For PDF of # 20 right click here and - Urban Freeflow

LDN
Words and Photography by Ez
Most people reading this will already know
London as a place that’s home to a selection of
top level Parkour hotspots. So much so, that an
abundance of international practitioners
continually travel over in droves to test their
skills in an attempt to leave their own mark.
Why is it such a popular place? Well…..it was
given a major head start due to two
documentaries (Jump London and Jump
Britain) which aired on UK TV and helped to
put it firmly on the Parkour map within the
global scene. In the time that’s passed since, it
has gone on to become a Mecca for the sport/
art/discipline and has been a key city in
delivering two World Freerun Championship
events, a wide variety of PK inspired
commercials, films, music videos and a host of
other high profile projects.
Back at ground level, if you go there on any
given day, you’ll always see practitioners
frequenting the Southbank, Vauxhall or
Elephant & Castle spots and in the mix of
overseas visitors you’ll find a dedicated group
of Londoners who meet up pretty much on a
daily basis. For them Parkour & Freeruning is
definitely a lifestyle thing first and foremost,
and they laugh hard at the antics of the tight
trouser crew, who seem to be obsessed with
teaching cat crawls on railings, muscle ups,
pistol squats and putting conditioning ahead
of learning actual Parkour & Freerunning
techniques. That’s not to say that the LDN
guys ignore hard training because they don’t.
In fact, they possess a very tight skillset but
for them, having fun is equally as important as
the training and having fun is something that’s
taken to another level.
Inside the click they’re a friendly and
welcoming bunch of guys but don’t let that fool
you. In order to be accepted into the group,
it’s imperative to possess a wicked sense of
humour and very thick skin. Without either
of these you will be singled out and used as a
walking target for ‘friendly’ verbal abuse and
an unhealthy dose of lenging.
Whilst it’s impossible to convey the exact vibe
that’s generated at any of their hook ups, I
hung with them over a period of two days in an
attempt to capture a little bit of that flavour....