Hardcore For Parkour

Parkour, which is a sport that revolves around moving quickly and creatively over obstacles, has a growing following of women.

17:09 04 May 2015

More and more women are getting hooked with Parkour, a sport that revolves around moving quickly and creatively over obstacles. With roots in military training, it’s an innovative and enjoyable technique in making way through any urban terrain. 

 

In London, a teenage mother and school dropout name Shirley Darlington, organize a weekly get together where she emails 100 or so members of her all-female Parkour crew, keeping the new location as a secret up to the last minute to avoid keep guys away. 

 

Dan Edwardes, the master instructor who gave Shirley her start, explained why: "Young guys turn up, and lots of times all they want is the flash and not the fundamentals. They want to backflip off a wall and leap around on rooftops. With a group of lads, you'll get the show-off, the questioner, the giddy one. But in a women's group, there's none of that. It's very quiet. They get to it."

 

Parkour originated from the military obstacle course training devised by French physical educationalist Georges Hebert. The modern Parkour was popularised by French actor and stuntman David Belle.