A GROUP of young men are defying the laws of physics with gravity defying leaps, vaults and somersaults … no, it’s not gymnastics and neither are they auditioning for a Jackie Chan movie as stuntmen. Team leader, Dilosen Naicker explains it is Parkour and Free-running, a form of street acrobatics whose practitioners vault and flip through the concrete jungle in pursuit of ever more daring stunts.
Bystanders at the Amphitheatre Gardens were left gobsmacked as the practitioners of the discipline, gathered to jam (An event where parkour practitioners (traceurs) gather together to ‘jam’, or do parkour).
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“Parkour and free-running involves moving through an urban environment. It allows us to explore the city in a different way, while others would be walking on pathways we prefer to do it differently. We are a community that just gets together and jumps around. Personally, we see it as more of an art form than a sport because it there is no competition. I was introduced to Parkour nine years ago, when exchange students visited UKZN, Howard campus and basically planted the seed and we just carried on,” said Naicker.
Although Parkour was developed in France, primarily by Raymond Belle, and further by his son David, the activity is both comparatively new and based on a long-standing pursuit. In 1902 Georges Hébert, a French naval officer, witnessed a disastrous volcanic eruption on the Caribbean island of Martinique. He was struck by how efficiently the locals moved across the ruined landscape, while the Europeans struggled through familiar paths. So he developed an obstacle-course training regimen, “la méthode naturelle”, to improve soldiers’ fitness.
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“Be strong to be useful” was its motto. By the 1950s the French special forces had developed their own version, “le parcours du combattant” (“the path of the warrior”). In the 1980s Raymond Belle, a fireman and former soldier, introduced his teenage son David to the drills. He and his friends formed a group called the Yamakasi, who became famous for their daring stunts, first among an underground coterie and then more broadly thanks to exposure on French television.
According to Naicker, the Parkour is fast gaining traction in the country and currently there are four teams in the province located in Pietermaritzburg, Kwa-Mashu, Umlazi, Durban and Underberg.
“Initially people are scared to try it, but once they overcome the fear of falling and getting hurt it gets better. It is way better to have control of your body and mind.Before we would have to explain to people what is it that we were doing but now people just walk-up and tell us what is it that we are doing, that is how big it has become. I can safely say there is a buy-in from the community, especially the young kids. People now come up with different tricks on a daily basis, which in a way helps the sport evolve,” he said.
Parkour can be practised alone or in groups and is usually carried out in urban spaces, though can be done anywhere. It involves seeing one’s environment in a new way, and imagining the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features.
Running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement, and other movements as deemed most suitable for the situation. Its development from military training gives it some aspects of a non-combative martial art.
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Another practitioner of the discipline, Anele Mathonsi says he started back in 2014 at school. “I am from Umlazi and I was the only one doing it after I had seen it in movies. I went online and found that there was Parkour in Durban and joined instantly. It is very cool and extreme. You can get hurt if you do something you don’t know. I have been hurt before but luckily I have not broken any bones yet,” said Mathonsi.
“We are here every Sunday, people can come join us as we have classes here. Or you check us online, as Durban Parkour & Free-running to get more information,” added Naicker.
