Bandar Seri Begawan - It Is an urban sport in many parts of the world, an art or philosophy in others but in Brunei, parkour is becoming an alternative fitness activity which is listed under Brunei Adventurous Recreational Association (Bars) and generating interests among the country's adventurous youths.

The simplest term for parkour is that it is the quickest and possible way to get from Point A to Point B. Along the way you will find obstacles and it's all about how you use them (to get to your goal - Point B)." said 27-year-old Shafique Hussain who has been doing_ parkour for the past year.

He is currently training to prepare himself for a course whereby upon passing would make him a certified trainer. He did his basic training in the UK.

Parkour includes doing a lot of jumping. climbing and crawling combination to name a few.

According to Shafique. parkour is going to be the next big thing in Brunei in terms of fitness - currently there are five active traceurs (parkour practitioners) who train with him and three more have recently joined.

He has tried everything from playing sports to working out in the gym and has finally found something that suits his lifestyle and is committed to Similar to martial arts. parkour improves one's control and discipline and it takes a lot of time and determination to roaster. It's not an elitist sport as everyone can do it a man from Britain does parkour and he has a prosthetic arm and another one who just recovered from a knee injury. said Shafique.

This is possible because in parkour, one puts emphasis on conditioning as well.

"You can get really fit! For me I use different movements for my upper body. my mid core and my legs," said Shafique anc he pointed out that all one needs is his or her own bode and the mind to advance and reach the goals that are set training the mind and body to become stronger and alert. For the hardcore tracers they might use gloves to protect their hands and get a better grip on surfaces.

"Parkour is natural and is about being free." he said.

"What is also fun about parkour is that I go places that people don't go." he said claiming to make use of compact space that at first look may seem boring but is actually suitable for parkour training, such as specific areas around the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in. One does not aced any specific equipment to train or practise parkour, however, beginners should train indoors.

"It's better for them to train within a gym with a padded area. In the event that they do fall, they won't sustain massive injuries," he advised.

Twenty-one-years-old Saleha Jabar and her friends view parkour as an art of movement and is a form of therapy for her to release stress.

"I've tried many kinds of sports. Football, basketball, tennis, badminton and even the extreme sports like skateboarding. I've tried them all. I was a sprinter back in high school and everytime I ran on the track. I felt like I was flying. The feeling's just indescribable and then I watched Yamakasi and I fell in love with parkour/ free running immediately. I remember the moment I saw the Yamakasi boys running so last, overcoming obstacles oh-soefficiently. I was amazed. I thought to myself. 'I gotta do this"

Yamakasi is the name of the group and title of the French film which popularised parkour.

Just like Shafique, she (lid her research online before attempting the movements in her own backyard before moving to a bigger area.

She named the National Stadium and also Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) as some of the best places one can parkour. Shafique is good, we've never met before but I've seen his videos on YouTube," said Saleha who often turns to watching advanced traceurs for tips and techniques.

She has made friends across the world through her passion for parkour and is close with the traceurs in Malaysia.

"For us parkour is not about competing against one another to see who's better or who's faster and whatnot. Parkour is all about unity, sharing ideas, knowledge and experiences with each other. We help each other out."

Also, the best thing about parkour is that there is no rules and traceurs can trove in any style or way - it's all about freedom of movement. It's also something that anyone with determination can do regardless of age, gender, race and religion.

"There's one girl in KL. she wears tudong when training and the last lime I did mini demo in UBD I wore tudong." she said. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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