Our Support for Naoki Ishiyama

[ngyagi]

   
On Sunday 23rd August 2009, our good friend Naoki Ishiyama fell from a tree in Hampstead Heath, London. Despite being a very strong and fit individual, Naoki was seriously injured and we have since been informed that his back was broken in the fall.

All who have had the pleasure of meeting Naoki can attest to him being one of the kindest, most positive and good-spirited people you could ever hope to meet and it was his wish that all of his friends knew about his accident and were aware that he was staying positive and determined to make a full recovery.

We have been told that he will need to remain in hospital for an extended period of time to keep his spine aligned and the recovery process will be difficult and slow.

Naoki travelled to London to practice Parkour, something he lives and breathes for and his passion for both Parkour and life was evident to all who trained with him.

Despite being a very positive young man and full of determination, he does need our support. At just 18 years old he finds himself in a foreign country with limited English skills, facing a life-changing injury so far from home.

This group was created in the hope that we can bring together as many of his friends as possible in one place to leave him messages, photos, videos and anything else you can think of to keep his spirits high and I will be visiting him regularly to let him know how much you're all thinking of him.

Please show your support for Naoki, even if you haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet.. it will mean so much to him.

Naoki and his family need your support in order to overcome this very difficult situation. All money raised will be put toward paying for Naoki's UK hospital bills and for helping his family pay for the extensive costs of repatriation to Japan. Your generosity and kindness will be greatly appreciated in this very difficult time

Thank you.

For more information, to join the facebook group and to donate - go to: http://www.parkourgenerations.com/naoki.php

[Spidermonkey]

Naoki is one of the nicest guys I have ever had the opportunity to train with. Always happy, and the whole time he has been over here in Europe he has trained every-single-day.

I want all of you to think what it would be like to be in his postion, and how you would want people to help you if you were ever in this terrifying situation.

'To be strong, to be useful' is something I hear a lot from tracuers; please understand that means being strong in your heart also to help someone in dire need.

Follow the link, and follow your heart...

[Clancy]

Poor guy.

Donated, as should everyone who is able.

[Spidermonkey]

+1 Clancy, and thanks

Every little bit will help.

[Sane]

I concur.

I would hate to be in his situation..

Donated.

[Mini-Mitch]

These over embellished sympathy trips are getting on my nerves.  

If you want to donate 50c to breast cancer, donate 50c to breast cancer, don't go and pay $3 for a bottle of water, which is smaller than one which you can get for under a dollar at either coles or woolworths.  

If you want to donate money for something, do it direct, or even better, do your own part to assist in the task.  

This man, all be him famous, did the exact same sort of thing that Jayyde did, did we go and start a massive website for him too for being careless and daring in the name of parkour.  I believe in acting on what people are doing, and not who they are.

If you want a cause to donate money to, make it planting a few trees, and telling your mum and dad you love them.  

[Sane]

So you won't be donating then?

[Spidermonkey]

These over embellished sympathy trips are getting on my nerves. 
 

This man, all be him famous, did the exact same sort of thing that Jayyde did, did we go and start a massive website for him too for being careless and daring in the name of parkour.  I believe in acting on what people are doing, and not who they are.

If you want a cause to donate money to, make it planting a few trees, and telling your mum and dad you love them. 

This guy is not famous, he is just a regular guy who has taken the time to understand parkour and travel to it's source (in Evry) to study from the founders, and to train with some of the best practioners based in the Uk.

He is also a close personal friend of mine.

I really don't see how you can compare a guy who broke his legs and has full medical coverage,  to someone who BROKE HIS SPINE AND MAY NEVER WALK AGAIN,  spending the next 5 months lying flat on his back in the hope that the surgery will fix it.
 
Being from Japan, his medical coverage does not apply in the European Union, and it's costing 1200 dollars a day just for the hospital bed. You can criticise him if you like for not having the proper insurance, but that does nothing to resolve the situation.

This is far from being an over embellished sympathy trip. And the money IS going direct to him, but he cannot setup a paypal account from his bed, GET IT???


You are a fucking disgrace Mitch: to yourself, your family, and the parkour community at large.

Be ashamed for who you are.

[Mini-Mitch]

I like how you get all personal.  
His injuries, all be them serious were self inflicted.  That tree did not jump out from under him.  
He is someone I have pity for, and broadcasting about what has happened is a great thing.  

What I do hope that it does is encourages people to train what they are doing for the purpose of training it, and not for glory or fame.  

We can't afford to have massive fund raising campaigns for every time someone gets greedy and hurts themselves trying to show off.  It only encourages and further promotes this sickening self mutilation in the good name of parkour.  

It only takes opening up your eyes to see others who were far less fortunate than Naoki Ishiyama, who didn't even have a choice in the matter, the damage inflicted to them was by others, while not in the persuit of fame, glory or money.  

[TJ]

while not in the persuit of fame, glory or money. 

Just quietly, not everyone trains for those reasons.

[Mini-Mitch]

No kidding.  Some people climb trees to save lives, and to work on research.  I don't know too many of those people who climb up high distances without safety ropes though.  That's the whole definition of being strong to be useful.  Immense respect to firemen, policemen, and anyone who trains for purpose, and uses it more than they train for it. 

[NFG]

Mitch's words have a grain of truth to them, despite what I think was a rather fascinating failure to make his point understood.

I do think though that you, Spidermonkey, may want to reconsider your SOP of massively overreacting every time someone fails to toe your personal line.

My thoughts are with naoki tonight.  None of us would ever wish this sort of suffering on anyone, no matter if they're playing or working.

[Spidermonkey]

We can't afford to have massive fund raising campaigns for every time someone gets greedy and hurts themselves trying to show off.  It only encourages and further promotes this sickening self mutilation in the good name of parkour.  

It only takes opening up your eyes to see others who were far less fortunate than Naoki Ishiyama, who didn't even have a choice in the matter, the damage inflicted to them was by others, while not in the persuit of fame, glory or money.  

He was not trying to show off, or pursuing parkour for fame or money. You assume too much. You do not know the circumstances of how it happened, how there were 3 others in the tree that day and that the branch he grabbed, although looking strong and healthy, was rotten in the core.

You make broad sweeping statements assuming that he was trying to be a hero or something, but I have never met a more humble guy in my life. That's what pisses me off about what you have written.


And Nfg, this has nothing to do with any other thread or comment on this forum.

[NFG]

If I may, your honour, I'm trying to establish a pattern of conduct. 

Let's keep it civil, and I'll keep quiet.

[Spidermonkey]

When ill informed comments against personal friends of mine cease, that's when I will be civil.