Life is full of obstacles, but Bradley Moss embraces the barriers which fall in his way.

The teenager doesn't just take these obstructions in his stride, he bounds over both physical and mental hurdles with the use of Parkour.

Bradley, 19, from Rochford, is so devoted to training in the physical and lifestyle movement he has taken a gap year to hone his skills.

He admits himself that it's hard to explain what Parkour actually is and many fall into the trap of describing it as streetjumping or free-running.

He says: "Some people just see it as movement, but for me it is the way I live my life. When you begin to practise Parkour, you start to understand the philosophy and how to apply it to everyday life."

In its simplest form, Parkour is about overcoming obstacles.

Traceurs, or practitioners of Parkour, will try to get from one place to another in the fastest and most efficient way possible for their bodies.

However, it's not about trampling people down and barging through things, but using your urban surroundings, such as steps, bollards and walls, as a springboard and pathway.

Most importantly, Traceurs don't introduce acrobatic tricks into their training because this would defeat the purpose of travelling in the most efficient way possible. It's all about practising hard. It's about skill.

The art form is thought to have been developed by French soldiers in Vietnam but has since been developed by David Belle, who has become an important figure to those who practise it, with many looking to him as the father of Parkour.

When spotting Bradley training, most people will compare the athletic teenager's skills to those performed by the man leaping from roof top to roof top on the old BBC 1 adverts.

The man performing those breathtaking skills for the camera was, in fact, David himself.

Parkour also cropped up in several of last year's biggest music videos, including Love Don't Let Me Go, by David Guetta vs the Egg, and Jump by Madonna.

It also formed the basis of an explosive chase in the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale, with Parkour champion Sebastien Foucan playing a villain who flees the pursuing 007 across the heights and depths of a building site.

Foucan taught Bond star Daniel Craig the art of Parkour to help him pull off several key stunts in the chase.

Bradley is so passionate about his sport he has deferred university for a year in order to work on conditioning his mind and body in the art form.

This involves learning moves, strengthening his muscles and understanding how to absorb impact properly when jumping.

"I feel a lot freer," he explains. "Before I started, I was quite depressed and didn't know what I was doing, but when I picked it up and started to express myself through movement I started to feel free," he says.

"If I'm out and I'm on my own and there is something in my way, or there is a quicker option, I will take it."

Bradley will use pieces of street furniture to build up his strength and practise moves on.

A concrete lip coming out of a wall makes an excellent ledge for him to edge his way along.

As he makes his way along it, gripping on with his fingers and the tips of his toes, he says: "The main thing to understand is we use examples, like if you were up high and had to do this without falling.

"You'd imagine you were up high to scare yourself into not falling, and if you fell, you would start again. Knowing you have done it without falling is just positive reinforcement - you have achieved your goal and got from there to there."

Bradley wants to help other Traceurs and youngsters interested in Parkour achieve their goals too.

He has set up a website along with fellow Traceur Ashley Cutmore, 17, from Southend, aimed at anyone in Essex wanting to learn about the practice.

The website, www.swift-freedom.com, has a forum, photo and video archive, informative links and contact details of people all over the county who have taken up Parkour.

"The discipline has progressed through the internet - we have 192 people signed on," says Bradley, who is also a member of World Wide Jam, a global organisation which promotes the benefits of Parkour and free-running through workshops and media events.

"People need to be taught, otherwise they will go around doing these jumps and it could be detrimental to their health," adds Bradley.

But he says there are plenty of advantages if Parkour is taught properly.

"If you could teach this properly, the benefits would be massive," he says.

"You will be getting people interested in a different type of sport or discipline that they otherwise wouldn't have known about. It's healthy living and it's so cheap, all you need is a pair of trainers," he adds.

As Bradley points out, this isn't something just for the able-bodied either.

"There's a guy in London with one arm who practises," he explains.

"These are all abilities we are given as people, but we forget them and get in the car instead."