Unlike many students, sophomore Jordan Teitelbaum did not spend his summer relaxing, but he did spend it kicking back–literally. Teitelbaum was working on a stunt called a “cast back;” a parkour move that requires kicking his legs off a wall followed by a backflip.

Parkour is a sport commonly practiced in urban areas that involves flipping, vaulting, running, climbing and jumping over obstacles.

Teitelbaum has been doing parkour for two years without any previous training. He took interest in the sport when his younger brother attended a summer camp at Dynamite Gymnastics.

“I couldn’t let my younger brother be better than me,” Teitelbaum said. “So I started taking classes there the following Fall, and I fell in love with it.”

When Teitelbaum is at the gym at Dynamite Gymnastics, he can count on the mats to protect him, though when he is outside without wearing any pads, he is only reliant on his skill.

“When you’re outside, there’s fear, and then, once you do a move, the fear is gone,” Teitelbaum said.

Teitelbaum practices his new stunts in the gym with the protection of the mats. When he is not training for new tricks, he practices wherever he can.

When Teitelbaum struggles with new tricks, he practices until he can get it right, but once he is able to execute the stunt correctly, he is diverted from the frustration. He describes the experience as having “lots of pain and then instant relief.”

This past summer, Teitelbaum was on a parkour team and practiced 28 hours a week. Teitelbaum described it as very rigorous.

“There’s a coach for the team, it’s slightly instructional in terms of just the exercise but the parkour, what moves you put together when you throw them and whatever, that’s [up to you],” Teitelbaum said.

Though he is not currently on a team because the school year started up and his school schedule does not allow for parkour team training, he still practices twice a week for an hour and half and whenever he has time.

“[Parkour is] just doing whatever you want, it’s freedom,” Teitelbaum said.