Written By Paulo Frank

Unique talents can be found in all shapes and sizes, ranging from athleticism to illusions. For junior Tejas DeBolle, his talent is a mix of the two. “I do parkour,” DeBolle said. “Parkour is basically about moving between two places as efficiently as possible, mostly by climbing over obstacles and by jumping and running.”

DeBolle’s interest in parkour piqued at a young age while playing an open-world, free-running video game. “I was playing ‘Assassins Creed Two,’ and thought it was really cool that the character could climb buildings to get places faster,” DeBolle said. “I thought I could probably do some of those moves in real life, so I looked up some YouTube tutorials and just practiced.”

As with any task involving quick movements, DeBolle believes that balance and control are basic necessities for parkour; both are traits he is familiar with. “I do martial arts, so I’ve always had decent coordination and balance,” DeBolle said. “I would say I had a slight advantage coming in, but the main thing overall is persistence.”

Throughout his time practicing parkour, DeBolle has found his favorite move, though it carries some risks. “It’s called a

Kong—it’s when you dive over something with some support from your hands,” DeBolle said. “It’s kind of dangerous because if you mess up, you’ll land on your face.”

DeBolle continues to do parkour, not for the convenience of following a straight line between points A and B, but rather for its unrestricting nature. “It really gives me a sense of freedom, knowing that I can get around places in ways that other people wouldn’t think is possible,” DeBolle said. “It opens up a whole new realm of possibility.”

Although there are countless parkour videos on the internet and even a national parkour championship, the skill is still rarely pursued. “Generally, athletic people are able to do the basics,” DeBolle said. “It’s rare to see people [who] can do the more complicated moves that I can do, though.”

DeBolle feels that anybody can become a parkourist if they are willing to give it a shot. “It’s easy to be intimidated with the videos of people doing crazy things like jumping o roofs,” DeBolle said. “But if you just start out with the basics and build on that, you can do your own crazy stuff that other people would never even think of.”