Glenn Knockwood-Parkour Pioneer. Photo courtesy of Red Reed Pictures, Inc.
Glenn Knockwood’s face lights up with eagerness and enthusiasm whenever he talks about Parkour. It’s an urban sport that combines the skills of running and rock-climbing with the philosophy and discipline of martial arts to overcome physical obstacles in one’s path.
The 27-year-old Mi’kmaq man originally from the Indian Brook First Nation, N.S. took up the sport about six years ago after watching videos on the Internet of young people running while they performed extreme jumps over fences and climbed buildings.
“For me, Parkour has helped me keep my own path even though there are pre-determined paths all set out around you,” Knockwood, who now lives in Halifax, told RadioGoogoo.ca in a recent interview. “The more you train in Parkour, the more you realize your greatest obstacle is your own mind,” he said.
“The more you train in Parkour, the more you realize your greatest obstacle is your own mind.”
“We tell ourselves what we can and cannot do and Parkour helps you realize you can do way more than you originally thought you could ever do and that’s what it’s done for me,” Knockwood said.
Knockwood’s enthusiasm for Parkour motivated Halifax filmmaker Tim Reed to produce a video about Knockwood and his passion for the sport. Reed had already known Knockwood for several years before he discovered Parkour.
“I just watched this light in his eyes when he found this new sport and he tried it out and then saw what a community he had that had grown or spawned around him, around that sport and around his personality of doing that,” Reed said.
Reed submitted the film, called Glenn Knockwood – Parkour Pioneer, to play at this year’s 29th Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, which began on Sept. 17 and continues until Saturday. His submission was accepted and screened with 14 other short films from Atlantic Canada at Park Lane 8 theatre on Thursday evening.
To watch the video, click here
The four minute video shows Knockwood on camera talking about the sport and how it has had a positive effect on his life. He is joined in the video by several other Parkour enthusiasts as they run and jump over fences and concrete barriers throughout Halifax. The entire video was shot in high definition format over a three-day period during the summer of 2008.
In the video, Knockwood talks about tipping the scales at 350 lbs. at age 13 when his mother passed away in 1995. As a tribute to her, he decided to lose the weight and nearly lost 100 lbs. in one summer. He describes how Parkour was the perfect for him after trying various sports to keep fit, including martial arts and Tai Chi.
“I always thought that Glen deserved a full length documentary myself but not being able to afford it, this is what I could afford to do,” Reed said. “But actually editing it and going through the interview, I realized there’s so much more there than what I can say in this short amount of time,” he said
Knockwood, who works as the Director of Sports and Recreation for the Kitpu Youth Centre in Halifax, would like to travel across the country to hold workshops with youth on the philosophy of Parkour. If that were to happen, Reed would like to produce a full length documentary on Knockwood and his work.
“For a man of his age and his outlook on life and his maturity that he really deserves a shot,” Reed said. “I think he would be a brilliant teacher and I think he deserves a shot to do that.”
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