New parkour classes seek to boost fitness and mental health for young people in Nairn
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
YOUNGSTERS with aspirations to fly high could see their dreams come true as a new class gets set to launch in Nairn.
Parkour is the art of getting from A to B in the most efficient way possible – often incorporating flips and without any assistive equipment.
Eye-catching for the speed and grace of practised participants, the Seaman’s Hall in Nairn – run by charity Green Hive –will provide the base for monthly classes courtesy of Ignotus Parkour, run by Kyle Wilkinson and Sam Gillespie.
Growing out of an initiative in neighbouring Moray, Kyle explained how they came to embrace the sport.
“I initially did gymnastics, however felt it was very restrictive and strict about what you can/can’t do and wear,” he said. “So when I came across parkour, it was perfect for me as there are no official rules or restrictions, apart from the limitations of your imagination and physical ability.
“Sam was a gamer, playing games like Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia. After attempting the parkour moves seen in the games in a local park, a coach approached him and asked him if he’d like to join the parkour class – 15 years later he is still training parkour.
“For myself, training parkour has improved my physical health by strengthening and improving my explosive power and speed, both of which are useful for athletics, which for a while I competed in at a high level – in long jump and triple jump.
“It improved my mental health as it improved my confidence in parkour, which in turn improved my general confidence.
“For Sam, he struggled with depression and obesity in his early teen years, so parkour gave him an escape for his mental health and a method to improve his physical health.
“The way parkour can improve your mental and physical health is something Sam is very vocal about.”
He added: “Parkour can be practised in social groups or as an individual and allows people to develop at their own pace. There are no strict rules about clothing, which means no one has to spend lots of money on special equipment or clothing, purely because a sport’s governing body says so.
“In both classes and jams (informal Parkour gatherings), you meet a whole variety of people who come from different backgrounds and have different levels of ability.
“This creates connections and slowly builds a “Parkour Community”, allowing for many different people to become friends through Parkour, but progress their friendships to outside of Parkour as well.
“A lot of sports are focussed around competitions, however not parkour.
“If you want to compete at parkour, then you can. If you wish to purely learn the skills for fun, then you can. There is never any pressure or demand for competitive athletes, like many sports do.”
Classes are set to start at the Seaman’s Hall in January, on the first Friday of every month, from 2.30-3.30pm for ages 15 and over and from 3.30-5pm for 8-14 year olds.
