BRITISH troops are being taught daredevil roof-jumping moves to help them defeat the Taliban.
Freerunning, the youth craze which involves leaps from buildings and acrobatic stunts from lampposts, is being taught to Royal Marine commandos in the hope it can help them in battle.
Runners with street names such as EZ, Livewire and Spidey are
teaching soldiers moves such as the "kong vault", "running cat" and "crane" in an effort to improve troops' street-to-street fighting ability.
Defence chiefs also hope the techniques might help soldiers avoid injury better than traditional methods of jumping and landing.
Senior physical-training instructors from the marines' base in Lympstone, Devon, have received initial training on the concrete of the Heygate estate in South London and the South Bank Centre, a favourite stomping ground because of its high-level walkways and staircases.
From this month soldiers will receive regular training from the Urban Freeflow crew, a professional London outfit which advised on the choreography for the James Bond film Casino Royale, which featured a scene where 007 pursued a freerunning terrorist.
Captain Sean Lerwill, a senior PT instructor who is behind the collaboration, said freerunning moves were likely to be incorporated into battle training for marines and might be introduced into basic training for would-be recruits.
He said: "We found some of the moves were relevant for battle. 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 the same thing in urban combat to stay safe."
The full article contains 272 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
