Learning Parkour at 64

TERESE LIM meet Ms Ann Tham, 64, a retired graphic designer, to find out what inspires her to learn parkour.

Ms Ann Tham has been practising parkour for six months and is the oldest student in Move Academy Singapore. PHOTO: TERESE LIM

Imagine twisting through railings, balancing off edges and rolling on the ground when you’re in your golden years. That’s what Ms Tham is doing because in parkour, her world becomes her very own playground. Previously averse to sports and aided by a trolley cart, the 64-year-old is now learning to master parkour.

Since she was young, Ms Tham had always been labelled as someone who couldn’t do any sports. “I’m that kind of person who walks with the coordination of left foot, left hand during foot drills,” she says. Her inactiveness undermined some of her reflexes, often causing her to lose balance and fall down easily. As she aged, such problems never left as she relied on a trolley cart to keep her balance when moving around.

Today, Ms Tham is one of the 12 seniors learning parkour with Move Academy Singapore, along with 16 younger students. On a whole, parkour is still considered a relatively niche sport due to its physically demanding nature.

Ms Ann Tham executing her parkour on a wall. PHOTO: TERESE LIM

Lively and spirited, she does parkour twice weekly with the loving support of her family. She says: “The biggest response I got was from my niece. She called me and said, ‘Aunty you became a celebrity! I’m really proud of you!’”

“One by one, my family came to me very excited that I’m learning parkour. I felt very encouraged because they were all so supportive of me,”

Ms Tham has a dream she wants to fulfil: to teach children how to draw. “But this dream has to be supported by health. This sport’s gift to me was health, because with health, I can fulfil my dream,” she says.

That said, Ms Tham still does face struggles from time to time, such as a recent fall. However, the greatest achievement is not in never falling, but in rising again afterwards. “Parkour has helped me brace falling, to stand up and brush it off because I know that with continued practice, all pains and wounds will be gone in a blink of an eye and my immunity will be improved,” says Ms Tham.

Ms Tham discovered the sport after a chance encounter with parkour coach, Mr Tan Shie Boon in a food court. He was queuing in front of her while practising a move with his feet. “I told the stall owner that he must be a dance teacher but the stall owner said he does fitness. So I made a bet that if I were to approach Mr Tan to ask about his profession and get it right, the owner would owe me one kway teow soup,” says Ms Tham.

This curiosity led to Mr Tan introducing her to parkour and showing her videos of their practice sessions. Ms Tham was willing to give it a try the very next day.

Retirees Ms Ann Tham, 64, and Madam Kimm Chai, 59, are part of a new wave of older people interested in parkour. PHOTO: TERESE LIM

Mdm Kimm Chai, 59, is a retired teacher and the fond mother of Mr Tan. She practices parkour regularly with Ms Tham and is someone Ms Tham considers to have a deep connection with. Mdm Chai says: “Ann has a very determined spirit and she never gives up. There are afternoons where I’d see her run back to the playground to train by herself. She’d tell me: ‘Shie Boon puts in so much effort to teach me, I cannot disappoint him,’”

Mr Tan, 26, a full-time coach with Move Academy Singapore, has been training Ms Tham for the past six months. Move Academy provides movement training by the Yamakasi founders. Ms Tham mentioned that Mr Tan was the main reason why she now walks unaided. It was a breakthrough for her as he led her to overcome her fears. Mr Tan says: “When she does it repeatedly, she convinces herself that it’s possible. Then, basically magic happens. You start to see her becoming more active, more willing to try things,”

“What I really like about Ann is that she has this endurance to go through with things, very much like me. She has this feisty, never give up kind of attitude,”

Mr Tan nicely sums up parkour in one word: freedom. Parkour is about self-exploration, self-improvement and being a better person for the community. Move Academy teaches students of diverse backgrounds, from 12 years old to 64 years old.

“We may be physically older, but we’re forever young at heart,” says Ms Tham.