Parkour and playgrounds go together like peanut butter and jelly. This first video arrived in my inbox, one of a series in a google alert. This is a low intensity parkour excursion. It’s quite possible that the young lads putting it together were sending up a spoof.
I think of this one as polka-dot parkour, very baby steps into the world of free running. It’s a bonus here to get a small glimpse of a German playground. Note the giant platter. I’m imagining the fun of taking a round spinny spin on that, no handholds – sliding to the outside. Thanks to these young videographers for sparking my curiosity and getting me to poke about looking for parkour playground videos.
It’s all upswing tempo, acrobatics and gyrations in this New York City Chinatown demonstration. By definition, parkour doesn’t take place within contained spaces but playgrounds seem to be a natural environment to launch into a practice, or a show. The result is a positive multi-user playscape.
Fine street theatre that I would gladly take in live. You can read more on parkour here.
A solo show in Corpus Christi, Texas has a more laid back rhythm though the movement is no less fluid as the runner eloquently makes his way over, around and through the obstacles of a Leathers playground. With all the wood, I’m wondering about slivers.
Six-year-old Noah and I spent some quality viewing time early this morning checking the parkour fare online. He likes what he sees and is already putting it into practice inside the house using furniture as props. I may have some parkour legs ready to spring right under my nose. It could be enough to inspire me. Here’s a preview of the aptly named documentary, My Playground , that set his eyes (and mine) popping.
Here is the final scene in our progression – a playground designed specifically for parkour. Plug ‘n Play is a first for Copenhagen and possibly the world.
Team JiYo were asked to help make it all happen
Will the parkour-playground love story become more intertwined? As parkour’s popularity grows we can anticipate that playgrounds will continue to attract the gravity defying, urban, acrobat class. I hope you’ll see them at a playground near you soon.
PlayGroundology 