Taking the path less travelled

Learnt on websites and popularised by commercials and YouTube, Parkour takes the meaning of concrete jungle literally, with followers scaling walls, ledges, rails and other urban fixtures.

Arjun Bhuptani practices parkour tricks near the Corniche in Abu Dhabi August 15, 2008.

ABU DHABI // While other teenagers are passing the summer on the sofa, a small group of friends are leaping off walls, walking atop guardrails and jumping from pedestrian underpasses. Made popular by videos on YouTube and by websites devoted to the sport, Parkour is the art of getting from one point to another by travelling over, above and around obstacles - from benches to concrete walls - as efficiently as possible.

And Abu Dhabi's parks, underpasses and ledges provide a veritable playground for the urban gymnasts. "The Corniche is one of the best places to free run," said Arjun Bhuptani, 14. "So is Madinat Zayed, and if you go there, you'll see why. There are a lot of ledges that you can use." His friend John Whitworth, 14, agrees. "In Abu Dhabi, you have a lot of open spaces and underpasses." The two teenagers have started the UAE Parkour club, which meets every Friday night so members can hone their skills.

A Frenchman, David Belle, founded Parkour in 1988, and it has since become a worldwide phenomenon. Mr Belle, from Paris, has likened Parkour to a martial art, saying it teaches practitioners self-confidence and helps them to conquer their fears. UAE Parkour began about four months ago after Arjun and John made a movie - inspired by the video game Free Running on the PS2 - for their school's film festival. The movie took a month to create and the boys walked away with the top prize.

The boys learnt the basic gymnastic moves from websites devoted to the extreme sport. Arjun said there were about a half a dozen Parkour aficionados, called traceurs, in the UAE. They were scattered between Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, and met via their website. Another 20 people have expressed interest in learning more about Parkour, and the group is now trying to organise a UAE-wide gathering.

"Compared to David Belle, I am really a beginner, but watching other people in the group, I'm getting pretty good. I think I could get to an intermediate level if I keep practising," John said, as Arjun jumped over a pedestrian fence and dropped to the underpass below, then balanced on vertical handrails and tried to run up a wall. John recited Parkour's prevailing philosophy: "No matter the obstacle, there's always a way to get around it."

The moves, he said, were deceptively simple, and the trick was learning to conquer fear. "Arjun taught me everything I know. He is better than me, but I have less fear. I just go for it." Injuries do happen, Arjun said, adding that he sprained his ankle while trying to jump between two walls at home. Although there have been reports of several deaths, most injuries are minor and range from sprains to pulled muscles and bruises.

"Most injuries happen because people try to do too much too soon." Parkour is not about mastering a particular trick or obstacle. Rather, it is about perfecting simple gymnastic moves and learning how to segue between obstacles - rolling over a bench, climbing up a wall, clinging to the edge and then balancing on a beam in one fluid movement. Arjun said: "It's about learning the basics. If you don't learn that, you can seriously hurt yourself."

John could not practise his moves this week because he had pulled a muscle in his left arm. It had been a jump gone awry, he said. "I was doing a cat leap jump between two walls. My feet landed on the wall and I slipped." How high were the walls? "Two storeys." John has received about five minor injuries since he took up the sport. "My mother doesn't really want to know about it." But if he were not jumping off ledges, he would probably be at home on the sofa, he said.

"I guess she's glad to have me out of the house and doing something." [e-mail]