In order to play most sports, you need at least a minimum of facilities. If free from the need for equipment, you still need a place to play. But there is at least one sport that is not like that. It does not require a particular kind of playing space or any equipment. With the right training and preparation, any location in any city of the world will not only do but provide a unique challenge different from anywhere else as well.
The sport we are talking about is Parkour in which participants win by scoring points for the most challenging jumps and flips as traverse through a given route. “You just need a trainer and the city is your playground,” said one of the top Parkour Traceurs of Pakistan, Usman Nawaz. But while it has caught on like wildfire in many parts of the planet, knowledge of it in Pakistan is still limited to a few.
Established by David Belle in France in 1988, Parkour is a training discipline where the athletes performing are called traceurs. Their aim is to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assisting equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. For this reason, the sport is also called free running. Similar to military obstacle course training and martial arts, Parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, and quadrupedal movement — whatever is suitable for the situation.
The Hazara connection
The sport first entered the scene in Pakistan in 2013, when a group of boys from the Hazara community of Quetta started posting their Parkour performances on social media. For the boys, however, the aim was just enjoyment through physical activity. They were not even aware that what they were practicing was a competitive sport around the world.
“We saw some of the videos of Parkour on Youtube and started performing similar jumps and flips. But in 2017, when Parkour was added as one of International Gymnastics Federation’s (FIG) disciplines, we decided to bring more innovation to it,” says 24-year-old Ali Muhammad, a member of the Hazara Boys Parkour group.
Back in 2014, a video called ‘Hazara Parkour’ shot by 27-year-old aspiring Hazara community filmmaker Muhammad Ali Changezi, was viewed worldwide. That one video brought the Hazara Boys group much fame and encouraged them to keep on practicing. “I and my teammates trained at the Hyderian Academy in Hazara Town, the old ground used by several Hazara martial artists, gymnasts and athletes. Parkour is very extreme and, at the same time, very limitless. It does not have any rules. This is why we like it so much,” said Ali.
No obstacle held the Hazara Boys back. When the Hazara Boys were not allowed to practice Parkour within the academy, they simply continued their training on a vacant rented plot.
Parkour comes to Lahore
Usman, another traceur hailing from Lahore, also started off the sport Parkour without knowing that he was performing Parkour. “I was a gymnast. I used to jump around on the street and do flips. I didn’t know that I was doing something other than gymnastics until I got hold of the mobile phone and watched some Parkour videos on the YouTube of international traceurs. I didn’t know but what I used to do was Parkour. Most of the traceurs in Pakistan are not aware of what actually is Parkour, but they say they are doing Parkour,” he said.
Usman was the only traceur in Lahore. He was also inspired by the Hazara Boys by watching their videos. When he started performing Parkour, the other boys in Lahore saw and joined him. “They saw I was doing something different, which was attractive,” he said.
He said that in Pakistan, currently, there are around 900 traceurs, but most of them do gymnastics, not Parkour. “The difference between a Parkour and Gymnastics is that Parkour is free running of about 30 to 45 seconds that involves different tricks usually performed in gymnastics. So most of the traceurs are just doing gymnastics,” said Usman, who took Pakistan on the map of Parkour.
He said that the knowledge of the people about this game was minimal. “In the beginning, people didn’t understand what I was doing, but once they saw me performing tricks while running, it attracted them, and they shifted to this sport from gymnastics,” he said.
Talking about the risk of injury in the sport, he said that the risk is low for beginners but high for professionals. “I have dislocated my shoulder many times, which usually takes a week or two to get back in shape. The beginners don’t try many tricks as they are starting to learn, but the professional and experienced ones wants to try different and unique tricks to bring more creativity in their moves, and that is where you get injured by trying new flips in different locations,” said Usman.
The Pakistan Parkour Federation
In late 2019, the sport was officially launched with the formation of the Pakistan Parkour Federation (PPF), which was established by Usman, who is now also the General Secretary of the PPF.
After gaining some experience in Parkour, Usman saw a need for a body that can look after the traceurs; otherwise, they will keep doing it for no more than their own fun. “I searched the Internet and saw that our neighbouring countries had their Parkour teams, so I researched and discovered that they all have a body to represent them,” he said.
“I got to know that there was an international body and wrote to them about our desire to be an affiliate. Their response was prompt and they asked us to form a proper association with all members. We did that and submitted the report to them. They were quick to respond to us again and we are now an affiliated body of the World Free-running and Parkour Federation,” Usman shared.
One month later, Usman had established a club at an empty plot. He installed high bars, hanging bars installed on the walls, a springboard, mattresses, and tires with a wooden platform seated on one side. “This was our entire gym. I invested all on my own. The plot was a total mess. It had trash, piles of garbage and uneven ground. We invested all the efforts and the money I had. It cost around Rs200,000. But that turned out well as right after a month when the extreme sports organisation, Red Bull contacted us to support us in our initiative,” he said.
Pakistan’s first Parkour event
As Parkour wasn’t that famous and had very few athletes, holding a competition on their own was impossible. That is when Red Bull, which organises Parkour’s freerunning competition called Art of Motion every year globally, came into supporting them. “We were well supported in organizing our first national championship during their 3X Basketball event, which was a huge success,” he said.
“We were able to attract many to this sport, and the audience also loved it. This was a step forward in making this a nationwide sport,” Usman added.
Establishing club
The Pakistan Sports Board contacted Usman and rest of the PPF management soon after, and invited them to establish a club on their premises in Lahore. “We have now established our club on three different locations inside the premises of PSB. One is in the hall with a judo mattress, the other is in the under-construction building where we jump from a height on the mattress, and the third is beside the Quaid-e-Azam International Cycling Velodrome, where we have installed bars and other stuff,” Usman told The Express Tribune.
“We have now started training not only boys but girls too by going to different educational institutes to introduce this sport. We have also started training workshops in Balochistan, Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.”
PPF has seven local associations, four of the provinces, Gilgit Baltistan, Kashmir, and Islamabad. “More boys are joining the sport as it is gaining popularity. Red Bull has been a keen supporter for us and this sport since it was established. They have supported us well on every stage. Still, we are looking for more sponsors who can finance the prize money of the competitions,” he said.
Going viral on TikTok
Usman said that since TikTok was launched in Pakistan, it has helped him promote the sport to even the rural areas. “I have seen that many Parkour athletes make TikTok videos while performing tricks. This helps the athletes sitting in two separate cities to know about the different tricks they are performing. I used to post my videos on Instagram but I had to spend money on its promotion to reach people. On my TikTok account I am being able to reach out to a far greater audience without paying anything. In one month alone, I received around 600 calls from the people who saw my videos on this app and asked to join the club,” he said.
“I have seen that TikTok in Pakistan is so much more than just a dancing video app. For example, people who play unpopular sports like us have gotten a great platform now to showcase our skills and create awareness about sports like Parkour. Through these videos we are able to reach the masses even in the rural areas, where I believe we could have a huge chunk of the Parkour talent,” he said.
He further shared that he is also planning to make an official account of the club so that it can reach more people and they can know about the correct manner of performing Parkour by sitting at their hometown. “We can use apps like TikTok for generating more and more awareness and interest so that youngsters take inspiration and pursue their passion for sports,” he said adding that as the app is currently banned in Pakistan so they are missing the opportunity to spread awareness before their next event.
Opening doors for the future
“We want to change what we faced. I was a gymnast, and we received no travel, stay, food during the national championships, and the highest prize money was Rs20,000, which is not even enough for a single athletes diet for a month. But now we have sponsors who helps us with the travel, stay and food for the participants while we are in contact with sponsors for the prize money of up to Rs30,000 or more.”
Talking about the province with the most Parkour talent, he said that Hazara Boys are the pioneer of this sport in Pakistan, and that is where the most talent is. “Kids of U14 age have joined the club and are training for the sport. Apart from that, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad have the most talent, respectively,” said Usman adding that cities like Faisalabad, Sialkot and Gujranwala also have talent.
He said they have contracted some clubs in the cities, and if someone contacts them to get the training, they link them with the clubs or with the individual trainers where the club is not available. “Training is a must. Otherwise, they will injure themselves. Although the professional you get, the more risk of injury increases as you opt from more wild tricks, still basic technique is what everyone should know,” said Usman.
Talking about the age limit, the 26-year-old coach, Usman, said it is all about fitness. “No matter what age you are in, if you are fit and can give time to this sports, then even if you are over 40, you can easily perform tricks.”
Aiming for the international stage
Usman said that many international competitions are being held, but Pakistan has yet to participate. “There was a competition Art of Motion held in Greece, but we couldn’t get the visa and missed the competition. Then there is a Tempest running academy that holds an online competition every month with prize money of $500,” he said.
Talking about the points system in Parkour, he said that there are three criteria to judge and gain points known as Execution, Creativity and Difficulty (ECD). The athlete gain points in the Execution and Creativity from 1 to 10, and in the difficulty part, the athlete has 10 points, and the judges deduct if he makes a mistake.
The Execution part includes; Safety, flow and mastery; the Creativity part includes; use of the course, the use of obstacles, and connection, whereas the Difficulty part includes; variety, single trick and whole run.
He added that they have applied for the affiliation of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) but haven’t received any response from them.
However, Usman concluded that they are planning their next championship at the Karting event, which is currently in the final phase of its second edition. The competition's prize money will be sponsored by SA Gardens, where Usman gives training to the MMA athletes and plans to build his next academy. “My aim is to develop more academies and then departments to increase competition.