Jump Magazine Issue 11

STANDARD

ISSUE STREET SURVIVAL

GEAR SINCE

2003

Welcome friends, How many of you have already broken your New Year’s resolutions? Actually, don’t bother answering that. Let’s just move on and get stuck straight into 2011.

When we started this mag a year ago, we knew that the notion of a dedicated Parkour & Freerunning magazine would go down well, but never expected things to blow up as big as they have globally. It’s been a steep learning curve for sure, but the positive responses we continually receive from everyone only serve to drive us on. ez@urbanfreeflow.com www.facebook.com/ezstyla www.urbanfreeflow.com www.facebook.com/urbanfreeflow www.twitter.com/urbanfreeflow www.youtube.com/glyphmedia

Issue 11 Contributors: Brad Wendes Josefo Robledo Ryan Ford François Constant Kai Taylor Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora Brendan Dudley Arturo Méndez Maya Magdalena Ruseva Richard Dawson Tomasz Gudzowaty Chad Bonanno Thanda Mutero James Baldwin John ‘Kerbie’ Kerr Arya Tabandehpour Filip Tuhy Cameron Linturn Ron A. Romero Paulo Victor

Front cover athlete: Thomas Tapp www.tappbrothers.com

So what’s in store for this year? Well as far as this mag goes, we’re lining up a whole bunch of interesting features that will shine a heavy spotlight on athletes, teams, events and international scenes. We’ll be pressure testing loads of products as per norm and will be running features on training drills and hotspots. We also want to tap into the culture side of things from within the scene. Whether that’s through music, writing, artwork, graphic design, clothing etc, as far as we’re concerned, anything that’s relevant to PK/FR is fair game to be featured here.

Constantly, we’re asked when we’ll be bringing out a print version of the mag and the blunt answer is that we won’t be. We feel that a standard printed publication is extremely limited in terms of the amount of people who can view it and in how the contributors and featured athletes can benefit directly. By keeping it digital, we’re able to provide highly valued clickable links to websites, Youtube channels and Facebook pages. So for everyone who’s involved, it’s a win win situation because they all benefit from the traffic that’s generated.

Anyway, enough blah blah blah’s. In this issue we catch up with Chima Akenzua (UK), The GUP team (Spain) and Paulo Victor (Brazil). There’s a 10 second drill from Ryan Ford, a pressure test of the Reebok ZigTech shoes

by Brad Wendes plus much more....

Enjoy....

Ez (Editor)

UF ad athlete: Chima Akenzua www.youtube.com/chimaxeno Photographer: Ez

JUMP MAGAZINE # 11 Copyright © The Urban Freeflow Network. All rights reserved. ‘Urban Freeflow’ and the ‘Glyph’ logo are registered trademarks of Urban Free Flow Ltd

WEMULTIPLY

WEAREPARKOUR - WEAREFREERUNNING - WEAREURBANFREEFLOW WWW.URBANFREEFLOW.COM WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/GLYPHMEDIA

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/URBANFREEFLOW

WWW.TWITTER.COM/URBANFREEFLOW

THE 10 SE

BY RYAN

ECOND DRILL ‘DEMON’ FORD PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRENDAN DUDLEY - WWW.BRENDANDUDLEY.COM

The purpose of this drill is to improve your spontaneous, thoughtless flow by moving creatively through a small, compact set of obstacles for 10 seconds at a time. By not planning your movement beforehand, you will be challenged to creatively improvise, react, and adapt in the moment.

Application The concept of “being in the zone” is a mindstate in which an athlete experiences extraordinary performance levels that are usually described as thoughtless or so instinctual that the athlete has, “...a sense of control, which nevertheless seems simultaneously effortless and masterful”. From race car drivers and golfers to basketball and football players, this level of proficiency is something pursued by all but mastered by few. Through thousands of repetitions of a skill in hundreds of different scenarios, an experienced athlete will be able to recall a skill with a split second notice and naturally adapt it to any situation that they encounter.

The 10 second drill is a great exercise to regularly train and test your ability of finding this “zone”.

Many Parkour athletes spend all their time training single movements and pre-planned sequences of techniques. This is the opposite of what Parkour and Freerunning should be; thoughtless, boundless, playful, and free-flowing. Without regularly practicing spontaneous adaptation to the environment, a Parkour athlete’s will often be choppy, forced, and inefficient. The 10 second drill will immediately expose somebody’s lack of training in this area and force them to default to a limited number of basic techniques that they are able to naturally perform and link together in a single instant. The more you practice 10 second drill, the more prepared you will be in any situation and better you will be able to react to unusual foot placements, angles, and combinations.

Additional Discovery It’s also worth doing a Google search for ‘Flow Psychology in Sports’ on Wikipedia and

‘Flow in Sport’ by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

Obstacle and Equipment Checklist For this drill, you need an area with several close together obstacles for linking and combining movements. It is also recommended you practice this drill with several friends. For a timer, you can either use a stop watch or guess when 10 seconds is up.

Execution of Drill Pick a small area of densely packed obstacles.

Decide an order for you and your friends.

The first person in line moves for 10 seconds throughout the obstacles trying to improvise and spontaneously connect movements together.

When 10 seconds is up, yell out “Next!”. Upon hearing this, the current person should move out of the obstacle area and the next person should jump in.

Continue taking turns, keeping the same order throughout the drill.

Other Notes Even if you catch yourself stumbling, hesitating, or getting frustrated, do your best to continue moving. Try to never stop, regardless of any mistakes you make. Don’t stop ever!

As you and your friends keep taking turns and coming up with new sequences, practice your creativity by not repeating what has already been done.

Here’s a video Example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4moONJvlAuw To find out more about Ryan Ford and his training methods, checkout: www.apexmovement.com and www.coloradoparkour.com

Sebastien Lhau (France) www.add-academy.com Photographer: Franรงois Constant www.flickr.com/fore1

Steve Cable (England) Photographer: Kai Taylor

All hands on deck Photographer: Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora

MICHAEL JACKSON WORE GLOVES HE COULDN’T CAT LEAP WORK YOUR ENVIRONMENT DEVELOP A SENSE OF TOUCH BLISTERS ARE TEMPORARY WHO NEEDS SKIN ANYWAY? MAN UP EARN YOUR STRIPES WEAR YOUR SCARS WITH PRIDE

Chima

Interview and principle photography by Ez

It seems like Chima has been a part of the scene for ages and he has. But due to his quiet nature and reluctance to follow trends or get involved in anyone’s beef, he more often than not, just slips under the radar unnoticed.

However, if you were to speak to anyone who’s trained with him, worked with him in a professional capacity or trained under him in one of his many classes, you’d be met with nothing but positive comments, as his skillset is matched by a friendly and upbeat nature that makes him infectious to be around.

We managed to hook up with him in a typically miserable and wet London location to find out a little bit more about what makes him tick....

At the school of hard knocks outside Fortismere, where Chima started his Parkour journey Photographer: Ez

Full name?

Chima: My full name is Chima Conrad Akenzua.

Age? Chima: Currently 20 years old.

Hometown?

Chima: I’m from the suburbs of North London in Muswell Hill.

Your surname doesn’t sound typically English. Where does it originate from?

Chima: My mum is from Nigeria and my dad is from the Caribbean but I was born and raised in the UK. How long have you been in the game now?

Chima: hmmmm been in the game since I was 13 years old, so it’s been 7 years now.

When did you first get drawn in?

Chima: For me it was the classic Channel 4 Jump London scenario.

Damn, that documentary seems like a lifetime ago.

Chima: <laughs> Yeah it really does. The whole community was much different back then and Jump London was a great tool to advertise what we do and spread the word.

Bwahahahahahaha! That’s pretty harsh. Ok so how things developed from there?

Chima: The school I went to was called Fortismere and within about 6 months we had about 60 of us doing it.

At the bottom of the school field we had a sandpit, so all of us could be found there during the winter in just our tee-shirts, doing somersaults. At this point that’s pretty much all we understood Parkour/Freerunning to be.

For us all it was just big explosive flip movements. For me, I learned wallflips on concrete and running gainers before I even knew how to speed vault <laughs>. I know now that it was the wrong order but there you go. My progression was wallflip, running gainer, speed vault, backflip, lazy vault, dash vault and the kong.

Wrong order for sure but you aren’t alone. I’ve yet to meet one person who’s learned the ‘proper’ way.

Chima: <laughs> Too true. I teach now and stress the importance of drilling all the fundamental moves first, before even thinking about the more ambitious stuff. But yeah, my own learning process was back to front.

“THE WHOLE COMMUNITY WAS MUCH DIFFERENT BACK THEN”

When Jump London aired, we already had an active community in place but it was much smaller one than the behemoth that exists now. After you saw JL, what were your first steps to actually go out and practise?

Chima: My first step was to inform a bunch of friends but most of them had already seen the documentary, so we all began together.

How many people at this point?

Chima: There were about 6 of us. We did it religiously for about 2 months but we didn’t have the vision or know how to progress, so sadly, we all stopped. Then in 2005 Jump Britain aired on TV and suddenly I saw that it had gone global and that there were foundations in place in the UK. This had my gears racing so the next day at school I ran up to this kid who used to do handstands all the time and asked him if he’d seen Jump Britain. He said that he had and that was it.

Who was the guy in question?

Chima: His name was Paul but I’d better not mention what everyone used to call him.

You might as well.

Chima: Oh man, we used to call him Pikey Paul <laughs>.

money.

That said, I bet you had an amazing time in the beginning.

Chima: Yeah it was so much fun. I know that my own way of learning may have been wrong, but I did have a lot of fun in the process and for some reason that fun element seems to be lacking today.

I’m not exactly sure why?

Maybe the motivation is different now because back in the day it was just about practising with friends and having fun and progressing. Now though, it seems like a lot of people are practising with the goal of just trying to make

You’re right to a degree. People wanting to make a living from PK/FR isn’t a bad thing if they’ve got the skills to pay the bills. However, there are loads of people who aren’t patient enough to earn their stripes and instead of putting in the necessary hours, they are bypassing a lot of the fundamentals in favour of nailing the more impressive power moves. Is this something you’ve witnessed first hand?

Chima: Sadly, yes. I’ve see many people who can do the big explosive techniques but when it comes to a precision onto a rail or balancing on a rail, they are oblivious about how to do it. What’s the point of being able to dive kong at Imax when you aren’t able to show control of your movement by sticking a simple rail precision?

I guess some people need to find out the hard way. Right, going back to when there were 60 of you practising at school, at what point did you break away and start to take it all seriously?

At Imax during a GQ magazine fashion shoot Photographer: Richard Dawson www.dickiedawson.com

Chima: I had one friend who was sensible enough at the time to use a search engine to look up ‘Parkour’ and he found his way onto the Urban Freeflow website. On the old message board there were people posting about meeting up at the Shell Centre, so I got my ass down there.

Any names from back then who are still on the scene today?

Chima: Yeah, I remember meeting up with Brad Wendes, Ash Holland and Luke Markey. They were my inspiration back then. It was a case of meeting up at Shell for 9am and training until about 6pm. We’d travel around the London spots as a group and that was when I decided yep, this is definitely what I want to be doing.

It was a strange one for us back then because you guys were part of the second wave. For a lot of us the Shell Centre was such a special training spot and after Jump Britain aired, it all of a sudden got swamped with people.

So much so, that a lot of us backed away to seek out new spots and as a result, we weren’t directly tapped into what you guys were doing. If you can, explain a little about the community vibe back then from your perspective.

Chima: It was really cool in the sense that you didn’t need to know anyone in order to train with them. It was more innocent in the way you could just go up to someone and just start training together. Back then the Lazy, Dash and Kong were the bad boy moves <laughs>. At the time there were a couple of people who could do backflips and they were like Gods <laughs>. The overall feeling was much purer where nobody really knew what they were doing or where they were going.

We were just all there together and everyone was eager to help the next guy.

How did those days differ to now?

Chima: It’s a lot different and isolated. It’s much more like if I don’t know you, if you’re not a name or if you don’t know how to do this move, then I’m not really going to have the time to train with you. This is sad.

did you step up with a background in any other sport?

Chima: I was a long distance runner at county level and had dreams of representing at the 2012 Olympics. But as I indicated before, my Parkour journey started in reverse and one time I got a bit cocky when doing a wallflip and landed on my knees. The result was a damaged patella which ruled me out of running for about 8 months.

When I finally returned, I managed one lap and ended up on the sidelines for the rest of the training session.

It was at this point I decided that my time running was probably over.

That must have been a tough decision to make. Most of the people I’ve spoken to about you, always say that you have a ridiculously big jump. Is this something you were gifted with genetically or is it something you actively work on?

Chima: I have genetics to thank but I think my athletics background has definitely helped, as a lot of the conditioning drills have stood me in good stead. Lots of fartlek training, interval training and plyometrics.

“I DECIDED YEP, THIS IS DEFINITELY WHAT I WANT TO BE DOING”

On the whole I think the vibe is still friendly but can understand the clique who want to get on with their own thing unhindered. If you go back to the bit about the how quite a few people are training with the goal of trying to make money, those who are already ‘pro’s’ will be reluctant to share knowledge with others who may soon become competition to their livelihood.

Chima: True but it’s really changed the vibe.

Shit happens. Ok when you got fully involved in Parkour,

Do you still condition yourself like this today?

Chima: Nowhere near as intensely as I used to. That said, if you train in Parkour properly and sensibly, it provides all the conditioning you need.

How hard is it for you to motivate yourself to train through the grim UK winter weather?

Chima: If you train alone, yes it is difficult sometimes. Not so difficult if you have friends to train and have fun with.

Regardless, you’ve always got indoor facilities like the ones at Beckton if the conditions outside are too harsh.

You just mentioned training indoors. How often would you train indoors in any given month?

Chima: I don’t actually train that much indoors so it’s probably as little 3 times per month. I’d much rather be outdoors.

What’s your overall opinion of indoor training, good or bad?

Chima: It can give you a false sense of security. Take a kong for instance. With any beginner, this is one technique that causes the most problems because of the fear of clipping their feet. Indoors though, they have the comfort of not having to worry about bailing. Whereas if they were learning from scratch outside, their approach would be more sensible and thorough. I think that people who learn inside first, will find that their progression outside is much slower. In PK/FR you also need to become familiar with concrete outside and develop a sense of touch. Being indoors on mats and

Once upon a time the Shell Centre was THE hottest of London PK hotspots. Now it’s just an empty shell with a strict ‘No Parkour’ policy Photographer: Ez

Flashkicking an overhead plane in the Caribbean Photographer: Tomasz Gudzowaty www.gudzowaty.com

Top Left - Running cat leap at Archway Top Right - 180 precision from a cat leap at the baby 45 Bottom Left - One of many kong to precis Photographer: Ez

sons at Imax during the GQ shoot Bottom Right - Food for thought at Archway

Bad hair day while shooting with Tomasz Gudzowaty in Mexico Photographer: Tomasz Gudzowaty www.gudzowaty.com

usually while barefoot, does nothing to help you develop this. That said, there are some people who would definitely benefit from starting off inside first, like older practitioners and less physically able people.

What do you love about PK/FR? Chima: I love the freedom, easy accessibility and the fact that you don’t need any specialist equipment to take part. Another great thing is that the game has so much to offer in the sense that there’s so much to learn. I really don’t think that anyone is capable yet of becoming a true master of their environment because we’re all still learning.

Interesting. On the flipside, what do you hate about PK/ FR? Chima: Hmmmm maybe the image that’s portrayed in the media. If you ask anyone what Parkour or Freerunning is, they’ll usually say that it’s the thing that involves backflipping or jumping off of high buildings.

Don’t you think that this has been self inflicted though? In order to get extra column inches it’s easier to go with the whole roof jumping thing as opposed to trying to preach about the technical side.

Chima: True. I don’t take any of it too personally but it’s still annoying to have to correct people all the time. Being asked what’s the most dangerous height I’ve jumped from or how far I can jump between rooftops, soon grows tiring.

Most hyped spot in the UK? Chima: Without a doubt it’s Imax. Everyone has been there and it’s been rinsed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good spot and there are new jumps and combinations being created there all the time but it’s over-exposed now.

Do you get inspired by what you see going on there though? Back around the Jump Britain days you’d be looking at a handful of techs being pulled there. Imax 1 would be a case of cat leaps, precisions, a few flips and if you were feeling very ambitious, a kong to precision. At Imax 2 you’d be looking at little more than precisions and at the higher end, a kong cat or kong precision across the gap. Now though, we’re seeing an abundance of quality techs and combo’s being pulled at both. I don’t know about you, but I’m amazed to see new shit still being cranked out there after all these years.

Chima: I have to admit that I’ve been going to Imax pretty much day in day out for a number of years and you can always find new things to do. At times I find myself saying that Imax and Southbank is crap but I always find myself going back and then finding new things and being inspired again. If anything, it shows that I still have so much yet to learn.

“IT SHOWS THAT I STILL HAVE SO MUCH YET TO LEARN”

Is the general reception from members of the public still positive?

Chima: Yeah it’s still good. So many people in the UK have been exposed to it via commercials, films, events and documentaries. I still get people both young and old who are mesmerized by seeing what we do up close and personal so yeah, I’d say it’s really positive.

Do you have any particular spot in the UK to train at that you favour most?

Chima: I haven’t travelled extensively in the UK to be honest. I was raised in London, so I’d have to say London <laughs>.

Oh come on man, London is a very big place with many different spots. Can’t you be a little more specific than that?

Chima: Not really. I love all the London locations <laughs>. The beauty of PK/FR is that we aren’t restricted to a green pitch like in football. With what we do, we have so many opportunities to create movement petty much anywhere.

In recent months there have been a bunch of videos released that have shown glimpses of genious at Imax. Has anything you’ve seen being pulled there, inspired you?

Chima: I have to say that the double kong at Imax 2 has caught my eye. Like six years ago the double kong was such a big thing but then everyone moved onto other moves and it was forgotten about. But it seems to be back in again.

I guess like skateboarding, there are trends for various moves to be ‘in’. For a while it seemed like the UK scene was all about strides.

Chima: Yeah, I learned the double kong in 2005 but haven’t really done them again until now where I’ve developed a real taste for them again.

When you see a young blood step up who’s nailing all manner of big ambitious moves, does it inspire you?

Chima: Yeah, I get inspired but I also get a little worried that these guys will come undone. Sure, it might only take a day or so to nail a certain move, but it takes much longer to get to fully understand your own body and what it’s capable of. You also need time to condition yourself accordingly for the high impact stuff.

We touched on it earlier about how a lot of kids are learning in reverse and bypassing the fundamentals. Do

Leaping from a rooftop in Mexico with fellow All Star team mates, Pedro Thomas and Daer Sanchez Photographer: Tomasz Gudzowaty www.gudzowaty.com

you see this as a big problem?

Chima: It brings us back to the whole argument about Parkour against Freerunning. As far as I’m concerned, it’s fine if you want to go out and learn all the flips and spins. Just make sure you are conditioned accordingly.

When I say problem, I mean in the sense that certain kids will see high end vids showing kong gainers and a variety of more intricate flips and will then go out and copy them without having any grounding or understanding of the basics.

Chima: I hear you but one of the first things I learned to do was a backflip. The Buzz Lightyear effect of falling with style <laughs>. If these kids are going to do all the flips and then learn the fundamentals, you can’t really argue with that. If on the other hand they do all the backflips and DON’T learn the fundamentals, then there is a problem. As experienced practitioners we can only try to be guides but we can’t force our opinions and methods on others.

If you were to see one of these kids at Southbank, would you go out of your way to correct them or would you take the ‘sometimes you need to learn the hard way’ approach?

Chima: If anything I’d talk to them and pass on my knowledge based on my own experiences. If they choose not to listen, that’s up to them.

One community that really burst onto the scene in 2010 was the Russian one with all their flips, spins and creativity. Have you been inspired by what you’ve seen?

Chima: Yeah definitely. With PK/FR there are so many bases to cover and it’s always interesting to see different communities working on certain aspects of the game. It can only help everyone else to develop.

Bruce Lee always said that his own Jeet Kune Do style was continually evolving and that he’d be open to taking the best bits from other martial arts to improve his own.

Do you find yourself watching videos from around the world and cherry picking the best bits to bolt onto your own game?

Chima: To be honest, I haven’t watched many videos for a long while so am out of the loop internationally. I usually tend to go by what I hear and see personally in the UK. If there’s something that stands out as being interesting to add into how I move, I’ll do so. But I don’t really follow trends and do certain moves just because they are ‘in’.

“KIE WILLIS IS DEFINITELY IMPRESSING ME RIGHT NOW”

Who would you say is the person to keep your eye on in the UK right now?

Chima: My friend and team mate, Kie Willis, is definitely impressing me right now. He’s a sound guy with sound moves and I’ve got so much respect for him.

In your opinion, why do you think the UK is churning out so many gems at the moment?

Chima: Our architecture plays a big role. I’ve met many practitioners from Europe who are great at what they do but when they come to London, it’s the classic line of “Everything here is much higher and so far apart.”

I think we’ve simply adapted to the environments we have to play with and as a result, are comfortable with performing precise movements at height. I’m not saying that we go out of our way train this way but we’ve definitely adapted to these conditions.

What do you think is different about the UK style of movement?

Chima: To be straight to the point, I think it’s in the preciseness of the way we tend to practise and move.

We try to make sure we stick landings and are generally more precise all round.

With your own style, do you train to improve or are you happy with where you’re at and instead, just train to keep your hand in?

Chima: I definitely train to improve.

Anything new that you’re drilling right now?

Chima: I have a whole load of flip variations that I’m drilling. Maybe I’ll give them an airing at the World Freerun Championships?

World Champs? <laughs> I didn’t think that the Freerun format fitted in

with your line of thinking?

Chima: I’m not anti-competition. I competed at the first ever Parkour style competition in Germany (Parcouring event) in 2006.

Dude, I don’t know if that one really counts? At the time when that event was announced it caused an uproar in the community and it wasn’t taken seriously by anyone at all. I think the biggest problem at the time was that the people behind it had no connection whatsoever to Parkour or Freerunning and all the major players dismissed them and their event.

Chima: Well I still went to compete as part of Team GB even though we received death threats.

Death threats, for real?!!

Chima: Yeah for real <laughs>. <laughs> Sorry, but that’s hilarious. Surely you’re talking about ‘death threats’ from random 13 year olds on the message boards?

Teaching two of his female students at Imax Photographer: Ez

Checking some of the shots captured during the GQ shoot by Richard Dawson Photographer: Ez

During our shoot day it was pissing down with rain so we chose to use Meanwhile II at Royal Oak, which is a tried and tested spot. On thi

is day though, everywhere was completely soaked so we had to resort to bog standard stuff. Erm....here we present a cat balance on a rail Photographer: Ez

This was supposed to be a fashion shoot. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sorry, but being dressed as Krusty the clown isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t my idea of fun Photographer: Ez

Chima: No. At the time I was one of the younger guys on the scene and the people I trained with were like 22 or 23, so I definitely took it all seriously.

Imagine being killed because you chose to compete.

That’s both funny and stupid. The name of the event alone, makes the blood boil based on the fact that it isn’t spelt correctly. Surely it should be called ‘Parkouring’ if anything?

Chima: Well I think it was purposely done because of David Belle and his philosophy. That reminds me, going back to the question you asked earlier about what I hate about Parkour, it has to be the whole ownership thing.

So many different names for the art/discipline with people trying to lay claim to them. Essentially it’s all the same movement that we do.

Let’s not mention Freestyle Parkour then.

Chima: Parkour, Freerunning, Art Du Deplacement, Freestyle Walking, Urban Woodtouching or whatever <laughs>.

Going back to the Parcouring thing, they seem to have sorted their shit out because the last event wasn’t that bad.

They still need more major players to get involved but on the whole, the format works quite well. Tell us more about your experience there.

Chima: I come from a competitive background so I was all for it. It could have been done a bit more professionally but it was still an enjoyable experience. I ended up placing 2nd overall in the speed section. There were some in-house politics in effect because the time from the winning run was taken from the German athletes second to last run, which was faster than my final run. He should have been scored according to how he ran in the final but wasn’t. The main prize for the winner was a part in a German action movie, so I guess I didn’t fit because I don’t speak German?

of things.

I can only speak on behalf of our own event where safety is concerned and when you consider that during the 2 World Championship events we’ve staged, we’ve had over 80 runs and just 2 injuries, that’s a pretty good record.

Chima: Well for me, I was scared off because in 2008 at the 2nd Parcouring event we were there for 4 days and every day somebody injured themselves. I’m talking broken bones every day for the duration. At the time I wasn’t mature enough and experienced enough to be able to detach myself from seeing that and then following my own path. I wasn’t at the point where I could believe in myself and my ability, so I stayed away from competing until now.

Earlier you hinted that you haven’t watched many videos lately but of those that you have seen this year, which have stood out most?

Chima: Oh man, I’m not great with names. There have been a bunch of videos that I liked. One in particular was a guy dressed in black who was barefoot and he was doing simplistic movements using bars. Again, I forget the name but it was good <laughs>.

“ESSENTIALLY IT’S ALL THE SAME MOVEMENT THAT WE DO ”

Or the wrong skin colour maybe?

Chima: <laughs> Probably that too. I’m not too bothered though because I got to meet lots of cool people during my time there.

So what aspirations do you have for the future competition wise? You mentioned wanting to compete in the Worlds. I always had you down as more of a Parkour guy as opposed to a Freerunning one and didn’t think you’d be interested.

Chima: I guess I’m genetically more geared to the Parkour side of things in terms of speed. My disinterest was more out of being a bit scared about the injury side

That’s really helpful, thanks.

Chima: Sorry <laughs>.

How come you don’t put out that many videos of yourself in action?

Chima: I think I put out 3 videos in 2010 but niggling injuries and teaching duties have slowed things down and taken up so much of my time recently. Finding the time to train properly has been hard enough, let alone filming and editing videos. In 2011 I plan to release some fresh material though.

About time. Your videos have always been met with a healthy response on Youtube and I’m sure people will be interested to know that more is to come. Do you get fired up by all the positive feedback?

Chima: Yes, for sure. With my videos it isn’t always about the fear factor and using my jump. Most of the time it’s full of simple stuff like backwards precisions etc.

If people are still enthusiastic, that’s great and much appreciated.

Do you prefer the technical side to your game as opposed to the bigger stuff then?

Chima: It’s easy to do a backflip from height or whatever, but it’s obviously much harder to do a backflip to precision or a 360 precision. I like to continually set myself challenges.

Imax

x is one of the most over-exposed spots in London but for some reason it still attracts practitioners from far and wide, who are beasting it Photographer: Ez

The GQ magazine shoot you did. Can you explain a bit about that?

Chima: That was standard stuff really, where they wanted to capture a sequence shot of me doing a kong to precision but in each frame I’d be wearing a different outfit. The clothes I had to wear, I wouldn’t ordinarily wear for Freerunning but there you go <laughs>.

Tell us a little bit about the teaching side of things.

Chima: Right now I’m the head coach at Urban Freeflow and I currently run beginner and advanced group classes on Monday’s, Friday’s and Sunday’s. In the time between that I run private classes and work with various schools and universities.

What kind of stuff do you teach?

Chima: All the fundamentals, conditioning, improving muscle memory, blindfold training etc. With the Parkour it’s more about accuracy and flow and for those who want to take the Freerunning route, I’ll introduce spins and more dynamic moves.

Sounds good. How many students do you have right now?

Chima: At the moment I have about 140. Most of whom are regulars and are split up between beginners, advanced and private clients.

Are you handling this alone?

Chima: At the minute, yes.

But soon enough I’ll be taking people on board to help spread the workload.

sweaty too. In fact, a lot of my students I consider as friends so outside of lessons we also train together a lot.

I’ve seen that you have quite a few girls who attend your classes. How are they progressing?

Chima: I’ve got a couple of girl students who are already doing 360 precisions, 360 cats and somersaults too, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how they develop in the near future.

Do you think that the fun element in PK/FR is important?

Chima: For some people it seems to have definitely died.

These days I get many people approaching me asking how they should go about doing this as a job or saying Parkour is their life. I usually tell them that they are at the beginning of finding their journey and that whilst it’s good to have aspirations, they shouldn’t allow that to be their driving force. If the sole goal is to train for money, soon enough you’ll hit a brick wall and become very frustrated. Instead, try to go out with friends, train hard and have fun. If it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.

“A KID SAID PARKOUR WAS INVENTED TO RUN AWAY FROM POLICE”

When teaching in schools, do you find the kids there to be receptive to what you’re teaching them?

Chima: Absolutely. That said, when I first asked one of my classes what they knew about Parkour, a kid said Parkour was invented to run away from police <laughs>.

I thought that was common knowledge?

Chima: <laughs> No comment.

Joking aside, has the feedback so far been on the positive side?

Chima: Oh yeah, at some of the classes, they are staged after school so it’s optional if you want to take part.

Surprisingly, a lot of girls have stepped up and impressed. In general I find that people who ordinarily wouldn’t take part in physical education, are really getting into it.

That’s really encouraging to hear. Is your approach to teaching hands on?

Chima: Yeah definitely. I’m not the type of person who stands there with their hands in their pockets barking out instructions. I prefer to lead by example and get all

Best piece of advice you’ve heard?

Chima: It wasn’t directed at me personally, but in the Jump London documentary Sebastien says that you should just be yourself. That this is the way of Freerunning but if you want to incorporate elements of ballet into your game, do so accordingly.

If you were to pass down some advice to a beginner right now, what would it be?

Chima: I’d simply tell them to forget about all the big fancy moves to start off with. If you follow the sensible way, you’ll find that it’ll all open up to you naturally over time. Many times I’ve had 2 people who started off at the time and will often hear “How come he can do that move but I can’t” and the thing we have to remember is that we all step up with different mindsets and body types. The journey we take has many paths and not all are the same. So ultimately, don’t judge your own progression by comparing yourself to others.

With your own game, do you have any bad habits?

Chima: <laughs> Even though I teach, when I’m training myself I am often guilty of not warming down enough and there have been a few times when I haven’t bothered warming up either.

Shame on you!

Chima: I know and I hold my hands up as being guilty.

How about injuries, have you suffered any and if so,

Performing a lazy vault in ‘The Tunnel’ Photographer: Ez

This location by Oxo Towers presents an awesome running precision opp. The security in the hotel here are on point though and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wa Photographer: Ez

aste any time in making their presence known

Wherever you go in London you can be sure that close by there are CCTV cameras watching your every move Photographer: Ez

what were they?

Chima: I had patella tendonitis in both knees which is probably due to doing one too many drops with incorrect technique. It’s gone now but was with me for a long time.

Knee injuries are probably the main thing that scares PK/FR practitioners the most. Did you seek professional advice about your injury?

Chima: Actually, no. I simply adapted my approach to training and concentrated more on correct technique.

My athletics experience really helped as I already had a good understanding of my own body, so tailoring my training accordingly wasn’t too difficult.

Let’s move away from the doom n gloom of being injured. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you’ve just been given £1 million on the condition that you spend it in one day on something PK related, how do you go about splashing that cash?

Chima: Straight away I’d buy a massive indoor facility complete with scaffolding, and a Parkour specific gymnasium. It’d be great to have somewhere to teach, learn and train with friends.

One thing that makes you angry?

Chima: One thing that really does annoy me is when I get people with no foundation or control who do moves way beyond their level and then email me saying “Chima, I did this huge move the other day, you’d be so proud of me.” At the end of the day, don’t do big moves to try and impress.

schools and also universities. There are also some dance academies that I’m developing things with.

For you, what makes a perfect hotspot?

Chima: Quite simply a variety of small and big stuff in terms of height and distance.

Is it important to have everything in close proximity?

Chima: Not for me. I like to run between spots. A lot of the time people just meet up at one spot, put their bags down and train. It’s rare that you see anyone who actually Freeruns.

In terms of the World scene, are there any people who stand out from the crowd for you right now?

Chima: Jason Paul from Germany who has a real nice flow to the way he moves. He’s unique and moves according to how he wants to move.

If you could head off to any famous hotspot right now, where would it be?

Chima: Without a doubt it’d be the classic blue bars in Daugavpils, Latvia.

We aren’t lucky enough to have that kind of setup here.

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, DON’T DO BIG MOVES TO TRY AND IMPRESS”

How about reasons to smile?

Chima: Seeing beginners learning something new. We’ve all been there before and none of us learn everything just like that. There is a journey to take and a lot of hard training to do. I know too well the pain and frustration that comes from not nailing a move and when you do, it’s fantastic.

In your time in the sport/art/discipline, has there been one person who’s inspired you?

Chima: There hasn’t been one person. There have been a few people at certain stages of my training. In the beginning, Sebastien Foucan, Brad Wendes, Luke Markey. In the middle of my journey so far I’d say Daniel Ilabaca at around 2007. He was only the second person that I’d met who had his own thoughts with regard to the philosophy. Currently I’m inspired most by the people I actually train with.

What sort of projects have you been working on lately?

Chima: Mostly the teaching aspect right now. I’m working with a selection of primary and secondary

How about Mexico, you were there not so long ago?

Chima: Yeah but I wasn’t able to visit the famous university while I was there so yeah, I’d love to get back to train with Daer and the guys.

Tell us a bit about the Mexico experience.

Chima: The Tomasz Gudzowaty photography project was weird because it was all last minute. Even though I knew that it was going to happen, I didn’t know when. So when I got the call 2 hours before my flight <laughs> the adrenaline rush made it so cool and spontaneous.

Yeah, Tomasz was crazy to say the least.

Chima: For sure. The Mexico trip was only meant to be 2 days and then he goes “Erm, let’s head off to Puerto Rico now”, so we flew off there in a private jet which was mad.

Doing it in style then?

Chima: Not really because when we landed, I got locked up by customs officers because I never had a visa. <laughs> But that’s part of the experience though, right?

Chima: <laughs> Yeah it was all cool. Then we flew off to the Caribbean.

That’s where you performed the flash kick with the plane flying over your head?

Chima: Yeah, the beach was just a few metres away from

With the city as your playground, all you need to do is go out and play (if it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t raining) Photographer: Ez

the airport. Where we were doing the flash kick there was a road between the beach and the airport and Tomasz wanted to capture a shot without any traffic, so he had an assistant hold the traffic up.

Ah yeah, this is the one where he nearly got bashed up by a bunch of Yardies?

Chima: <laughs> Yeah, poor Lukasz was holding up the traffic and these guys with shovels where about to smash him up.

Did he move out of the way to let them pass?

Chima: He didn’t get a chance to because they tried to run him over <laughs>.

Ouch! But you got the shot though?

Chima: Yeah eventually. It took two days. That’s 7 hours a day!

Going back to the Mexico trip, that was to replicate the jump we’d already done for the SAP commercial. For your jump, you were joined by fellow UF All Stars, Daer Sanchez and Pedro Thomas. Tell us a bit about that experience.

Chima: We were jumping off of a roof where we had a scaffolding rig raised up to about two and a half metres high with crash mats on top. The drop onto those mats was about 2 metres. The problem was that the landing area was only 2 metres square and there were 3 of us jumping together.

colours. Importantly, they offer adequate support and are really grippy once worn in.

In terms of techniques, are there any you favour more than others?

Chima: Kong vaults for sure but I’m nowhere near my full potential with them yet. Right now I’m doing kong to clear across the channel at Imax 2 but it only feels like I’m at about 70% of my full potential.

What would be your least favourite?

Chima: Probably things like cat balancing.

What was your Moreton experience like?

Chima: I love how open Capo is in the sense that his house has an open door policy for everyone. Training there was really cool too.

Did you get a chance to train with Daniel Ilabaca when you were there?

Chima: Unfortunately not. At that time he was away in LA filming. I’m planning on heading back up there again to train with Capo before heading to Wales, so maybe Daniel will be around too. We’ll see.

“HE DIDN’T GET A CHANCE BECAUSE THEY TRIED TO RUN HIM OVER”

Sounds about right for a typical Tomasz shoot.

Chima: A couple of times Pedro almost rolled off of the scaffolding and if he had, he’d have dropped 10 storeys down to the street level!

<laughs> When we did it, it was a proper budget shoot with safety nets to prevent that kind of thing happening.

Let’s leave it there as I think I’ve heard enough.

Chima: Ok. Let’s just say that he had to use his Parkour awareness to it’s fullest <laughs>. On the whole it was a really fun experience though.

What kind of music are you rocking right now?

Chima: I’ve gone back to some of my Drum n Bass roots recently but am also listening to some cinematic and theatrical music. I also like a bit of Acid Jazz.

What is your choice of shoe to train in?

Chima: I’m liking the K-Swiss Si-18’s.

Why the Si-18’s?

Chima: Well they don’t look hideous like regular sports trainers and are available in a variety of different

and better my mind.

What did you make of their training spots?

Chima: What I saw was really cool. I liked the local church a lot.

Do you see your PK/FR as a sport, art or discipline?

Chima: For me It’s a discipline but it definitely fits under the umbrella of sport and art too. It all depends on your personal approach to your training.

I do it to better my health

Would you say that your time in the game has had a positive effect on your life in general?

Chima: It definitely has. Initially I was oblivious as to where it was all going. Upon leaving school I knew that I always wanted to be involved in the sports industry, so I went to college to study in sports and exercise science and got my diploma to fall back on. I get a lot of people asking how they can go about being professional Freerunners and I always say that if you want to take that path, fine. But try to have something to back you up just in case.

I think people have this false impression that there’s a fortune to be made as a pro.

Chima: Yeah, don’t expect to wake up one morning and get a call from Nike <laughs>. It doesn’t work like that.

If anyone is reading this and they want to come and train with you, how do they go about it?

When in doubt, update your Facebook status and watch the World pass you by Photographer: Ez

Provide the obstacles and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll provide the movement Photographer: Ez

Chima: Simply email me via classes@urbanfreeflow.com and we’ll work something out. I often get people flying in to train. Most recently I’ve had students from Columbia, Canada and France and I’m always happy to hook up or answer questions.

When can we expect some new video material from you?

Chima: Right now it’s a watch this space scenario. I haven’t set a date but when it’s ready, it’ll be ready and will hopefully be received as well as my previous material.

Looking forward to it. On that note, let’s pull the plug. Thanks for taking time to do this piece.

Chima: Anytime.

Chima’s Youtube channel can be found here: www.youtube.com/chimaxeno

Daer Sanchez (Mexico) www.urbanrunners.net Photographer: Josefo Robledo www.flickr.com/photos/joseforobledo

“IF YOU DON’T DO THE THINGS IN LIFE THAT YOU WANT TO DO, OUT OF FEAR OR FAILURE, YOU AREN’T REALLY LIVING AT ALL.”

Dan ‘Shooter’ Mast (USA) www.tempestfreerunning.com Photographer: Chad Bonanno

William Romero Long (USA) www.youtube.com/Yuki2681 Photographer: Ron A. Romero

Anatomy: Talocrural Joint: Anatomical name for the ankle joint.

Plantarflexion: The movement occurring when the foot and toes are pointed.

Dorsiflexion: The movement occurring when the foot and toes are brought up towards the body.

COMMON SPORTS INJURIES - FEET FIRST Article by: James Baldwin M.Ost D.O. www.baldwin-osteopathy.co.uk My first experience of Freerunning came when Jump London was first aired on Channel 4 way back in 2003. Like many people new to the sport I was attracted by the big jumps and practically superhuman skills on display. It was only when I began that I started to have an appreciation of the technical nature of the art of Freerunning; something honed by hours of repetition and a fanatical devotion to the perfection of movement. It was as a beginner that I experienced first hand the effects that this has upon the body, throughout the time I spent training I saw a good number of injuries (several of them mine) and the uncertainty almost all Traceurs/Freerunners demonstrated when dealing with them. I decided that this has to change; and so here follows the first in a series of articles which will examine common sports injuries, how to spot them and the best ways of dealing with them.

The ankle or talocrural joint is able to absorb incredible force and is the primary source of plantarflexion and dorsiflexion in the foot. It is

also the most mechanically stable joint in the body; and yet despite this, Inversion Sprains of the ankle are a relatively common occurrence, especially in athletes engaged in high impact sports such as Freerunning. This article examines ankle inversion sprains, the different types, knowing when to RICE and when its time to visit your local A&E; plus a few tips and tricks to help you get back on your feet.

Ligaments are very good at resisting tensile or stretching forces; however they can become overstretched and even snap. An inversion sprain occurs when the Anterior Talofibular Ligament (located at the front of the ankle, towards the outer side) is damaged - in around 64% of cases this is the only ligament injured. The ankle is forced in to inversion, the: â&#x20AC;&#x153;going over on itâ&#x20AC;? injury.

It can easily occur when running, vaulting or landing from a jump; the pain is sudden, sharp and if severe can leave you feeling sick or dizzy. Pain may be felt in the ankle and foot, or may refer up to the leg. There may also be tingling or pins and

needles in the ankle or foot.

Injury Grades: There are 3 grades of Inversion Sprain, each more serious than the last: Grade I Sprain *Minimal or mild ligament sprain *No ligament tear Symptoms *Mild ankle swelling *Tenderness Treatment Strapping or ankle support. Gentle exercise.

Grade II Sprain *Moderate sprain *Some ligament tearing Symptoms *Obvious swelling *Some bruising *Difficulty walking Treatment *Cast *Immobilization *Rehabilitation Grade III Sprain *Complete tear Symptoms *Swelling *Obvious bruising *Inability to walk *Ankle instability Treatment *Cast *Immobilization *Rehabilitation *Possible surgical re-attachment As a general rule, if there are any signs of purple bruising around the ankle seek a medical opinion straight away; bruising can indicate a torn ligament or a fracture. Other signs of a fracture might be broken skin, bleeding, or ankle deformity.

Street Care: The first stop in caring for your injured ankle is RICE, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation Rest: It may be advisable to stay off your feet and avoid weight bearing for anywhere between 24-48 hours.

Ice: Using ice on the affected area is one of the best ways to limit the damage and reduce recovery time. The sooner the limb is iced the better; it helps to stop fluid building up (fluid slows the healing process) and constricts blood vessels which decreases any further bleeding. Ideally apply the ice for 20 minutes every 4 hours during the day (no more). It is always worth carrying a couple of instant cool packs just in case of need.

Compression & Elevation: Elevating the leg and using a compression wrap or stocking for the first 24-48 hours will also make a big difference. Following this advice can drastically reduce the severity of the injury and cut recovery time; meaning less time in pain and more time training.

Rehab: Exercise: In the first 24-48 hours following the injury, it is advised for you to stay off your feet; keep up with regular applications of ice and elevate the leg as much as possible. After the 48 hours, weight bearing rather than rest is encouraged; it may be necessary during this period to wear a brace or support and in severe cases crutches can be used as well. Stick to walking (as often as is comfortable) in the first 5 days; dorsiflexion and plantarflexion movements can be done off weight bearing (within a pain free range). Attempt to resume normal activities as quickly as possible, but limit exercise to non-impact sports like swimming and cycling up to 3 weeks post injury.

After the first 3 weeks and up to 12 weeks it may be possible to resume sports if a brace or strapping is used to stabilise the ankle. Care should be taken to limit training time, stick with technical work that limits impact through the ankle such as low balance bars, small precisions and vaults; focus on improving skill and keep techniques low and slow.

This may also be a perfect opportunity to build upper body strength with pull ups, dips and bar hangs.

James Baldwin graduated with distinction from the British College of Osteopathic Medicine. He works from his Epsom and Fetcham practises in Surrey, If you have an injury and you want to know more about it, email: osteo_bones@hotmail.co.uk

UF All Star athletes, Rocko Rovira, Eduardo

o â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Sweetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Chavez and Daer Sanchez (Mexico) overcome obstacles in PK/FR and every day life, by thinking differently www.urbanrunners.net Photographer: Josefo Robledo www.flickr.com/photos/joseforobledo

Under the spotlight

Paulo Victor

From where? Natal - Northeastern Brazil Practising Parkour for how long? 4 and a half years but I stopped for 18 months to study First saw Parkour where? I was watching Matrix with an Australian friend. When Trinity did a wall run he said: It’s Parkour. I asked what is was and he showed me a video called ‘Evolution’ Favourite International athlete? I like all but Ryan Doyle is the man for me One place you would most like to visit? I’d really like to visit Paris someday Favourite music? Linkin Park - ‘In the End’ Favourite actor/actress? Tony Jaa Favourite film? Matrix Reloaded Favourite food? My diet is fairly balanced but I cannot resist chocolate Favourite location to train and why? An abandoned mansion on the beach. My friends and I call the “Ultimate Challenge”. We just let the movements flow and challenge each other. But it is also a time to get experiece and enjoy with friends Favourite shoes for Parkour? It may seem strange but I prefer tennis extremely light as the All Star. But I’m currently training with a Nike Dual Fusion What is your ultimate goal with Parkour? I want to live doing what I like. Travel and training in different places to compete and participate in something important for the growth of Parkour and Freerunning. Become a professional stuntman too Favourite technique? Cat Leaps are my favorites, I like it spinning, with flips, but how challenging and far it goes, the better it gets If you could train with one person or team anywhere in the world right now, who would it be? Storm Freerun certainly. They have diferent styles and a lot of skills to share If you could visit any location to train, where would it be and why? I would like to visit some ruins around the world, I think Thailand would be a great option Other sports you do? I was practicing Kung Fu and Sanshou, but for me there is only Parkour. But have done a lot of fights like Karate and Taekwondo. Here I usually play football too Do you train alone or as part of a team? I am proud to say that I train with my group the ‘Flúido Urbano’. They are my second family. I’m going to live in California, so I do not know with which group will train there What do you love about Parkour? Parkour serves as a therapy for me, with so much trouble in the world, when I’m training I forget everything, I situate myself in a world of my own and relax, let it go. Best of all is the concentration, because most of the times that I’m making some moves I did not think about anything What do you dislike about Parkour? I dislike the fact that some people discriminate against Parkour. They do not know what it is in most cases or they think it’s crazy If the Parkour fairy could grant you one power-up between speed, flow or technique, which one would you choose and why? I choose flow, because the speed and technique will only help me to perform one movement at a time but the flow would help me to unite them and when you do many things in succession, you will not think, and if you empty your mind, you can do anything. Thats my theory What motivates you to train? The possibility to live doing what I like, which is Parkour. I want to live like my idols and make my father and my group proud. They believe in me, so I believe in my Parkour. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5N5f9S0JZo

Israel ‘Doc’ Castro (Mexico) www.parkourmorelia.zxq.net Photographer: Arturo Méndez Maya

Ho Nguyen (Bulgaria) www.youtube.com/TeamTension Photographer: Magdalena Ruseva

Seasonal jam at the Rahaa Parkour gym (Iran) www.parkour.ir Photographer: Arya Tabandehpour

Charlie Dance and Brad Wendes with new shiny shoes. Ooooooh new shiny shoes!!!

Photographer: Thanda Mutero

UNDERPRESSURE

By Brad Wendes - www.teamkinetix.co.uk

There’s currently an animated ad doing the rounds for the new Reebok ZigTech shoes that has the tag line: “They’re like an energy drink for your feet!” In this same advert there are some Parkour moves thrown in and anyone watching it ‘could’ be forgiven for thinking that the shoes are suitable for our discipline. Well there’s only one way to find out....

I first saw the ZigTech’s in October of 2010 while I was at the Parcouring European Championships and saw a bunch of German athletes were wearing them. I asked if the shoes were any good and the response was a resounding ‘meh’. I later discovered they were only wearing them as part of a sponsorship arrangement but it was clear that they weren’t regarded that highly for PK/FR purposes.

So with a feeling of negativity already ingrained, I decided to bring in Charlie Dance to help test the shoes out and give an unbiased opinion. We carried this pressure test in our tried and trusted training grounds of Essex....

Comfort

As soon as I put them on my feet I was surprised at how comfortable they felt, but I should have expected this for an £80 pair of shoes. Walking around in them is a comfortable experience, running feels a little odd as your feet feel too far away from the ground. While my feet were comfortable, my mind wasn’t. I was constantly afraid of rolling an ankle as if I was wearing retro platform shoes. When training in them this feeling got worse, especially when landing any kind of precision, the grooves in the sole mean that you have to land with your feet perfectly straight or you risk rolling your ankle. Not a comfortable training experience at all!

SCORE: 2 out of 5

My feet were occasionally comfy but my mind wasn’t.

Charlie prepares for a crash landing Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Unfortunately these shoes donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really stack up for PK/FR training. However, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re great for doing handstands Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Style

I got hold of a pair in black and electric blue (to match my tee shirt) but they are available in a full range of colours and styles. My first thought was that it looks like someone put a shoe on a mint Vienetta ice cream.

Needless to say I’m not a big fan of the aesthetics and neither is Charlie. When training in a group I felt as though I had neon lights on my feet because they really are that attention-grabbing. For me, they look too much like the kind of footwear you’d expect to see worn by Chav’s outside McDonalds on a Friday night, and not really the kind of shoe you’d see being repped at any given PK/FRjam.

SCORE: 2 out of 5

I don’t really like the look personally, but each to their own.

Weight

Can’t fault them here because for their size, the ZigTech shoes are very light. I’d say that they’re of a similar weight to the Nike Dart or other standard running shoe.

Due to the thickness of the sole the ZigTech shoes are noticeably heavier in the heel area than the front of the foot.

The upper is a thin mesh which allows the shoes to be light and breathable, almost all of the weight is in the oversized sole.

SCORE: 3.5 out of 5 Not as heavy as they look.

Undeterred, Charlie attempts another precision Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Overall, training in these shoes was enough to drive anyone flipping crazy!

Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Shock Absorbency

This is the area I was expecting the shoes to score very highly in and for pure shock absorbency, they do a very good job. Sadly the impact protection comes at the cost of all flexibility or feel that the sole should offer.

You can land hard and not feel any sting in your feet at all. Personally I think this is a negative as it can encourage bad habits and poor landing technique.

At the end of the day, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t rely on 2 inches of foam to soften the impact of landings when good technique costs nothing to acquire other than training sensibly.

SCORE: 4 out of 5

Yes, they soften the impact considerably. But at what cost?

Grip

Reebok have made a shoe with a wobbly, deep-ridged sole, then put almost no rubber on the bottom. This leaves you with a shoe that not only has a really low surface area in contact with the obstacle, but the material in contact is foam!

So, no, the grip is not very good at all. The only reason I was sticking precisions was because the rail or corner of the wall was getting caught in the ridges of the sole. Both Charlie and I were barely in control of our landings and were very abruptly stopped.

The most worrying thing about the sole shape and compound comes when you land at any angle that is not perfectly straight. If a rail is half in and half out of one of the deep ridges then your foot can easily turn, this could cause an ankle or knee injury without too much trouble at all.

SCORE: 1 out of 5 No, just no.

After Charlie landed this sideflip, the

builder in the background asked him if his name was Sebastien Foucan. Needless to say, Charlie just stared at him blankly and said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Ouiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Running precision from Brad. Even the simplest precision jumps needed full focus otherwise the prospect of rolled ankles awaited Photographer: Thanda Mutero

Value

The model we tested costs £80 on the High Street. There is a £90 model but I saw no noticeable difference between them. They do feel like an expensive shoe when you first put them on. They’re comfortable, relatively light and don’t feel bad to walk around in. When you start running or training it all seems to go horribly wrong though and if I’m brutally honest, they feel too gimmicky.

SCORE: 2 out of 5

Fine for hanging out in on the high street but 100% not recommended for anyone wanting a shoe that’s good for PK/FR.

Overall

I’m not sure what market these shoes are aimed at. I sincerely hope it’s the fashion market as they’re some of the least functional trainers I’ve ever worn.

There are some positive points but not when it comes to Parkour or Freerunning. If you like the look of them and want to wear them just for social situations, they’re a comfy, well-fitting trainer. Unless some significant changes are made to the sole (like some rubber) I would advise steering well clear of these shoes.

One other problem I had was the sheer size of stones that can get caught in the big ridges on the sole, and don’t even think about walking through mud in them!

SCORE: 1.5 out of 5

For the purposes of PK/FR, just get some cheap running shoes instead.

For more info on the Reebok ZigTech range visit: www.reebok.com/zigtech

It’s safe to say th

hat Brad wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t overly impressed with the ZigTech shoes for PK/FR training, so here he executes a bin leap and lands it with perfect form Photographer: Thanda Mutero

In Netherl of balls t a UF A

This Was 2010 (Vienna) As we moved into 2011, the Parkour Vienna guys threw this edit together tha made up of some of their highlights footage from 2010. It features a nice mix control, precision and some awesome training spots. Top level stuff. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Koun5Xl3AWY

Peter Spoelma (UK) August of 2009 we posted up a video on Glyphmedia titled ‘A Beast From The lands’ that featured Peter Spoelma. In that video he showed that he had a set to match the big jumps he was performing. Since then he’s come on board as All Star athlete and in this most recent release, he’s stepped it up again. At UF HQ this is one of the few vids that is constantly on our playlist. www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rV2EiuGPEs

at was xture of

The Frenzy (Slovakia) www.youtube.com/testifydecisions Photographer: Filip Tuhy

URBAN PROJECT

GALIZIAN

Sorin surveys the environment from up high Photographer: Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora

Jandro getting some quality hangtime Photographer: Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cora

Can you tell us who makes up the GUP team?

Sergio: Our team consists of eight people - Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora, Santiago ‘Sorin’ Iglesias, Pablo ‘Brian’ López, Guillermo ‘Shobu’ Lago, Alejandro Surís, Ruben ‘Rubis’ Alonso, Manuel ‘Tryan’ Umbría and Simón Gil.

practiced in England, Russia and Mexico. I can name traceurs like: Daer Sanchez, Philip Doyle, Daniel Ilabaca, Oleg Vorslav, and so on who inspire and motivate me.

On the other hand I prefer to create my own style and simply enjoy and learn from others.

Can you all introduce yourselves individually?

Sergio: I’m an eighteen year old practitioner from Vigo, Galicia and have been training for a little more than four years now. Since I started, I’ve taken it seriously, made mistakes like everyone, but learned how to correct them and correct my training methods. I’m always enjoying movement, doing whatever I feel like doing, whenever I want to. That’s why I value self confidence the most.

My motivation was simply the wish of moving, I saw some videos but back then I didn’t know who the traceurs in them where, they just made wish to move with freedom. But I think that the first video I saw was one of David Belle. Currently my biggest inspiration is Daniel Ilabaca, I think he is an admirable person who has huge self confidence which I admire and also has an incredible level. I’m sure about this, even more so after meeting him in Barcelona during the Parkour Tour.

Alejandro Surís: I’m a sixteen year old practitioner from Vigo, Galicia and have been training since I was aboutthirteen years old. The person who motivated me to start was my cousin Guillermo ‘Shobu’, we began at the same time. At first I was inspired by people like David Belle and so on. But nowadays I′m not inspired by anyone anymore, I just took the Parkour as a way to feel free. I usually view and like videos from the UK, especially from people like Philip Doyle and Livewire.These look very good to me, especially Philip who’s technique is extraordinary.

Ruben ‘Rubis’ Alonso: I’m an eighteen year old practitioner from Ferrol, Galicia, and have been training for about four years. I was inspired and motivated by the thought of trying something a little bit different than your common sport, and my best friend the told me about Parkour. So I decided that I wanted to try it out for myself and totally loved it.

“Currently my biggest inspiration is Daniel Ilabaca”

Santiago ‘Sorin’ Iglesias: I am an eighteen year old practitioner from Vigo, Galicia and have been training for four years.

I started watching videos on the internet and I slowly got better and better but it wasn’t until I discovered English Parkour videos that I was really motivated and progressed much quicker.

Nowadays they still inspire me, with videos from people like: Phil Doyle, Daniel Ilabaca, Callum, Toby, Kie, and so on. Parkour is now a really big part of my life.

Pablo ‘Brian’ López: I am an Eighteen year old practitioner from Vigo, Galicia and have been training since 2006. I first saw Parkour in a video with a friend on the internet and from that moment I started training and jumping around my city until I found other kids doing the same. Nowadays Parkour is really different compared with what it used to be... There is a big level all around the world now. I don’t think that I get inspiration from anyone, of course I admire people like Daniel Ilabaca, but I’m inspired by myself.

Guillermo ‘Shobu’ Lago: I’m nineteen years old and from Vigo, Galicia. I have been training for a bit more than four years in total. I discovered Parkour thanks to a friend from school, who had already been training for some years. As soon I tried it I fell in love. My inspiration is originated by a mixture of styles and different traceurs. For example I love how parkour is

Manuel ‘Tryan’ Umbría: I am sixteen years old and from Vigo, Galicia. I have been training since 2007.

A friend who was practicing Parkour showed it to me. I liked it very much initially and as I was practicing, it was gaining more and more importance for me.

During this year I trained with many people from whom I learned a lot, but a few months later I knew the group Galizian Urban Project.

I started training with them and discovered them as friends. They taught me many of the things that I know at this moment, and thanks to them I am here now.

But from the beginning, the Parkour for me has been an amusement, and I will stop practising it when It stops amusing me. When I am training, the people who most inspire me are those who don’t give up when the obstacle that they have ahead of them, makes them feel scared.

I am motivated by the people who know when they are prepared to do something and train for obtaining it.

Simón Gil: I am eighteen and from Santiago de Compostela, Galicia. I have been training since 2008.

After watching many videos on Youtube I was amazed with the ability of Traceurs. Immediately I went to the streets and practiced but my progression was slow because I didn’t have much information of the discipline in those days. Nowadays I’m inspired with many styles and Traceurs, like Daniel Ilabaca, Pedro Thomas or Phil

The mother of all scaffolding structures is toyed with by Shobu and Rubis Photographer: Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora

Doyle. But when I train I don’t try to copy them, I do what the environment suggests me to do and needs to be done to be overcome.

Thanks for that. What does the team name mean?

Sergio: We decided the name of the group three years ago. One afternoon when we were all together, we were thinking about an original name for the group. A friend began to say “Your name should show that you are from Galicia” another friend of ours said “the name must indicate that the city is our playground, we are an urban group” and the word Project makes reference to the status because all of it was a project.

Where did you first ever see Parkour?

Sergio: As we said before, nearly all of us discovered Parkour thanks to the internet or close friends. I started jumping just down the street, creating my own movements, discovering my body and began to improve.

I started doing ‘real’ Parkour when I met more people in my city that had already been training for a few years and they taught me some things like the most basic movements. This is when I saw Parkour in the right light and how proper training was done. I was amazed especially by the overall effort that had to be put in for doing each thing, and how anyone could make a simple jump to a railing without falling.

That was more than 4 years ago but it’s something I will always remember. Those were great times indeed.

unpleasant. For me, it’s perfect because we always end up with a big smile on our face, it’s great.

Is the scene in Spain a big one?

Sergio: Yes, I think so. There is always a lot of improvement and much progress. Obviously I don’t know Parkour of all the sites of Spain, but I like what I see more and more each day. My impression is that people have never really viewed Spain as a great source of Parkour. Many people from outside of Spain do not know the Spanish Parkour scene but over here there are some traceurs with 7 or 8 years of experience, from which there is a lot to learn. I invite everyone to come here, you won’t be disappointed.

Do you train within the community or do you just train as a team?

Sergio: We love to train with the community. The people in our group, live in different areas of Galicia, and each one trains with the people of his city. Some do not live near us but we sometimes travel when we have time, any occasion is good to train all together. The parkour community in Galicia is very united and that is something that motivates us every day in our training.

“The Parkour community in Galicia is very united”

Were you all friends before doing Parkour or did you meet after?

Sergio: Two of them....

Santiago and Pablo were my friends and we all started together in this art. The rest of the members, I’ve met them along my path. All the components of Galizian Urban Project knew each other before getting to be part of GUP. Because I think that if you have to be surrounded by people for a long time, you must know them well. It is incredible to meet people while training and not knowing that they will eventually be a part of your ‘family’. The group is a family and has grown with time and we are all really happy to train together.

How long has the team actually been together now?

Sergio: We formed the team three and half years ago, since 2007.

Who has the most annoying habit in the team and what is it?

Sergio: We all think that’s Ruben for his incredible ease when making any move or jump <laughs>.

Seriously, we haven’t got any problems between us. We love the way we all are, and there is really nothing

What are the best spots to train at in your area and why?

Sergio: Personally my favourite place is in Vigo, my city. But the truth is that all the spots are good for great training.

I always say “you can always do something everywhere you go”, of course there are some spots that are better than others, but that also depends on what kind of training you want to do.

What would you say is the main strength of the team?

Sergio: Our main and greatest strength as a team is that we are really united, we always have happy faces and enjoy ourselves, we never have problems with each other. We love to train together, it’s a great feeling. In addition, we are friends and not just a group of Traceurs.

That’s a very important thing for a group of Parkour and it is something that unfortunately, doesn’t happen in many groups these days.

What is the main goal of the team?

Sergio: To learn from each other, have fun while doing what we most like and help each other as much as we can. These are our only goals.

Have you worked together in a professional capacity?

Sergio: We have have performed Parkour exhibitions and workshops for different purposes. Every day Parkour is better known, it’s something we have to

Brian stares into the abyss before jumping straight in Photographer: Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cora

Reverse vault to cat leap by Rubis Photographer: Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora

Sorin trusts in his training partner to keep the rail steady before attempting an ambitious precision Photographer: Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cora

collaborate with.

What other teams are there in Spain that you consider as being good?

Sergio: For example there are AVC (Alto Vuelo Crew), BTT (Born To Trace), LS (Lazy Style), OC (Over Coming), UF (Urban Feeling), AG (Air Generation) and many more.

Is the vibe between practitioners in Spain a friendly one?

Sergio: Yes, there is very good contact with each other.

We are always united thanks to the internet today and with social networks, it is easier to contact a person on the opposite side of the country. But above all thanks to www.umparkour.com, Spain’s main Parkour website, it has a very diverse forum. If you have any questions, you can always ask there and together we’ll find an answer. It can be really useful.

Tell us about your Youtube channel.

Sergio: Galizian Urban Project, has an account on Youtube that was created in 2008. We currently have over 2,000 subscribers to our channel. We have now uploaded 32 videos, most notably ‘GUP & Erick’, with over 24,000 views and our latest video ‘GUP - Remember 2010’ with 7,000 views in just 3 days.

Have you travelled as a team to other countries?

Sergio: We haven’t been as a group to other countries yet, but our first trip will be to London in July 2011. I’m sure it will be unforgettable <laughs>.

the reflection of that effort in them. I love getting tired, I love to give everything in my workouts and achieve that feeling of doing a little more and if something isn’t as I want it to be, listenening to that voice that says “Do it again.” The feeling of relaxing and stretching my muscles knowing that all the work of your training day is done, is unmatched.

What do you hate about Parkour/Freerunning?

Sergio: I hate nothing about it. There are tough and complicated moments when maybe you can break down.

But I don’t hate those moments because they are a part of this.

What is your opinion of competition in Parkour & Freerunning?

Sergio: I hate competition. If someone does a move or jump and another person makes a comment like “I can get further than you” it sounds horrible, I feel really sad when things like this happen. I must say though, that I’m not against events such as the World Freerun Championship and Art Of Motion or things like that, because I think it’s a unique opportunity to meet great traceurs and train with them.

Sometimes in these events participants act like crazy, as if these were more important than their own life. You can see this when they begin a turn and you see that they can get hurt at any time, I dislike this part very much indeed.

To risk a serious injury for money, when you have been a long time training, I think people are not conscious of what they are doing and what they are risking. They should enjoy showing what they know, moving and doing what your body asks for and not forcing yourself. Then who wins or loses for me, has no real relevance. I do not think you can ‘win’ against another person doing Parkour.

Parkour currently goes beyond an activity, it’s a form of expression and each person has their own way. You can’t compete when it comes to being yourself, or at least that’s my opinion.

“We haven’t been as a group to other countries yet”

What countries would you like to travel to in order to train and why?

Sergio: We would love to travel to so many cities. For example France, Russia, Mexico, and so on. But the first place we want to travel to is the UK, in order to meet traceurs over there and train and learn with them.

Which individuals in the international scene inspire you the most?

Sergio: A lot of people inspire us like Max Runham, Pasha, Jason Paul, Phil Doyle, Abelle, Callum, Pedro Thomas, Scott Jackson, Oleg Vorslav, Daer, and so on.

Erick from Spain, is a great traceur too and the best person with whom I had the opportunity to train with on numerous occasions. But above all, Daniel Ilabaca is a great example of hard work, dedication and self confidence.

What do you love about Parkour/Freerunning?

Sergio: Honestly, I could not name only one thing, but I love the feelings it produces, it’s wonderful to get home after a long day of training, look at your hands and see

That’s a fair opinion and respect to you for that. What are your opinions about sponsors in Parkour?

Sergio: We currently have no sponsors but we haven’t been looking for any. We’re always open to hear offers though. As long as these sponsors don’t sell values that are contrary to our philosophy or exploit us and our art.

That’s a tough call because you always have to sacrifice yourself to a degree when dealing with sponsors. You just need to understand how to play the ‘game’. Ok how about shoes, what are your shoes of choice?

Steel prepares himself for a running precision opportunity Photographer: Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cora

Sergio: I use the Kalenji Success, yet I have only a few left saved but little life for them remains. In this respect I did not like at all what WFPF did in buying this Kalenji model and selling it more expensively. It seems to deprive the community of an ideal shoe for Parkour. I have nothing against them, but I don’t think that that is a correct thing to do. You can use any type of footwear that is comfortable and with a good tread. You just need to get used to it. But we are faithful to Kalenji.

Do you ever train in a gym or is it just outdoors?

Sergio: We just train outdoors. We don’t have the opportunity to train at gyms but we aren’t really that interested in them in order to just learn some flips. On the other hand you can learn these without mats. I think that getting used to training at a gym is a negative thing when you want to do it in the street afterwards. In the street you have to be more careful, as any little bail is dangerous.

Do you guys have a background in any other sports?

Sergio: None of us had a background in sports like gymnastics or acrobatics.

Like thousands of kids we all played football, but that was back then. Nowadays we can’t imagine changing Parkour for some other sport.

Facebook and Twitter?

Sergio: It’s amazing how easy it is to make contact with people from all around the world through social networks and share experiences with them. Thanks to them when we travel, even if it’s inside the same country, it’s really easy to arrange meetings/jams with people from the places we are going to. You just need to connect yourself and make contact with people. It’s really helpful for the Parkour community. We have our own group page on facebook.

Your recent video was well received in the community.

Do you appreciate the positive feedback?

Sergio: It’s always nice when people recognise the efforts that you have made during a long time. In addition I make the editing of the videos, so I like it when people give positive feedback of something I have spent so many hours doing. I love the world of video and photography.

When can we expect to see more video material?

Sergio: Soon, we have planned a RT (jam) in Galicia in a few days. We’ll be recording and editing a video that will be uploaded to the Galizian Urban Project account on YouTube. I hope that you all see it and give your opinions. Generally, I like to edit and record every two months or so and then upload to our channel.

“It’s always nice when people recognise the efforts you have made”

What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?

Sergio: The truth is that thanks to the people we train with every day, we have lived thousands of funny moments. Some were funnier than others but it would be impossible to say which was the funniest, as every moment is unique. Even more when you are surrounded by great people.

What music inspires you?

Sergio: When I train I like to listen to great songs from videos I’ve seen, I love the songs that Scott Bass uses in his video editions, like Manafest-Live On, ManafestDreams or Lazee feat. Neverstore - Hold On (Remix).

I also like Drum & Bass, but I mainly mainly like English Rap. Do you think the internet is an important tool to spread the word about PK/FR? Sergio: It’s an indispensable tool. Without the internet we wouldn’t know half the things we know nowadays of Parkour from all around the world. It’s necessary to see different styles so that you can get inspired and use the best techniques and moves you see, but always keeping your own style.

What do you think of social networking sites like

Do you all train seriously as athletes?

Sergio: We can’t afford to dedicate ourselves fully to Parkour, as we all have our studies. So we don’t do rigorous training.

Everything we do is with much more freedom than say the world of athletics, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t take our training seriously. We train whenever we have time.

Do you all eat healthy foods?

Sergio: Every person who usually performs physical efforts needs take care of his diet to have a good performance in his activity. We care about keeping our diets balanced, yet we don’t follow a strict diet, so when we want we can afford a treat <laughs>.

Do you communicate with other Spanish speaking communities like the Mexican one?

Sergio: Yes, a large number of practitioners in the Mexican community contact us and we make contact with them, they are really nice people. We’ve also been in contact with traceurs from Portugal and plan to do a jam with the Portuguese group LTT (Line Team Traceurs).

There are even people from other places with totally different languages that make the efforts of translating sentences to talk with us. From here I want to thank those people because their efforts are much

Shobu makes a habit of putting his foot in it Photographer: Sergio â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Steelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cora

Mid-flight and everything is a blur Photographer: Sergio ‘Steel’ Cora

appreciated.

Were you guys in Spain aware of Jump Magazine before we approached you to be in it?

Sergio: Yes, I log onto the website of Urban Freeflow, as well as others. I like to be always aware of the situation in the scene. Some time ago I read that you were going to publish the first issue of Jump Magazine and liked an article that included information of interesting spots to train in London. Then I followed it every month. I really liked issue number 9 where you interviewed Daniel Ilabaca. It always has good articles from which to learn, plus interviews and great photos of people that we admire. It’s a very complete magazine.

Thanks for the kind words. Is it important for the team to receive the exposure this article will bring?

Sergio: Of course. Although we don’t want personal benefit from Parkour, getting exposure in a publication like this helps people find out about us. These people who may have never heard of us before, now know that we exist and if anyone wants to check out our channel or contact us for training or any other purpose, they can easily do so. It can only be a positive thing.

starts, you can take the advice or not. Everyone is free to follow their own path but you always have to work hard.

Are there any people you would like to give a shout out to?

Sergio: Yes, thanks to my group Galizian Urban Project for all those times we’ve lived together. These won’t ever escape from my memory, like the trip to Barcelona in the summer of 2010 and all those moments left to live.

Thanks also to all the people of Ferrol, A Coruña and Santiago, and of course the de Vigo (Galicia Family).

Each and every one of them are incredible.

From Barcelona AG & BTT with Óscar from Alicante for the kindness given to us during our journey, and all the traceurs in Spain and beyond who support us and appreciate our efforts as much as we value theirs. For Erick, my princila inspiration here, recover your leg soon man. Of course we’d like to give thanks to Urban Freeflow for giving us this opportunity and letting us express what we think about Parkour in Jump Magazine.

It’s all appreciated greatly.

Sergio, thanks for taking the time to speak to us and being point man on behalf of the whole team. We’re all big fans of your work here at UF and we’re really looking forward to seeing many more high quality video edits from you guys in the near future.

Sergio: The pleasure is all ours. For anyone who wants to make contact with us, please feel free to do so. We promise that none of you won’t be disappointed. Be sure to search for ‘Galizian Urban Project’ on Facebook.

“If you love Parkour, it will love you”

Do you guys teach?

Sergio: Not professionally but of course we like helping people that are either starting, or need advice for something specific, but really only when we are able to do so. I do not like ‘trying’ to help, I can give some advice but I’m not sure if that’s sometimes worse than not giving it at all.

Beyond help, it’s better to show each person that they must make their own path. Parkour is pure self overcoming and everyone should move when he wants and how he wants because every traceur has his own style and way of doing things.

I think every person in this art should be himself or herself.

Ok, so what advice would you pass down to any beginners reading this then?

Sergio: Go out and seek your moves slowly, it’s not a race. Do not despair for improvement and making the biggest jumps you see. Train for you and not for others.

Prepare your body with a good workout because the human body is perfect but ceases to be perfect when your training is not. Also realise that there is never a specific goal, so always have fun doing what you do. Parkour is a way that will be nice if you treat it as it deserves to be treated. If you respect what you do, if you respect yourself, you will probably get the best rewards. In other words, If you love Parkour, it will love you. This is my advice and how I see it. It’s all I could tell a person who

Checkout the latest edit from GUP here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uea95pY2Dfw GUP’s Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/GalizianUrbanProject Special thanks to Spain’s UF field agent, Jamie Ramsden, for his help in makining this article happen.

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If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to practise diving, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely a good idea to choose a suitable location like a swimming pool, river or if it takes your fancy, a big tub of jello. There is nothing more to add. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc6dwuyHvxY

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Jaben Betz (Australia) Photographer: Cameron Linturn

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