Capoeira

Capoeira was something I had never heard of before. I had no idea what to expect but my wife who is from San Francisco and much more cultured than I am had a friend that was heavily into it. My Humanities professor made it sound fun and when I heard the word martial arts it drew me in because I've always been interested in martial arts. When I asked my wife if she wanted to go, she excitedly accepted the invitation. We just had our fourth baby just over a month ago and desperately need to go on a date and have some fun together. I understand now why my wife was so excited to go. Capoeira is much more than just martial arts fighting, it's a dance, a sport, a game, and an artistic expression of freedom.

Capoeira was created by slaves brought to Brazil from Africa as a form of self-defense. As slaves they had to disguise their study of the art by making dance an intricate part of it, making it a highly acrobatic, rhythmic form. It was also designed to allow them to fight while their hands were chained, and thus relies heavily on kicks and the use of one hand as a support for many of the cartwheel type moves. They are guided by Portuguese music, along with singing and clapping. The main musical instrument is a berimbau; it's a one stringed instrument that looks like a bow. They also use a drum that contributes to the rhythm. Capoeira takes place in a circle (roda) surrounded by spectators. The people participating in the circle fight to the rhythm of the beat, flow to the music, taunt, show-off and have fun. Now that I've told you a little bit about the history of Capoeira let me tell you what it's really all about.

I sat on the floor, just like the thirty or more people that were their, with my back to the wall, camcorder in hand, ready to watch a presentation, or so I thought. After the instructor taught us some of the history I have just explained he had us move into a circle, close around him and approximately ten other participants. The first thing he did was teach us a Portuguese song and a rhythmic clap. At first we, the supposed spectators, were very apprehensive of singing out loud in public. He insisted that we smile and sing louder or they could not perform unless our energy was part of the experience. We finally started smiling as we clapped and sung along. This was especially hard for me as I am definitely very quiet and introverted. I was very awkward for me at this point and I wondered to myself what I had gotten us into. While we clapped and sang they warmed up by performing acrobatic moves of handstands and back flips. Each person had his or her own individual style. The first thing I thought of was break dancing because I could see it in some of the moves. It wasn't until two player (capoeiristas) started to display their techniques in a whirlwind of power, speed, and agility that I began to see and feel the experience for what it was. It was more than break dancing, gymnastics, acrobatics and tumbling, although each of these are elements of this dance-like fighting style. It wasn't as stiff and regimented like traditional martial arts; there were certain movements that each player used, but they were definitely free to express their individuality. It was a pure show of athletic sport where the two capoeiristas would try and deliver blows using only their legs, feet, and heads-no hands allowed.