Wow. I just got hooked on watching some guys running through the ‘urban furniture’, things like benches, walls, buildings…and the gaps between them!

I think they call it Parkour. You know the beginning scenes of Casino Royale where James Bond is chasing a guy through a construction site – that is Parkour. Absolutely stunning to watch.

Some of these guys (no women in their group) were amazing. They just looked like some elegant creature going about it’s normal daily life – a sort of cross between gazelle and big cat.

All in a graceful, powerful rhythm.

They bounced off things, up things and held themselves in the air for ages – just gobsmacking. They were clearly confident in what they were doing, but none of them were ‘bragging’ they all said it was about sharing the love.

None of them take drugs (hooray!) as they need to keep their bodies fit – and were these bodies really, REALLY FIT!

They looked like the highest trained Olympic Gymnast with that extra something. One of the guys (Mike) said he pretty much spent his life outside – not because he didn’t have a home to go to, but because he was getting addicted to his PlayStation and his mum took it away for a while! That was about four years ago – it hasn’t been used much since. He saw an trailer on the BBC with a man running across rooftops and thought he’d give it a go.

Brilliant. It make me feel so under exercised, even though I get to dance most days of the week.

Another guy was 20 and had just become a father, days before he was leaping through a car park / parking lot. He was chuffed at his little daughter. He hopes to keep doing this, but he said the learning part of that was harder than Parkour!

I might send them one of my t-shirts for fathers day ’cause they were all so impressive and genuine. A brilliant sense of being alive.

Some of the group were planning a trip to Brazil which is apparently where this comes from. Capoeira is a ‘dance type’ martial art which most of the children get to learn. It’s probably what made Pele such a good footballer.

They often take videos of the things they do and post them online – if you get to see one do it (sorry no link yet!).

Several had clips on their mobile / cell phones which showed a few of them playing football at the beach, though the rule was no one could kick the ball with their feet on the ground.

Clothing for them is functional and either loose OR tight.

Either way round this takes as much dedication as any musical instrument, because their own body IS the instrument they play with.

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