Ben Jenkin executes a precision jump, usually utilized to clear a gap, landing softly on a three-inch-wide rail. "When I'm doing a precision jump," says Ben, "I'm fully involved in the movement."

Photographs by Brian Harkin

Requiring a fast approach to the obstacle, the Kong vault, in which the athlete leaps chimp-like over an obstruction, is the bread-and-butter of the parkour athlete. "It is extremely functional, as you can combine it with other moves," says Jenkin. A beastly Kong is one of the first moves that a parkour athlete must master.

"Unlike any other vault, with the dash vault you have to jump before you even make contact with the object," Jenkin says. The dash vault requires kicking the legs high over the approaching obstacle, while pressing off the surface with both hands. It can also be used when coming out a Kong to clear another object. 

Normally reserved for quickly clearing low objects, the speed vault demands a hard scissor kick and a running landing, to keep up your momentum. The speed vault streamlines the process of getting from one point to another, breezing over small pitfalls.

Although the front-flip is often mistaken for a functionless flourish, Jenkin argues that it's a useful skill. "With a flip, there is no contact made with the obstacle," Jenkin claims, "and sometimes this increases your speed."

Jenkin became interested in parkour as a teenager, when he first saw a few practitioners doing flips in a park near his home in Blackburn, England. He began traveling across England, to learn from other athletes he met online. "The freerunning community is really friendly," he says.

"Do you want basic, or cool?" Jenkin asks. Here, Jenkin executes "cool," a swan-dive-like wall-flip in which he appears to rotate in slow motion, almost magically, above the hard concrete. The wall-flip is a flashy move, but it could conceivably be used to flip over a pursuer and land behind him, cornering him.

There is a bit of tension in the urban acrobatic community, regarding the terminology employed by practitioners. Some claim that "Parkour" is the practice of getting from one point to another as quickly as possible, without any flourishes. Freerunning, some say, includes unnecessary and inefficient movements. Now, though, the terminology is becoming homogenized. "To me," says Ben, "they are both the same thing."

"Injuries happen when you are not putting your mind in one thing," claims Ben. "When I believe my body can do it, I can do it."

Referring to Jenkin, WFPF co-founder Victor Bevine claims, "He is fearless. Yesterday I watched him scale a 70-foot scaffold and stand at the top on a thin piece of metal. Completely fearless." Jenkin is also a good teacher, delighting when others complete a move they've been working on.

Parkour demands complete and utter focus. Jenkin's eyes hold the ground as he executes a palm-spin.

You can practice palm-spins on a horizontal surface before going vertical.

In a WFPF-certified facility, Jenkin teaches writer Jack deTar the speed vault. 

Jenkin fills deTar, left, in on the mindset he brings to a new obstacle. "Sometimes there's a 50-foot gap there. I love that. I love the challenge of pushing my limits," Jenkin says.

With incredible explosiveness, Jenkin clears the first obstacle, moving into a Kong to overcome the second.

"I do Parkour to challenge myself, to be better, and to have fun." says Jenkin. "I've traveled the world through it!"