Article

This is an original article as printed in the Guardian Weekly which is suitable for advanced comprehension classes written by Robert Booth and Fay Schlesinger.

Urban combat gets armed with daredevil street moves

Freerunning, the craze that involves daredevil leaps from buildings and acrobatic stunts around lamp-posts, has become the latest weapon of urban warfare for the Royal Marines, Britain's elite commando unit.

A squad of professional freerunners who call themselves EZ, Livewire, Sticky and Spidey has begun training marine commandos in gravity-defying moves such as the "kong vault", "running cat" and "crane" in an effort to improve troops' street-to-street fighting ability.

The jumping techniques - in which the walls, stairs and bollards of urban landscapes become an assault course - were showcased in the opening sequence to the last James Bond film Casino Royale.

Senior physical training instructors from the marine's base in Lympstone, Devon, have received initial training on the concrete of south London housing estates.

They have taken the knowledge back to their gym and are receiving regular training from the Urban Freeflow crew, a professional London outfit that advised on the choreography for Casino Royale.

Captain Sean Lerwill, a senior physical training instructor who is behind the collaboration, said freerunning moves were likely to be incorporated into battle training.

"We found some of the moves were relevant for battle," he said. "For them it is about artistic expression. For example they will run along a wall keeping a low profile because it looks good, but we need to do that in urban combat to stay safe."

Techniques for jumping from roof to roof and dropping from a height would be used to improve physical training drills to condition troops for urban warfare, he said.

For example, the marines spotted that freerunners' method of dropping from a height, rolling on to their shoulder, back and leg and running on in one movement maintains running speed and could reduce the chances of commandos being shot. Many, but not all, of the moves could be carried ou in combat dress, Lerwill said.

EZ, the freerunner leading the training said the marines had a voracious appetite for the vaults, flips and spins he taught them in their first two-day session in November. "They were fit, but I have to say they were very sore after the first day," he said.

Glossary

craze

(noun) a game or fashion that becomes very popular for a short time

daredevil

(adjective) when an action is very dangerous but done without fear

assault course

(noun) an area of land with equipment to climb through, jump over, etc, used to develop fitness

combat dress

(noun) special protective clothes worn by soldiers

Questions

The questions below are divided into three groups - before, during and after reading the above article.

Before reading

The article is about the activity of freerunning. Look at the headline, photo and caption. Choose the best answers below.

1. In free running, people run, jump and dive from ...
   1. cliffs and rocks near the sea
   2. furniture and stairs inside houses
   3. buildings and walls in city centres
   4. boxes and ladders in special gyms
2. Freerunning is now learned by members of the British ...
   1. police
   2. military
   3. diplomatic service
   4. government

Vocabulary from the article - Look at the nouns below that are freerunning moves or stunts. Match them to the definitions which follow. Note that the words can also be used as verbs.

1. drop
2. flip
3. leap
4. roll
5. spin
6. vault

1. a jump over an obstacle like a wall or fence; it is done in one movement
2. a movement of curling your body up and moving forward on the ground
3. a very fast sideways turning movement
4. a movement in which the body turns over in the air
5. a long or high jump; it can be up or down
6. a movement in which you jump downwards from a high place

While reading

Read the first six paragraphs of the article. Complete the sentences below.

1. In freerunning people jump from things such as ...
2. The marines have started training with a group of ...
3. The freerunning moves are called such things as ...
4. The marines are learning freerunning so that they can ...
5. Examples of freerunning can be seen at the beginning of ...
6. The marines trained on one of London's ...
7. The makers of Casino Royale received advice from ...
8. In future, the marines might include freerunning moves in their ...

Read the rest of the article from paragraph seven onwards. Look at this list of advantages of marines using freerunning moves. Make a note of the ideas that are mentioned in the text.

1. All freerunning moves are useful in battle.
2. One type of move could help marines stay safe while running.
3. Jumping techniques could help instructors improve training drills.
4. One type of shoulder roll may prevent marines getting shot.
5. All freerunning moves can be done in combat dress.
6. The freerunning moves were learned enthusiastically by the marines.

After reading

Word search - vocabulary related to military combat. Search across and down the word square opposite to find eleven more words from the article. Look back at the words in the context of the article. Which words or phrases are they used together with? eg 'urban warfare'.

Use eight of the words from the word search to complete the sentences below. Put words in plural where necessary.

1. The UN peace-keeping ___ were stationed at the military ___.
2. The group conducted a campaign of guerilla ___ against the government.
3. The commander wanted to prepare the soldiers for hand-to-hand ___.
4. All the members of the ___ did some physical exercise ___ every morning.
5. The insurgents were ___ with a range of automatic ___.

Activity - Partner Discussion

Work with a partner. Watch the video of freerunning (also known as parkour). View the video several times. Which of the moves in the video would/wouldn't you like to try? Why? For example: I'd like to have a go at that vault over the stairs because it looks quite easy.