first published on Latitudes.nu
Parkour, the trend that has become a way of life, originated in France. Parkour (or PK for short) is an activity to move from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible principally using the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment. No wonder this art movement has found its way to Indonesia, where obstacles are part of city life. Parkour in the 2000s was one of the most inspiring viral forms and physical art worldwide. Parkour hit the base in Jakarta around 2007, slowly developing into regional subgroups in other regions of Indonesia. Now, communities throughout Indonesia dedicated practice the art of survival in a concrete jungle!
After the film's release, many people have begun to explore this unique way of movement. In Indonesia, the Parkour community took shape in 2007. In 2005, seven Indonesians decided to form a community through an online forum named Parkour.net. In mid-2007, they decided to establish Parkour Indonesia to gather all the Parkour practitioners in the country. Soon after, the regional sub-groups began to form in many cities in Indonesia, such as Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Solo, Malang, Surabaya, Samarinda, Bali, Palembang, Medan, Makassar, etc. I had the chance to see one of these subgroups in action, which is Parkour Jakarta and have a conversation with the head of Pakour Jakarta, Niki.
Parkour is a method of survival, not an organized sport, or as Niki says: "No one form of sport for all." It has no rules or special regulations. the Parkour practitioners strongly oppose any form of competition that you find so often in sport. The most important thing in Parkour is that you must understand your physical limitations, safety aspects and never push you beyond your limits. Although there are some basic movements such as running, jumping, balancing, climbing and rolling. Parkour requires no special clothing or speed; flips and back flips as you can see in many movies are more movements and no obligatory.
For those who are interested in participating or joining Parkour Jakarta, attend the weekly training every Sunday at 09: 00 to 12: 00 at Taman Gelora Bung Karno in Kridaloka, Jakarta. Beginners do not fear, as experienced Parkour trainers to supervise and explain how things work. If you want to be a registered member, you frequently need to attend training during a year, fill out a form, two references have a friend and a member of management Parkour Jakarta, and last but not least, fully show your commitment to the art form.
Until then, there are 47 registered members of Parkour Jakarta. Parkour does not discriminate because they are both members and participants of different ages, men and women. One member, for example, was only five years old! This also applies to your nationality. If you are a non-Indonesian, feel free to join Parkour Jakarta. Sometimes people from England, Germany, Algeria and Brazil join the training.
During training, do not expect to instantly see and do one extreme movements observed in the videos or movies. As this training is intended for beginners, first the basic movements are taught, such as running, jumping (and landing) correctly, rolling and balancing. The repetition of these basic movements is equally essential for beginners and experts.
Normally, Parkour Jakarta trains Taman Kridaloka, but sometimes they practice their moves in other places in Jakarta such as Taman Menteng, Tanjung Priok, Cinere and Kota Tua. I asked Niki experiences using such public places in the concrete jungle of Jakarta. "Yes, as you can guess, we came across some restrictions on certain occasions. Usually, there are security guards tell us that we are not allowed to practice there. We respect that, as is their right to prohibit to go us, "he said. Apart from their weekly workout routine, they also have two major annual events: Jamming Nasional and Urban Fest where Parkour groups throughout Indonesia meet for joint training. Its location changes from year to year.
After seeing the process Parkour Jakarta for three hours straight, I asked Niki its expectations for Parkour especially in Jakarta and Indonesia. "I expect that we will have more participants and those participants understand the true meaning of Parkour. Some people think Parkour is nothing more than running around doing back flips in public without purpose at all, it is wrong. Parkour has meaning; it is a method of survival is for you or helping others. For beginners, I do not think I can give other advice other than not to rush to want to do the extreme, and never get bored in training or practice. "
If you want to learn more about Parkour, do not hesitate to visit their weekly training. If you do not live in Jakarta, you can check availability of regional communities on Parkour Indonesia Fanpage (see regional list of regional communities ). Have fun and stay safe!