Unleash your inner superhero
Stephen Heard overcomes some obstacles and entertains strangers during his first attempt at parkour.
Who knew that hopping between rocks could be so physically demanding? Parkour is a full body discipline and the days after, my muscles certainly let me know about it.
Often considered by onlookers as aimless leaping, climbing and commando rolling, parkour was officially recognised as a sport in Britain this year. Sport NZ also acknowledged Parkour NZ as the national organisation for the activity. It’s making leaps and bounds.
Born from military obstacle course training and popularised by online videos, it uses enhanced movements, like leaping, climbing and rolling, to tackle obstacles, such as stairwells, walls and kerbs. I was told to bring an open mind and to wear light, nonrestrictive clothing. The beauty of parkour is that it’s not confined to any one location.
No pitch, no court, no rink; it’s acrobatic and creative freemovement that can be done practically anywhere obstacles present themselves. On this occasion, I would be completing an informal, introductory ‘‘jam’’ at Auckland’s Victoria Park, a bonafide parkour playground complete with leap-able boulders, a skate park with numerous ledges and ramps to hang and swing, and a humungous log screaming to be jumped off.
But before all that I had to learn the fundamental parkour safety roll which is used to minimise impact on the body on landing.
For my first attempt I started from a kneeling position, before rolling forwards onto my forearm and following through across the shoulder and back – effectively taking the childhood forward roll and streamlining it so there’s more control and limited pressure on the neck and head. With a loose version of the safety roll under my belt, it was time to confront some obstacles with dynamic movement.
Think balancing on wooden bollards, vaulting over a power box and attempting to hop between boulders. Bystanders seemed confused that two grown men were repeatedly leaping over a grey metal cube – selfconsciousness is another obstacle for participants to get over.
The main event was to jump and transition into a safety roll from the giant log.
My first landing threw the rulebook out the window and resulted in a solid impact from the feet to knees.
The second was more of a stepby-step run through than one fluid motion. It would do in this instance. STEPHEN HEARD Who knew that hopping between rocks could be so physically demanding? Parkour is a full body discipline and the days after, my muscles certainly let me know about it. Parkour NZ CEO Damien Puddle says fitness isn’t the core purpose of parkour.
‘‘Sustained parkour training certainly increases people’s fitness, but as a lifestyle sport, akin to surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, BMX, etc. The physical benefits often come secondary to other motivations for participation.’’
He also states that the preparation for parkour is ‘‘more about mental preparation and attitude and not comparing yourself to others.’’ Because parkour comes with such an open brief, participants have control of the obstacles and intensity that they want to practise. Like any physical activity there is a risk of injury. Puddle says that ‘‘scrapes, bumps and bruises are part of the territory.’’
‘‘Serious injuries are few and far between if you train at your level. You’re in control of your actions, so you get to choose the obstacles and movements, and you get to choose the intensity level at which you train. That means if you’re uncomfortable with something you can just say no.’’ Visit Parkour NZ for more information.