BY RECONNECTING WITH THE MOST PRIMITIVE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN MOVEMENT, PARKOUR ELEVATES "RUNNING WILD" TO AN ART FORM.

IN THE fading light of a chilly Sydney afternoon, Kenneth "Kenny" Yuen squats onto his haunches. Slowly, he exhales any stiffness from his body, then rhythmically flexes and relaxes, preparing his muscles for the flight ahead. Perched on top of a 2.5m coppers log, he ignores the background gaggle of schoolkids with their chorus of encouragement.

Yuen’s gaze is fixed on his goal: a flat circular surface just 15cm in diameter – the top of another identical post, just over two metres away. It’s a long drop to the deck; any miscalculation is going to hurt. A lot. Mental calibrations completed, Yuen’s instincts take over. With feline grace he bounds to his full height, propelling his frame upwards and outwards into thin air. A natural, instinctive flight ensues; between his ears, all conscious thought has ceased. There is a purity and elegance is his movement. For a moment he appears suspended in time and space, but as he searches for a clean landing his movement suddenly quickens. Like a ninja in urban streetwear, he snaps into another crouched shape to absorb the impact and touches down without a sound, finding his balance perfectly as his agile body makes just the finest of corrections. Behind and below him, the kids shout their appreciation and clap wildly.

From Yuen there is no display of emotion. Once again his body curls to a squat before he silently drops to the ground, rolling instinctively to absorb the shock, before scooting off towards another obstacle. To the uninitiated, Yuen and his mates might simply appear to be a bunch of hyperactive teenagers mucking around in a kiddies’ playground. But to those who know, their movements, focus and precision are the essential dynamics in one of Australia’s newest sporting pastimes, albeit based on our species’ oldest athletic principles: parkour. Originating in the suburbs of Paris, parkour (pronounced park-oar) was the childhood brainchild of its idolised founder, Frenchman David Belle. More than just a sport, it’s an art form – an athletic discipline practised by an intense crew devoted to reconnecting with the roots of human movement and instinct.

At its most basic, parkour is a discipline designed for speed, when you need to run for your life. It employs nature’s most natural athletic motions: running, jumping, bounding, swinging and rolling – anything to keep you ahead of the chase. There are no specific forms or boundaries, although certain standard movements have been named. Parkour is the closest you can come to caveman simplicity. Parkour enthusiasts, known as traceurs (tracers), are a committed bunch, numbering around 500 nationwide. According to Djordje "George" Djordjevic, a Sydney-based parkour purist, a tracer’s passion for their sport runs deep: "I don’t think flashier moves.