PUBLISHED ONJuly 05, 2025 1:30 AMBYAmierul RashidVisitors to the fitness corner at Block 306 in Ang Mo Kio may be surprised by the sight of a group of seniors going about their morning exercises.
Instead of leisurely walks or tai chi, this group of elderly has been working up a sweat by navigating urban spaces with acrobatic jumps and rolling movements.
Leading the group is 33-year-old Tan Shie Boon, founder of Movement Singapore.
Unlike most parkour instructors, his students are exclusively aged between 50 and 70.
For the past seven years, he has dedicated himself to teaching this high-intensity discipline to older generations.
The beginning
Shie Boon's own parkour journey began rather unexpectedly.
He candidly admits that, just nine years ago, he "knew nothing" about the sport.
Back then, Shie Boon was a student at Lasalle College of the Arts pursuing a diploma in dance — having turned down an opportunity to study computer science at Nanyang Technological University.
He wanted to avoid a "boring" and "meaningless" path, and at Lasalle, he found parkour, which captured his interest immediately.
"[Parkour] gave me a sense of aliveness and freedom that I craved but could not experience so far in my life," Shie Boon told AsiaOne in an interview.
When asked what parkour meant to him at the time, he paused, carefully choosing his words.
"Salvation," he said.
Shie Boon acknowledged that it may come across as cheesy but he revealed that discovering the discipline coincided with a time in his life when he was battling depression.
"When you go through life feeling stuck and unsure of what to do, suddenly knowing what to do is a big [sense of] liberation," he added.
Not your typical parkour session
Twelve months into training in parkour, Shie Boon transitioned to coaching.
Initially, none of his students were seniors. But a chance encounter with an elderly lady at a food court in Bishan changed that.
Shie Boon recounted that he was having supper with his students post-exercise and a senior woman, in her 60s back then, approached him asking what he did for a living.
To better explain his profession, he shared a few parkour videos with her.
Surprisingly, the senior woman took interest and their casual conversation turned into a genuine inquiry.
She asked Shie Boon if practising the discipline would help with her problems with balancing.
He shared: "She told me that she falls very often and I immediately shared that there's an aspect of parkour that focuses on balancing, and [picking up the sport] can definitely help her."
The next morning, she attended her first parkour lesson with Shie Boon and he would continue guiding her through her fitness journey twice a week over the next couple of months.
Word got out that a local parkour instructor was helping a senior student with her balancing issues and, before long, Shie Boon's inquiries about attending parkour lessons came from one particular demographic.
"There was a new group of seniors who enrolled and some of the students you see today are from that period!" he said.
Over time, Shie Boon transitioned to solely teaching seniors but this did not come without its complexities — whether it was a lack of experience training elderly students or having to adapt his lessons for older participants.
Many may question, "Why bother, then?"
For Shie Boon, it's all about connections.
Forming bonds, navigating scepticism
While one might suspect the generational gap might lead to a disconnect between practitioner and students, Shie Boon mentioned this was far from the case.
In fact, he described teaching students of an older age group as a "more natural" progression for him.
His practice emphasises grounded movements and purposeful expression rather than the flashy flips and stunts often associated with the sport.
This significantly lowers the barriers to entry for older participants and allows for greater inclusion.
Beyond the physical transformation he observes in his students over time, Shie Boon also noticed other ways that parkour has benefitted them.
"They enjoy the friendships formed in class and I hear them mentioning that, as a practice, parkour is quite playful. It brings out a certain inner child in them and they feel like there's a a freedom of expression and movement," he said.
Although his classes can bring bring about such optimism among his students, Shie Boon noted that this may not always be the case externally.
In the online world, pushback comes in the form of netizens claiming the sport is "dangerous" while some would label it a nuisance to public property.
Shie Boon understands that the chances of changing their opinions are close to zero, so he knows better than to engage with them.
Thankfully for him, these cases are few and far between.
An inclusive community
According to Shie Boon, there's a tendency for parkour to be cast in a negative light — mostly due to the supposedly risky nature of the sport.
This is why a long-standing dream of his is to have a student of his perform parkour at the National Day Parade one day.
He explained: "I think that would mean that society, as a whole, has been open-minded to embrace parkour as a positive way of life."
Shie Boon's lessons are often held at playgrounds, places where many Singaporeans grew up learning about curiosity and play.
With every hop, roll or climb, his senior students are reminding the rest of us that growing old doesn't necessarily mean needing to remain still.
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