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Parkour – PK and its variation freerunning are definitely terms you should get familiar with. This sensation has swept across Europe and you could say it’s officially “arrived” here in SA thanks to the first mainstream showcasing of parkour at this year’s Mr Price Pro Ballito Beach Festival. We chat to local sports star and parkour/freerunning athlete Kundai Murapa – director of stunt team Sabotage Elite and 2012 Style champion. Everything you need to know about PK and freerunning in SA you can find out from this guy…
Full Name: Kundai Murapa
Nickname: Kenji
Hometown: Harare, Zimbabwe
Age: 23
Sport: Parkour/freerunning
Years active: 3.5 years
Sponsors: New Balance South Africa, Glaceau Vitamin-Water
Injuries: Hand laceration, right knee laceration, ankle sprains
So for those who have no idea what we’re talking about – what is parkour?
Parkour is a physical discipline whereby practitioners train to overcome and negotiate obstacles in their natural environment as effectively and efficiently as possible. Freerunning is the creative self-expression of parkour elements.
How did you get into parkour?
I basically caught wind of it on Youtube, and with a background in dance and martial arts, I just kind of fell into it, in every sense of the term.
You founded your own team – Sabotage Elite – tell us a bit about your name, what you guys do and how often you guys get together and freerun?
Well the premise behind Sabotage is to sabotage your obstacles, with grace, without mercy, and this basically translates into how we approach and accept parkour, and in a broad sense, life challenges. Sabotage Elite is a freerunning/parkour stunt team based in Pretoria and the main objective for us is to jam and level up, we’re inspired by the world’s greatest teams such as 3run and Storm Freerun. We also do live stunt shows, film and tv stunts, promo work and we recently returned from the Mr Price Pro Ballito Beach Festival Pro Parkour comp where I clinched first place in the style category, and Jose Chung, one of our newest members came first in the speed discipline. Mark Modimola who is a Drunknmunky athlete and Alt-X Speed Champ placed as runner up in both categories.
What’s the local scene of parkour like? How fast is it growing? Where can people come check you guys out?
The local parkour or ‘PK’ scene has taken off tremendously in the last two years, especially thanks to people like Dane Grant, founder of Parkour South Africa, and Dyllon Davidson from PKJozi and Concrete Foundation who pioneered the concept of dedicated parkour academies in SA. We also have a Parkour Society at the University of Pretoria called Tuks Parkour and you can like Saboatge Elite on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sabotage-Elite
What’s been your biggest demo/event yet?
My biggest event incidently was the parkour comp at Mr Price Pro Ballito, it was SA’s biggest parkour showcase to date and my first competitive win. I’ve also been in charge of Alt-X freerunning as a judge and organiser and I competed in Urban Sessions 2010 where I placed 4th.
Where do you hope your free-running will take you in the future?
Firstly I’m keen to see how far freerunning will unlock my latent physical and mental abilities, I want to travel the world and jam with the greats with Sabotage Elite by my side. There’s also the strong possibility of becoming a professional stunt person or a full time PK athlete on the Art of Motion circuit which I am working towards.
You were crowned Mr Price Pro Ballito Parkour Style Champion this year – congrats. Tell us a bit about the comp and how you won the judges over.
The comp was a real first in SA for many reasons, firstly, it was the first mainstream showcasing of parkour in a single event in SA and it was the first display of parkour on a purpose built structure in the country. I think I managed to grab the title through application of simple but graceful obstacle play with some big tricks in-between. I did some high flaring wall-flip 180’s and some other stuff which I kind of improvised, but I think I got it with a high angle drop, which also won best trick.
How would a newbie get involved in Parkour in SA?
The first thing you need is to get on Youtube for some ‘Jamspiration’ look up Daniel Ilabaca, Anthony Dennis and David Belle to see how it’s done. Secondly, check out Facebook for these academies, gatherings and training groups in SA:
Concrete Foundation: https://www.facebook.com/ConcreteFoundation
Reel Motion Academy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReelMotionAcademy/
Tuks Parkour: https://www.facebook.com/TuksParkour
Durban Parkour: https://www.facebook.com/durban.parkour
N1Freerun: https://www.facebook.com/groups/321720414577770/
Who are some of your international role models?
My biggest inspiration is a freerunner from Liverpool called Daniel Ilabaca. In my opinion he’s the best the sport has produced thus far. I also look up to legends such as Sascha ‘Cionn’ Hausser and UK team 3rum (one of their members, Nathan Barris is now a local SA resident).
On a scale of 1 to 10 how strong and how fit do you have to be to do what you do?
I would say generally 10, but it all depends on what level and for what purpose you do it. But if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well!
What makes a really great free-runner?
Mindset, your mind has to be focused on the end-point, the in between stuff should be a mere transition. A lot of practitioners don’t focus on the goal, they focus on the risks, comfort and fears of what lies in-between, which leads to hesitation and non-progression.
Where’s your favourite place to jam?
Tuks main campus bar-none!
Where would you love to jam one day?
I would love to jam Cambridge in the UK which is the current world hotspot or Lisses in Paris which is where it all began.
What are some of your plans for the rest of the year?
Well, after the Mr Price Pro, we’ve been getting a few calls and offers, but right now we want to decompress and not get sucked into too much media hype. We will definitely get into a few projects for the last half of the year, and beyond. Most of us are students so studies take priority.
Photos by Anthony Churchyard
