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Kate
met up with the founders of Lincoln's very own Parkour club to find
out a little more about the sport, and what on earth possesses someone
to want to throw themselves off a building.
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| Approaching
the wall |
Developed
during the late 1980s in Lisse, France, Parkour, or Free-running
as it is otherwise known, involves what can best be described as
urban street acrobatics. The experts resemble something you might
see in a comic or blockbuster film, their antics seeming almost
super human as they "leap tall buildings in a single bound"
and back-flip, roll and balance over any piece of "street furniture"
available (that's benches, railings and walls to you and me).
Le
Parkour was first introduced to the UK in the BBC documentary "Rush
Hour" and has since been featured in a host of television commercials
and on Channel 4 in "Jump London" and "Jump Britain".
Such programmes have seen interest in the sport soar to dizzying
heights (much like the practitioners themselves), and its fair to
say that the craze has now begun to take the UK by storm.
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| Along
the wall |
Some
of the latest recruits to the sport are a group of lads from Lincoln.
The group started via the message boards at www.parkour.org.uK
Interest from around the county has been growing and there is now
talk of more organised meetings between free-runners from around
the county.
One
of the things which has helped the sport's mass appeal is the ease
of getting started. Aside from the necessity for protective padding
for the more adventurous runner, no specialist equipment is required
for Le Parkour.
Potential
free-runners, (or "Traceurs"), need to be aware of the
risks involved and act safely; stretching, learning how to fall
and roll correctly to minimise risk, and being aware of their own
limitations. Practising in a controlled environment with crash mats,
or on soft surfaces like grass is recommended. Runners also recommend
not practising in confined spaces, (such as the living room sofa,
so I'm told), as this tends to create greater opportunities for
injury.
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| A
perfect manoeuvre |
The
recent documentary "Jump Britain" featured the sport's
co-founder Sebastien Foucan with a host of free-runners from the
UK, showing off their talent at landmarks across the UK; from Edinburgh
Castle and the Forth Rail Bridge, to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium
and London's South Bank. There are no plans for anything similar
in Lincoln as yet. The lads feel they need a fair bit of practice
before being able to match the skills of the likes of Foucan, who
has been involved in the sport for almost 20 years. For now we will
just have to watch this space.
Thanks
to Ed, Kirk, Fu and Scott for their help and involvement.
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