Parkour all is about quickly moving around, often in an urban environment, by running, jumping and vaulting in ways that appear quite dangerous.
Parents don’t like it.
Or do they?
“Kids are going to be climbing on stuff anyway,” said parkour enthusiast Jordan Westad. “We as parkour athletes, we do a lot of falling and we get really, really good at it. So if anything, we’re safer because we have much more practice in dealing with falls.”
Westad and his partners are about to open up a gym in Saskatoon called Empire Parkour, and they recently invited children to come to a park for a sneak preview. Parents brought their children to learn how to climb, jump and fall safely.
Do it right
“The kids are the one already climbing trees and jumping off the couch anyway. The kids are the ones who see it online and go, ‘That’s super cool. That’s something I want to learn to do.’ So we want to provide opportunity for them to be able to learn how to do it right,” said Westad.
People take risks everyday.– Jordan Westad
There are thousands of Parkour videos on YouTube. Many are not for the faint of heart, as young people navigate urban environments, sometimes at great heights.
The risks are not any different from many other daily tasks, according to Westad.
“Going down the stairs is dangerous. Driving is dangerous if you don’t know how to do it. How is this any different?” he asked. “Don’t do things you don’t know how to do. Learn how to do them first and then they’re not dangerous.”
Not your routine workout
Children and adults are signing up for parkour because they are looking for new ways to be active, that’s different from the regular gym routine, Westad said.
“Parkour puts a little bit more variety in there and allows them to have fun with the fitness.”
Empire Parkour has been hosting events in Saskatoon all summer to drum up support for its new dedicated gym. It’s set to open in the fall, and more than 200 people have already signed up, according to Westad.