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Jamie is a well known competitor on the hit NBC show American Ninja Warrior!  He also is co-owner of the Pinnacle Parkour Cherry Hill gym and a PPK Certified Coach!  We wanted to talk to him about his experience with the coaching certification.  Special thanks to Jamie Rahn for taking time to sit for this interview!  Links to follow Jamie on social media and to sign up for our next coaching certification can be found at the end of the interview. How long have you been coaching parkour?

I’ve been coaching parkour about 3 years.  Going from, helping out in classes to actually running classes.

Why do you think being a certified parkour coach is important?

I think it’s important to get well rounded with all the information out there.  To know what is a good way to train, a good way to teach, a good way to deal with every different type of student who you haven’t come into contact with…I think it’s great for certifications.  Where if you’re training on your own, you may not have access to those. The certification draws from a bigger pool of experience.

How have your coaching skills improved since becoming a PPK certified coach?

I definitely improved in what I was looking at.  Not necessarily just about when I’m coaching, but how to approach different situations of clientele, different situations within teaching, how to prepare differently in classes that could help make them more productive and how to problem solve.

Did you notice any improvements in your own personal training after taking the course?  That is, any improved skills outside of your teaching skills.

Yeah, after the course I looked a lot more at myself in terms of how I was training in relationship to how I was coaching to see how they matched up.  Then I was able to start coaching myself more instead of only exploring things and playing with the movements.  I felt more directed to look at what am I doing in terms of how I am coaching. If I was a student of mine, what should I be doing differently or what should I say to myself.  If I want to work on a front flip precision that I haven’t tackled before, what are my steps?  If I don’t want to do it, it’s not just “I don’t want to do it”, its why don’t I want to do it? How can I break it down and what are different steps I can take to get there?  I can be like, “Okay, I’m not mentally ready what can I do physically to get me to that point as well?”

What do you think about Gabe as an instructor for our future coaches?

I like him teaching this course, he’s a young guy but a very wise guy.  Very well educated.  He had started coaching me before he even did the certifications, and I really liked him as a coach.  Him and Phil were big coaches in the very beginning and they had implemented points, which made me in turn do them when I started coaching and helping other people.

What did you love most about the PPK coaching course?

I liked working with the other coaches in a big group. I like the drills we did that we worked with each other in classes.  I liked the test play stuff.  I think that’s how I learn best.  By actually doing things and experiencing them.  I’m not good with memorization. So the more practical it is and the more I use it, the more I’m going to learn it.

Would you recommend others to take this course and why?

Yeah, I definitely would recommend anyone to take the course.  I think it’s great getting an understanding of where we came from, how to approach students in situations within the gym, and definitely how to do team building.  I think its great, I think a lot of people are good at training and they may be good at coaching one on one, but when you get into a class atmosphere things change dramatically.  I think that was a great thing to take away from the certification.

You are a parkour coach with the ability to reach people of all ages and all walks of life.  What is your main goal, as in your message that you want to get across to all of them?

My main focus has always been inspiration.  And it has been my goal whether it was art, architecture, tattooing or any avenue I go into, is to find a way to better someone’s life in the long term through a creative avenue.

So with parkour I get to improve peoples lives by either making them healthier, happier, more aware of what they’re doing and open up new doors for them to have life experiences with. I’m able to do that creatively through problem solving on an individual case-to-case basis with teaching skills, overcoming fears, and training for specific things.

I love problem solving.  I love being able to use creative solutions and create different things that isn’t along the lines of “This is how we do exercise. We do 10 sets of this this.  And this.”  I have more creativity with parkour.  I can take a climb up and break it down into 12 different ways that we can work 12 different ways for 12 different purposes. I really like the vast options I have with teaching parkour.

Everything is always for the positive outcome with parkour. Everyone’s always “I want to learn to move” “I want to not fall” “I want to learn to be safer” “I just want to have more fun” whatever it is, its always good positive things and everyone leaves smiling.  They always leave tired and they always work hard.  That’s something I really appreciate as a coach.  When someone works really hard for what they want under my guidance. Also when they trust me enough to push themselves for something is huge thing for me as a coach.  It’s great to have someone trust me enough to overcome something and be able to gain something for themselves.

You can follow Jamie on Facebook by clicking here: https://www.facebook.com/JamieRahnNinjaWarrior/?fref=ts

4. Thankful for being able to express oneself

PPK Cherry Hill’s co-owner Jamie Rahn tells us “it gave me the opportunity to express how I always wanted to but never knew how.” Parkour doesn’t have a lot of rules outside of training safely, being able to move how you want without someone telling you it is incorrect means you get to choose your path.  That doesn’t happen in a lot of sports!

3. Thankful for meeting some of the most innovative creative people on the planet

If you dive into the parkour community, you will find yourself surrounded by some of the world’s strongest people.  Not just physically either.  Parkour is still in its early years in many ays and those that have been training the longest are the ones that were willing to do something different.  To step out of their comfort zones.  When you are standing in a crowd of the most creative, innovative, courageous people you know, you become more creative, innovative and courageous.  Parkour has connected some of the most brilliant, dedicated people.  Meeting just one person like this leaves you feeling motivated to tackle your next project.  Being able to call a group of them your best friends?  Get ready to start inspiring everyone around you!

2. Thankful for the opportunity to travel for your passion

Every training spot is different and can be experienced differently.  It presents different challenges and areas for creativity to blossom.  Every city is different too.  Areas one may find in Philadelphia are different than in San Antonio.  Areas in New York City are different than those in Italy.  Parkour practitioners love to experience their environment through their movements.  The drive to travel to new areas has sent many of us across the country and across the world.  Experiences we may not have had without our passion for parkour.

1. Thankful for community and friends who become fellow leaders & coworkers