The spirited sport known as parkour that treats the world as one big obstacle course is gaining traction outside of the urban enthusiasts whose YouTube-worthy acrobatics spread its popularity.
Once the domain of the outdoor anti-athlete, it's becoming the go-to sport for people who just want a good workout.
Jessamyn Hodge, a 32-year-old software and information engineer from South Boston, recently prepped for her first parkour class at a high school gym in suburban Brookline. She was hoping to learn the kind of wall-scaling, fence-vaulting, obstacle-conquering moves she'd already seen in online videos shared by her rock-climbing friends.
"It's like dancing at high speed," she said. "It reminds me of being a kid again, like monkeying around on anything and everything, clambering about, generally having fun while getting around."
Parkour, developed in France in the 1980s, borrows elements from martial arts, gymnastics, rock climbing and other athletic fields to enable participants to turn obstacles like park benches, trees, guardrails, and buildings into tools they can use to nimbly propel themselves forward.
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