How parkour can benefit your child
The philosophy behind the sport involves moving from one place to another in the most efficient way possible, using flips, tricks, jumps, swings and other complex movements.
MOKOPANE – Have you ever wondered what parkour is about and why kids love it so much? Kids love to jump and swing around all the time, and parkour teaches them how to do it safely and correctly.
Marshall Parkour held an open day last Friday for those interested in parkour.
With the sport growing in the country, Gymnastics South Africa introduced parkour as a discipline in 2019, and Marshall Parkour began with this discipline in 2020.
The philosophy behind the sport involves moving from one place to another in the most efficient way possible, using flips, tricks, jumps, swings and other complex movements.
Coach Richard Marshall explained that Parkour consists out of two disciplines; a speed run discipline where the traceurs must participate in a timed obstacle run, and a freestyle run where the traceurs must do as many tricks, flips, jumps, swings and more as possible.
Marshall said the students who train parkour learn to interact with the world around them by creatively jumping, climbing, crawling and even rolling. It’s a physical art form of natural movement that is completely unscripted.
“Parkour is exciting because there’s no equipment or special programmes needed, just yourself, an obstacle, and the imagination to look at the world in a different way.”
Parkour can be as unique as each person engaging in it, using your body’s momentum, strength and redistribution of weight to propel yourself up, over or forward.
The method features obstacle course-like actions that challenge you mentally and physically.
Marshall said the kids’ parkour classes involve a wide variety of games, activities, challenges and tasks for kids to develop and embrace their movement potential, while also building core skills such as resilience, problem-solving, self-efficacy, lateral thinking, teamwork and friendship.
If you want your child to discover how to move and explore their potential in a safe environment then sign them up for a class at Marshall Parkour. They are located on the corner of Geyser and Fourie Street at the RET Centre.
