Spreading the culture of adventure in the Kingdom

It is an adventure. At the same it is a kind of dance too. That’s why Parkour has been successful in creating its own ripples among the youth of Bahrain. Started in the year of 2010, Bahrain Parkour has been successful in passing many obstacles and nowadays it is a well-established name among youth, who love adventure.

The sole aim of Bahrain Parkour is to spread the spirit of Parkour and free running among the Bahraini youth. By teaching foundational techniques of Parkour like jumping, vaulting, Bahrain Parkour helps the participants gain physical conditioning, mental focus and overall health and fitness. Ultimately, it teaches youth to overcome any obstacles that pose challenge in life.

According to Mohammed Saad, one of the founders and head of this group, Bahrain Parkour was started with the aim of spreading parkour and free-running in Bahrain and outside. 

“We love what we do and we are passionate about what we do. We want to share that passion with the world,” he said.

Parkour has a history of more than three decades. It was initially developed in France by a person called Raymond Belle. Later, his son David Belle and his group of friends called ‘Yamakasi’ took it to a further level during the late 1980s. It gained popularity in 90s and 2000s through documentaries, films and advertisements featuring the Yamakasi.

Mohammed and his fellow enthusiast Osama Faiz Al Safah began learning Parkour moves themselves in 2009 and they officially launched the group in 2010. Since then, despite enormous challenges, the group has been successful in marking its presence in the Kingdom.

Currently, Bahrain Parkour hosts a lot of Parkour and free running jams around Bahrain. They have a plan to organise parkour jams outside Bahrain also. According to Mohammed, they are well-known in the Kingdom. But they want to show the world what Bahrain Parkour is.

The group has already produced videos related to their activities and uploaded them on YouTube. 

“We need to be more active on YouTube so that we get more views and support. So far the response we got is really good,” Mohammed said.

Despite its popularity in the Kingdom, Bahrain Parkour has some difficulties with the places they train. Though they don’t have a specific place for practising Parkour, one could usually find them at Estiqlal walking circuit in Isa Town during weekends. 

But their dream to find a permanent place for practice has not yet been materialised. According to Mohammed, risk would be less if Parkour is practised at a safe place.

 “We don’t have a safe place to practise or to train others. If we had a safe place to train like a gymnastics or something like that, a lot of people would have joined us,” the head of Bahrain Parkour said.