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ShareHave you ever seen lean figures jumping overtrash cans and high walls with ease and wondered who they were? They are followers of Parkour, the latest fad among the youth. Aastha Atray Banan reports
What is Parkour?
The term parkour was defined by DavidBelle and his friend Hubert Koundé. It derives from parcours du combattant, the classic obstacle course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert.
Koundé, who is not himself a traceur, took the word parcours, replaced the 'c' with a 'k' to suggest aggressiveness, and removed the silent 's' as it opposed parkour's philosophy about efficiency. Parkour is an athletic discipline in which practitioners, called traceurs, aim to move from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.
The most recent Bond movie Casino Royale opens with an exciting chase scene. Daniel Craig, aka Bond, is running after a tall, lean man who seems to be defying the force of gravity.
The scene works to great effect because it's crude, realistic yet extremely graceful. That's because the man is Sébastien Foucan, the founder of free running, also known as Parkour.
Originally founded by stuntman and physical educator David Belle, Parkour is an athletic discipline in which practitioners, called traceurs, aim to move from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.
It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment -- from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls.
So if you've seen lean figures jumping over trash cans and high walls with ease and wondered who they were, now, you know. They are traceurs, and though most of us may regard them as foolish daredevils, they are just are expressing themselves in a unique way.
The fad seems to be catching up with astonishing rapidness among the Indian youth, especially in Mumbai. Akshat Bhargav, 19, and Suraj Mandal, 18, are the founders of the group XTM, which stands for Xtreme Traceurs Mumbai.
Though the group comprises just around 15 members, Akshat is optimistic, "Every week, at least two people want to join. But they really have to love this. Most of them leave when they realise they can't handle it."
The group usually meets in Navi Mumbai, because the buildings provide them with "support". "In Navi Mumbai, the architecture helps us as there are many parapets, ledges and stairs," says Suraj, who took up Parkour as he had never been good at "mainstream sports".
The boys have also been at the receiving end of criticism from their neighbours and parents. "When we fell, everyone said we deserved it. Though it started with scepticism from the elders, they now applaud us. But we try and avoid them as far as possible and practice only at the crack of dawn," he adds.
So what is it about Parkour that attracts these boys? While Suraj often imagines himself as a superhero, his pal Akshat, who is suffering from a broken collarbone because he lost his focus for just a minute, says, "It has made me proud of myself, as every time I do this, I hold myself in high esteem."
The trend is not just confined to Mumbai. Delhi boy Pankaj Rai, 20, who heads Team Mutant -- a bunch of six youngsters who live their life for Parkour, is one dedicated traceur. It all started when he saw the documentary Jump London, which featured Foucan.
The rest, as they say, was history. He finds it hard to explain the feeling when he practises the art, "It makes me feel free." His emotions find an echo in Ashwin Mohan's life too.
A martial arts coach in Bangalore, Ashwin taught himself Parkour through the internet and friends, and now has students of his own. Though he isn't accredited by any organisation, Ashwin regards that as the "beauty of it all".
"The best part about this art is that it does not belong to any organisation. Hence, there is no competition. It's purely for self pleasure. If tomorrow someone does open an organisation of some sort, true traceurs are never going to join." For Ashwin, Parkour has helped him in his day-to-day life.
"As there is such a high risk factor, there's a heightened sense of alertness. You only focus on the positive. Instead of telling yourself, 'I am going to fall', you say 'this is how I am going to make a perfect landing'."
But if the risk factor is so high, isn't there a need for some special training? Ashwin disagrees, "That is the nature of this art. What one does need is high level of physical fitness." What binds the whole Parkour community together is their will to be free. It's all about being positive and about stretching your mind to infinite possibilities.
As American stuntman Evel Knievel had once said, "I'm not a stuntman, I am an explorer."
b_aastha@dnaindia.net
