Maria Raptaki Interview

Here I add the interview made to Maria Raptaki at www.urbanrunners.net
for the section "traceur/traceuse of the month" enjoy!

::This is Maria Raptaki, se is 23 and she is part of NSA in Greece. She has been practising Parkour for about 2 years.






How did you find Parkour?


I found out about parkour two years ago, while watching a video and a following interview of the Nsa team on TV. From the very first moment i was so excited about parkour and so I met up with the rest team and started training.


What does Parkour mean to you?


For me parkour was firstly a different way of movement compared to the way other people used to move. It was an interest which made me feel "special" and also made me have a lot of fun while practising. After two years of training, i feel that parkour is actually me. It's like hanging out with myself as if i was an other person. Parkour is all my fears, all that i love or hate, parkour is something which pisses me off sometimes and make me happy most of the times, parkour is my ambitions and my expectations. For me parkour is how i see myself in a mirror, the way i train and whether my training is proper or not is just the way im behaving to myself and in life generally.Parkour is my teacher and surelly i want to get an "A" . :PP


What do you think about Parkour being related to the medias?



I know that there's always a general arguement about who are giving the right image of parkour in the media and whether traceurs and traceuses give emphasis on the difference between parkour and freerunning so that people who are watching would know about it. Personally speaking i started training parkour when i watched a related interview and video on TV featuring my team..Whether that guys i saw on TV gave the right image of parkour or not, i know that if someone is truly interested, he/she will find the way to knowledge and the personal meaning of parkour. So, i dont have any problem with anyone who uses media and internet either to earn money from it or to become more famous, everyone has their reasons..I appreciate the good work as far as parkour is concerned in the media and if i don't like something i just dont pay attention to it.


In which point do you think Parkour is and where do you think it will go?


As the years pass by, more and more people get into parkour. The point is that not many beginners take it seriously (at least as fas as i know in Greece). Maybe because they use it so that people would stare at them and make an impression or as a way to become "famous". This is very disappointing and they should't consider it as a trend. On the other hand i know that there are many beginners around the world really passionate and dedicated to parkour and they make me think that parkour has a lot more to give in the following years. With a little help and support from all of us, more and more people would see parkour for real.


Which advise would you give to people who want to start practising Parkour?


I really find it important to say that beginners (and generally traceurs and traceuses), shouldn't have "absolute" images of someone they would like to be similar to. This might make them feel disappointed in time if they wont be able to be like their "idol" and i strongly believe that despite the fact we all train parkour, everyone though has his/her own way of movement. You just need to know about what you want to do and how far you want to go. This will make you feel that you practise parkour for your own personal goals and not because you want to look like someone else who might be more experienced than you are. You have your own body, your own mind, so path your own way into parkour. When you say "Pfff i can't do this.." then answer to yourself "Shut up!!You can do it!!" and if you can't do it right now, you will do it in few days or so, there's noone rushing you..

The beginners who truly feel interested in parkour should be fully equipped with both patience and insistence. Most of the times the beginning is the hardest part,so try to make a good start. If you have experienced friends who train parkour then surelly ask for their help and also listen to their advices. Then try what you've learnt so far on your own; there will not always be someone next to you to help you. If you don't have any people to reach in order to practise with them, then try watching related videos (But don't watch that many though, sometimes watching many videos makes you lack of imagination, while trying to do moves and combos,guys or girls on that video did). You also need to know that everything's a chain in parkour. While leveling up your training, you will also need to level up your body condition and the way of thinking too. Don't get disappointed too easily, you are not Spiderman nor Superman to fly,so if you can't achieve something then you need to try more for it. As much as you want to do it, that much you'll have to try for it. Everyone has their own specific time for doing everything and this relies on how much you believe in it, so try not rushing if you are not ready for it, otherwise you will fall. But if you fall, it's ok, you will stand

What do you think about separating parkour from free running?


I know many people who are so strict and passionate about this seperation of parkour and free running. I really believe that those two have different philosophies and way of mental and body training but i don't feel so strict about it. Personaly speaking, i don't focus that much on the differences between parkour and free running, i prefer to move in the way my mood drives me,so either flip from joy or just move efficiently hehehe :P


What do you think about body and mind balance?


I have been always thinking that someone who trains parkour and especially in the early years of training, is like a small child learning how to walk. For me, everything is happening step by step. This is how my mind and body head on balance. It's not all about just being in a good body condition and making progress while building body confidence. It's about having the mind maturity and the spirit to healthy progress too. I'm always working on making a balance between my mind and body, actually this is what will bring to me longevity and experience.


How is Maria? (appart from parkour what do you do, hobbies, what do you like doing, etc)


Appart from training parkour, i'm focusing on finishing the univercity studies. I'm having many kind of dancing lessons for about 12 years. I love snowboarding whenever i have time and watching movies too while relaxing at home. I really love clubbing out with friends. I like video editing and learning new things. I like teasing funny my dog "Ras" and pissing him off hahah. I like telling jokes and me being the only one to laugh out loud (ahahah thats so funny).Do you want more?? Well i can write a book for this question :P


What do you think about female parkour scene? How is it growing or developing?


I chat with many traceuses around the world and delightfuly learning that female parkour scene is growing up a lot. I feel very happy that more and more women get into parkour and it's very inspiring watching all of those videos from their training. Unfortunately as far as i know in Greece i am the only one to train parkour, though in past there were few girls training and i really felt so nice practising with them. I think that female parkour scene would be growing and developing even better if we all were stronger and not quiting that easily.

Do you have any specific training routine?


I don't like any kind of routines and so i don't take any specific routine into my training. I like having a more spontaneous type of training and when i see that i lack in something i just focus on that.


Posted at http://www.urbanrunners.net/traceurdelmes.html (Spanish)