Afghan ruins find home as parkour practice grounds

KABUL - Jumping from one wall to another in a ruined building on the western edge of Kabul, Jamil Shirzad explains the rise in parkour among youngsters in Afghanistan.

"In the beginning there were only four teenagers training in parkour when I started practicing about six years ago, but today I am leading a 60-member team," Shirzad said.

Parkour, in which participants use the urban environment to create an obstacle course, is a new phenomenon in Afghanistan and very few people know about it in the war-battered country.

"My sole objective of practicing and promoting parkour is to introduce the sport to the Afghan youth on one hand and on the other, to showcase a positive image of Afghanistan to the global community," Shirzad said.

The sport has been rapidly finding its way into the lives of Afghans as many youngsters are willing to practice and passers-by excitedly look at the players leap around and climb in destroyed or under-construction buildings in the Afghan capital.

Learning the art by viewing clips on YouTube, Shirzad said that Afghans have the talent to reinvent and rebuild their war-ravaged country if the lingering militancy and chaotic situation were to cease.

All kinds of sports including taekwondo, soccer, volleyball and cricket are well established in Afghanistan, but parkour faces the usual coaching and facilities challenges.

Lack of facilities

"Right now we have no training gym, no mentor, no coach and no specific place to exercise," Shirzad said, along with a few members of his team who were all dressed in traditional clothes instead of a uniform as they exercised inside a ruined building.

"Parkour is an artistic sport which promotes peace, health and the fitness of the body," said one of the trainees, who added that the government should provide a stadium for the sport to help youngsters excel.

The lack of gym and facilities have forced Afghan parkour players to exercise inside destroyed buildings, roads and streets, and jump from one point to another even on crowded streets to improve their abilities.

Although countless numbers of buildings destroyed in the war have been rebuilt in Kabul over the past 16 years, there are still many ruined buildings to accommodate the parkour players' practice sessions.

Pedestrians and motorists frequently stop during their journeys to look at the parkour participants and watch their urban, acrobatic performances enthusiastically.

"We have a variety of problems and above all are a shortage of a gym and equipment to exercise," complained Shadab Nuri, the vice captain of the Kabul parkour team.

He also said that the police often warn them if they play on the streets.

"Practicing parkour makes your body fit and gives you self-assurance that you can overcome all obstacles," said Najib Ahmadi, 12, who is new to the sport.