Monday, June 1, 2020

Martial Monday: Capoeira

I think the first time I heard of Capoeira was the movie Only the Strong with Mark Dacascos in '93. I probably saw an article about it in one of the martial arts magazines prior to that, but that's my first definitive memory of exposure to the art.

I know, after seeing that movie, I sought out further information about it, but it wasn't until 2000 that I saw Capoeira in person. My friend Jeremiah Lovejoy, whose video I shared last week, was fascinated with Capoeira. I don't remember if he had actually trained in it prior to that trip or not, but in 2000, I went with him to visit a Capoeira school and museum in San Jose, California.

What knowledge I had of Capoeira was expanded by that visit. I didn't personally train, but Jeremiah did, and I watched the class. I also spent a fair bit of time in their small museum, which was one room with a diorama and a detailed overview of Capoeira.

What is Capoeira?

It's an Afro-Brazilian martial art. It came to Brazil with slaves centuries ago. The slaves hid the martial aspects of it in dance so they could practice even under the oppressive eye of the slavers. It provided a suite of tools for them to remain fit, have fun, train their martial arts, and retain some of their native culture. As such, Capoeira was vitally important to the people who brought it with them and the people they passed it on to.

As I understand it, while it's based on African arts, it is also distinct to Brazil because they developed methods adapted for their circumstances. For instance, some of the motions make a lot more sense when you think of them as flexible weapon methods that employed the chains between manacles on hands or feet.

There are two broad "styles" of Capoeira: Angola and Regional. Regional, pronounced hay-zha-nahl, is the most commonly seen. It's the predominant style used in movies like Only the Strong. It has larger motions and is generally more acrobatic than Angola, which makes it well-suited to the screen and viewer appeal. Angola, I've only seen a few times, but tends to remain lower to the ground. The first person I saw doing the Angola method was a student at that school in San Jose. The guy was burly, and that intrigued me. The Regional version I had seen prior to that was beyond my physical abilities, but this guy, built a lot like me, was doing Angola, and it was beautiful. I never pursued training in it, but, if I decided to, I would train in Angola.

There's another aspect of Capoeira called Maculele. I don't know if it's a distinct art or if it's only trained as an adjunct to Regional and Angola, but it uses sticks. I've seen a couple of demos of it and, when I asked the performers about martial applications, they said it was only a game they played for coordination. I know it can be more than that, and I assume there are practitioners who use it as more than that, but I don't know how common that is.

What does Capoeira look like?

It's beautiful and fascinating to watch. Aside from the technical training, a common form of "play" is called the Roda, pronounced hoe-da, which translates as "circle." The participants form a circle. They sing and play instruments while two of their peers enter the middle and play. The rules I've personally seen were either no contact or very light. It's a game of timing and position. Like a game of three-dimensional chess, they feint, launch strikes with hands and feet from a variety of postures, such as a hand stand or in the midst of a cartwheel. They also employ sweeps, headbutts, elbows, and knees. The athleticism and control displayed, especially by seasoned practitioners, in a roda is amazing.

In 2018, while visiting Cuenca, Ecuador, I was out for a walk and heard the distinctive sound of Berimbau, a musical instrument common in Capoeira. I followed the sound and saw a group of Capoeirista playing a roda. I stood and watched them for about fifteen minutes. When my wife retires, we plan to move to Cuenca. Maybe I'll finally get around to training some Capoeira after we do.


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The Wandering Guru
Menino, quem te fez? [Boy, who formed you?]
Quem te deu tanta guarida [Who gave you so much shelter?]
Quem te mostrou a beleza [Who taught you the beauty]
De dancar dentro da briga? [Of dancing within the fight?]
«Au» by Ronaldo Santos
Photo by form PxHere

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