respect for the environment, your body, and the process," he said. "There are risks in all sports -- there are bumps and bruises -- but there are more risks getting into the car and driving somewhere."

Despite incorporating elements of Parkour into Fifth Ape's training, Pistell said his outlook isn't defined by Parkour's elements.

"A lot of our training looks and feels very similar to Parkour, but there are many differences as well," he said. "Parkour is all about overcoming obstacles; Fifth Ape is all about integration."

Fifth Ape student Michael Flannary, 13, admitted being taken in by videos on YouTube.

"I'd seen the Parkour guys on top of skyscrapers running around, and I just thought of being like those guys," he said. "There are things a healthy human doesn't imagine themselves doing, and I guess this is about breaking those limits."

"I heard about it through a home school class," Michael's mother Sarah Flannary said. "Then I started researching the Fifth Ape website. Michael had been talking about Parkour before, but I wasn't really sure what it was."

Adult student Sean Rogers said the training was a great complement to his martial arts training.

"The ultimate way to win in martial arts is not to fight, but (the art of the escape) isn't really taught," he said. "I discovered Parkour and realized it was exactly what I was missing. It's a constant challenge. Youu never really master it, so there's no endpoint."

For those interested in Fifth Ape training and instruction, classes are offered for kids of virtually all ages, and the first class is free. Classes are typically staged in and around UNC's outdoor Forest Theater through the consent of the UNC Botanical Gardens.

"The kids' (home school) class is for ages 8-11, teens are 12 to 15, and the adults' class is for 16 and up," said Pistell, a NSCA certified trainer with a CrossFit level 1 certification and over 10 years of coaching experience with groups and individuals.

Drop-in rates are $15 per class, a four-class pass is $40, and an eight-class pass is just $70. Fifth Ape membership (offering unlimited classes) is $85 per month

More information on Fifth Ape can be found at www.fifth-ape.com. Contact Pistell at 636-3270 or info@fifth-ape.com.