Parkour:
Youths jump over city walls
High
flyer: A member of a parkour community
jumps over a wall in Kuningan, South Jakarta, recently. As part of the
community, parkour hobbyists explore human agility, learning how to jump and
climb using certain techniques. (JP/J. Adiguna)
They climb, they jump, they land and
they fly. Taking inspiration from France, youngsters in Jakarta befriend the
city's walls, learn about discipline and boost their self-esteem.
The youths are ordinary people
living ordinary lives, but they push past doubts and boundaries because of an
urban sport known as parkour.
Jakartans can watch them practice
every Sunday morning at Senayan Sports Complex in Central Jakarta or the
Soemantri Brodjonegoro arena in Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Parkour was founded by David Belle
in France in the mid-80s.
The aim of the urban sport is to
move from one point to another efficiently and quickly, using agility and the
nimbleness of the human body.
Male parkour practitioners are
called traceurs, and female practitioners are called traceuses.
Belle spread the trend worldwide
through Yamakasi, a French film about a group of traceurs bounding across
Paris' urban reality, stealing from the rich to pay for medical bills.
At full stretch: A parkour community member stretches before attempting to
jump a wall. (JP/J. Adiguna)
In Indonesia, an interest in parkour
stirred among the urban youth in 2003. There were no official communities of
the sport, however, until July 2007, after seven Indonesia parkour en-thusiasts
met in an parkour Internet forum.
After some chats, they launched the
Indonesian Parkour Community website, parkourindonesia.web.id.
"Today, there are parkour
communities located in as many as 14 cities in Indonesia, with around 500
members in total," Muhammad Fadli, a founding member, said at a weekly
work-shop in Kuningan recently.
The national community keeps in
touch, mainly through the Internet, and sometimes arranges to visit each
other's cities to conduct joint training sessions.
Despite the growing popularity of
the sport, there are still a lot of misunderstanding in Indonesia regarding the
philosophy and essence of parkour.
"Parkour is often considered an
extreme sport, but it is not despite the athleticism elements," Fadli
said.
"It is an art form, in which we
can learn a lot about life, discipline and self-esteem."
He said parkour had not only
improved his health, but also changed his way of thinking and his perspective
of life.
"I became a more positive
person. The aim of parkour is to look for better and efficient ways to reach
your goals, which I apply to real life, whether it is in work, relationships or
problem solving," he said.
Abeng, a marketing agent who joined
the community four months ago, agreed with Fadli. He said he had learned more
from parkour than simply how to run, jump and slide more quickly.
"I learned how to take
responsibility. Because if you force yourself to perform a technique you
haven't mastered, you'll end up injuring yourself," Abeng said.
"Like in real life, for every
action you take there is a cost to pay, so you have to know your limitations,
accept it, but also train harder to be better."
Fadli and Abeng said they hoped the
public would see the discipline of parkour as more than just a bunch of men and
women running around in jumpers, gazing at the city and leaping through the
concrete jungle.
"In France, Parkour is used as
a self-development and confidence building method for prison inmates,"
Fadli said.
"I hope people can appreciate
the philosophy and essence of the art."
Fadli said that for now, the
Indonesian Parkour Community will focus on physical development rather than
technique.
"We have only been training for
a year, while it takes years to master the skills of the parkour showcased in
Yamakasi or on YouTube videos," he said.
"We know our limitations.
Hopefully, with constant discipline, we can finally express our art through
exploring Jakarta." (hdt)
Direct
speech :
- "Today, there are parkour communities located in as many as 14 cities in Indonesia, with around 500 members in total," Muhammad Fadli, a founding member, said at a weekly work-shop in Kuningan recently.
Simple
present : (S+ to be (am/is/are) +
adj/n/adv)
- "Parkour is often considered an extreme sport, but it is not despite the athleticism elements," Fadli said.
Simple
present : (S+ to be (am/is/are) +
adj/n/adv)
- "I became a more positive person. The aim of parkour is to look for better and efficient ways to reach your goals, which I apply to real life, whether it is in work, relationships or problem solving," he said.
Present continous : (S+ to be (am/is/are)+V-ing)
- "I learned how to take responsibility. Because if you force yourself to perform a technique you haven't mastered, you'll end up injuring yourself," Abeng said.
Future Continous : (S +
will/shall + be + V-ing)
- "Like in real life, for every action you take there is a cost to pay, so you have to know your limitations, accept it, but also train harder to be better." He said.
Simple
present tense : (S+ to be (am/is/are) +
adj/n/adv)
"In
France, Parkour is used as a self-development and confidence building method
for prison inmates," Fadli said.
- "We have only been training for a year, while it takes years to master the skills of the parkour showcased in Yamakasi or on YouTube videos," he said.
Present prefect : (S +
have/has + V3)
Indirect speech :
- He said parkour had not only improved his health, but also changed his way of thinking and his perspective of life.
Past Perfect Tense : (S + had + V3)
- He said he had learned more from parkour than simply how to run, jump and slide more quickly.
Past Perfect Tense : (S + had + V3)
- Fadli and Abeng said they hoped the public would see the discipline of parkour as more than just a bunch of men and women running around in jumpers, gazing at the city and leaping through the concrete jungle.
Past
future tense : (S + would/should + be +
adj/n/adv)
- Fadli said that for now, the Indonesian Parkour Community will focus on physical development rather than technique.
Simple
present : (S+ to be (am/is/are) +
adj/n/adv)
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