Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art

Capoeira
For some time, Capoeira was criminalized and prohibited in Brazil. There are ample data from police records dating back to the 1800s demonstrating that capoeira was an "important reason" to detain slaves and "free coloured individuals". Brazilian president Deodoro da Fonseca signed an act that prohibited the practice of capoeira nationwide, with severe punishment for those caught. It was nevertheless practiced by the poorer population on public holidays, during work-free hours, and on other similar occasions. In spite of the ban, Mestre Bimba pioneered academic capoeira which became knowns as "Capoeira Regional." He was finally successful in convincing the authorities of the cultural value of capoeira, thus ending the official ban in the 1930s. He founded the first capoeira school in 1932, in Salvador-Bahia. He was then considered "the father of modern capoeira".
Having saved capoeira from illegality, Mestre Bimba began being challenged by other capoeira masters who possessed their own unique capoeira styles, such as capoeira angola. There were several prominent angola mestres at this time in Salvador and they held regular rodas together. There were twenty-two mestres in all. Together they founded a center for capoeira Angola. "Mestre Pastinha", took over the center and worked almost up to his death in 1981 to codify the more traditional Angola style of capoeira and he wrote endlessly on the sport. Because he preserved much of the traditional style of capoeira, in his practice, teachings, and writings, he too is important to modern capoeira. Some groups and individuals travelled for many countries showing the art of capoeira. And in the mid-1970s masters of the art form began to emigrate and teach capoeira in abroad. At this time capoeira in Brazil was still primarily practiced among the poorest and blackest of Brazilians. Today there are many capoeira schools all over the world, and it has attracted a broad spectrum of multicultural, multiracial students.
Music is integral to capoeira. It sets the tempo (timing) and style of game that is to be played within the roda. The music is composed of instruments and song. The tempos differ from very slow to very fast. Many of the songs are sung in a call and response format while others are in the form of a narrative. Capoeiristas sing about a wide variety of subjects. Capoeiristas change their playing style significantly as the songs or rhythm from the berimbau commands. In this manner, it is truly the music that drives capoeira.
The instruments are played in a row called the bateria. The rhythm of the bateria is set by the berimbaus (stringed percussion instruments that look like musical bows). Other instruments in the bateria are: pandeiros (tambourines), reco-reco (rasp), and agogo (double gong bell). The atabaque (conga-like drum), a common feature in most capoeira baterias, is considered an optional instrument, and is not required for a full bateria in some groups.
While the variety in styles lead to a variety of ranking systems, there is a standard trend that most systems of capoeira follow. In order of ascension, those ranks are aluno (student), graduado (graduated), formado (formed), professor (teacher), and mestre (master). Usually at their first batizado (baptism), a capoeirista will be given the rank of aluno. In some styles, this may also come with a cordão (rope) and / or apelido (nickname).
Capoeira does not focus on injuring the opponent. Rather, it emphasizes skill. Capoeiristas often prefer to show the movement without completing it though it could be finished to cause harm to the receiver, enforcing their superiority in the roda. If an opponent cannot dodge a slow attack, there is no reason to use a faster one. Each attack that comes in gives players a chance to practice an evasive technique. The ginga (literally: rocking back and forth; to swing) is the fundamental movement in capoeira. Capoeira Angola and Capoeira Regional have distinctive forms of ginga. Both are accomplished by maintaining both feet approximately shoulder-width apart and then moving one foot backwards and then back to the base, describing a triangular step on the ground. This movement is done to prepare the body for other movements. The rest of the body is also involved in the ginga: coordination of the arms (in such a way as to prevent the body from being kicked), torso (many core muscles may be engaged depending on the player's style), and the leaning of the body (forward and back in relation to the position of the feet; the body leans back to avoid kicks, and forward to create opportunities to show attacks). The overall movement should match the rhythm being played by the bateria.Capoeira also uses acrobatic and athletic movements to maneuver around the opponent.Fakes and feints are also an extremely important element in capoeira games. The setting of traps or illusory movements are very common. Capoeira defenses consists of evasive moves and rolls. There are also styles of moves that combine both elements of attack and defense.
The Chamada is a ritual that takes place within the game of Capoeira Angola. Chamada means 'call', and consists of one player 'calling' their opponent to participate in the ritual. There is an understood dialogue of gestures of the body that are used to call the opponent, and to signal the end of the ritual. The ritual consists of one player signaling, or calling the opponent, who then approaches the player and meets the player to walk side by side within the roda. The player who initiated the ritual then decides when to signal an end to the ritual, whereby the two players return to normal play. The critical points of the chamada occur during the approach, and the chamada is considered a 'life lesson', communicating the fact that the approach is a dangerous situation. Approaching people, animals, or life situations is always a critical moment when one must be aware of the danger of the situation. The purpose of the chamada is to communicate this lesson, and to enhance the awareness of people participating in the ritual. During the ritual, after the opposing player has appropriately approached the caller of the chamada, the players walk side by side inside the circle in which the game is played. This is another critical situation, because both players are now very vulnerable due to the close proximity and potential for surprise attack. Experienced practitioners and masters of the art will sometimes test a student's awareness by suggesting strikes, head-butts, or trips during a chamada to demonstrate when the student left themselves open to attack. The end of a chamada is called by the player that initiated the ritual, and consists of a gesture inviting the player to return to normal play. This is another critical moment when both players are vulnerable to surprise attack. The chamada can result in a highly developed sense of awareness and helps practitioners learn the subtleties of anticipating another person's intentions. The chamada can be very simple, consisting solely of the basic elements, or the ritual can be quite elaborate including a competitive dialogue of trickery, or even theatric embellishments.
The volta ao mundo (around the world) takes place after an exchange of movements has reached a conclusion, or after there has been a disruption in the harmony of the game. In either of these situations, one player will begin walking around the perimeter of the circle, and the other player will join the "around the world" before returning to the normal game.
Malandragem is a word that comes from malandro, which means a person who possesses cunning as well as malice. The word comes from the historical folklore of Brasil, in which men who were marginalized from main stream society and possessed street smarts were called malandros. Malandragem is an attitude derived from the mindset of the malandro and is a unique and distinguishing characteristic of the art of capoeira.
Capoeira angola is considered to be the more ancient form of capoeira and is often characterized by deeply held traditions, slower movements and with the players playing their games in closer proximity to each other than in regional or contemporanea. Capoeira angola is often characterized as being slower and lower to the ground than other major forms of Capoeira, although in actual practice, the speed varies in accordance with the music. It is played much as it Capoeira originally was played on the street before being moved indoors and systematized into the more modernized version of Capoiera regional. Capoeira Angola is also known for the chamada, a physical call-and-response used to challenge an opponent or to change the style in the roda.
The father of the best known modern Capoeira angola schools is considered to be Grão-Mestre Pastinha who lived in Salvador, Bahia. He was not the only Capoeira angola mestre, but is considered to be the "Father of Capoeira angola", bringing this style of Capoeira into the modern setting of an academy. He also wrote the first book about Capoeira, now out of print.
Regional
Later, modern regional came to be Capoeira Contemporanea. Developed by other people from Bimba's regional, this type of game is characterized by high jumps, acrobatics, and spinning kicks.
Regional ranks capoeiristas by ability, denoting different skill with the use of a corda (colored rope, also known as cordel or cordão) worn as a belt. Angola does not use such a formal system of ranking, relying instead upon the discretion of a student's mestre. In both forms, though, recognition of advanced skill comes only after many years of constant practice.
Contemporânea
In recent years, the various philosophies of modern capoeira have been expressed by the formation of schools, which focus on and continue to develop their specific form of the modern art. Each game, Regional and Angola stresses different strengths and abilities. Regional emphasizes speed and quick reflexes, whereas Angola underscores a great deal of thought given to each move, almost like a game of chess. Schools that teach a blend of these try to offer this mix as a way of using the strengths of both games to influence a player.
Capoeira regional groups periodically hold Batizados ("baptisms" into the art of capoeira). Members being "baptized" are normally given a corda (cord belt) and an apelido (capoeira nickname) if they haven't already earned one. Batizados are major events to which a number of groups and masters from near and far are normally invited. Sometimes a Batizado is also held in conjunction with a Troca de Corda (change of belts), in which students already baptized who have trained hard and been deemed worthy by their teachers are awarded higher-ranking belts as an acknowledgment of their efforts. Such ceremonies provide opportunities to see a variety of different capoeira styles, watch mestres play, and see some of the best of the game. Batizados and Trocas de Cordoes do not occur in capoeira Angola, which does not have a system of belts. However, some contemporary schools of capoeira have combined the study of both arts and may require their students to be learned in the ways of capoeira Angola before being awarded a higher belt.
Performed by many capoeira groups, samba de roda is a traditional Afro-Brazilian dance and musical form that has been associated with capoeira for many years. The orchestra is composed by pandeiro (tambourine), atabaque (drum), berimbau-viola (berimbau with the smallest cabaça and the highest pitch), chocalho (rattle – a percussion instrument), accompanied by singing and clapping. Samba de roda is considered the primitive form of modern Samba.
Maculelê is a dance that tells the story of the enslaved Africans who worked the sugarcane plantations in Brazil. The sugar cane was cut with machetes, and in the Maculele dance, dancers click machete blades rhythmically within the dance. Sometimes sticks are used instead of machete blades, however it is understood the sticks symbolize the machetes used to cut the sugarcane in the time of slavery. Maculele and capoeira share the same history and tell the story of the people who invented these art froms, therefore they are usually taught and performed together.
If you are planning to stay in Brazil to study it, we can provide you accommodation in a nice environment with friendly people and we can take you to genuine schools (no matter your level of capoeira knowledge, age or gender). Or if you need a Capoeira teacher to perform and teach abroad, please contact us by e-mail: sindri_o@hotmail.co.uk is a term for groups that train multiple styles of capoeira simultaneously. Very often students of Capoeira Contemporânea train elements of Regional and Angola as well as newer movements that would not fall under either of those styles. The label Contemporânea also applies to many groups who do not trace their lineage through Mestres Bimba or Pastinha and do not strongly associate with either tradition. is the more common form of Capoeira, it is practiced much more widely in Brazil then any other style of Capoeira and it's often what Brazilians refer to when they speak of Capoeira. Capoeira Regional was developed by Mestre Bimba to make capoeira more effective and bring it closer to its fighting origins, and less associated with the criminal elements of Brazil. The Capoeira Regional style is often considered to consist of faster and more athletic play than the lesser-known Capoeira angola. is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines elements of martial arts, music and dance. It was created in Brazil by African slaves by mixing the many fighting styles from many of their tribes, some time after the sixteenth century.It was developed in the Brazilian Northeast region and has had great influence on Afro-Brazilian generations. Participants form a roda (circle) and take turns either playing musical instruments, singing, or ritually sparring in pairs in the centre of the circle. The sparring is marked by fluid acrobatic play, feints, takedowns and with extensive use of leg sweeps, kicks and headbutts. Less frequently used techniques include elbow strikes, slaps, punches and body throws. Capoeira is a direct descendant of African fighting styles, and was incorporated with Brazilian dance form distilled from African slaves in Brazil which is in essence from various African and Brazilian influences. Some interpretations emphasize capoeira as a fighting style designed for rebellion, but disguised by a façade of dance. It is widely accepted that slaves in the New World would have sought both violent and jovial means of coping with their oppression.