Jumping, Leaping With Precision
Keith Mylett of Precision Parkour does a parkour move known as a kong vault over a box that’s more than 3 feet tall | Leah Friel photo
Ever dreamed of becoming an American Ninja Warrior or your favorite superhero who can effortlessly climb up and down buildings, leap over picnic tables and jump over railings? A new gym in Kakaako called Precision Parkour can help you learn some of those impressive moves.
“When I watch The Avengers or see Spider-Man and Captain America, they’re actually doing park-our moves,” says owner Keith Mylett, noting that many Hollywood stuntmen are parkour athletes, as are many of the participants in the popular American Ninja Warrior competition.
Mylett, who also works as an English and yearbook teacher at Kalani High School, started doing parkour three years ago as a way to get in shape. He began with classes at Hawaii Parkour and instantly was hooked.
“Parkour is the physical discipline of overcoming obstacles in our environment,” explains Mylett, 35. “Doing repetitive stuff gets boring for me, but with parkour, every workout is different. It got me motivated to be more active, and now I’m more muscular and my endurance went up. Also, my energy levels are higher and my outlook on life is more positive and playful.
“Parkour emphasizes playfulness and creativity in an environment. So if you’re a parkour practitioner, you don’t see handrails, you see something that you can play on and exercise on. You don’t see a staircase, it transforms into an obstacle or a challenge. Walking around in an urban or even natural environment, you start seeing the world as your playground.”
Mylett offers classes for all ages, including Keiki Parkour for kids ages 3 and up. The facility features movable boxes in various sizes and heights to create obstacles for different levels of skill and comfort. Little blocks and metal bars are attached throughout the walls to climb on, and there are several high bars to swing from. Even the front desk is only accessible by jumping or vaulting four feet over it.
“At Precision Parkour, we want people to come in and do something awesome that they didn’t think they could do before they came in,” adds Mylett, whose 6-year-old son Bodhi also practices parkour. “Kids naturally do parkour (picture the typical playground with monkey bars, a rock wall, rope bridge, etc.), and I think parkour is a way of encouraging play and making physical activity fun.
“Our phrase is ‘Level Up In Real Life.’ So if you like watching superhero movies or playing video games, why don’t you put those down for an hour a week and come down here and learn how to do it in real life?”
Precision Parkour is located at 423 Keawe St. For more information, email keith@precisionparkour.com or visit precisionparkour.com.
