Be agile like a ninja today at these parkour spots in Bangkok
Famed for its awe-inspiring temples, bustling open-air markets and lively night-time scene, Bangkok draws curious tourists from every corner of the globe. As you Peel back the layers of its conventional attractions and usual energising chaos, you’ll discover a less-trodden path that leads to a thriving culture of extreme sports, with parkour taking centre stage.
Parkour is a discipline coming from France that melds together elements of martial arts, rock climbing, and gymnastics. In parkour, the world is the canvas and you paint your trace on it as it presents a challenge that calls for speed, dexterity, and innovation. creativity is key as you dynamically morph the city’s everyday structures into physical opportunities.
Bangkok is a sprawling labyrinth of structures that are simultaneously an architect’s best dream and their worst nightmare at the same time. With their rich variety of venues which are sought after by parkour enthusiasts. With an interplay of natural spaces and man-made structures, Bangkok presents you with many chances to express yourself.
Spots in Bangkok for parkour
Whether you are a master or a beginner, these spots provide chances to either learn how to parkour or continue to innovate. The legality of the situation will be put into question but you will find that people do not mind as long as you do not obstruct them. Regardless, all you will need is your body and do not bring your inhibitions.
Chaloem Phra Kiat Forest Park
One notable spot that Team Farang, a notable parkour team that is influential in the Thai parkour scene, has endorsed, this park offers a multitude of options when it comes to making a trace. A patchwork of green within the urban jungle of Thailand creates a picturesque environment for you to sweat in. With spots for training in multiple disciplines like running or Muay Thai, you can find an incredible bar set where you can practice various gymnastic movements for parkour.
Lumphini Park
Another notable place for you to practice parkour in a green and pleasant environment. Lumphini Park contains a wide variety of activities from a very cheap gym to basketball courts and all the way to a playground which provides many opportunities for the aspiring or expert traceur to test their creativity. Furthermore, there are rocks and benches that can be used to practice some manoeuvres as well. You will also find some other young this as well who are practising their stuff so do as you will and join them or not.
Various universities
Universities provide some of the best man-made structures to practice parkour with as well as a lot of space which provides opportunities to find new spots to practice, enough space to move and run to extend your trace, and even more ability to hide from angry passerby if if ever comes to that. Universities like Chulalongkorn, Ramkhamhaeng, and Thammasat are good examples of unis with big common spaces.
Stadiums
Whether you are at a university with stadiums or not, there are a variety of stadiums, most of which should let you in without much hassle, that will allow you to practice various forms of parkour. From the railing to the seats to the space outside of the university, your creativity should determine what you can do.
Spots for practising and training parkour
Within all of these spaces, one thing that should come to mind is that safety must come first. There might be a desire to start big and do the craziest stunts like you see on your social media feed but this can end disastrously for you physically or legally. With that, there are spots with more controlled environment settings where you can practice parkour without the concern, except physically to an extent of course.
The Movement Playground
The owner of the Movement Playground, Julien Vigroux, seeks to spread the influence of parkour with this as it stands to one one of not the only few gyms in Bangkok but also one of the biggest. With that, you will find that at this gym, there are a variety of obstacles that include various sizes of wooden boxes, warped walls, gymnastic rings, bars, and even weights for any training desire you may have.
on top of that, there are classes for adults and children that you can attend at this gym to learn more techniques for parkour and hone your skills further. This gym serves as a destination for you to practise various movement disciplines in a controlled environment.
Address: 36/ 4 Sukhumvit 69 Alley, Phra Khanong Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110
Opening hours:
| Monday – Friday | 12pm – 8pm |
| Saturday | 8:30am – 6pm |
| Sunday | 8:30am – 4pm |
Bangkok Parkour
Bangkok Parkour is not so much of a gym but a community of tracers who seek to teach the discipline of parkour to an audience of interested people. With that, they have classes that they organise at various parks where people can join them after contacting them. They put out a list of locations that they will be at around the beginning of a month and they meet every Saturday.
All levels of parkour practitioners are welcome here as they provide not only a chance to learn how to do parkour better but also connect with a community of like-minded individuals who share the same interests.
Address: Various parks as shown on their list. check their Facebook to see where they are organising.
Opening hours:
| Every Saturday | 10am – 12pm |
Reminders
Parkour is a discipline that a lot of people can get into with relatively minimal equipment and preparation needed. It is a primal yet artistic sport that you can get yourself into but it is always a good thing to keep in mind that you should be safe.
Parkour has the opportunity to give you terrible injuries whether it is from falling down or overuse injuries. If you can help it, it is best to join a community of people who can look after you and give criticisms so that you will not overextend past your current abilities and have room to grow more.
Regardless of that, Bangkok is the perfect canvas for you to paint your path with so whether you use them or just use your own personal spaces, you can be a ninja in no time with some practice.
In order to look for more sports to do in Bangkok as an expat where you are looking for a community other than the one for parkour, you can check out this article HERE!
