Still practicing parkour - why ?

It has been seven years now.

Started as a simple thing, out of random interest a few years back. But to look at how things have grown in this time. But to look at how I have grown leaves a lot to be desired.

There are many times when I have blindly practiced, without a target in mind. There are even more times when I have given up without pushing myself to the maximum.

There are days when i have regretted not practicing and there have been days when I was thankful that it was raining.

But, to have the opportunity everyday to experience life is something that nothing else has offered me. Everything else seems to be a distraction. I have done many things in the short 30 years that I have been here. But nothing has even come close to telling me what I truly am. Nothing has slapped me in the face as much as Parkour. Made me feel mortal when I get injured. Made me feel incomplete when I gave up. Irritated me when I could not do a movement. Surprised me with revelations.

Generally I dont pursue things when it irritates me or hurts me. I have often wondered why I have stuck to it.
Maybe it is my curiosity. Do I dare to push myself even more? Do I dare to look at myself and see or what I truly am ? Do I really have the courage to admit to myself the things I am doing wrong?

Well ... Off to another session of practice and contemplation, failures and falls, jumps and leaps, and definitely a little more of what I truly am..

Parkour for life...

The Five Foot Wall

Had the chance to practice by myself after a long time ... Usually it is with my team in Chennai Parkour... But today people were out on photo shoots and I was practicing by myself ... Was doing monkey vaults over a three feet wall... Dont know why I did it but just kept going at it again and again ..

A few people watching me tried to emulate what I was doing and as always fell flat on their asses. But looking at the wall I never realised what it meant ... Have never looked at the obstacle for what it is ... for what it represents.. to me...

It was an interesting aspect to note that something that I considered trivial is looked upon as a extremely difficult task by others ... People underestimate the wall and pay the price ... Parkour demands respect in the form of discipline..It is just a wall to a layman ..

But to a traceur it represents infinite opportunities to move. ... People build walls to keep others out . when people generally look at a wall they see a restriction of movement... But to me it represents a path... where people see a wall ... I see a vault .. The next move .. the different combinations that I can use to go over it ... The wall represents freedom .. Not from others or from rules ... but from myself ... From the everyday mundane actions that I am forced to do..The pointless thoughts that I am forced to think.. To eek out a living to satisfy needless needs.. But

When I see what no one else sees.

When I can move where people stop

When I can fly where people fear

When I feel what no one has felt ..

I truly live ...

Parkour for life ...

The Gods of Parkour

In recent times I have been thinking about the reasons behind why I practice parkour. Looking at people around me, everyone is moving at a much faster rate. Are capable of doing things that I have never thought of or could possibly attempt. Injuries and time have taken their toll on my body. But there is something in me that asks me to do a vault again.

When my knee hurts or my shoulders pain, there is a small voice that tells me - just one jump. You can stop if it hurts. I am yet to put a face to that voice.

Of all the things that I have feared and all the things that have pushed me down, an element of respect has been created for only a very few things around me. These are elements that are the same for everyone. There is no stopping these elements. They keep moving engulfing everything in its path. But a traceur - ah the true traceur can move with these elements and become stronger and better.

The elements that I talk about are Space, Gravity, Earth and Time. They form the essence of parkour. Contemplating at the repetition of moves and the various workouts and exercises that I do, one simple thought stands out. It is the space that gives freedom, gravity that generates strength, Earth that forms the foundation and time is the teacher. I am in deep awe of these unstoppable forces of nature and how they influence my every move.

My only longing is for everyone to realize this awesome power that aids us at every moment. As we fly through the air from one obstacle to another, may there be harmony between the traceur and these elements to create a being - A being that in an infinitesimal way improves with every jump. A traceur who takes off is not the one who lands.

To be aware of this change - physical and mental - that to me is the true essence of parkour.

Parkour for life.

Parkour is in the house !!!!

Training at home :

With the rains lashing the city and friends from other cities complaining about low temperatures, I started thinking about training indoors. Looking at the place I live in I was surprised at the number of opportunities that were available for me to train. Starting from simple vaults to a series of movements and beginning from a simple workout regimen to an advanced system of workout.

The following are a few essentials that I found absolutely necessary

A sturdy chair with proper balance and good strong armrests. If you have access to only plastic chairs then two or three placed on top of the other to fit snugly will be structurally strong.

1. A towel of sufficient thickness or a bed sheet of a thick variety

One of the problems I faced while training was the lack of space for running and moving freely. After some irritating moments of banging into walls, doors and cup boards I realized that the whole restricted space was the challenge in itself.

Movement 1: A tuck jump over a chair and a roll along a narrow corridor

Movement 2: Hang onto a window grill and jump up and landing over a chair placed a comfortable distance from the window – kind of like a 180 cat, except you land on the ground and roll

Movement 3: A bed on the other side of a chair and a dive roll.

Movement 4: A tuck jump on to the arm rest of the chair and holding the landing pose like a precision. Place the chair against a wall. I slipped and fell when the chair moved back.

Movement 5: If there is a window near a corner of the room – then a tic tac onto the window frame.

Movement 6 : Loop the towel or sheet over the top most part of the window grill and make a precision landing on the window and hold the towel instead of the grill.

Movement 7: Roll in front of the chair and in single movement go over the chair in a dive roll…

Is there is enough space and chairs around, then it will be easy to create a sequence of moves that will leave you out of breath. A word of warning – before doing something in a restricted space, do those moves again and again within imaginary boundaries or lines. Don’t end up with feet on the wall and butt in the corner.

The rest is up to your imagination and creativity… As for the workouts though … there are too many workouts to count … starting from basic sit ups, handstand pushups to walking upside down along the wall, pull ups with the towel hanging on the window frame, holding the towel and extending your body as far away as possible from the window to strengthen the core..

In all these basic movements just increase the range and extensions to feel the burn.

Remember – indoor, outdoor or no door Parkour is not out there in the obstacles. It is within you. It is the “I” that is the first obstacle that needs to be cleared.

Can it be taught ??

Recently there has been a lot of interest in teaching parkour and starting classes in my city. There seems to be this motivation in making people understand what parkour is. There was a lot of planning and thoughts involved.

Even though i want to be a part of this, i am somehow not convinced that this is the best way to go forward. For me parkour cannot be taught, but it can be learned. Not by listening to some third person giving instructions. There is parkour in everyone. I have felt it in people.

The great thing about parkour is that the more child like you are the more you will be inclined towards parkour. Can you teach a kid to have fun ? Of course , in this day and age everyone has a definition of fun, using toys and kits and what not.. People have defined fun and there is a general consensus of what is "fun among people". I have watched my 3 year old niece playing with the packing box of a 1000 rupee toy. Is it really possible to actually make people understand ????

Parkour has been made into something that required a lot of things. It is about having fun ... I have noticed people getting better at parkour. But extend it to free running. Nothing wrong with that. But what is the driving force behind this ??

When considering teaching parkour a question always arises.. who am i to restrict the innate feeling within people to do parkour ?? why is it that people are not interested in practising parkour because it is fun . How many times have i watched a small kid playing ? there seems to be a magic with them being oblivious to the surroundings and having fun. Doing something just because it is fun.

Parkour is an art. yes .. technique is required .. But then again self expression is most important.. Looking at an art that i can relate to .. techniques in painting can be taught.. not creativity .....

Maybe it is my thought process that is not progressive.. But my experience has always been that when you teach something there must be a spiritual side to it ... something that has been attained through rigorous practice... Otherwise it will not be sustained.. both within the self and the student...

Introduction to elderpk

It has been almost three and a half years now since i started training for Parkour. What started as a just another physical discipline has really made me think more than anything else in my life.

I have seen a lot of people since i started training, read a lot of manuals and watched countless hours of videos trying to get better at parkour. But i seemed to have missed out on the most fundamental aspects required for training in such a demanding discipline. But time has given me certain insights and knowledge that i should start applying in both my training and also my life..

Have started this blog to keep track of my progress and also to share revelations and ideas with anyone interested in learning parkour or trying to find more information about the different aspects of parkour.

Planning to push myself tomorrow and see what i am made up of... hope i survive..

Parkour for life....