Launched in Jan 2018, Parkour Pod in Ekkaduthangal is tucked within a concrete jungle in Defence Colony. On any Saturday morning, the place is abuzz with both kids and adults going through their bar swings and monkey jumps. Bezal (13), one of the youngest Traceurs, is pumped up and ready to do his final tuck jump. After a successful attempt, he is all smiles.
“I have been practising for the last three years. I stumbled onto Parkour when I was browsing the internet, and now I can't get enough of it,” he says, adding grinningly, “I love doing this because it is so much fun and never gets boring or repetitive.”
Parkour Pod has a unique Jungle Gym setup which is not found anywhere else in Chennai. The idea for the Jungle Gym is loosely based on the game ‘Floor is Lava’. The area is divided into red zones and green zones and trainees are expected to stay within the green zones and not land on the red zones.
“The whole concept is to improve spatial awareness. When you lose balance, not everyone can recover quickly. This method of training helps them move faster through obstacles and sharpen their reflexes,” says Vishwa, a trainer and one of the founders of Chennai Parkour and Tamil Nadu Parkour Association.
“The biggest benefit of the scaffolding structure of the Jungle Gym is that we can customise it to suit the trainee’s needs. It is dynamic and can be changed depending on the level of the trainee. So, as people progress in their movements, we keep changing the structure to match their level. In Parkour there is always some new movement to be explored. At the Parkour Pod, people can practise and train for new obstacles and movements they haven’t explored before," Vishwa adds.
While the younger kids are trying to perform a monkey jump, the older students are working on their swinging motions. Soham, a 23-yr-old graduate, is trying to swing from one bar to another without falling. After a couple of attempts, he finally succeeds.
“I have always been into fitness and training. I love to explore many different fitness regiments. Initially I started with weight training and MMA. I have been working out in the Parkour Pod for around 2 months now,” he adds.
Akshya, a 25-yr-old lawyer, is also working on her monkey jumps. “My friend Sushma motivated me to join Parkour,” she says. “Initially when I saw the others performing, I thought it would be really difficult. After a few classes I was really happy. It gives me joy and it’s really cool that I can do all these movements now,” she adds with a tired smile.
“Parkour is all about movement based training,” says Vishwa. “Most workouts in gyms are monotonous and the trainees work out without really understanding how it affects their body. Here at Parkour Pod, we recover the roots of movement. So, we help them move efficiently is all types of environments.” Vishwa says he loves Parkour because things never get boring in this. “There are no laid-down rules. We have the liberty to be creative and explore as many movements as possible. So, when you reach your goal, you push yourself to achieve the next one. We compete with ourselves and keep pushing our limits. It is more of mind and will power takes precedence over physical strength.”
“We are trying to expand Parkour Pod in other areas of Chennai. The assembly is neither bulky nor costly. It is also easy to assemble and dismantle. We would like to do workshops in schools and colleges to spread more awareness about the art form itself,” adds an optimistic Vishwa, the 30-year old B.Com CS graduate who has shunned a career in finance and is now devoting all his time and energy to improving Parkour in Chennai.
