Hannah Waddle of Parkour East Texas leads her class in a lesson about hand-eye and foot-eye coordination, on Tuesday January 25, 2022, at KidsView playground at Lear Park in Longview Lear Park. (Michael Cavazos/ News-Journal Photo)

When Kilgore native Hannah Waddle began parkour in 2015, she never imagined several years later she would be teaching it across East Texas.

What started out as a love for the activity grew into a Facebook page in 2019 then became Parkour East Texas, Waddle’s way of sharing it with others in the region.

Parkour is the art of moving from one point to another using obstacles in the path to increase efficiency, according to the World Freerunning Parkour Federation. With roots in military obstacle course training and martial arts, parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, and quadrupedal movement, according to the Parkour East Texas website.

Parkour is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others, and is usually carried out in urban spaces, though it can be done anywhere.

Waddle, 29, owns Parkour East Texas and is its coach. To her, parkour is about more than physical activity.

“Parkour is about overcoming obstacles mentally and physically and learning how to be a better person through the process,” Waddle said.

She said she got into parkour while researching it for a movie project she was developing.

“I took a coaching class and my mind was blown at how powerful parkour can be for developing strong men and women of character,” Waddle said.

She has since taken classes around the U.S. and the world, including in Denmark, Greece and Sweden. She said she enjoys being able to bring parkour opportunities to East Texas.

“The inspiration (for Parkour East Texas) was definitely my love for parkour and realizing the need for it in the area. There are a few gyms that coach parkour, but I haven’t heard of outdoor parkour instructors in East Texas,” she said. “I feel parkour benefits the community by training children to be problem solvers and learn to embrace challenges. For adults it helps them learn how to move their body and stay active which can help prevent falls and injuries as they age.”

Waddle, who works full-time as a Network Marketing Developer and is in the process of building online business Waddle Health and Fitness with her husband, said she loves the “helping others” aspect coaching allows her.

“I’m starting small right now and focusing on homeschoolers because that’s the schedule that works for me, but my hope is to eventually hire more coaches and offer classes in the evenings and include a variety of options and locations,” she said.

Parkour East Texas offers classes at parks in Tyler, Bullard, Lindale, Longview, Kilgore, Hallsville and Nacogdoches.

For more information, including class schedules, visit parkoureasttexas.com.