Parkour: Body, mind and soul
The terminology ‘parkour’ is the movement you perform from one point to another by using the fastest way (with your body) to overcome obstacles. The founder of parkour, David Belle is the one that founded the name ‘parkour’, however its existence began ages ago. He coined the term hoping to emphasize the efficiency of moving about without any assistive equipment.
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Besides parkour, an action known as free running was founded by Sebastian Foucan, a friend of David Belle. This, although similar takes on a whole other philosophy. His motive is to ensure that movements be done as an art of freedom, which means the freedom to express themselves. He brought forward this idea when he came to London to do a documentary. In said documentary, he called the activity free running and in it, he added dance movement, creating the notion of it maybe being acrobatics. Due to this, both parkour and free running were differentiated by taking different directions because of their different philosophies. Despite that though, they stem from the same root and eventually, a trend began.
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Another fast paced activity also similar to parkour and free running is Yamakazi. Originating from a French team name, they have 7 to 8 people who participate. Its existence came into play before parkour and free running. In fact, they pioneered the activity, and then later on came parkour and free running which eventually split into different directions each. Yamakazi still exists until now, but with a different name of the movement known as the art of displacement.
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In Penang, there is a whole parkour community. However, four pioneers formed a group known as Tofu Parkour in 2014 as a means of convenience for the public to get access to the hobby. What Tofu Parkour does is provide a learning platform for the community to better understand parkour. Pioneers of Tofu Parkour believed that a solid foundation in understanding it was a must, to protect them from any kinds of injuries before they were ready for training.
Edward Hum Jie Shen, one of the original pioneers, age 29, started this hobby 11 years ago. When Edward graduated from high school, he wanted to participate in a sport but didn’t seem to have anything but running, which he found quite boring. After a period of time, his friend happen to share a YouTube video with him titled "urban ninja". It was about how this group of people did their acrobatics movements or jumps which we only saw in the movies.
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From there he began to realize that there are people who actually do those kind of stunts without being stuntmen. So from that day onward, he begin researching and monkeying around with the hope that he could be able to replicate their moves one day. He began with training alone at any time and place.
Throughout his training course, he slowly found people with similar interests. Slowly, one by one they gathered and eventually formed Tofu Parkour. The name of Tofu Parkour was given based on the dish, tofu. Tofu is a plain dish that can be cooked in several styles, at the same time being nutritious and healthy to consume. Both its physical appearance and taste is different.
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According to Edward, that analogy applies to parkour. This is because when people observe it from outside it looks simple, mimicking kids play maybe. But as you submerged yourself deeper within it, it becomes obvious it is something strong and solid, making people who do it powerful. The name in itself is a strategy to draw attention.
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Besides that, parkour isn’t a gender centric hobby. In fact, it is society’s view that make it so. Parkour is opened to anyone regardless of gender or age. To them, gender and age should not be an excuse to skip the hobby if it is something you’re really interested in. Even if you are a couch potato, it is never too late to start parkour. You gotta get yourself into a regular training routine to build the foundation from ground up.
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Another stereotype is that parkour is a dangerous hobby. However, Edward thinks otherwise as he believes the risks and challenges are just as many with any other extreme activity. According to him all hobbies possess a chance for you to get hurt, but parkour has the lowest risk among them as traceurs (people who do parkour) will be taught to control their own body.
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To motivate himself, Edward draws inspiration from the pioneers of parkour as well as from the videos other people take showcasing their moves. When it comes to challenges, through parkour Edward found out that fear exists. In order to overcome that fear, Edward suggested that one has to understand what is the risk that he/she is signing up for, then it is about levelling one’s confidence with his/her ability, risk management and finally taking precautions when performing a movement.
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Of course there is always a probability of failing. Nothing’s guaranteed in life, isn't it? Even the best stuntman in the world could fail to perform a stunt. The same applies to Edward. When he first started out, he sprained his ankle. Besides that, till today he still gets blisters on his hands as well as bruises here and there occasionally. After that, Edward began emphasizing his own safety during training. He created his own training program, building up his strength step by step to make sure that his body is ready to receive impact during landing and falling.
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The most important thing in parkour is not merely physicality, but 3 fundamental elements. First of all, you need to have a strong physique, which you can gain from exercising and constant training. Secondly, mentality, how to push yourself, how to prevent yourself from being lazy, how to motivate yourself. Third, emotionally you have to ask yourself how you’re feeling today. How are you going to do this, what do you think and what do you see. Nowadays, people hardly focus on this and they prefer just getting it done. Tofu Parkour focuses on your overall body condition, so that you will enjoy the sport.
According to Edward, parkour changed him a lot in his daily life. Parkour actually helped him build up self-discipline which enabled him to manage his time well. Apart from that, parkour made him healthier than before. As traceurs constantly train they become physically fit. Becoming better physically also decreases their chances of depression and anxiety. It also helps them build up social relationships with their teammates and provide a good environment mentally because no one will be left out.
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Tofu Parkour’s vision is to be careful of anything they want to try out and always put safety first. This is because social media portrays the sport as a bunch of people doing crazy stunts in order to get attention. They make parkour a little bit more extreme than it needs to be, but the actuality isn’t the same. The exception is for those that have a motive to procure followers or views. Basically what we see in the movies, isn’t what actually happens when people do parkour.
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Simple clothes with a pair of comfy shoes are enough for traceurs. But if they are following what’s trending, then you would see them in baggy pants. The sports in itself carries its own trend that often changes from time to time. But at the end of the day, as long as they wear comfortable clothes that help them move around, it would suffice. When traceurs train, they like to wear clothes that are light and simple. Sometimes, they also train barefoot because it’s easy on the legs and ankles. Understanding their feet is important because when it comes to landing and falling, their muscles will know just how to react in order to protect them from injuries.
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Parkour is a hobby that requires traceurs to train outdoor. However, as time moves, people are looking to find a way to do it indoor. These innovations are fascinating, however philosophically, it is best done outdoor, in order to practice it at maximum capability.
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The biggest gap between parkour in Malaysia and aboard would be the facilities, the willingness of people to invest their time into learning this as well the public’s perception of parkour. In Malaysia, parkour is not as extreme as western countries.
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In United Kingdom, parkour has been clarified as a sport, however has not been approved yet by United States and other countries. Ever since that endorsement, the chances of it expanding is higher now than before in order for people to take it more seriously. In the future, Edward’s hopes are that the government recognizes it as a sport in Malaysia and that everyone is given equal opportunities to participate in it.