Warning: The article contains some French terms. So make sure you pronounce them right .
Parkour : [paʁˈkuʁ] , Traceur : /tʁa.se/
“Bboy? Parkour ?” I was clueless...“Bboy aka breakdance boy. Parkour ? Err, PK? No? C’mon, You gotta kidding me, sista.” Sam, who just turned to 19 years old, rolfed. Suddently, he stood up ran towards the wall at a fast pace, then launched off his left foot and placed his right foot place against the wall finally reaching up and grabbing the top of the wall. Only a few seconds later he catapulted himself to the top of the wall. I was specchless and did realize the human body was capable of so easily defying gravity. Seeing him stand on top of the wall, I was like "What the...".
Instead of simply describing Parkour to me, he provided me with an amazing demonstration. Parkour is essentially the art of movement and using ones body to move through your environment using the surrounding to propel yourself. Its anything from running, jumping, climbing, to crawling depending on the environment. There is nothing reckless or very danger about performing Parkour. All the particpants take care to avoid movements that might cause serious injuries. There is another style called “(Insane) Free running” which may sound more familiar to most people.
Sam started in 2007, after an exchange student from France showed him the basic moves. He connected with Parkour right away and immersed himself in everything Parkour. Parkour videos on YouTibe became his main source of inspiration and teaching. To become a traceur, he first practiced the basic movements like landing, balance, cat balance, and underbar. Then he moved onto higher levels of proficiency such as the Pop vault, 360 vault, 180 vault, lazy vault, amd monkey vault. Only a few months later together with some friends he created the first Parkour group in Vietnam, known as “Forget Gravity” (a name says it all, yeah?). The club is designed to teach beginners the fundamentals of Parkour training, while emphasizing safety and progression. They also organize special training for high level traceurs. The number of member increased surprisingly from 5 members to 50 members ranging from 14 – 24 years old. Quick note: Is Parkour more like a boy thing? There are only 2 girls in the Forget Gravity crew. It may be because girls find it more difficult to attain the skills and ideas of a skilled traceurs.
Parkour seems to be a perfect sport for the Vietnamese youngster since it requires no equipment, only comfortable athletic shoes (sneakers, running shoes, skater shoes, etc). A traceur can always hurt himself, so Sam principally splits his schedule between physical training and skill training. He doesnt compete against other traceurs....“We exchange experience and skills with Bubles – a Haiphong Parkour club. All the traceurs that come to Parkour its not to end up competing against one another but to bring a positive attitude and the expectation of having a great time!”
More facts:
- There are more than 12 Parkour groups in Vietnam.
- Practice Parkour in Hanoi: everyday from 4 -7pm at Thong Nhat park, Ho Chi Minh: every Sunday morning at Lê Thị Riêng Park (CMT8 street, district quận 10)
(Forget Gravity on youtube)
Words: Van Nguyen - J.C
Photography: Forget Gravity