Parkour jumps to popularity in UAE

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)The sport of parkour is vaulting jumping and climbing its way to popularity in the UAE.

Parkour in essence is a non-competitive sport in which the momentum of the human body is used to transport oneself between two locations navigating over and around any obstacles by running climbing swinging or vaulting.

The sport originated with Georges Herbert a French naval officer who advocated a form of athleticism he first encountered among indigenous tribes in Africa. Parkour was then reborn as a sport in the 1980s before attracting followers around the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Now the sport is growing popular in the UAE particularly along the Corniche in Abu Dhabi and in the JBR and Marina areas of Dubai.

Iyad al Mrouj a 19-year old Jordanian expatriate in Abu Dhabi said he sees parkour as an expression of himself.

"The definition you get from everyone is that parkour is getting from point A to point B. But I really think of it differently" he said. "Through parkour you can express yourself through movement. It has to be the most pure expression."

Mrouj said that like many 'traceurs' - as practitioners of the sport are known - he was first exposed to parkour through the web.

"I got introduced to the sport through the internet and videos that are on YouTube" he said. "This was five or six years ago."

"Now more people have joined parkour. It's a cool thing" he added. "There are even people making a living out of it in the UAE."

The sport has a significant following in the UAE. The UAE parkour club boasts over 5500 followers on Facebook and local practitioners have been hired to appear in commercials for the soft drink Rani Float and in a music video for Haifa Wehbe a popular Lebanese singer and actress.

Additionally UAE parkour has worked with companies including Etisalat Head and Shoulders Porsche the Yas Marina Circuit and Dubai Marina Mall.

Al Mrouj noted that his favourite aspect of parkour is the sense of community he's discovered.

"You can go to any city in the world and find people to do parkour with" he said. "Someone is always ready to let you sleep at their place."

In the UAE parkour "jams" - in which groups of people come together to practice their moves -- are held every Friday mostly on the Abu Dhabi Corniche. Additionally classes are regularly held at Adrenagy Gym in Khalifa Park.

"Parkour is like a family" Al Mrouj said. "When people come together and train we have fun and people join the family."

NATION

Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues politics technology aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London.