LIFE LINES
www.thejakartapost.com
21
Monday, June 13, 2011
Courtesy of Parkour Indonesia
No fear: A traceur crawls along the edge of a wall, at the top of a building in Jakarta.
Stephen Lee CONTRIBUTOR/JAKARTA
It turns out ninjas do exist. Modern ninjas nowadays thrive in urban jungles like Jakarta. Amid the hundreds of steel-andglass towers and endless concrete landscape, they train and give rise to a beautiful art form known as Parkour.
Urban
practicing Parkour on the corner of Westwood Boulevard and Le Conte Avenue on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus in LA, California.
Ninja
Y
ou may have seen one of them flitting past you somewhere in town, leaping from one point to another (usually high above you) or getting through and over obstacles with incredible agility and speed. You may have even seen some of them jump from jaw-dropping heights, only to casually land like feline creatures, perform a body roll and then continue on running. No, these people are not crazy or suicidal. They are practitioners of Parkour, a physical discipline of French origin that has gained a considerable following as the next hottest sport. The word “sport” needs to be approached with caution, however, as Parkour is more than an activity involving physical exertion: It is a way of thinking, a way of life, a philosophy. Many practitioners of Parkour, called traceurs, insist that the physical aspect of it — running, jumping, vaulting, rolling — is only complimentary to the primary goal of Parkour, which is continuous self-development. To put it simply, Parkour is a state of mind that should run continuously in the background even when you are not practicing it, rather than a set of actions. So what exactly is Parkour? In layman’s term, Parkour is the art of getting from point A to B in the most efficient manner, using your body’s natural resources as a means of transport and a tool to negotiate the environment. Think of it as skateboarding,
Bloomberg News/Nadja Brandt
Traceur in the air: A traceur is airborne during a leap over a wall while
Courtesy of Parkour Indonesia
Equilibrium is a must: A traceur walks on a pole in Jakarta. where skateboarders negotiate obstacles by “flowing” over, across or through them, but without the board. Efficiency in Parkour means you move in a way that covers the most ground while avoiding injuries. The basic idea is to reach the finish line as quickly and as efficiently as possible, as if you are trying to escape from something or someone. Describing the movements of Parkour is not easy as the discipline combines elements from martial arts, dancing, acrobatics, running and even the military. Furthermore, although Parkour does have a range of specific effi-
cient moves, due to its emphasis on “escape”, there is no rule dictating what move should be used in a particular situation. If a traceur can escape efficiently by slithering on the floor, then this is an accepted Parkour movement. You can be sure of one thing, though. To watch a traceur move is like watching poetry unveil right before your eyes. The combination of a traceur’s grace, fluidity and dynamics is truly a feast for the eyes. The opening scene of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, the extended chase between Bond and villain Mollaka, sums up Parkour
quite nicely. Mollaka was played by Sébastien Foucan, a co-founder of Parkour and creator of Free Running (spelled “freerunning”). Freerunning differs from Parkour, as the emphasis is not on efficiency (escaping), but in the complete freedom of movement. It regularly features acrobatics and tricks such as multiple somersaults, back flips, vaults, lunges, scaling up a wall, spins and other stunts generally not efficient moves for escape. Foucan created freerunning as he felt Parkour lacked creativity and self-expression, encouraging others to practice Parkour as they see fit without worrying about accepted norms. With freerunning, he has opened up the concept of “l’art du déplacement” (The Art of Moving) and offered greater freedom of interpretation to the many people thinking of starting Parkour. David Belle, along with Sébastien Foucan, developed Parkour in France. The principles of Parkour can help practioners find their own way in life as well. The best news is Parkour can, contrary to its extreme portrayal, be practiced by virtually anyone, regardless of age, sex or body type. Very young or middle-aged persons can practice Parkour to the best of their ability. Women or overweight people can become excellent traceurs if they put their minds to it. Remember, Parkour is not about extreme sports and is non-competitive. It is about overcoming your
fears and the mental challenge of what you think you are limited to do. If you think you will never run past the two-kilometer mark, think again, and work hard to achieve this. And once you have achieved this, aim for two and a half kilometers the next day and keep going. If you believe yourself to be the most unbalanced person on planet earth, practice balancing yourself on a rail again and again until you can jump from railing to railing, keeping in mind the safety aspect of it (if it isn’t safe, it isn’t Parkour!). For practitioners of Parkour, its greatest appeal lies in the fact that it is open for individual interpretation: some treat it as no more than a fun challenge while others practice it religiously like martial arts. It’s really up to you
to decide. It isn’t a stoic sport such as golf where everything is analyzed to the minute detail. And perhaps just as importantly, Parkour is perfect for a cramped metropolitan like Jakarta, its endless concrete jungle, and the sedentary lifestyle that comes along with big city living. In Parkour, the whole city is a gym. You need only change your way of thinking and the way you see things. In the words of Sébastien Foucan, “You just have to look; you just have to think, like children.” Having said this, your office’s parking structure can become your gym during lunch. How cool is that?
Courtesy of Parkour Indonesia
A philosophy of life: Parkour, originally from France, has gained quite a following in Jakarta, with several groups practicing during the week in different locations across the city.
Parkour in a nutshell
M
Courtesy of Parkour Indonesia
Car hopping: A traceur hops over a car parked in a street of Jakarta.
any people erroneously think of Parkour as an extreme sport, mainly because of the way media has portrayed it. Hence, they will show up to their first practice expecting to jump off roofs and somersault backwards, only to discover that they can’t make it past a 2-kilometer jog or two sets of pull-ups during the warm-up. Don’t make this mistake. This discipline stresses physical fitness so you can last a long time (the unofficial motto of Parkour is être et durer — “to be and to last”). However, physical fitness without the principles of Parkour is not Parkour. Remember, Parkour is a way of thinking backed by a sound mind first, and a sound body second. Try to re-arrange your thought
processes and start seeing things differently. Approach obstacles (both physical and mental) creatively. You are also advised to build your general fitness aptitude and stamina by running, doing pushups, pull-ups, situps or squats (at least for one month) prior to your first Parkour session so as to minimize severe muscles sores and cramps. Why do Parkour? Parkour is wonderfully cheap (except for the shoes you’ll have to keep replacing), environmentally friendly, practical and perfectly adaptable to city life. It is also refreshing because you don’t have to fight for space. Whereas aerobics and running can become a bit boring, Park-
our offers more variety, freedom of movement and creativity, along with support from other traceurs. Where & When Parkour Jakarta (Twitter: @ParkourJKT, Facebook: Parkour Jakarta, http://parkourjakarta.posterous. com) one of Parkour Indonesia’s sub-groups, practices Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 p.m. until late at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium Ring Road gate 14, and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Krida Loka Park in Senayan. Who can join? Everybody can practice Parkour. Remember, Parkour is about constantly challenging yourself to become a better person. You decide
how far you want to go, at your own pace. You do need, however, to learn basic safety techniques and movements for Parkour before you can train by yourself. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Videos Yamakasi - Les samouraïs des temps modernes (2001) Jump London (documentary) (2003) Jump Britain (documentary) (2005) District 13 (original title Banlieue 13) (2004) Web www.parkourindonesia.web.id parkourjakarta.posterous.com www.parkour.com www.parkourpedia.com — JP/Stephen Lee