He is one of the world’s best exponents of the art of freerunning – popularly known as Parkour. Mohammed Al Attar also called as ‘double trouble’ by his close friends has surely made his mark in the world of freerunning.
Mohammed, a freerunner and a parkour athlete from Kuwait began his career in 2006 and participated in several shows held in many countries. Talking to Metrolife, the freerunner shared his life story. On asking him how has Parkour evolved, he says, “Parkour originated from the daily movements of a human being. It aims to develop the body movement to make it more adaptable to the surrounding environment, taking few movements from animals as they are masters of moving in their habitat. Nowadays, Parkour has found its way in many fields like TV commercials and movies and is also taught in many colleges all over the world.”
According to Mohammed, who is in the City to be a judge on Red Bull Indus Trail, a clear mind, dedication, discipline and will is all needed to be a successful freerunner. Talking about his rigorous training sessions, he says, “When playing, I kind of revise the moves that I have already mastered. But, when training I choose a specific flip or skill and try it several times. So when training, it’s about ‘go hard and go home’ and ‘no pain no gain’.”
Hinting about the risks attached to Parkour, Mohammed, says, “The risks in Parkour are getting injured from things that we don’t usually pay attention to or things that were not expected. It might be a slippery edge or sometimes a weak landing surface which leads to breaking a wall when landing. Yet these risks are rare to happen since a Parkour athlete checks his surroundings before attempting his jump.”
Speaking about Parkour’s popularity in India, the athlete, says, “Of course it will get popular among the youth as one of the most popular art forms. I think it would even benefit Bollywood in India.”
Practicing the sport out of sheer curiosity, the athlete, says, “It was by coincidence that I got introduced to Parkour. I started doing it out of curiosity, later it became a way to spend my free time, then it transformed into a hobby and finally it developed to be a lifestyle. I actually didn’t decide to be a freerunner, freerunning just took over me!”