For James Redenbaugh, parkour isn’t a sport — it’s a way of life.

There was no official training regimen for Redenbaugh, a third year architecture major. For him and other members of the parkour club at Syracuse University, practices grew organically. They sprang, literally, from a greater philosophy of returning to natural movements. Members can be seen running, climbing and vaulting around campus every week, anywhere from Hendricks Chapel to one of their favorite spaces, the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

American Parkour, the largest parkour and freerunning group in the world, defines the method as ‘the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment,’ on its website.

Though freestyle running originated before World War I, it has recently re-emerged as a cultural phenomenon. Rafe Emerson, a graduate psychology student, calls the improvised travel method a ‘renewed innocence.’

‘It’s about remembering how you used to traverse as a kid,’ Emerson said.

The club began organizing last semester through the creation of a Facebook page. The group now has 35 members, about 20 of which train regularly. Though Emerson can claim nine intermittent years of gymnastics experience, he and Redenbaugh emphasize no formal training is necessary to join them.

There is no safety net in parkour. Training in a gymnasium is not the same as jumping across rooftops. Here, the consequences are harsher. The stakes are raised.

‘You get certain skills (in gymnastics) that are transferable to parkour, but in many ways, it retards your ability because you learn to do things on safe mats and springs. But outside, for parkour, it’s concrete,’ Emerson said. ‘It doesn’t bend, so when you fall … it ends up making you afraid. You don’t quite let yourself go as much, and it actually hinders you, and you don’t do quite as well.’

Traceurs, or parkour participants, train together in what they call a jam. For an hour, they practice running movements like wall hops, cat crawls and dash vaults. Each move requires serious momentum and balance. The point of training is learning how not to get hurt. There have been no broken bones or injuries in the club since its arrival on campus, said Redenbaugh, a contributing photographer for The Daily Orange.

‘Most of the guys did some stuff over the summer … but a lot of guys are new to it,’ Redenbaugh said.

Christian Leadley, a senior musical theater major, had unique motivations for joining the club. Leadley is cast in the drama department’s ‘Jungalbook,’ based on Rudyard Kipling’s jungle adventure stories.

‘If I’m going to play a monkey, I might as well learn how to be a monkey,’ Leadley said. While balancing on a rail, he explains, ‘You just have to use your imagination, like a kid.’

To non-members, the sight of students flinging themselves around campus is captivating. Alex Fay didn’t know what parkour was before seeing the club practice around campus.

‘I think it’s awesome,’ said Fay, a junior international relations major. ‘It’s like acrobatics … I’d love to learn how to do stuff like that.’

Fay would be joining the likes of Alec Hembree and Andrew Parnas, both sophomore architecture majors who began practicing with the club last semester. They intend to use the rest of this semester to hone their skills.

The Office of Student Life has yet to officially recognize the club. However it has not sought out recognition, either.

Redenbaugh said the club has not yet run into any liability problems and hopes the university doesn’t oppose the organization any time soon. Parkour clubs are recognized on many college campuses around the country, such as Iowa State University, University of Michigan and University of Georgia in Athens.

Redenbaugh doesn’t plan on holding back as he continues to explore the limits of parkour. Without rules or regulations, there’s nothing to stop him from pushing the practice. It’s just him, open space and a landscape full of possibilities.

‘Loosen up. Don’t think — explore,’ Redenbaugh said. ‘Use what’s there in unconventional ways.’

knbaug@syr.edu

Published on September 27, 2010 at 12:00 pm