| Parkour and Freerunning Safety | • Parkour and Freerunning is NOT about death-defying stunts or rooftop jumps. It is about freedom of movement
• Don’t be misled by film and TV. Almost all stunts are performed under specific safety measures.
• Seek out professional instruction wherever possible
• If you are uncertain of your ability, don’t try the trick
• Evaluate the hazards beforehand
• Beginners are advised to work in groups and practice frequently with more experienced Traceurs.
• Sebastien Foucan may leap over rooftops – but he has 16 years Parkour experience! |
Kieran Kiyani, 18, Chris Bamber, 22, and Jamie Reynolds, 17, – a.k.a Team Sinister – showed their pioneering Parkour talents to the applause of the mass audience. Freerunning – the combination of Parkour, martial arts and outrageous acrobatics - is gaining popularity among many young people. Hundreds of youngsters turned up to watch the performance of the Subversive Sports in the City Project at Urbis. One keen kid even joined in with an unrehearsed – and thankfully successful - wall flip. Trickin’ Time The Urbis project had renowned DJ Elliot Eastwick presenting as Kieran, Chris and Jamie drew the eager swarm of onlookers around the area to a showcase of wall-flips, vaults and, in Chris’s case, daredevil splits, to the sympathetic winces of the crowd.
 | | It takes skill! |
Team Sinister – all from Blackburn – kept the crowd entertained for over half an hour, and to judge by the state of the Traceurs (Parkour Practitioners) afterwards, flipping, splitting and wall-kicking sure looks exhausting work! The mischievous lads even managed to trick off the back of an anonymous truck. "I hope you don’t mind," laughed Elliot Eastwick to a surprised house-owner as the boys hang onto his wrought-iron window cages, "but these guys are just tricking off your windows." But how does this compare to other sports? | "I hope you don't mind... but these guys are just tricking off your windows." | | Elliot Eastwick offers a quick apology to one local resident |
"You have to put a hundred percent into the moves," says Chris, who's been tricking for a year. "Everything is an obstacle to overcome." Jump! 91Èȱ¬ viewers will remember the 91Èȱ¬ Rush Hour trail where Parkour creator David Belle jumped across London’s rooftops just so he could get home to watch TV. The success of the advert was followed by the Jump London and Jump Britain programmes, hosted by Parkour co-creator Sebastien Foucan.
 | | Chris' trademark trick |
The success of Freerunning has also led the practitioners to be used as stuntmen/women in Hollywood blockbusters such as the latest James Bond flick Urban-atic "In 2004, I made a film for Urbis called The City As Playground", Elliot Eastwick commented. "It was about how various Urban Sports [freerunning/skate/bmx] use the landscape and architecture of the city for self expression and enjoyment." "Freerunning attracted the most interest from the general public." And what did Team Sinister think of their Manchester performance? "Pretty good," says Chris. "Wicked," added a tired Kieran. "Good fun," said Jamie. | 
