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Parkour is an activity to move from one place to another inefficient way and as fast as you can, using the principle of human body ability. Not only that, but this activity also helps someone to pass obstacles provided by their natural surroundings, such as tree branches, stones, stairs, to concrete walls. Parkour was founded in France by David Belle. He was taught by his father who worked as a firefighter.
But he developed Parkour using his neighborhood surroundings for training. Seeing what he did, his friends were then interested and started to join, and made Parkour community which then spread to many countries, including Indonesia.
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In Jakarta, there is also Parkour Jakarta Community led by Parkour Indonesia. Parkour Jakarta was founded on August 29, 2007. “Parkour Jakarta was made because of a forum. There are a lot of parkour lovers in Indonesia, including Jakarta.
So then, the people who live in Jakarta set the date and met to do parkour together. From there, a community then made until now.” said Dewa, as the President of Parkour Jakarta. Dewa also said that parkour can change someone to be more disciplined and give a big influence to form someone’s mindset.
“When doing parkour, there are many obstacles we will find. Either it is a stone, stairs, poles, or anything in front of us. To pass those obstacles, or even 10 more of them later, we should be ready and know what we should do. It’s the same with obstacles in our life. When someone already knows what obstacles they will find in front of them, then they should have known how to deal with it nicely,” explained him
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Parkour Jakarta Community has a training routine every Sunday, from 9am at Taman Kridaloka, Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan. This training is open for public and free of charge if you want to join the community. This community is already a well-known and often invited to big events in Jakarta and other cities in Indonesia. For example, not long ago, this community was invited by Nissan Indonesia to give performance on Gaikindo Indonesia. Besides, this community has also joined many parkour events such as Jamming Nasional (Jamnas), Jamming Regional (Jamreg), and Girls Day Out.
“Jamming Nasional is held once in two years on each different city in Indonesia. While Jamming Regional is held on many provinces in Indonesia. For example, if Jamreg is held on East Java, then Malang, Surabaya, and other cities in East Java Province are the places where Jamming Regional is held. While for Girls Day Out, it’s a parkour training for women,” added the President of Parkour Jakarta.
So it can be said that parkour can be performed by both men and women. Even there are also kids and parents who still do parkour with Parkour Jakarta. Curious to try? Visit Parkour Jakarta Community on the time and place explained above. Or for more information, you can reach their website, email, or social media.