parkour coach Matěj Bareš

I started doing parkour in 2017, and since then it has been a big part of who I am. What I enjoy most about it is the freedom of movement and the unbelievably welcoming community of people. Most people would probably consider 1st place in skill at the Czech Championships as the biggest achievement, but for me personally the biggest achievement is that it still fills me with a good feeling and that I still have somewhere to keep progressing.

For me, parkour isn’t just a sport, but a certain kind of escape from the surrounding world, where I can focus on just one thing for a while and switch off. At the same time, it’s a good way for me to strengthen my self-confidence and the discipline I need for this sport and for life as well. I think it’s a certain kind of art—just like a painter drawing on a canvas shows their feelings, emotions are expressed here too, just in a slightly different way :).