Jump Mag Issue 19

UF STREETWEAR - A PRODUCT OF OUR ENV

VIRONMENT - SHOP.URBANFREEFLOW.COM

Welcome friends,

ez@urbanfreeflow.com www.facebook.com/ezstyla www.urbanfreeflow.com www.facebook.com/urbanfreeflow www.twitter.com/urbanfreeflow www.youtube.com/glyphmedia

Issue 19 Contributors: Jonathan Butler Jonathan ‘JK’ Kobylanski Stephane Girondeaud François ‘f0re1’ Constant Victor Camargo Sissi Schmidtova Filip Philips Tuhý JJ Goda Alexis Davila Rosa Bekx Thomas “Villainous” Manning Brendan Jackman JC ‘Sage’ Greening Matty Mallett Mateusz Guzikowski Mathias Kronstad Winifer Mendes Greg Ennis Kai Taylor Filip Shulevski Eduard Karyakin

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) scene, as there’s some truly outstanding talent coming through the ranks and making a big impression worldwide. This is clearly evident in the vast amount of videography that’s being produced and uploaded to Youtube. One of the key people responsible for bridging the obvious language barrier between the Russian speaking nations and the Europeans, has been Eduard Karyakin. In this issue I’ve managed to catch up with him for a spot of interrogation in the hope of finding out what their secret is.

Another person of note in this issue is Frenchman, Stéphane Girondeaud, who at just 31 years of age is a member of a very exclusive club. You see, he’s one of a very few existing Parkour practitioners who’s been around since the 90’s. His tale makes for interesting reading simply for the fact that when he began his journey, Parkour was still very much an underground thing. So much so, that it hadn’t yet been given the title of ‘Parkour’ by a certain Mr Belle.

In addition this month, Jump mag regular, JJ Goda, puts a pair of Puma ‘Rio Racer’ shoes through their paces, JC Greening continues with his ‘Philosopher’s Landing’ series and Thomas Manning gives us an insight to the Parkour scene in China. All the regular stuff is here too.

Enjoy....

Ez (Editor)

UF ad athlete: JJ Rodent www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez Nite Watch ad photography: Ez Front cover athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

JUMP MAGAZINE # 19 Copyright © The Urban Freeflow Network. All rights reserved. ‘Urban Freeflow’ and the ‘Glyph’ logo are registered trademarks of Urban Free Flow Ltd

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D EDITION DESIGN *ONLY 50 AVAILABLE* “WHEN YOU STOLE MY STYLE AND GAVE IT THE NAME OF ‘PARKOUR’, SURE I WAS PISSED OFF, BUT I LET IT SLIDE. NOW THOUGH, EVERYONE’S STOPPED GIVING CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE, SO THE TIME HAS COME TO REALLY PUT YOUR SKILLS TO THE TEST. START RUNNING..........BITCH!”

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Do you believe in aliens? On the 21st of December 2012 we’ll find out for sure when the alien invasion starts. In a field

in the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, this ‘Cream Of The Crop’ message has been left for them. It translates as “Go big or go home!”

Street Activist: Jonathan ‘JK’ Kobylanski www.thejkproject.com

Interview by Ez

StĂŠphane Girondeaud

Stéphane Girondeaud is a French practitioner who is part of a very exclusive club indeed. He’s one of a handful of people who’s been on the scene since the late 1990’s, before Parkour was even called Parkour. The first time I met him was in April of 2010 when I was in Paris doing an article for Issue 3 of Jump Mag. In the time that’s passed, we’ve remained friends and aside from catching up on all the regular stuff, we take every opportunity to take the piss out of one another. Joking aside, I’d always earmarked him as someone to feature because he’s been around from right back in the early days. A perfect opportunity arose when he came over to the UK to train at all of the regular London haunts....

Hey Stéphane, thanks for taking the time to do this. For those who don’t know you, please introduce yourself...

Stéphane: My name is Stéphane Girondeaud and my nickname is ‘StephanAction’. It’s the name I use as a Parkour performer and stuntman. I’m currently 31 years old and I was born in a suburb of Paris, France. I’ve been involved in the art of Parkour since 1998.

You’re among a very few practitioners who’ve been around since the 90’s and are still actively involved.

When exactly did you first see or hear about Parkour?

Stéphane: The first time I heard about Parkour was on the 6th of December 1998. Before that date I was practising break dancing, gymnastics and capoeira. I was practising all theses sports with my twin brother and some friends of mine, but we were not really interested in practising in gymnasiums or clubs (except for gymnastics).

This is why we trained outside in the streets. In that way, we began to imagine some climbing moves, jumping moves and we reproduced some others that it was possible to see in Jackie Chan movies or other action films. Then on the 6th of December 1998, my brother and I saw a documentary on TV. The subject was ‘Street and extreme sports’. In this documentary, there was a group of guys who were practicing a new sport called ‘l’art du déplacement’ which was the first name of Parkour.

The name of the group was Yamakasi. My brother and I were really impressed and this sport was exactly in the way of our sportive evolution. We talked about this new discipline to our friends we were training with. At this moment we decided to begin to reproduce some of the moves we saw in the documentary. We succeeded with only two days of trying at La Defense, Paris. From that moment La DefenSe became our playground. The problem was that there were no videos at all on internet, so we just had the documentary as our reference. So we developed some moves in the way of the ones which were in the documentary. Later we decided to meet the

Yamakasi to talk with them and to see if our way of moving was on the right path of this new sport. They loved our way of moving and thinking.

What direct impact did the documentary have on you when you saw it?

Stéphane: The impact was really big. At that moment, I didn’t imagine it would change my life and my way of seeing the world. I decided to leave capoeira for a while and also the other things I was involved in, so I could just practise Parkour. As I said before, this new discipline was exactly in my sportive evolution of that time. Parkour directly gave me the opportunity to engage my imagination as much for sport as for my artistic creativity as a filmmaker and writer.

What were your first steps to actually start training?

Stéphane: It was not so difficult for me to start training because I already had some skills thanks to gymnastics and capoeira. I was extremely supple because of my previous sporting background. Furthermore, I had obtained an educator’s diploma in gymnastics so it didn’t take long to analyse the movements and imagine others.

Thanks to gymnastics, I had a good approach for properly prepared training. For example I didn’t neglect the need for a thorough warm up.

I have to admit though, that I really wanted to do big jumps first like most people do <laughs>. I wasn’t really interested in technical moves at the beginning. At that time I had no reference to learn from except the documentary with the Yamakasi guys and in it, they were all doing big jumps and flips <laughs>. But after a while of fooling around, I began to drill the technical moves.

“I’VE BEEN INVOLVED IN THE ART OF PARKOUR SINCE 1998”

Where you always into sport?

Stéphane: Yes. I practised capoeira, kung-fu (wushu), physical stunts (mostly falls), some basics in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, stick fighting, blade (sword and katana) and others martial arts. I made a mix of everything I have learnt in my life for my career as a stuntman today. But just before Parkour as I said previously, I was practising capoeira, gym, breakdance and a little karate.

Did your martial arts training help you with your Parkour?

Stéphane: I can say that my martial arts training helps me for Parkour but my Parkour training also helps me for martial arts too. Martial arts permits me to have a ‘martial’ style in my Parkour. I am more precise and stronger. Parkour becomes a ‘fight’ of myself versus myself and myself versus the obstacles. On the other side

With Parkour the focus a lot of the time is on â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;playâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and what better place to play in than a kids playground?

Behind the scenes snapping for an Xbox commercial.

Dude, you need to get outside a bit more.

parkour permits me to have a trained eye to tune my reflexes in martial arts. I try to make a sense with the mix of my differents arts and styles.

At the early stages of your training, Parkour was still so new. Did you ever think that it would explode worldwide like it has?

Stéphane: I wished that Parkour would spread because if Parkour was not known in the world, it would be difficult to move without facing people who would always try to block us from moving. I didn’t really think it would spread as rapidly as it has, but I did wish for it to happen back then.

Did those around you like David Belle have any idea that it would completely blow up?

Stéphane: I don’t know about the bigger community but in my group (Adrenaline) we all wished for the discipline to spread. That is why we wanted to make commercials, tv shows and movies. Not just to show off, but to make the discipline better known. About David Belle, I have no idea because I’ve only met him just twice in my life and he was really discreet.

Yamakasi, David Belle, and other people of Parkour in France. They liked what we did then but today it’s another story <laughs>. With the group, we were making some events but the biggest one was the Laureus world sports awards with Morgan Freeman. During several years, we were asked to do more shows, commercials, etc. Our first goal was to move, to do some sports with friends but when some people proposed for us to be involved in making some interesting events, we couldn’t refuse <laughs>. Nowadays, the Adrenaline group does not exist as a team any more. Each person has made their own way. But I still often work with my brother.

The first time I saw Adrenaline was when you guys did the Morgan Freeman piece. That must have been really exciting to do. Especially so, because Parkour was still very new outside of France. Can you tell us about that whole experience?

Stéphane: Yes this event was a great opportunity. Not just a chance to make money but to share good moments with friends and to meet Mr Freeman. I use irony with the make money comment because at that time, many people were saying “Adrenaline makes money with Parkour….blah blah blah”. We always said and proved that we were not just doing events to make money, but to share good moments of sport between friends but people didn’t want to hear that, so we let them talk. To come back to the Laureus, it was a real pleasure. We were among big stars like Morgan Freeman, Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Teri Hatcher, David Beckham and many others to make a nice show. When we were approached about the project, they sent us the script of the video we had to shoot. In the synopsis of the script, we read: “Morgan Freeman goes out of the hotel and forgets the award. 3 guys are going to bring it to him at the ceremony”. We were totaly in shock. We didn’t believe we would be shooting with Morgan Freeman.

We thought it was another Morgan Freeman <laughs>.

We ended up shooting one week in Portugal but Morgan Freeman was not there. A week later at the award ceremony, we learnt that he would be there in person.

We met him and It was a really good motivation for the future.

“FOR US, IT WAS MORE ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE TRAINING”

Was your approach serious from the beginning?

Stéphane: As I have mentioned, I have an educator’s diploma in gymnastics and I used to train alone without a sport trainer. So my trainings were serious in the execution but I have to admit that we (Adrenaline group) didn’t train so much. We trained about 2 days a week only but we managed to evolve really fast. For us it was more about the quality of training as opposed to the quantity.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Adrenaline team?

Stéphane: It’s a long story <laughs>. At the beginning of the team in 1998 it was just 7 friends and we wanted to be a capoeira and martial arts group. It is at that moment that we decided the name of the group. But then we discovered Parkour (l’art du depacement) in December 1998 and we decided that Adrenaline would be a Parkour group (the name Parkour hadn’t yet been given, it was still known as ‘l’art du déplacement’). After several months of training, for various reasons there were only 4 members left in the group: Daniel (my brother), Raimundo, Cyril and myself. We trained for several years but we didn’t put out any videos on the internet. We were just sharing video tapes with our friends. One day, some people discovered our existence and ask us to release some videos. So a video of the group went up on the internet and many people liked what we did. We were the first ‘tracers’ to create a blog on Parkour and It was a big buzz. Later we met the

I sense your frustration in the ‘making money’ comment, but it’s a sad fact that people don’t want to see others make a success of themselves. Especially so, when it comes to dollar dollar. Is everything good in France now or are there still problems?

Stéphane: For a long time I have been out of the Parkour community. It’s because people always talk in a bad way about everybody else. Whether it was jealousy or to make

The look of a stone cold killer. “I told you that if you took my croissant, I would hunt you down!”

themselves feel greater, I wanted no part in it and wanted to make my own way. Now I just train with some friends but I don’t like to participate in big gatherings.

In France people talk too much instead of moving. That is why Parkour is more developed abroad now. Parkour was born in France but now, we have missed the boat.

People spent too much time with discussions about differences between Parkour and Freerunning etc. I try to escape from debates when people begin to make politics with Parkour because I just want to practise.

Here I am openly answering your questions, so I’m talking about some of the negative things, but in life I try to leave the politics behind and try to see only the good things.

I understand that you’re heavily involved in stunt work.

Do you still train in Parkour with the same enthusiasm these days or is it more of a job for you now?

Stéphane: You know, as we always said, Adrenaline was not only Parkour but martial arts, gymnastics, capoeira and others too. Today it’s always the same thing.

Thanks to this, I am complete for working as a stuntman. Sport has always been a thing I practise for pleasure and Parkour is the best sport to give me maximum pleasure, thanks to the freedom it provides. If in the future I don’t feel pleasure anymore in Parkour, I’ll stop it even in my career because I do only things I love and I don’t want to do things only for money or others.

I practise less these days because Parkour is a part of me now, it is written in my flesh and I don’t need to train so often anymore.

Furthermore, I try to avoid big jumps and big performances in training and in public because if I get injured, it will affect my work as a stuntman. It has been several months since I properly practised Parkour and my first day back, it’s here in London and yes, I always have the same enthusiasm to PRACTISE parkour. I say practise and not training because my ‘training’ was many years ago. Now I simply use what I have learnt.

first time in 2005 for the Laureus ceremony but It was not possible to talk to him because I was in backstage.

So I was really glad to work and to talk with him this year. Unluckily, I didn’t shoot a fight scene with him <laughs>.

Did you talk with him about Parkour and if yes, what did he have to say about it?

Stéphane: Yes I talked a little bit with him because he remembered my presence in the Laureus video. I asked Jackie Chan if he liked Parkour and he said he thought it is great but Kung-fu is better! He laughed after he said it but said nothing more about it <laughs>.

What other interesting projects have you done that have called for you to use your Parkour skills?

Stéphane: Whaoo!! I have done many projects where I had to use Parkour and martial arts too, but the more interesting were a show with James Brown in 2005, commercials for Panasonic, Xbox Kinect, BMW, Fire Starter (Estonian energy drink). I have also done a musical clip and a short movie as a vampire. I was practising Parkour and martial arts in it. I have done many projects and each one of them was a great pleasure and a good experience. Each one of them was a chance to diffuse parkour and the sports I love.

“SPORT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A THING I PRACTISE FOR PLEASURE”

Tell us about the time you worked with Jackie Chan. For many people he is regarded as the first person to use Parkour style movements long before ‘Parkour’ was actually conceived. I’m guessing it was a great experience?

Stéphane I totally agree with this: Jackie Chan is one of the fathers of Parkour. He was a model for me when I started. At my beginning in 1998 there were no videos on the internet to reproduce movements, so I used some of Jackie Chan’s moves to begin in Parkour. He makes a mix with parkour and martial arts as I do today. So it was a great honor to eventually meet him. I met him the

If you were given the opportunity to set up your perfect training environment, what kind of things would it have?

Stéphane: this is a difficult question because I’d like to introduce many things.

I don’t want to be limited.

But I really like cat leaps so I’d like to put in different types of cat leap obstacles with differing heights and distances. I really like bars and scaffolding too, so I’d put them everywhere <laughs>. Ideally I’d like to reproduce an entire street with cars, walls and with many obstacles.

I remember a previous chat we had and you said that you prefer to train away from the main hotspots and just to get on with your own thing. What made you decide to adopt this way of doing things?

Stéphane: I always want to meet people and to help them in Parkour but as I said above, some people are here to compare themselves with others and are jealous if you succeed more than them in sport or in work. They just want to challenge you instead of challenging themselves. For me Parkour has always been a sport which permits us to be better tomorow than we are today. It is a struggle against yourself and not against the others. You can’t really compare yourself to others because we don’t have the same path, the same experiences, the same strength, the same fears etc.

Flying like a ninja on roids.

A true boner moment with the legend that is Jackie Chan.

“How about I meet you at the back door of the gay bar?”

As I said, today I try to be wiser and to avoid big jumps so I can last longer in sport and in my career. I don’t want to be the best and to make competitions. But some people say: “you don’t have a good level anymore, you are a has been...”. It is not to show off but I am able to do big jumps, big performances but it is not my goal anymore, I have evolved in a professionnal way and not a competition way.

Fair enough. You’ve been around a long time and it’s sometimes hard to keep motivated. Do you still love Parkour as much today as when you did back in the day?

Stéphane: To be clear, I still love Parkour. It is my life and I don’t forget (even if some people choose to forget it) that I am one of the precursors of the discipline. Parkour helped me to be less shy, healthier and more trustful in myself. Parkour will always be a sport of freedom for me. It is a sport you can practise alone and not only in gymnasiums. Parkour is not only a sport you practise, it is a way of life. And I don’t forget that it helped me to reach the world of audiovisual which was always my dream.

Ok, What do you not like about Parkour?

Stéphane: The competition between people. I’m not talking about competitive events because I like to watch those. Here I’m talking about competition between people during training sessions.

Sometimes competition is good but in Parkour, if you try to be better than the others, you often get injured.

What’s been the best location you’ve seen for Parkour so far and why?

Stéphane: For me each location has its own interest.

I like La Défense in Paris because it is a good place to begin in Parkour. You have everything over there and it especially caters for technical moves. I really like spots in London but they are too far from each other. I like the walls in London because they have a good grip. I am going to tell you something: I know it is strange but I’ve never moved in Lisses which as you know, is the birthplace.

You’re not missing out on much. Lisses is shit! Only kidding. So…Where in the World would you most like to visit to train at in the World?

Stéphane: <laughs> I would like to move in America. I don’t know the spots over there but it has always been my dream to go to USA and move. One of my dreams was to move in Hong Kong and luckily, this dream came true for me.

You mentioned that you like to watch competition events. Would you ever compete in the future or is it something that’s not really for you?

Stéphane: I have never really been interested in competing myself. Parkour has always been for me a sport which permits me to feel free and to be better than I used to be. It does not mean that I hate competition and I respect the ones who compete because it requires a lot of skill and courage.

Everybody can decide how he is going to use his or her Parkour. Parkour does not belong to anybody and nobody can judge you for this.

“IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM TO GO TO USA AND MOVE”

Do you differentiate between Parkour and Freerunning or is it just movement to you?

Stéphane: You ask this to a man who makes mix between several sports <laughs>. I understand the differences and I respect the evolution of both. To be blunt, for me Parkour is a sport and Freerunning is a mixture of sports like Parkour, gymnastics, etc. For my part, I practise Parkour, martial arts and sometimes gymnastics. Do you think I practise Freerunning? Yes and in my Freerunning, there is Parkour <laughs>. So I don’t want to limit my pleasure of moving because some people say that if you practise Parkour, you can’t make flips or other ‘inefficient’ moves. Parkour is a part of my life but I don’t limit my life with Parkour.

How much are you into the acrobatic side of things these days?

Stéphane: I started off with gymnastics all those years ago so I sometimes still do acrobatics. But since 2006 in my training and videos I wanted to put Parkour only. But over the last few days, I’ve come back to acrobatics again <laughs>.

Are there any up and coming athletes in France that you think are worth keeping an eye on in the future?

Stéphane: Yes. I don’t know all the athletes but some of them have a really good level and a good mind. We have Adrien Rousseau, Edwin Condette and Simon Nogueira.

Simon is more in acro style but his Parkour is really good too.

What did you think when you saw how Parkour was exploding all around the world?

Stéphane: I was happy and sad too. Because with Adrenaline we always wanted to give a good image of Parkour, we wanted it to spread all around the world with the good spirit we defended (sharing, not with a suburb and bad guys image). Instead of that, many people were not in the challenge against themselves but against the others. And when you are in the challenge against the others, you always get injured and you make some mistakes. But I was happy to see many people

For beginners reading this, the standard attire for a Parkour practitioner is a suit. Only tramps wear baggy jogging bottoms and kalenjiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

seeing the world as I saw (and I still see) it. It is a great privilege to be from the beginning of something and to see people sharing it with pleasure.

We all know that Youtube has played a vital role in spreading the word worldwide on a rapid level. What’s your opinion of Youtube, are you a fan or is it a pain in the ass?

Stéphane: For me, media is good to show to the world what we love but if we don’t use it well, it is going to give a bad image. I am going to give just one example: I hate videos where we see people falling and getting injured during their training. We know that Parkour is sometimes dangerous and not safe but if we show this to the world, people will surely be suspicious with Parkour.

It is better to train hard to avoid fail movements. After that, we can make videos. Many people make videos during their trainings. It would be better to make it when you are well trained. If I wanted to do some videos at the beginning, if i wanted to make commercials, tv show, etc it was to help Parkour to spread. And I tried to tell good things and to give a good image of it. And when I saw people destroy all the good things we were trying to show, I was sad. So for me Youtube (and others medias) is a good thing but it depends on how we use it. It is like a knife, you can use it to cook or to kill and it is up to you to choose the best use.

Was it your first time there and if yes, did you enjoy the overall experience?

Stéphane: Yes it was my first time and I totally enjoyed the experience. All my purposes were reached. I saw the spots, I tested them and the sharing atmosphere was really great too. Not only with Freerunners but with the population of London. They are more pleasant and peaceful than in France. They have smile and the streets are more clean. I’ll be back <laughs>.

Did you think that the London architecture differed a lot from the ones you’d normally find in Paris?

Stéphane: It is a little different. Sometimes I thought I was in Disneyland <laughs>. You have many red walls over there whereas in France we have many grey walls.

Maybe it’s because of polution or the bad temper of the French people <laughs>.

Did you manage to hook up with any high profile UK athletes while you were there?

Stéphane: I have to admit that I didn’t know most of the people present there. But they all had a really good level.

“OVER IN THE UK THEY TAKE MORE RISKS THAN IN FRANCE”

I think the fails are put in by the better athletes to show that yes, they are skilled but even they still make mistakes. If anything it serves as a good warning to beginners and it’s also funny to watch people fuck up from time to time. Do you watch many videos?

Stéphane: I watch videos of many sports not only Parkour. I sometimes watch videos to see evolution of the discipline but not too many.

Is there any person or any team internationally who has really impressed you?

Stéphane Today, Parkour and Freerunning has reached a really high level. A great number of people are doing impressive moves. It is difficult to compare because each has their own style.

What was the purpose of your visit to London?

Stéphane: My visit had many purposes. I wanted to see the hotspots and to test them out. I wanted to see with my own eyes the level and the mentality and I wanted to change my mind. In France, people always talk instead of training, playing and enjoying (not everybody of course). I wanted to see if the atmosphere was better in England and I have to say that it is.

What’s your opinion of the UK way of moving?

Stéphane: I felt unity as everybody moves together.

In France we see some groups at the same place and sometimes certain people don’t want to move with the others. In London, everybody just moves together. It is difficult to explain but we felt a unity of mind. Over in the UK, they take more risks than in France and I saw nobody doing warm up. Not good!!! <laughs>.

In France do you have support from the local authorities?

Stéphane: <laughs> No! We have no support. But I understand because there are many bad guys in Paris and the police have a big enough job with them.

At the Session Internationale event we staged last year I saw a lot of different French teams representing. Is there a friendly atmosphere between the different factions or do you have your own share of politics?

Stéphane: The Session Internationale event allowed for a good unity so the relationships were not so bad and everybody moved together with a sharing and friendly vibe. I noticed that the French people were impressed by the level of the Freerunners from abroad. The gathering was really nice.

How about your neighbouring countries, have you done much travelling to train outside of France?

Stéphane: All the travelling I have done abroad was for shootings or shows. So I didn’t have time to train with

Parkour is the best way to fly without the need of an aviators license.

The threat of violence over the stolen croissant didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go down too well and here, Stephane has to run for his life.

During a trip to London at the famous Imax blue walls, cat leaps are standard procedure.

others unfortunately. I was in Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium and China. The only other country I came to with the purposes of moving was England.

Do you still have goals with your Parkour?

Stéphane: Yes of course. Parkour has always been and will always be more than a sport. It is a tool that permits me to move in the environement every day. The other day, I was almost late for a rendezvous and I used Parkour to arrive on time. I was wearing jeans and no sport shoes <laughs>. I always feel freedom and pleasure with Parkour and even if I stopped really big jumps, I’d still use it. Of course, I use it too for my job as a stuntman.

Do you follow a healthy eating routine?

Stéphane: Luckily, I have the chance to eat everything I want without having any health problems. I never give myself limitations in what I eat. But about one month ago I decided to have a look at what I eat now. Because I am 31 years old and I want to keep moving, I have to give my body good food. I started to eat more natural stuff….proteins, slow-burning sugars etc.

I try to limit sugar and fats and I drink milk and water.

What are your current favourite shoes for Parkour?

Stéphane: I prefer Asics shoes. They are really good thanks to the ‘gel’ system and they have a really good grip. Furthermore, the name of the shoe goes in the same way I have chosen. Asics is an abbreviation of ‘Anima Sana In Corpore Sano’ which translates as ‘A healthy spirit in a healthy body’.

Stéphane: Yes I’ve edited my videos since the beginning.

When can we expect to see some new video material from you?

Stéphane: Good question <laughs>. I try to make videos with everything I do. Not only Parkour. In the last video I put martial arts, stunt falls, stick fights, Parkour and acting footage. When I do videos it is not only to show what I can do, it is to share my experiences and to give inspiration. I want to share with people what I do, I want them to see through my eyes what I live in my trainings and in my career. If I have more good experiences this year, I’ll make a new video.

In the stunt world I’m guessing that you have your fair share of injuries. Have you suffered any yourself? If yes, what were they and how long were you out of action?

Stéphane: In my work and in my training and practising I never had any big injuries. Just some scratches like everybody gets and a small injury to my shoulder when I began Parkour. I had knees problem since 1997. It was not because of Parkour. In fact the only sport I was practising was Karate and it was with my brother by watching van Damme’s movies. So in 1997 I began to practise capoeira, break dance, gymnastics and a few other martial arts. My body was not well prepared and I was really slim but I trained really hard. So I began to feel pain in my knees. Each time I decided to see a doctor, they said that it was nothing important just an inflammation of tendons. I always practised Parkour and the other sports with these knee pains. During 10 years doctors kept saying the same thing. So in 2007 I decided to get on the table and ask for a real professional point of view. I saw a surgeon and after several examinations, I learnt that I had a tear of 1 centimeters in the right rotulian tendon and a small one in the left one. I felt really bad and I knew I had to be operated on. On January 1st of 2007 I had a surgery on the right knee. This year was a real nightmare because I had many difficulties with my knee and I felt totally useless. I was not able to do sports anymore and my career was left aside. I thought I wouldn’t be able to practise anymore. But after a long period of doubt, I decided to overcome this situation and my knee was better. In October of 2007, I was able to do sport and without much training, I was back shooting a Panasonic commercial! It was nothing too difficult but I had a really big motivation because I was coming back from hell. The irony was that the name of the commercial was ‘Panasonic unstoppable’ <laughs>.

“I THOUGHT I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO PRACTISE ANYMORE”

Worst shoes you’ve used to train in and why?

Stéphane: I never trained with bad shoes apart from in the beginning when I didn’t have enough money. I’d say that the shoes I find not adapted for Parkour are the ones with flat soles, and the ones with air bubbles like in some Nike models.

Outside of training, what are your interests?

Stéphane: I am interested in video editing and it is my second job. I work in 3D modelling and animation. I sometimes write scripts too and I like to teach sports.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Stéphane: I really like instrumental musics from films. I am a great fan of Freddy Mercury, Linkin Park, Nickelback. I like everything except rap music.

You mentioned video editing. Do you edit your own Parkour videos?

Do you ever teach Parkour?

You see, a well tailored suit will improve your Parkour skills tenfold. Erm.......it has something to do with aerodynamics or something.

Stéphane: Yes I often teach Parkour. I have done so for many years. I’ve been a gymnastic teacher since 1999 and this helps me to have a good manner of teaching.

nowadays, people can talk if they want. During the time they talk, I move and I advance and I live my life and passions serenely.

If you were training and you saw a noob doing something that was beyond their experience level, what would you do?

Stéphane: I would speak to him. I would ask him how long he’s practised Parkour. I’ll ask him if he did good warm up. After that, I would propose that we move together and I’d show him the necessary basics.

If you could pass down any information to beginners now, what would it be?

Stéphane: I would say to not neglect the basics. When you begin Parkour or Freerunning don’t try to do big jumps because you see other people doing them. They trained really hard to do them and they might have fallen several times before succeding in them. So train really hard before this and don’t hesitate to ask for help or advice. Don’t think about people when you make a move, think about you. You are not here to show off, you are here to enjoy and to be better than you used to be and not better than the others. So if you don’t feel it, don’t do it. It is not because somebody tell you or challenge you to do a thing that you have to do it. It is your Parkour and not theirs.

Do you think that some people need to find their ‘way’ on their own?

Stéphane: I think it is a good thing to move with other people in the beginning. If you move alone, nobody can say to you if what you do is in the good way. You won’t be able to see if your movements are good or not and it is not so easy to find a motivation when you are alone.

When you are in group, you can learn the existence of movements you won’t find alone and sometimes, we can repoduce them directly if we have a good sense of analysis. Furthermore, if you get injured, nobody could help you quickly.

After all of that, you can take your own way and decide how you are going to use your Parkour.

Have you ever seen anyone bail heavily? If yes, what was it and how bad?

Stéphane: No I’ve never seen people bail heavily during training.

Sometimes on videos but never actually in front of me.

Do you think that you’ll still be training in another 5 or 10 years time?

Stéphane: I hope so. I think I’ll still be training but quietly and carefully.

We don’t go against time and the older we get, the wiser we need to be.

“I AM PROUD TO BE FROM THE FIRST PLAYERS OF PARKOUR”

What has been the most enjoyable experience for you in Parkour so far?

Stéphane: For me the most enjoyable thing was the beginning of my learning. It was so pleasant to try movements and to see that we were just a small number of people doing these great things. It was a privilege to see the world from a different eye. I am proud to be from the first players of Parkour and to help in the spreading of it.

What’s been the least enjoyable experience?

Stéphane: All the bad discussions about Parkour and Freerunning. All the people who said that Adrenaline used Parkour for money. I have given so much to the people, I helped so many people that I was really sad to see certain others giving wrong information about my group. They didn’t realise that we love Parkour and if somebody proposed for us to make commercials or movies, it was a chance to diffuse Parkour thanks to media. Of course it is also a pleasure to do commercials and others to live good experiences and to meet great people but the money was not the main priority. But

What effect would another serious injury have? Imagine that you were told by a doctor that your knee was completely destroyed and that you would never be able to train or work in stunts again. What would you do?

Stéphane: Because of my knee surgery, I have already been in this kind of situation. Of course, I haven’t been told that I won’t be able to do sport anymore but I thought about it. I was really sad and I could not imagine to stop but I was trying to think of what I could do if I was not able to move in the future.

I will be sad but I will be obliged to accept it. You know I also work as a video editor and I could stay in this way. If it is possible for me and if my condition could permit it, I’ll keep teaching sports to people and I will go on in the world of audiovisual as an actor.

When you prepare to do something ambitious like a big jump, what goes through your mind?

Stéphane: I analyze the situation. I take a look at the distances, the height, the grip. If the logic shows me that the jump is in my capacity but I feel fear, I think about people who never believed in me, I think about people who hurt me and this gives me the courage to make the jump. The most important thing is to believe in you and in your capacities and to erase your doubts. Because courage is a strength that only doubt can weaken. Don’t doubt, believe in you.

At home on the scaffolding in Paris.

What would you say is the strongest part of your game?

Stéphane: I am pretty good in agility like ‘passements’ through small holes. I like to play with bars too. Maybe because my chinese sign is the monkey <laughs>.

What is the area you’d most like to improve?

Stéphane: I have no special area in mind for the moment.

Do you ever train in a gym or are you strictly an outdoors person?

Stéphane: I began in a gymnasium when I learnt gymnastic. For Parkour, I have learnt everything outside.

It has been a long time since I trained in a gymnasium.

Which is most important to you…..Flow, speed or power?

Stéphane: You are going to think it is easy to say this but my answer is a mix of the three. I don’t want to limit myself and I try to introduce everything in my Parkour.

Each one of them has its importance and each one depends on the situation. But of course if I have to choose I’ll take power. Because the power permits to last in time and if we have power of body and power of mind we can accomplish great things.

Steph, on that note I’d like to say a big thank you and to wish you all the best in the future.

Thank you Ez. Essential links:

www.stephanaction.com www.youtube.com/stephanaction

On the receiving end of an ass-kicking while shooting of a fight scene.

Kieran Carragher (UK) Photographer: Ez www.urbanfreeflow.com

Lee Curt (France) Photographer: François ‘f0re1’ Constant www.fore1.com

www.stuntfitness.com

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The differenc the impossibl possible lies i determination

ce between le and the in a person’s n.” www.urbanfreeflow.com

Argenis Alvarez (Venezuela) www.pkfrvenezuela.com Photographer: Victor Camargo

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Igor ‘Foxy’ Packo (Slovakia) on holiday in Egypt.

Photographer: Sissi Schmidtova

UF All St

proper ‘Life In Bait mo

JUSTE DU PARKOUR (FRANCE)

Here’s another UF All Star in action in the form of Anthony Denis, of France. H see a young athlete who has zoned in more on moving quickly and efficiently. of people, this video came as a nice change from the flip-heavy vids that are swamping Youtube and if anything, it’s a clear indication that you don’t have t flips to your work in order to catch the eye. It’s a very different style to Bait’s but it’s inspiring all the same. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohnOe7Vsx4c&

DON’T DO IT (RUSSIA)

tar athlete, Aleksandr ‘Bait’ Bayturin, has been a well known athlete in Russia for a while now, but it’s only over the last year or so that he’s started to get r international recognition for his skills. Most notably, when he featured in the n A Day’ movie that won critical acclaim. In this homegrown edit here, we see oving in and around his home territory moving like only he can. This video has proven to be a big hit on Youtube and is currently top of our playlist.

Here we . For a lot currently to add s above,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kn-JkyjREM&

Martin ‘Baggy’ Bóďa (Slovakia) www.parkour.sk Photographer: Filip Philips Tuhý

A kong pre wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be the same without a Gandalf face.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

THE PUMA RIO RACER

UNDERPRESSURE TESTED BY JJ GODA

Thrown into the spotlight this month are the Puma Rio Racer shoes, which JJ absolutely swears by. He claims that they are his current shoes of choice by a mile, so who better to take a pair of them out and put them through a full-on beasting?

Handing over to JJ.....

Comfort....

Cinderella would have loved these! As soon as you put them on they feel comfy and after a few mins of running around, they mould to the shape of your foot.

Score: 5 out of 5 Perfect!

Busting out a 180 cat at the ‘Sushi Cat’ spot near St Thomas’ hospital, just before the feds turned up to ruin the fun.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

Weight....

I’m not sure if the shoe upper is made of leather or PVC but it’s a little bit heavier than a lot of shoes out there. That said, it isn’t really noticeable and even if it was, I’d prefer to sacrifice a bit of lightness to have a shoe that’s harder wearing, as too many shoes seem to fall apart after a heavy duty session on the streets.

Score: 5 out of 5

Just a tad heavier than regular running shoes.

Style....

Very simple. Some people like their shoes to make a statement colour wise, but for me, I like them to be plain. The ones I was testing were all black but as an ex-girlfriend once told me, once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tried black, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no going back.

Score: 4 out of 5

Really simple with no bells and whistles.

Beastly running pre at Bexleyheath, London.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

Running pre on the rocks in Battersea park.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

Shock Absorbency....

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re quite thin but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how I prefer them because it allows for a better sense of touch. If anyone out there needs to have loads of padding in their shoes, they are obviously using poor technique and need to work on their game.

Shhhhh! It should be all about soft and silent landings just like a ninja.

Score: 4.5 out of 5

For me these are perfect. Club footed practitioners will either need to get insoles or will have to work on their sense of touch.

Grip....

One word......INSANE! The sole is one piece with a really simple zig zag groove effect, so no bits fall off of them. I found that the rubber compound of the sole was spot on and provided more than adequate grip for cat leaps, wall runs, precisions onto walls and rails etc.

Score: 5 out of 5

All hail to the king, baby!

When he was asked to perform a two footed take-off, JJ got the wrong end of the stick and aimed for the stars.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

Foot placement drills on the rocks are a perfect place to test out your skills.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez

Durability....

They feel rugged. The upper of the shoe is hard wearing and from all the testing I put them through, they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even get scuffed up.

The sole held up well to an unhealthy dose of cat leaps too.

Score: 5 out of 5

All good in the hood.

Overall....

I love these! Comfortable, lightweight, hard wearing and with a grip to die for, these shoes offer everything you could want.

Best of all is the fact that they are cheap too.

Overall Score: 5 out of 5 Puma, will you marry me?

A lovely stride across the red wall gap in Woolwich. What you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see here is the faceplant bail just after he landed.

Athlete: JJ Goda www.youtube.com/risingtideproductionPhotographer: Ez

Carlos Ortega (Venezuela) www.pkfrvenezuela.com Photographer: Alexis Davila

Yvo Bekx (Netherlands) www.Youtube.com/unknownmovement Photographer: Rosa Bekx

www.facebook.com/FastbreakBags www.youtube.com/FastbreakBags www.twitter.com/FastbreakBags WWW.FASTBREAK-BAGS.COM

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An American In China

By Thomas “Villainous” Manning After two years living in China, developing my views of culture and my person through learning language and making friends, the result has given me a perspective that I would like to share.

Many times in Freerunning and Parkour we tend to talk about style; The UK style, the Russian Style, the Spanish, the French...and the list goes on. I have had the chance to experience the Chinese style, and develop my own style influenced by the every day interactions that are found living in Southwestern China.

When I first stepped off the plane to Kunming, China, in the Yunnan province I had no knowledge of Chinese culture beyond its martial arts. I could not speak a single word of Chinese beyond Ni Hao and Zai Jian. I was a year out of college, never in my life had I even planned on traveling to China, and to sum it up in just one word--confused.

My first instinct when I settled down was to get myself lost in the city. I wanted to see the architecture and the people.

While in the major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai, the sight of foreigners (us) has become a common thing. But, in Kunming China, you can still see the looks of curiosity and amazement. Walking through the streets, children to old men and women would watch me walk past. For a while this was just a funny cultural change, but quickly got annoying. I tend to draw the line at being stared at while eating my lunch.

After I began to get a feel for the city and its architecture I immediately took to the streets. Now, not only was I a foreigner, but I was running around and flipping...so you can imagine the attention it received. It wasn’t long before I was introduced to the local Freerunning circles (See Jump magazine: Issue 5 - Made In China.)

They opened my eyes even more to the local scene. The architecture was there for us to play with, but even better--the police didn’t hassle us. I suspect part of this was because I was a foreigner, and as a tip to any who may choose to travel to China in the future: playing the, “I don’t understand Chinese,” excuse has gotten me out of a few situations. To illustrate the lifestyle in Kunming, the city itself is roughly the size of New York with all of its boroughs, but a larger population. For ten months out of the year the weather is spring-like and only June and July are the rainy seasons where you may need to get creative on finding training grounds. The currency exchange rate is 1 USD to 6.5 RMB, and the average cost of a meal is around 10 RMB. Teaching jobs are in the highest demand and are the easiest way to provide a VISA and on average will pay you between 4000-7000 RMB a month depending on experience with only a 16-25 hour work week. Some even less. The average cost of rent for a one bedroom apartment

Yeah, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a ninja assassin, baby.

Photographer: Tai Mesches

Stumbling across a perfect hotspot and then sessioning it hard.

Photographer: Tai Mesches

with good space is around 1500 rmb a month with some utilities included. When you walk outside, the city has plenty of trees all around--and upwards of 30 different university campuses which make for the best training grounds. One specific difference between us in the West and the Chinese concerning grass is pretty glaring: They don’t walk on it. Absolutely not, ever. Sometimes they’ll sit on the edge of a giant stretch of beautiful green grass... but they won’t venture deeper. One time I was tricking with some foreign friends here when within ten minutes security came to mime to us in body language that we needed to immediately get off of the grass. It can get frustrating, but even so there are quiet places on most campuses where you won’t be bothered.

These places range for any skill level to isolate tricks or practice their flow. In fact, last year Kunming finished a new city dubbed “College City” where it is exactly as the name says. Somewhere around the number of fifteen different colleges, each enormous (for example one has a lake that takes maybe a good 10 minutes to swim across) and all paired next to each other. Though the campuses opened this past year, the city itself is nearly deserted making it a veritable ghost town. Scattered through all areas of Kunming one also finds many abandoned buildings or those under construction. One particular building, maybe a ten minute walk from my home houses 6 floors of fun topped with a Roman-like colosseum opened up to the sky. Since finding this absolute gem I haven’t gone anywhere else. But as is the case with any of these locations you do need to always try to keep careful and not get noticed as to keep things easier.

Now if you have ever watched the Olympics, you would know the freakish gymnastic talent that comes out of China. Kunming is no exception. Here there is a professional Gymnastics Gymnasium that is quite like any of the other famous ones you might find in other countries.

Three days a week they hold an open gym session which for the last two years I’ve attended. My first time to the gym in China I realized why they produce such talent as they have. From what must have been four years old and up, they grind these children into machines using corporal punishment as their main motivating force. It took me a moment to remind myself that this was another culture, and this was an absolutely normal thing in their practice. Not to mention, one of the fifteen year old girls from their professional team was regularly doing 1080 front flips from the trampoline--though it may have put me off, their methods seemed to work.

But in my experience the Chinese style in Kunming is struggling for its identity. Freerunning in its nature is very much a counter-culture to established society. The idea of the most fundamental freedom residing in movement is difficult for any controlling system or government to regulate. The Chinese government has gone about it in teaching their population to remain on the walkways and not venture into the grass, as I have said. (I once asked a person why and they said, “Because, that’s what is right.” I couldn’t get a more specific answer from them.) They

also fence off these areas with barbed wire, which further impresses the idea. Many of the walls in China have shards of glass mixed in with the concrete so as to discourage anyone from climbing them--which is the main reason why the College campuses are so inviting, no glass.

Our own cultures in the West arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t much different in their motivations to control the population with a Police force that performs similarly in its role as to the Chinese police.

However, we in the West donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encounter these controls as much in a physical sense as we do in a mental sense. The consequences of legal action if we enter a property without permission, for example, tends to be the force which controls us.

So the style in Kunming bubbles, left to itself. When they are out on the streets, the movement grabs the attention of large crowds. (See Jump Magazine Issue 5: Made in China for more pictures and attention to this detail.) But mostly the locals tend to gravitate to the gymnasium while spending a lesser portion of their time out of doors. This is counter to the nature of Freerunning and the grit of the concrete, the cuts, and the guts--but it has given them an aptitude towards learning technical tricks I have found, though the majority are slower to implement it out of doors.

For example, one particular Kunming practitioner is now doing kong gainers, as well as front and back fulls in the gymnasium when last year he was just learning to do a front flip; and yet he rarely practices outside.

Its difficult for me to conclude this article because I am unsure of my own feelings after these past two years of living in China: learning the Chinese language, making friends with whom Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never had a conversation verbally, experiencing the racism and the curiosity from the local culture. As I write this I have one month left in China before returning to America to pursue a graduate degree.

However, I feel that I can say of China--of traveling, of meeting new people of new cultures through the medium of movement or otherwise--is when approaching the opportunities of new experiences, greet them openly. Not all of them will be good, some may even be insufferably boring or negative. But there are times when you say yes that will lead you to places that you never imagined you would go.

Peekaboo!

Photographer: Tai Mesches

Simon Nogueira (France) www.parkour-killer.skyrock.com Photographer: Brendan Jackman www.bjimages.photoshelter.com

Steven Harrison attempts a bit of 3D PK action by trying to jump out of the screen. Needless to say, he fails in heinous fashion and ends up getting a French kiss from his camera lens. He only redeems himself at the end by adding in some first class commentary...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyJ50_OS1AA

THE PHILOSOPHER’S LANDING VII ‘To Compete or Not To Compete: There is No Question’

By JC ‘Sage’ Greening

“Of all human powers operating on the affairs of humankind, none is greater than that of competition.” – Henry Clay September in the US marks the beginning of autumn, which is by far my favorite season of the year. The cool weather, falling leaves, and the taste of darkness in the air make me feel right at home. I practice and train harder during this season than any other due to an unprecedented presence of energy in myself and the environment around me. The “outside” beckons me, draws me toward it, as though I am walking towards the warm, omniscient light. This is quite unlike summer, which taunts me and challenges me to go head to head with the heat and rays of sunshine. Each step during the summer is a run against an obstacle, and the wondrous feeling of success comes only after my training session.

But it is quite the opposite during the autumn. As I train, I feel lost in time, as though the world is revealing its innermost feelings and secrets to me with every moment I touch the sweet Earth. I can never be outside enough.

As I awake in my high-rise apartment and look out the front window, I feel saddened that I missed eight hours of training in the world. I can practically feel the Goddesses of Autumn pulling me through the window, as the sirens’ song enraptures every fiber of my body. It is only

myself that holds me back from achieving greater stages of Parkour during this glorious season.

And this change of seasons made me think about the many levels of competition in life. Though the opponent may change, there is always this sense that one can do better, run faster, jump higher, and flip more. But, is this constant competition a necessary part of life? Does competition make the human race healthier or more miserable?

Competition is Bad “Competition is a sin.”-John D. Rockefeller As a child, I was a loner. Due to my family constantly moving from home to home, and me from school to school, I learned quickly that my greatest friend was myself. I also learned that to make friends rapidly, I must be seen as no competition to those around me.

Competition led to fistfights and hate, and I much preferred civility and happiness in my youth. I avoided all types of competition, including organized sports and spelling bees. I did not have a need or desire to be the

best; I simply wanted to belong to a group. For me, I supported Franklin D. Roosevelt’s theory that cooperation was more important than competition.

Fellow Urban Freeflower, Steffie, agrees with the notion that Parkour should be about cooperation, not competition, as she describes Parkour training in the following poem: “All the days, all that sunlight, all the people And all the places that are for others so unimportant that they just pass and don’t even realize it All this is it, What I would miss so hard Even though many hours I lived like this, That seems worthless for other people, Are the hours that enrich my life so much.

Even if the hours are filled up with unnecessity, They achieve a necessity in my life, Because they are the hours In which I realize That the world isn’t as bad as it seems sometimes When the daily routine captures us.

These days and this summer sunlight, The people and the places are it, What keeps me up when someone tries to push me down.

This is what gives me the feeling of being myself…

With my thoughts, my own philosophy, and how I treat my environment.

This is what will always have a big place in my life because it’s important to me.

Not only because of the sport, But especially because of the people: They are the happiest, most honest, and open minded people I will ever know.

This is what is important to me, this is what makes me smile with I think about my future.

This is Parkour.”

She goes on to state that what she likes about Parkour is that “I can avoid any competition, [I] was never a friend of that.” And as a youth I completely agreed with her.

Yet, I soon discovered that there were benefits to competition. When I signed up for a martial arts class, I acquired a sensei. This teacher pushed me and taught that there were several levels of competition, all of which could be beneficial to me as a human and to the sport on the whole.

Competition on Many Levels “I am in competition with myself, and I’m losing!” – Roger Waters Competition is not always between two different human beings battling against each other to see who the best is. I feared this kind of competition as a child because I believed I was not the best and my ego could not handle the public acknowledgement of that fact. But as I grew older, I learned that there were several other competitors at work within and around me that remained hidden in the shadows. It took other great humans involved in the

sport of life to expose them to me.

First, there is the greatest competitor of all – yourself.

Though many philosophers have argued that you cannot compete against yourself, they are really just stuck in a semantic rant that bears no true meaning to reality. I compete against myself every day. Within, there are two distinct voices arguing against each other almost every second of my life. One is controlled by fear. He tells me to hide inside, to rot in front of a television, to never expose my true identity, to avoid any situations that could lead to failure, to blame everyone and everything else for my misfortunes. The other voice is the announcer of potentiality.

He describes a picture of what could be, he tells me I am worth more than just an oxygen tank, he encourages me to get off of my butt and discover true humanity.

He tells me to hustle. At any given moment, these two voices are bickering. And let me tell you that whatever voice is louder, it makes a huge difference in my actions and life. Thus, I am my greatest competitor and whether you recognize it or not, your life is stuck in this competitive cage.

And this competitive cage is not only limited to yourself. You are also in competition with the two permanent states of the universe: time and space. A traceur recognizes these two states more than most athletes. Many sports place limitations on these two qualities, placing a set time limit on the score board and painting lines on a field to demarcate the area of play.

These athletes are in competition to see what plays can be achieved within the given time and space of the game.

But traceurs are in a different kind of competition with time and space. Freerunners are always attempting to extend the limitations of both. Where space limits many pedestrians and hikers, by inserting rails and paths in places determined to be the best, traceurs refuse to follow these space restrictions. It is the constant mission of a traceur to conquer space limitations, to foil obstacles, and to practice as much as possible. By training harder and more, the Freerunner is utilizing all the time given to her. And by living a healthy lifestyle, the traceur is extending the possibilities of receiving more time, of ensuring a future to practice more.

Bertrand Russell said, “Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim.” Traceurs compete so they do not become victims of time and space.

Traceurs also compete against that which gives us all life. Whether you see the life force as a god or as nature itself, you are in competition with it. We have already discussed how many traceurs define themselves as artists and not athletes. Patti Smith stated, “An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.” And just like I stated at the beginning of this article, summer definitely challenges me to compete against it.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A competitive world offers two possibilities: You can lose, or, if you want to win, you can change.â&#x20AC;?

Anonymous

Either way you look at it, we compete against the natural forces of illness, weather, natural elements, and even other animals (insects can be a traceur’s nightmare).

The list could go on and on, but as one can see, we live a life of competition. So, what does this competition teach us as human beings?

The Good Side of Competition When the realization struck me that I had been competing against myself all of my life, I began to ponder how deeply I had been defeated by the voice of fear. This was compounded by the fact that because the voice of fear had defeated me for many years of my life, that time and space had also won. And the loss is tragic: years of wasted time, youth, and potential. Sure there were great moments nestled within those years, most of which were found in playtime outside, but if I would have accepted the challenge and competed against that voice of fear, I would be ten years ahead of where I am at today. It was time for a change.

Change is the greatest benefit of competition – it has the potential to make each of us better, as well as the sport we participate in. It is those times when I lose a competition that I realize I can do better. I examine why I lost the competition and how I can improve to gain success. It is by watching YouTube videos of other traceurs that I comprehend the true limitations of the human body. It is through observation of my fellow team members that I learn how to push myself further than ever before. It is the knowledge of my death that pushes me to get out and do as much as I can today.

Competition moves us to the depths of life that many around us do not understand, let alone experience firsthand. Nature, time, space, the self, other animals, people, and traceurs make us better individuals.

Competition also helps the sport/art of Parkour. It pushes us as athletes to explore the meaning and endless capabilities of Freerunning. JUMP magazine would not be here if it weren’t for competition. I would not have the words or the opportunity to write them if it weren’t for competition. Urban Freeflow would be easy to run, since it would only be Ez, if it weren’t for competition.

We as a group of athletes and believers in this thing called Parkour push the boundaries of what Parkour really is and can be. Competition when seen through this lens is truly a beautiful thing.

But competition has even deeper hues of potential beauty. As UF traceur Ryan East states, “I would say that the competitions are good so long as they are taken light-heartedly and are there mostly to promote the practice and to form friendships.”

Competition forges friendships when seen in a collaborative way. Watch any videos posted of Parkour competitions and you will see a true camaraderie between the athletes, the audience, and the judges.

Yes, it is about showing who you are and what you are capable of, but the true beauty comes from seeing how you and your moves fit into the whole of the sport. In competition, you see that you are merely a part of the body called Parkour. When everyone comes together to compete, the athletes and the audience get to see the whole of the sport, and what a glorious view it is. Even if it just you and one other person competing, you see limits fall to the way side for a brief period of time.

Friendships abound, a family is formed, and Parkour is the shared blood among all of us: this is what competition on any level creates in our sport. And, as long as all competitors are more concerned for the sport rather than the short-lived individual glory, then all participants can rejoice in being a part of the most wonderful activity in the world – Parkour.

Thus, we have seen how competition can actually make each of us better humans and athletes. Competition can enhance our sport, and it can also make friendships that change our lives forever. Competition creates community. But, what does this community look like?

This is what next month’s article will examine: the Community of Parkour/Freerunning. So, tell me, what is your Parkour community like? How do you train together? What is the atmosphere like? How many are in your community? I cannot write this article without your help, so teams as well as individuals, let me know about your Parkour communities. I look forward to hearing from all of you!

Until next month…keep training, shine on, and don’t let the voice of fear win!

Suggested Further Reading: David Shields – True Competition: Guide to Pursuing Excellence in Sport and Society JC “Sage” Greening can be reached via email at: greening.5@wright.edu or Facebook at: www.facebook.com/jcgreening

Jake Brandford (UK) Photographer: Ez www.urbanfreeflow.com

‘Street As’ Artist: Matty Mallett www.klfr.co.uk

Jake Brandford (UK) showing his support for the cause.

Photographer: Mateusz Guzikowski www.youtube.com/TraceurKRK

Pedro Salgado (Portugal) Photographer: Jilly Cobain www.behance.net/gallery/Parkour/2112026

come join the

parkour collective www.flickr.com/groups/urbanfreeflow

When this photo was taken, the London riots were still in full effect, so anyone passing by would be forgiven for thinking that they were witnessing some full-on top of a garage roof and then waging a berry war with fellow practitioners. It was all good natured fun but the look on Matâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face shows that some people took it Photographer: Ez www.urbanfreeflow.com

n Glyph violence. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be wrong though, because here we see Jake Brandford, Mateusz Guzikowski and Greg Ennis taking a break from training to climb on t a little bit more seriously than others.

Alexis Davila (Venezuela) www.pkfrvenezuela.com Photographer: Winifer Mendes

60 Second Interview: Greg Ennis Tell us a bit about yourself...

I’m Greg Ennis and I’m from Ealing, UK. Parkour has always been around me, even as a kid I would run around jumping over walls, climbing trees. I can’t say I was practicing Parkour back then but the feeling I get when I’m training with my friends, the excitement, the happiness it brings me, is the same feeling I had all those years ago after climbing to the top of the tree and leaving my mum terrified <laughs>. So when I walk past a kids play area and see youngsters hurdling gates and jumping into sand pits, I see them as young traceurs in the making.

How did you first get into PK/FR? I found out about it one day in school...another kid from the year above stole all the attention one day when he walked into school and showed off a wall flip. It was the first time I had seen anything like it. It seemed so unreal and I remember thinking “thats some power ranger shit!” and from that moment I was drawn in completley. It was like a new perk I needed to have. I couldn’t think about anything else, so I took myself to the park and just went for it against a tree and landed it.

That remains one of the best moments in my life. After that I showed off my new skill, was introduced to other people and one thing led to another.

What do you love about Parkour?

The feeling of self-fulfilment is of the things I love the most about Parkour, the achievements and pushing your potential. It’s something that no other occupation in my life can offer. Having been a D student all my life, I never felt that fulfilment or pride in education which ultimately made me feel like I was wasting my time.

Parkour gave the confidence I needed and I feel I have truly found my passion.

Mainly I love the the feeling of excitement and energy and also all the amazing people I’ve met so far on my journey.

Inspirations?

I would say pioneering Freerunners like Dani Ilabaca and Oleg Vorslav are on my top list of inspirations. But there are too many athletes to name that inspire me, not only freerunners but gymnasts, trickers, capoeira dancers, people from all disciplines. I admire all the similar types of movements. I like to learn from all types and create my own style and just be creative.

Last words?

I’m very lanky and I never go out training without tuna or chicken... and sultanas <laughs>.

Andy Whitbread (UK) Photographer: Kai Taylor

Dragan Stojkovik (Macedonia) Photographer: Filip Shulevski www.youtube.com/gagomkskss

â&#x20AC;&#x153;IF YOU FAIL TO ARE ONLY PREP JJ Goda (UK) www.youtube.com/risingtideproduction Photographer: Ez www.urbanfreeflow.com

O PREPARE, YOU PARED TO FAIL.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH

EDUARD KARYAKIN

BY EZ

Another opportunity to show off......

“OUR ACTIVITIES REVOLVE AROUND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARKOUR AND TRACEURS IN RUSSIA AND THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES.” Eduard Karyakin and I have been friends for a couple of years now.

Aside from being a main voice for Parkour City in Russia, he’s been a vital link in communications between the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) and the rest of the World. So much so, that I refer to him as ‘Mr Fixer’ as his input in providing news and hooking up athletes, has been invaluable.

He’s also a very modest person so persuading him to do this piece was a mission in itself but after much cajoling, he finally relented. For me, the CIS scene is one that is really upping the tempo right now so I thought this would be good to shine some spotlight their way. Instead of doing it via an active high profile athlete, I decided to get the low down from someone who’s involved behind the scenes....

Ed, please introduce yourself…..

Ed: My name is Eduard Karyakin, but to friends I’m known as Ed. I recently turned 21 years old and am currently living in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where I settled down 4 or 5 years ago. I’m originally from Belarus and have been involved in Parkour for about 8 or 9 years.

Where did you first see Parkour?

Ed: I saw the ‘Yamakasi’ movie and In the evening after watching it, I called my friend Anton Kravchenko and proposed that we go climbing at 6 A.M <laughs>. We went to the Veliky Novgorod Drama Theatre which had a 42 metre high column. We climbed up but only got to around 15 metres before getting scared. It then took us about an hour to climb back down <laughs>. This was our first introduction to ‘Parkour’.

You’re heavily involved with Parkour City now. Can you give some background info about it and your level of involvement?

Ed: I came to Parkour City just after it was created in 2008 by Yevgeny Krynin, who is its leader

and inspirer. We are engaged in social non-commercial volunteer work. A great deal is based around this and everything we have achieved, we’ve got by following this route. This way is very hard but it’s been both an interesting and a beautiful journey.

Our activities revolve around the development of Parkour and traceurs in Russia and CIS. To get a real idea of what we are about, you would need to come to Russia and experience it all in person.

I’ll be blunt in saying that the Russian scene is absolutely fucking killing it right now. What’s your own opinion of the Russian scene in general and why do you think so much raw talent is coming out of Eastern Europe at the moment?

Ed: There are many talented guys in CIS and more appear every day. I wonder sometimes why we only get to know about somebody when they are of a very high level. Where did they come from?! We all know that you cannot achieve a good level in just a few days of training but these guys keep appearing out of nowhere with such a strong level. One thing to consider is that not everyone has the ability or the resources to be able to film themselves. They have no real entry into the community and many of them are living in the provinces just doing their own thing. I’d say that there are a huge number of progressive athletes out there who are aged 16-18 years old and soon enough they will start appearing on the radar to make us all notice them.

From the CIS athletes I’ve spoken to about Parkour/Freerunning, I’ve been left with the impression that there’s a real hunger to succeed but also one of frustration at the lack of exposure they receive. Am I right here?

Ed: Not exactly. It’s true that many of them want to be accepted and recognised but it’s not most important thing. The main thing is

to love what you do. On the other hand, Russia is very close to Europe but doesn’t have free entry to it. This is the main reason for the disappointment. You see, guys are often invited somewhere by Europeans but there are many obstacles in the way that block us.

Bureaucracy is killing beauty!

That sucks but you have to keep hope alive. In my opinion there are at least twenty CIS athletes right now, who are capable of dominating the competition circuit if they get the opportunity to step up. Is this a feeling you share?

Ed: I agree. It’s an approximate amount of athletes, who really can make a real impact in the world if they do it together. Moreover they are all friends. I think this amount of athletes will increase to 40-50 quite quickly because there are many young guys appearing with a very high level.

I had a conversation about this with Erik Mukhametshin when we were in Ukraine for the Z Games. He was dismissive of a number of high profile athletes in the World scene and on the surface, it sounded like he was jealous but upon pressing him further, he reeled off names and pinpointed a bunch of faults in their style and technique that showed he’d done his homework in analysing everyone properly. I wish that I’d recorded the chat because it was a fascinating and really intelligent insight. Is his opinion of the better known athletes one that is shared?

Ed: He’s very dedicated and does his homework by studying styles.

His link with society often takes place in a private conversations with other athletes. I think there are some great athletes out there who deserve their profiles but there are quite a few not so great athletes who have a higher profile than their skill warrants. This will change in time when more highly skilled guys step forward.

Right now which athletes do you think are the flag bearers if the CIS movement?

Ed: I can think of many athletes like Erik Muhametshin, Zelimhan Dzhabrailov, Roman Cyganov, Alexandr Zyulev, Alexandr ‘Shade’ Gisych, Mihail ‘Shane’ Grib, Vlad ‘Blade’ Yerovikov, Vlad ‘Tanger’ Amosov, Ivan ‘LowKick’ Savchuk, Dima Belan and Konstantin Kachurin . These are the most well known. Actually, there are many cool guys that are unknown yet in Russia.

Do you think it is important for the CIS countries to step up and leave their mark on the world scene?

Ed: Sure, because there is such a high level of Parkour that can be found in every street here.

Honestly though, we’ve already shaken the world community in ‘offline’ mode. Why should we take part in these more notorious competitions? The whole point is in the visual moment. Everyone watches regular video footage online and from these, they can find out everything they need to know about all the CIS athletes and how they move. So with that in mind, everything has already been proven <laughs>. Sascha ‘Cionn’ Hauser once wrote on Facebook over a year ago “It’s time to get in shape, because we now have real competitors in the scene” after watching a video with Erik Muhametshin and Artem Bashlykov. The process has started and already it’s irreversible.

Thankfully with the power of YouTube, you’ve all had a perfect platform to showcase your talents.

Not only are there some highly talented athletes there, but there are also some fine filmmakers and editors producing great quality work. Why do you think the creative level is so high?

Ed: I don’t really know. We just decided to try and do it better and to strive for better. We have a marvelous operator in Arseny Palivoda and we have a great editor in Boris Romanov. Oh yeah, we also have some amazing athletes <laughs> so with this combination, it’s much easier to produce quality work. One day Arseny said that our first big video ‘Ways of Parkour’ was not so good and that he could do

Life in general is about overcoming obstacles.

Striding between gaps.

“I PERSONALLY HOPE TO NEVER SEE ANOTHER COMPETITIVE BASED PARKOUR SHOW AGAIN.” Andrew Obenreder

much better. This is good because he is a developing director who only strives to be better.

Most recently Bait’s ‘Dont Do It’ video caused a huge stir in the scene. I was at a jam in London and overheard two beginners who were aged about 10 or 11 and they were talking about it and saying “that video was sick!” They even knew his full name (Alexandr Bayturin).

Surely it must be rewarding to know that this kind of work is getting ‘out there’ and making an impact?

Ed: I can’t talk for everybody, but it’s great to hear that the hard work is being appreciated. It gives us much joy to hear about this kind of thing.

Talking of Bait, he was involved in the ‘Life In A Day’ film project that received great critical acclaim around the world. How did he get involved in that?

Ed: If I am not wrong, he and Renat ‘Ren’ Ardilanov were invited to take part in the film by local TV people.

These guys invented and realised their idea and the end result was great. I’m very glad for them.

The first time I met Bait in person was in Belarus for the USSR Freerun Challenge. I thought that he was extremely talented but also a complete lunatic! He cruised through the qualifying round and in the final decided to run barefoot.

At first I thought he was mad but by doing so, it allowed him to really stand out from the crowd and STILL display a very tidy skill level. What is the opinion of him from all the other CIS athletes?

Ed: Honestly, I don’t know…..all athletes are unique in their point of view and training spirit. But when I look at Bait, I always see a smile on his face. It seems that nothing saddens him and he is always happy about everything. He also moves like a beast, so that’s a bonus.

At the same event you were judging along with me and Erik

Mukhametshin. I remember you being very nervous about being a judge. Tell us a bit about the whole experience.

Ed: Oh shit <laughs>. I still have the creeps now because it was hard.

You see, all the athletes were people I know personally and having to judge them was really a difficult thing to do. Sometimes Erik wasn’t happy with some of the decisions but I had to be tough with him and just make him think and decide. On the other hand it gave me a lot in return. When you just watch or take part in the challenge, you think that it is easy to be a judge, but it is hard if you approach it intelligently. Even so, I was happy about the results and my colleagues were happy too, so I think we made everything right in the end. After that event, I was a judge a few more times. Once was with Shade, but for that I wasn’t so nervous thanks to that previous experience in Belarus <laughs>.

Yeah, the Belarus event is still one of my favourites so far. The actual setup was shit and the organisation was terrible but everyone just got on with it without complaining and showed off a really high skill level. Did you enjoy the experience and do you think that the event will happen again next year?

Ed: Yeah it was great but Belarus is a country of big change. Last year everything was different because there was money to make things happen. This year (where you’ve been) there was no money at all.

Will this event happen again next year? That answer is unknown, but we will try to make it happen again with Danil from Minsk.

Talking of events, I’ve been hearing great things about your own ‘Parkour Week’ one. Tell us a bit about it and explain why I’m still waiting for my invite?

Ed: The doors are open any time and this time we’ll call you for sure <laughs>. It will start on 28th of November and end on the 4th of December. ‘Parkour Week’ is as old

“I CAN’T TALK FOR EVERYBODY, BUT IT’S GREAT TO HEAR THAT THE HARD WORK IS BEING APPRECIATED.”

as our organisation. It first happened in 2008 when Daniel Ilabaca came over and at that moment I didn’t know who he was <laughs>. Parkour week is a real week of action from Monday to Sunday. It’s full of different things to do with Parkour. There are festivals, workshops, jams, training sessions etc. I think, it is the most interesting Parkour event in the CIS. For example, last year we organised a presentation of Parkour videos in a giant cinema and this year there will be water Parkour but we’ll talk about that later <laughs>. A lot of known and unknown athletes will come to this event. If you want to experience our Parkour to form your own idea of our community, this is the best time to do it.

At the recent Parkour ‘WeekEND’ event there was a competition called the Phoenix Acrostreet Championship. What’s was that all about?

Ed: Parkour WEEKend consisted of 2 days. The first was just a friendly jam on one of the central squares of the town. The second was a championship in acrostreet monsters. This is where the name comes from. It expresses power, energy and wisdom of technique. It felt like it was a world championship to us. The main idea of the weekend was easy, to spend some time together, chat and learn something new from each other.

Talking of acro, if there’s one thing that people say about the CIS scene that’s negative, it’s that a lot of the athletes do too many tricks and not enough Parkour. Why is that?

Ed: I think it is connected to our architecture. We don’t have a lot of really great places for movement. It sounds like an excuse and I thought about it negatively some time ago too. But now I understand why.

Also, the mentality of Russian practitioners is to start learning the most difficult things first <laughs>.

They all want to be the best, do you understand? Of course it is a

A Zen moment on the grass.

“IT’S NATURAL THAT BEGINNERS WANT TO REPEAT THE COOLEST MOVES AND WHAT LOOKS MORE COOL THAN ACROBATICS <LAUGHS>?”

Flips are not a part of Parkour but they sure are fun to do.

Hanging around waiting for the ferry to arrive.

mistake that acrobatics is the top of the skills but visually it is impressive and technically difficult. It’s natural that beginners want to repeat the coolest moves and what looks more cool than acrobatics <laughs>?

Hmmm that’s interesting. Let’s look at St Petersburg as an example, are there facilities available to practise Parkour or is it purely a street thing?

Ed: St Petersburg is a real city of Parkour, though it has bad ground, from the point of view of bureaucracy and physical sport youth policy. That is why we call ourselves Parkour City. Here was built the first Parkour park in Russia back in 2008. Now we have 3 parkour parks here, but one of them doesn’t reach the required level, but the fact is that we have it. We have 4 street areas that are built very well and they are very popular. There are even classes where Parkour is studied, but we think it is not the most important thing in its development.

Do government officials recognise what you do as legitimate or is it a constant struggle?

Ed: It is no good fighting with us. A long time ago we showed them our ability to work in the social field and we’ve led some important projects here. Thanks to this, the officials can’t treat us as nobody’s. We can’t be driven out by a policeman from the place we train or to be taken to a police station, like how it happened in Minsk, Belarus. More likely we will ask the policeman to step away, so that he will not disturb the jump.

We can get support only with a fight, but we already mastered this skill <laughs>. But we work very well and once we got a document that says “we recommend the executive power of Russia to admit Parkour useful”. So in Russian Parkour is officially useful <smiles>.

I know from previous discussions we’ve had that you run a program where you teach in a youth offenders facility. Tell us how that works?

Ed: Young people aged 14-15 years who engage in aggressive behavior are sent to a colony. In usual conditions it is possible to direct this aggression through sports but

Taking off during a running pre.

“I WOULD SAY 90% OF MY FRIENDS ON FACEBOOK DO PARKOUR.” Pete Mckee

We told Ed that the sport of surfing the streets on a wooden surfboard would never catch on, but he never listened.

“THE PURPOSE OF OUR PROJECT IS TO GIVE THESE KIDS A POSITIVE WAY TO DIRECT THEIR ENERGY AND CONTROL THEIR EMOTIONS.” some don’t have the facilities and instead, direct the aggression on each other. The purpose of our project is to give these kids a positive way to direct their energy and control their emotions. It has proven to be a big success and at the colony we have constructed a climbing wall and a good Parkour gym.

If really does help because they see us as just normal people. Outside of teaching them Parkour, we tell them about life of freedom through positive sporting activity. We also show our videos and they are surprised because their lives are completely different. They see us as positive role models and hopefully when released, they will follow a similar path to us. It is a very important project for us and I believe it’s good for society as a whole too.

Outside of your own initiatives, is there much support from the media? Do they portray you as being a force of good or just reckless youths?

Ed: Mass media is always a problem here. Even when you give them well thought out and intelligent remarks, they often simply forget or don’t take them into consideration. Most of the time they ask silly questions and right now it isn’t settled in the media in terms of who we are or what we represent. Are we hooligans or saviours? It’s undecided by them and the dust has yet to settle.

Winning the media over is always going to tough. At the end of the day they can print whatever they want regardless. How about commercial interest, have there been TV commercials or movie work for the best athletes?

Ed: Not as much as there could have been. It’s cool to be involved in this kind of thing and when it happens, it happens.

If you could choose which path to go down, how would you like to see Parkour develop in the CIS

territories in the future?

Ed: I’d like to see an organisation being set up that creates conditions for the direction of development in regions, and development of local representatives of the discipline. If it isn’t present, the Parkour develops very locally and in very small steps, instead of being on a large ‘Association’ scale. Attempts have been made and I’m sure something will happen soon enough.

In your own words, tell us a bit about the partnership between UF and PK City?

Ed: It all began about two years back with the introduction of Shade and Erik Muhametshin into the UF All Stars team. Soon enough other Russian athletes were brought on board too and we started to talk together about management and development of various projects in the future. Then we came up with the idea of the FR World Series which would be there to shine spotlight on a selection of athletes who want to be noticed. This project is one that we are patiently waiting for to be realised, because other projects keep getting in the way. But it is still happening. Our cooperation is useful at least simply because it connects Europe and the CIS. It is its most valuable part of our association.

Explain a bit about the new UF CIS project that you are managing?

Ed: The essence is that in the CIS, representation of Urban Freeflow is developed and managed by developers and managers who will create interesting projects to help Parkour develop. It’s a bit early to be speaking about it now though.

Once it’s properly running, the actions will speak louder than words.

How about you? Outside of managing various projects, you’re still an active practitioner, right?

Ed: I’ve trained for a long time

already and now I understand that I didn’t really appreciate that time fully. The vigorous activity at times simply oppresses, because finding time for Parkour is difficult. But nevertheless, I try to train almost every day.

What were your first steps to actually start training and did you step up with a background in any other sport?

Ed: Before I came to Parkour I was engaged in volleyball, basketball, swimming, karate and dancing. My interest in the other disciplines died but Parkour was so accessible when it appeared in my life. It opened wide so many possibilities.

Do you have politics in Russia between different groups or does everyone get along ok?

Ed: Here it is not easy for everyone to get on with each other, but we do try very hard.

What do you enjoy most about Parkour?

Ed: Moving, it’s as simple as that.

I like to move and it has been the same way right from the beginning.

I love our community, because it very open, friendly and almost brotherly. I love boundless possibilities of development which are opened by Parkour. I am really grateful for that.

What do you NOT like about Parkour?

Ed: I don’t like Around-Parkour work, But without that work, Parkour would be nearly impossible and that’s why it is very important, But from time to time I just want to vomit from it <laughs>.

Do you differentiate between Parkour and Freerunning or is it all just movement to you?

Ed: I like to call what I do an Art of Motion, because this term takes disciplines and combines them into one. Besides this, it also enlarges the field of ‘possibilities’ in disciplines.

“PARKOUR WAS SO ACCESSIBLE WHEN IT APPEARED IN MY LIFE.”

Looking at things from a different perspective.

What’s been the best location you’ve seen for Parkour so far and why?

Ed: I don’t really keep impressions of specific spots but I really like this place that we all call ‘The Dragon’. This spot is pretty small but people can do so many things on it so you can really go crazy. It is some kind of kids structure but there are many traceur’s that visit this location.

Where in the World would you most like to visit to train at in the World?

Ed: That would definitely be Lisses, London and Barcelona.

One place is historical and traditional and others I just want to visit. I’ve always wanted to go to London anyway and I want to visit Barcelona because I like the way Parkour is evolving there.

Are there any up and coming athletes in Russia that you think are worth keeping an eye on in the future?

Ed: That would definetly be Aleksey Kovalev(Belarus), Vlad Amosov (Belarus), Vladimir Seredin (Russia), Andrey Morozkin (Ukraine), Vlad Melezhik (Russia), Kirill Lebedev (Russia), Petr Chylukin (Russia), Artem Kyrkov (Russia) Erik Mukhametshin (Russia), Dmitri Perekyta (Russia), Mark Fokin (Russia) Vladimir Vlasenko (Ukraine), Roman Loginovski (Russia), Leonid Blednih (Russia). I probably forgot a bunch of others, sorry.

Is there any person or any team internationally who has really impressed you?

Ed: David Belle inspires me to this day. I was shocked at first when I saw the Spanish community. That is very strong Parkour and their school is based on movement. I am always happy when I see a new video made by the likes of Born To Trace, GUP and there is also an excellent athlete called Santy.

What are your goals with your own Parkour?

Ed: I don’t even know. Every time there is some kind of victory. For example I was afraid of heights in

Supported by the big guns.

“I WANT TO VISIT BARCELONA BECAUSE I LIKE THE WAY PARKOUR IS EVOLVING THERE.”

Give a Russian a set of bars and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll take to them like a duck to water.

the past, but now I don’t remember the last time I feared heights. I am always expanding and training my skills, that is always a victory for me.

Outside of training, what are your interests? I understand that you’re studying for a job in McDonalds?

Ed: Fuck you, Ez! I am just kidding.

I am studying Philosophy at college.

This is my main interest besides Parkour. I also do a bit of news journalism and internet technologies.

What kind of music do you listen to?

Ed: I always listen to something different. I like the kind of music that makes me happy, but lately I’ve been listening to trip-hop and Russian rap.

Do you film and edit your own videos?

Ed: I practically never make videos because I don’t really see any point.

I train mostly, but I will soon be in a new video that is within a new project from South Parkour.ru.

Do you have your own Youtube channel url?

Ed: I don’t have a personal channel but you can basically call Arseniy17 my channel and ParkourBrands (internet store for Parkour clothes and accessories) where I post videos of People that endorse the shop.

Have you ever bailed heavily? If yes, what was it and how bad?

Ed: I haven’t had a lot of injuries but there was one time when I was doing a backflip off a wall. I pushed off but I didn’t start spinning and fell on my back. After that I couldn’t breathe normally for about a year <laughs>. Besides that there were only minor injuries. I do try to be careful.

What has been the most enjoyable experience for you in Parkour so far?

Ed: There was one time when my friends and I didn’t want to go

around this closed market so we went through it. We climbed over the fence and then we heard some guards yelling at us, so we ran and they started chasing us. They cornered us so we had to find a way out. I got very scared at that moment. We ripped a hole in the ceiling and climbed out. After we escaped, the police came and we had to take off our shirts so that they wouldn’t recognise us.

Of course this kind of thing happens all the time but that was the best one that I remember <laughs>.

I value all of them very much.

Thanks for that Ed. Ed: A real pleasure.

Essential links: www.parkourcity.ru www.youtube.com/ParkourBrands www.youtube.com/Arseniy17

If you could pass down any information to beginners now, what would it be?

Ed: I would tell them to always train their basic skills and always be careful and smart with their bodies and their thoughts.

Do you think that you’ll still be involved with Parkour in another 5 or 10 years time?

Ed: I think I will because in this time period I will only get better at Parkour. It is not a sport if your career ends and your only option is to become a teacher and if you don’t even do Parkour. Parkour is very close to the culture of fighting, You always get better and bit by bit you start improving your skills. Right now we like doing very impressive and hard moves such as enormous cat-leaps but in 15-20 years we wont have the same energy, but there is still much to learn in the art of motion.

If there was one thing that you could change about Parkour, what would it be?

Ed: I don’t think that any changes are needed. Everything is evolving in the right way. Actually I would change one thing. I would want people not to use the word Freerun.

Are there any people you want to give a shout out to in the World?

Ed: Yes, to all of my family and friends. I want them all to know that

“WE CLIMBED OVER THE FENCE AND THEN WE HEARD SOME GUARDS YELLING AT US, SO WE RAN AND THEY STARTED CHASING US.”

Standard sideflip.

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