Sweat dribbles down my back and I pant like an old dog. My legs wobble and threaten to collapse. I hit the ground feeling heavy and awkward. This is nothing like the videos of lithe young
men pouncing effortlessly onto walls and leaping between rooftops. It would be hard to convince anyone that what
I’m doing is Parkour.
A Red Bull commercial
started this whole thing. The ad is an impressive display of running
and jumping through the spectacular landscape of a Greek village on the island of Santorini. It looks like stunt work but the movements
are Parkour.
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| Ryan Doyle in Santorini Photo by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivbOMXDRb8E |
But what exactly is Parkour?
Enthusiasts describe it as a physical and mental way of overcoming and
adapting to whatever obstacles you encounter.
The principle ideas behind Parkour have been around since the beginning
of time. Early hunters knew how to move
quickly and efficiently through their environment to capture prey or escape
from danger. A more organized approach
to the movement began in the early 1900’s.
During a trip to Africa, Georges Hébert was inspired by the indigenous
people’s physical abilities, noting that their strength and resilience was
conditioned only through physical interaction with their environment. Hébert incorporated this principle in the development
of a training program for the French military.
The movements were simple but demanding - jumping, running, climbing and
balancing through a set of obstacles. The modern military obstacle course
common in many countries is based on the Methode Naturelle (Natural Method)
developed by Hébert.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s that Parkour officially came into
existence in Lisses, France. Inspired by
his father (a French soldier trained in the Natural Method), David Belle worked
with a small group to develop the movement of Parkour. Belle became the lead, projecting Parkour
onto the big screen through many roles in films and promotions. Belle describes Parkour as “a method of training
which allows us to overcome obstacles, both in the urban and natural
environments. We train and when one day we encounter a problem we know that we
are able to use it.” Parkour is about
freedom of movement, self-improvement, concentration and overcoming fear. It’s not competitive, one person’s energy
reacts to another’s, encouraging progress.
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| Ryan Doyle in Mardin Photo by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUTXXMdQnio |
“Boot camp starts next week, you should come,” suggested Ozzi. I offer a polite refusal, imagining myself
battered like a drumstick in sand and sweat on a public beach amidst a group of
military boys pounding out effortless pushups. Six weeks of intense training
sounded more than a little intimidating.
Ozzi Quintero founded Parkour Hawaii in 2007 as a link for paceurs to
share ideas and provide awareness - a unified space for the discipline in the
islands. As a hyperactive kid in Venezuela, Ozzi embraced all sports and
movement including acrobatics, breakdancing and martial arts. His love of motion led him to Parkour. Ozzi now coaches at the Hawaii Academy, runs
training sessions at Ala Moana Beach park twice a week and holds boot camps
throughout the year. His philosophy is
that regardless of any dialect, movement is our very first language. Ozzi gave me the link to the PKHawaii website which
provided lots of information, videos of drills to practice and training session
footage.
I studied the videos and began to practice on my own to build up some skills
and strength.
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| Ozzi Quintero Photo by: http://hawaiipk.com |
Facing the wall, I crouched down low and jumped up onto the
wall landing on both feet. I looked
down, perturbed that it took that much effort to jump 6 inches. At the beach where I stretch in the morning, a
short cement wall angles away from the water gradually getting taller until it
reaches about 3 feet high. I’m at the
shortest end learning how to jump, something I did every day as a kid. My body doesn’t remember that right now, but
it will. Once I master a move at the
short end I move down the wall progressing to more difficult moves at the
higher end. The moves are a lot harder than they look. My first session lasted 10 minutes.
A month later I gracefully spring onto a low wall. I do five
push-ups, not the knees-on-the-ground type that I started out with – the real
ones. Jumping back down to the ground
I’m still sweating and panting but stronger and more confident. My wall has become an inspiration instead of
an obstacle. I’m ready for the next
step, a sequence of moves through different obstacles.
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| Beginning Parkour |
Cement is hard. I remembered this fact one night during an impromptu Parkour session. All week I
had practiced linking moves together, at a new location with more obstacles and
more challenges. When my family had a
picnic dinner at this new location I couldn’t resist busting out some
Parkour. I jumped from a low bench to
the rim of a cement trash barrel. I missed the rim by a bit and hit the metal doughnut-shaped lid on the top. The lid was
purely decorative and slipped out from under me. I crashed to the ground. The cell phone in my back pocket took most of
the impact and luckily, I walked away uninjured. Falls are inevitable, especially when you are
just beginning, this was a good reminder to practice controlled falls so I’m more
prepared next time.
Every landscape holds potential for Parkour. I’m beginning to see familiar things as new
possibilities. Yesterday, some 8 year-old's were jumping over bushes at school and I immediately thought of all the
different ways I could do the same and how I would also use the benches and the
tree next to them. It may be a while
before I’m ready for boot camp or precision jumps, but for now I’m happy to see
a playground in every landscape. Look
out Santorini.
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| Island of Santorini, Greece |
(All photos by author unless noted)
