A Hop And A Jump
June 8th, 2007
Jumping from one rooftop to another, scaling staircases on the outside and doing a back flip off a railing onto the ground below may not be everyone's idea of a good time, but some Londoners are finding this sport to be a great way to keep fit and try something new and different.
It's called Free Running, and involves participants clearing obstacles in their path in a smooth and fluid way, using movements such as vaulting, somersaults, and jumping in any way they can.
Classes in this unique urban sport have been going for a year at Moberly sports centre in Kensal Green.
But in the last few weeks they have become so popular that there is barely enough space to cram all the students in the sweltering room.
Sticky, a member of the UK's free running team, and class teacher puts the sudden flood of interest down to the media attention the sport is now getting. Madonna's new video ‘Jump' features free running on the streets of Tokyo.
And in the opening sequence of the new James Bond film ‘Casino Royale', 007 chases a fugitive through the markets of Madagascar running up cranes and government buildings.
Sticky and the other members of the team collaborated with Sony Pictures to choreograph that sequence.
But these classes are not nearly as advanced. "We start with the basics, and we have to do tons of conditioning," says Sticky (who now refuses to go by any other name). "Some people see all the cool stuff in the media and that's what they want to do right away, but that's absolutely stupid. It involves a lot of technique, even though it may not look like it."
The classes involve a half-hour intense warm up, with an emphasis on the core muscles, and then an hour and a half of exercises to develop safety and technique.
Ruskin Atlee, 14, has been coming to the classes for 6 months, and often practices what he learns outside the twice-weekly classes.
But his dad isn't worried about his safety: "Anyone could get hurt at any time" he says, "but that's life. He likes it because it's something he can use in his everyday life, like running away from something, though hopefully not the police!"
So far the world of free running has been largely male dominated, but Sticky says it is starting to appeal to women too. "It's just about love and passion, and everyone has that," he says.
Elena, 20, has been coming to the class for four weeks, and says that it is an unusual way to keep fit. "I'm also less worried about taking risks now," she says.
Sticky has been a member of the urban free flow team for four and a half years.
The sport itself has been around since the early 1980s but has taken a long time to become mainstream.
It was created by Sebastian Foucan in France, and his childhood friend David Belle took it across the Channel.
It is closely linked with the sport Parkour, but the significant difference between the two is that a free runner will do something just to be aesthetically pleasing, whereas a person practicing Parkour will just want to get from A to B as quickly as possible.
And looking at the flowing movement of Sticky's body, as he moves effortlessly from bar to bar, it is easy to see the aesthetic appeal of the sport.
Both free running and Parkour have been underground sports for over 20 years, but Sticky says he isn't worried about it becoming too commercial, and stresses London is a great city to practice the sport.
"London has so many interesting buildings and areas to do jumps and flips" he says, "you couldn't really ask for anything better."
