A booming exercise trend is making waves in Dubai with the growing popularity of parkour – a training discipline developed from the military. Far from just jumping from obstacle to obstacle, parkour, a non-competitive sport, is a discipline that enables you to travel freely through any terrain while developing balance, strength, dynamism, endurance, and precision.

Launched in 2016, Parkour DXB offers classes designed to suit different levels of abilities, ages and goals and always involves challenging moves and exercises. Co-founder Chris Sotiriou told Sport360: “We have a lot going on over the summer in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we are running new adult and kids classes. We opened in the region two years ago and it’s really taken off, we have more kids currently, but now we’re developing a new programme for adults, with more obstacle training.” Sotiriou discovered parkour while in Thailand in 2009 and has been key in introducing the sport to the wider fitness industry, having launched a successful platform for the discipline across Asia before bringing it to the UAE.

There’s no element of danger in the sport with all Parkour DXB coaches having the necessary qualifications and classes carried out in controlled environments, “It’s perfectly safe, all our coaches are bought in from around the world and they’re all fully certified,” said Sotiriou. He also added that people usually try the sport after looking for a new way of getting exercise. “It’s a bit of a trend I guess, but people typically get into it if they’re bored of usual fitness training. It’s a non-competitive sport so people do it to learn new skills and after a few lessons they know if it’s for them or not.”

Parkour, also known as freerunning, focuses on developing fundamental attributes required for strength and fitness, balance, spatial awareness, agility, coordination and precision. It’s a way of testing both physical and mental limits – and overcoming them. The UK was the first country to officially recognise parkour as a sport in 2017, as it aims builds confidence, self-discipline and responsibility.

Parkour DXB delivers a curriculum incorporating the physical techniques and skills as well as important concepts crucial to youth development. These include problem solving and teamwork, with classes utilising the space and equipment at hand to make sure each session is both engaging and educational, along with building strength.

For more information and to book a class visit www.parkour.ae