Hi. I'm Vignesh Raghavan and I love meeting new people. Mostly because at some point during the conversation we get to share what we do for a living. And I get some of the best reactions. Confusion, wonder, fear and sometimes even anger.
What you just saw is called Parkour and I do it professionally.
Confused?
As were my parents when I dropped the bomb on them. I was in my first year of engineering when I fell in love with Parkour. And it wasn’t until my final year that I realised and told my family that I wanted to pursue it professionally. And as you might expect, my house had turned into a nuclear reactor for the next few days.
When things started to gradually settle down, they understood what I am now about to attempt to make you all understand - that Parkour is, NOT AT ALL just about climbing buildings externally and jumping on rooftops. What it is, is basically, a form of art. An art, that encourages you to explore your environment, as you explore your body and expand your limitations.
What you see here is Parkour.
But what you see here, is also Parkour.
If there’s one thing about Parkour that I can say with certainty, it’s that, no one has ever started off with jumping over rooftops or climbing big walls. In fact, the journey is rather slow. We train to condition our bodies and strengthen them to take impacts of small jumps before we move to the bigger ones. And believe it or not, most practitioners do not even want to attempt rooftop jumps. Ninety percent of Parkour training revolves around strengthening, conditioning, reflexes, flexibility, coordination and balance. It’s a discipline, that aims at making one strong and fast, while also boosting one’s mental strength and confidence along the way.
As I trained Parkour, I grew strong physically. Big surprise, right? However, what kept me glued to Parkour, was how it was challenging my mind, as much as it challenged by body. The thought process involved in attempting a movement prepares you to face any kind of obstacles in your real life. As for me, I matured as an individual. I made responsible decisions. I became more aware, conscious, patient and strong. I had control over my mind and body.
But, it wouldn't make sense if I said that everyone who trains Parkour would feel the same way as me. It impacts differently on each individual. To some, it’s about growing stronger. To some, it’s about becoming faster. To some, it’s about feeling the comfort in moving. To some, it’s about pushing their boundaries. To some, it is a way of life, and to some, an escape from life.
My friends and family saw its impact on me. They understood it had nothing to do with thrill-seeking. They grew to become by strongest support system.
The society on the other hand, could NOT have been more hostile and discouraging. Short of pelting stones at me, everything else was said and done to prevent me from pursuing my passion. I channelled by grief and anger into getting better at Parkour. When I started practicing Parkour in 2010, we were merely a bunch of friends jumping around at Nageshwara Rao Park watching Youtube videos. We enjoyed training and learnt everything the hard way. Tables started turning for us as we received offers to train Armed Forces and play roles in films. My team and I started our own Parkour training Academy. The society that thought of me as a disgrace, became proud of me.
At my lowest of times, I wanted to feel like a hero - a superhero. So I fashioned a Superhero name for myself. I called myself “Parkourpaiyan”, which, if you speak my native language - Tamil, you’d know, translates to “Parkour boy”. I started uploading videos on social media. Soon, I began receiving appreciation from the Indian Parkour community and started getting recognised as Parkourpaiyan. And in that moment, I became my own superhero.
I realised that, with a bit of encouragement, a lot of dedication and a truck-load of perseverance, we can all be superheroes. We train all kinds of Superheroes everyday.
Superheroes that are 5 years old, Superheroes that are 65 years old, Superheroes with special needs, Superhero moms, Superhero dads, Superhero lawyers And of course, Superhero Engineers.
Parkour does NOT discriminate. We are all superheroes!
As Early Men, our ancestors knew how to move around, over, under and through various obstacles. Somewhere, as jungles turned to concrete, and as technology took over, we got lazy and regular movements began to seem like difficult and impossible tricks. We’ve forgotten our own capabilities. It’s time we brought back the Early Man buried deep within us. It’s time we unleashed the inner child within us. Go out. Have child-like fun. Explore. Play. Be your own Superhero.
As the saying goes - We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old, because we stop playing!
- Parkourpaiyan
What you just saw is called Parkour and I do it professionally.
Confused?
As were my parents when I dropped the bomb on them. I was in my first year of engineering when I fell in love with Parkour. And it wasn’t until my final year that I realised and told my family that I wanted to pursue it professionally. And as you might expect, my house had turned into a nuclear reactor for the next few days.
When things started to gradually settle down, they understood what I am now about to attempt to make you all understand - that Parkour is, NOT AT ALL just about climbing buildings externally and jumping on rooftops. What it is, is basically, a form of art. An art, that encourages you to explore your environment, as you explore your body and expand your limitations.
What you see here is Parkour.
But what you see here, is also Parkour.
If there’s one thing about Parkour that I can say with certainty, it’s that, no one has ever started off with jumping over rooftops or climbing big walls. In fact, the journey is rather slow. We train to condition our bodies and strengthen them to take impacts of small jumps before we move to the bigger ones. And believe it or not, most practitioners do not even want to attempt rooftop jumps. Ninety percent of Parkour training revolves around strengthening, conditioning, reflexes, flexibility, coordination and balance. It’s a discipline, that aims at making one strong and fast, while also boosting one’s mental strength and confidence along the way.
As I trained Parkour, I grew strong physically. Big surprise, right? However, what kept me glued to Parkour, was how it was challenging my mind, as much as it challenged by body. The thought process involved in attempting a movement prepares you to face any kind of obstacles in your real life. As for me, I matured as an individual. I made responsible decisions. I became more aware, conscious, patient and strong. I had control over my mind and body.
But, it wouldn't make sense if I said that everyone who trains Parkour would feel the same way as me. It impacts differently on each individual. To some, it’s about growing stronger. To some, it’s about becoming faster. To some, it’s about feeling the comfort in moving. To some, it’s about pushing their boundaries. To some, it is a way of life, and to some, an escape from life.
My friends and family saw its impact on me. They understood it had nothing to do with thrill-seeking. They grew to become by strongest support system.
The society on the other hand, could NOT have been more hostile and discouraging. Short of pelting stones at me, everything else was said and done to prevent me from pursuing my passion. I channelled by grief and anger into getting better at Parkour. When I started practicing Parkour in 2010, we were merely a bunch of friends jumping around at Nageshwara Rao Park watching Youtube videos. We enjoyed training and learnt everything the hard way. Tables started turning for us as we received offers to train Armed Forces and play roles in films. My team and I started our own Parkour training Academy. The society that thought of me as a disgrace, became proud of me.
At my lowest of times, I wanted to feel like a hero - a superhero. So I fashioned a Superhero name for myself. I called myself “Parkourpaiyan”, which, if you speak my native language - Tamil, you’d know, translates to “Parkour boy”. I started uploading videos on social media. Soon, I began receiving appreciation from the Indian Parkour community and started getting recognised as Parkourpaiyan. And in that moment, I became my own superhero.
I realised that, with a bit of encouragement, a lot of dedication and a truck-load of perseverance, we can all be superheroes. We train all kinds of Superheroes everyday.
Superheroes that are 5 years old, Superheroes that are 65 years old, Superheroes with special needs, Superhero moms, Superhero dads, Superhero lawyers And of course, Superhero Engineers.
Parkour does NOT discriminate. We are all superheroes!
As Early Men, our ancestors knew how to move around, over, under and through various obstacles. Somewhere, as jungles turned to concrete, and as technology took over, we got lazy and regular movements began to seem like difficult and impossible tricks. We’ve forgotten our own capabilities. It’s time we brought back the Early Man buried deep within us. It’s time we unleashed the inner child within us. Go out. Have child-like fun. Explore. Play. Be your own Superhero.
As the saying goes - We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old, because we stop playing!
- Parkourpaiyan
First comment lol
ReplyDeleteGuess who?
ReplyDeleteI want to become like You na..
ReplyDeleteI want to become like You na..
ReplyDelete