Between breathtaking stunts and trotting the globe, professional free runner and parkour athlete Abudi Alsagoff is breaking ground in a sport that has gained huge traction over the years.
Rearrange the letters in the word “parkour” and you get “Our Park”. An apt name perhaps for a sport that has its participants turn their immediate urban environment into a personal playground.
The sport was originally termed art du deplacement (art of movement) and was founded in France by nine young men in the 1980s.
Abudi Alsagoff, who heads professional parkour crew Alpha Movements, is helping get parkour noticed locally and internationally, and is quite literally flying the flag for the sport.
In July this year, the 24-year-old climbed 200 flights of stairs to the top of the the 400m 101 Marina in Dubai and performed the human flag (a stunt where the body is parallel to the ground supported only by a vertical bar).
He was featured in British newspaper Daily Mail for the stunt and now hopes that it can inspire others.
“It was an honour and I’m really grateful to be featured in the Daily Mail, I am the first person to do the human flag there and it’s to show that all those hundreds, if not thousands of hours you put into your training will show results,” he said.
Professional Parkour athlete Abudi Alsagoff over looks his urban playground in Dubai.
According to Abudi, parkour offers a host of health and fitness benefits, including improving physical and mental health as well as increasing stamina and building core strength.
For beginners looking to break into this acrobatic sport, he says starting slow is the way to go. “I recommend that newbies learn the basics first and then once they have mastered some techniques, they can then focus on making their movements more efficient and faster,” he said.
Alpha Movements (formed in 2012) now boasts five trained professionals, a direct result of the rising demand for parkour athletes in the entertainment industry.
The crew also hosts a wide range of parkour classes for different levels of ability – from children to adults – and try to cater to individuals with busy schedules by making night classes available. More advanced free runners are given an extensive training module designed to help them become certified trainers themselves.
High flying Alsagoff in mid-air performing a back flip – he recommends beginners to start with the basics and then progress to more advanced maneuvers.
Abudi believes the sport can progress better in Malaysia if regulations are loosened. “I see Malaysia producing champions in the near future, but only if free runners are alllowed to use gymnastic gyms as training grounds,” he said.
Abudi has already proven that those are obstacles he has overcome – to date, parkour has given him the opportunity to star in local commercials, compete in multiple competitions and even represent the region at the World Freerun Championships in 2013!
Parkour is part of Unbeatable, a series where we highlight young Malaysian athletes practicing unconventional sports in conjunction with Hari Sukan Negara.
Check out some of the videos here.
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