Tricks up their sleeve: NTU students try tricking

By Fiona Mei Robinson

NTU student Terence Szeto has organised the Annual Tricking Gathering for the past two years. PHOTO: ZHENG JUNCEN

IT WAS like an action movie come to life — 20 youths gathered at a field taking turns to perform aerial tricks, with a finesse that indicated years of practice.

Organised by final-year Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information student Terence Szeto, the sixth edition of the Annual Tricking Gathering took place on 8 Oct at Bishan Street 22.

Tricking became an internet phenomenon in the early 2000s.

The sport is an aesthetic blend of kicks, flips and twists, derived from a number of disciplines that include martial arts, gymnastics, and breakdancing.

According to Szeto, 24, there are only about 50 active members out of the 414-strong Tricking Singapore Facebook group.

He said: “There are a lot of people interested to do what we do, but it’s a very steep learning curve for beginners as our novice moves are not novice at all. I think people view it as dangerous and are afraid to hurt their neck or ankles.

“Our tricking community is quite segregated. These annual gatherings help everyone with this shared interest get together, and learn more about each other.” He added that most people would rather watch than participate.

While trickers train separately at different gyms like GymKraft at Guillemard Road and The Yard at Jurong East throughout the year, they readily share tips with their peers at the annual gatherings.

Tang Ying Wai, 22, who has been tricking since 2014, said that trickers shared information such as how to flip and land better.

“There is a lot of peer-to-peer learning, which I think is a rare thing to see nowadays,” the second-year Sports Science and Management student added.

Apart from bringing seasoned trickers together, the event aimed to expose budding ones to the sport.
For 15-year-old parkour practitioner Calvin Boon, the event offered him the chance to learn more about tricking.

“Parkour is about efficient movement, and overcoming obstacles as fast as possible. It’s about moving from one point to another. In tricking, you’re on the same platform, but you do a lot more on that platform,” he said.

The Orchid Park Secondary School student added: “I’m more interested in pursuing tricking now, but at the same time, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get to the advanced stage they’re at.”

“I’m still more into parkour, but I would definitely want to try and pursue tricking when I have more time to train.”

Former martial artist Dylan Lim felt that tricking offered him a break from the rigidity of martial arts. The 17-year-old had been practicing wushu since he was in primary school.

But the Singapore Polytechnic student gave up wushu after secondary school as tricking allowed him to explore how hard he could push his body by trying different freestyle movements.

This contrasted with the fixed wushu routines he had to follow.

“For me, wushu is too controlled. What we learn is standardised as everyone learns the same thing,” said Lim.

“In tricking, we can express ourselves more.”