Culture and Leisure
Running free in concrete jungle
But Zippies founder said the street drills were only possible when a player became skilled through indoor practices and built up enough confidence, as safety was a big concern.
Sampson Fung Wai-leung, another
Zippies organiser, injured himself when
he jumped to the ground from the first
floor of a building in So Uk Estate in
January.
"I had my head hurt quite badly and I needed five stitches for the wound," the 20-year-old student said. "I had chosen the wrong place to land. There was a drainage cover protruding from the ground."
He said that was most memorable
because it was unusual to get seriously
injured in parkour practice. "None of my
friends playing parkour gets hurt so badly,"
Fung said.
Another Zippies founder Joe Chan
Chi-wing, 27, agreed that players should
be more careful when they practised.
"When it comes to street drills, we have
to be more careful and we have to make
a lot more judgment. I have a friend who
once spent 15 minutes to think over the
whole process before leaping over the
railing on the first floor to the ground,"
Chan said.
He said it was common for players to
observe the surroundings before they had
a street drill. Once they start running, they
will not stop until they get to the
destination.
They have to make all the judgments
in a spilt second. Although there is no
specific way to get away with an obstacle,
they need to think and act quickly, with
their brains coordinating the limb
movements.
To ensure safety, there are some basic parkour techniques, such as "landing" and "rolling" to avoid straining or tearing apart the tendons and joints while leaping up and down.
"Land" means a practitioner has to bend the knees and have the feet on the ground after jumping from a high area, and "roll" refers to one having the hands, arms and diagonal of the back touched on the ground.
A street practice might be exciting, but
Chan said anyone who could not fully
acquire the basic skills would not be asked
to join.
And even when they have such a
practice, they need to go in a group.
"Every time when one plays parkour,
at least two people have to stay around
throughout the whole process to be ready
to protect him," said Chan, who is a
stuntman by profession.
Zippies have recorded some of their practices and uploaded the videos on their website. That has attracted some young people to join their group. The club now has about 60 members.
Parkour players have regular practices in streets and indoor stadium.