Jan 5, 20212 min read

What is Parkour Gymnastics?

Without even knowing it, you have most likely seen an example of a parkour movement, whether it is in real life or in action movies where stunt professionals jump from one wall to the next. They sometimes make it look so easy, however, do not go try any parkour movements at home without the proper training!

The dictionary defines parkour as the activity or sport of moving rapidly through an area, typically in an urban environment, negotiating obstacles by running, jumping and climbing.

In Parkour Gymnastics we teach you exactly that... Our coaches will teach you to manoeuvre quickly and negotiate obstacles through perfected movements like flipping, rolling and tricking.

Parkour has become very popular, not only to professionals but to people of all ages. It is not just performed to show-off, but also to provide the necessary exercise and understanding of the body. Parkour is all about challenging yourself to improve. Even though it is an individual sport, it is still practised as a group activity.

It is a fairly new discipline we offer, nevertheless, we are very excited about it and believe parkour will become a big hit among kids of all ages. The parkour classes we offer at Bloemfontein Gymnastics Club are produced by Gymnastics South Africa and includes the basics of Gymnastics to attempt physical and challenging obstacles.

Parkour has never been a competitive sport, however, 2021 will be the very first year that Gymnastics SA will be hosting competitions to accommodate participants training hard in this activity. Competitions are much different from other Gymnastics disciplines. It consists of two courses: speed run and freestyle. The speed run is where gymnasts literally go head to head racing down the same course, whereas freestyle is judged according to different categories, namely safety, flow, mastery, use of course, obstacles, connections and lastly the difficulty of skills performed. Parkour is now officially listed internationally among all other Gymnastics disciplines.

Whether you would like to do parkour competitively or not, it is highly beneficial:

- It helps to control the body and mind as one.

- It improves physical abilities such as fitness, strength and coordination.

- Parkour can be performed in any urban/rural area and is therefore very accessible.

- It encourages the awareness of your surroundings.

- And of course, it is an amazing way to build self-confidence and improve self-esteem.