Not used to seeing young people jumping from one place to another through the streets of the city, we decided to investigate the way of life of an “urban monkey”. Live parkour DF style!
This morning the sun shone on the dark fences that line a section of Madero Street, in the Historic Center of Mexico City. Above them, passers-by could contemplate the "Urban Monkeys" practicing a new extreme discipline known as Parkour, keep in balance, jump from one to another with absolute self-confidence, or simply walk, as if it were a vast path.
In hurdles with a greater height, Kat advanced using the technique called “cat balance”, which consists of holding onto the obstacle with both hands and using them, together with her legs, to go from one point to another.
The respect and humility that these young people awaken regarding the human body is admirable, there is a mental openness towards physical education that not many disciplines strive to cultivate.
Tireless tracers in the city
The golden dome stands out brilliantly against a literally blue sky. The low walls of the Palace of Fine Arts They have suddenly become something else, for a while they have ceased to be a stumbling block and permanent elusive and automaton of all the beings that swarm around one of the great attractions of this city. The walls this time are also traversed, they are a place of trace, they are relentlessly taken into account. And Sarge knows it. They are basic techniques, first of all, those used to open the way. Called “simple catch”, the technique consists of cushioning the fall of a jump by first supporting the balls of the feet and then bending the legs. This is how they return to the ground after circumventing the white cordon through movements such as "cat jump", "reverse" or "break wrists", among many others designed to cross walls and fences.
Fine Arts was another of the scenarios where they applied techniques such as: jumping, passing-fence, reception, balance and climbing, among others, each with all the variants that the situation and space require, but always revolving around the same key: the movement. Sarge, Kat and Rokk are ours traceurs (tracers). They are part of the youth community that is dedicated to the constant learning of this discipline in the Mexico City and that meets every weekend in the Naucalli Park (in the municipality of Naucalpan, State of Mexico), one of the favorite areas along with University City, Reform Y Chapultepec, among other. Perhaps it is still necessary to clarify that parkour does not have gender preferences, nor age. Men and women of all ages train and practice it, each according to their own pace. In fact, Kat is one of the instructors of the group in which, she tells us, more and more women are encouraged to participate. Well, for this you only need desire, comfortable clothes, and a pair of sports tennis shoes. Obstacles are, if not in sight, inside each plotter.
Be strong to be useful
The boys explained to us that this was a way of giving the man back some of his humanity. How? Well, trying to trace a path back to primitive agility, to return to the body its usefulness and, consequently, its health or vice versa. His motto is: "Be strong to be useful." It is a question, then, of recovering animal dexterity to give it back its place, and its value, the latter being redefined according to the legality and requirements of the 21st century. Something pretentious, perhaps, but doable and healthy.
Military discipline
Since its origins, which takes place in LissesIn France, in the mid-eighties, the fundamental idea of its creators was to achieve, through constant and methodical training and great mental concentration, mastery of one's own body in terms of mobility.
David belle, who is credited with creating parkour as a discipline, learned from his father, a military man and a firefighter, the physical training techniques used by the French army that were then part of the so-called "Georges Herbes Natural Method".
After being part of the infantry corps, Belle decides to move away from the military zone and make her way towards the vastness of the "traceable", starting with the city. Thus, in this way and with his hand, the first group of fans would be formed, which over time would become a community that has more and more followers in the world.
To understand more ...
The origin of the word comes from the French word parcour, which means journey, path, route. The traceur or tracer (in Spanish) is one who practices this sport, the one who traces his own path in space.
Join them!
The "Urban monkeys" They meet every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 12:00 hours in the Naucalli Park, municipality of Naucalpan, State of Mexico.
Have you practiced this extreme activity? Tell us about your experience… Comment on this note!
