( CNN ) -- Leaping from rooftops and doing backflips off walls is when Prince Haydar feels the most free . The 25-year-old from Baghdad is one of the city 's small band of freerunners , who take every opportunity to practice parkour in a city striving for normality and currently facing a resurgence of deadly violence . `` When I do parkour , I get rid of all the scattered thoughts in my head and empty all the anger from inside me , '' said Haydar . From the streets of Paris in the 1990s , where parkour was first popularized , to Zawra park in Iraq 's capital , freerunning has become a global phenomenon . The sport evolved from French military training and involves running through urban environments using only the body to overcome obstacles and objects . In Baghdad , the challenges are even greater than in other cities . Haydar says his fellow freerunners have to contend with a public unsure of what to make of a group running and leaping through the city 's largest public park . There is also the threat of bomb attacks and indiscriminate violence in the city . `` It is dangerous and it is difficult to practice parkour anywhere , '' he says . `` Sometimes we are exposed to arrested or misunderstanding from some people and there is the deteriorating security situation . '' But despite these challenges , Haydar is committed to improving in his sport , and teaching its benefits to others . He was first turned on to freerunning in 2007 when he watched the film `` District B13 '' that featured parkour in many of its stunt sequences . Inspired , he sought out internet clips of the sport in order to learn parkour techniques . `` We are a small group of young people and there are no parkour classes , '' he says , noting that the group -- aged between 18 and 25 -- support and teach each other , going as far as pooling their money to rent a gym . `` It 's small and does not meet the purpose , '' he says . `` It 's very far from our homes , but despite of all these difficult circumstances we go . '' `` I love parkour because this sport is the art of movement and freedom and this art has made me know true freedom in this difficult life . ''
Prince Haydar is one of Baghdad 's exponents of parkour . Freerunning in Iraq 's capital is dangerous , he says , and freerunners often misunderstood . Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Members are self-taught and rely on internet videos to learn new techniques .