Get the low-down on the sport that had 007 leap from building to building in the title sequence of Casino Royale, and rediscover your 'monkey gene'

Bend it like James Bond

Get the low-down on the sport that had 007 leap from building to building in the title sequence of Casino Royale, and rediscover your 'monkey gene'

Jackie Chan! He is the man who introduced me to Parkour as a teenager.

Even though it is a French sport, and Jackie Chan is not known to officially practice it, who can forget the crazy visuals of Chan jumping from building to building and scaling walls a la Spiderman in various films?

The first time that I got completely hooked on to the sport, however, was after watching the title sequence of Casino Royale. I could not believe how someone could actually do all that stuff without wires!

I was intrigued, and started researching the sport on the Internet until I finally found an expert all the way in London.

What is Parkour?

It is slightly difficult to define Parkour. It can be defined as a sport, a hobby and a philosophy.

Developed in France in the last century, Parkour is about moving from one place to another in the most efficient way possible while speedily navigating obstacles.
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Parkour practitioners can assess obstacles and decide the best way to navigate around them, depending on their physical abilities.
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The movements are smooth and supple.

Some people trained in Parkour believe that the sport also helps them tackle arguments in their personal and professional lives.

A word of caution though, Parkour is not for everyone you need to be in great physical shape if you want to become good at this sport.
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It's the ultimate combination of strength, flexibility and balance.

No other discipline will physically push you, as this one does. But once you get good at it, you'll find the child inside you. The child who is unafraid to jump, summersault and cartwheel!

My experience

Parkour can be a dangerous sport and you have to be really careful that you don't end up hurting yourself.
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I injured myself once the result of a backflip gone horribly wrong and ended up with a severely sprained neck, which took three weeks to heal.

And I was actually lucky, because people have been hurt far worse than that while practicing the sport.

But if you really want to rediscover your 'monkey gene', my advice to you would be to take things a step at a time and practice Parkour only under expert supervision.

Once you get better, well, you can be pretty much ready to fly!

As told to Dinesh Raheja (Bollywood News Service)