Capoeira

Capoeira

History:

Capoeira is the common name for the group of African martial arts that came out of west Africa and were modified and mixed in Brazil. These original styles included weapons, grappling and striking as well as animal forms that became incorporated into different components and sub styles of the art.

In 1500's the Portuguese, led by explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral, arrived in Brazil. One of the first measures taken by the new arrivals was the conquering of the local population, the Brazilian Indians, in order to allow the Portuguese slave labor (for sugarcane and cotton). The experience with the Indians was a failure. The Indians quickly died in captivity or fled to their nearby homes. The Portuguese then began to import slave labor from Africa. On the other side of the Atlantic, free men and women were captured, loaded onto slave ships and sent on nightmare voyages that would end in bondage.

The Africans first arrived by the hundreds and later by the thousands (approximately four million in total).Three major African groups contributed in large numbers to the slave population in Brazil, the Sudanese group, composed largely of Yoruba and Dahomean peoples, the Mohammedanized Guinea-Sudanese groups of Malesian and Hausa peoples, and the "Bantu" groups (among them Kongos, Kimbundas, and Kasanjes) from Angola, Congo and Mozambique.

The Bantu groups are believed to have been the foundation for the birth of capoeira. They brought with them their culture; a culture that was not stored in books and museums but in the body, mind, heart and soul. A culture that was transmitted from father to son, throughout generations. There was candomble', a religion; the berimbau, a musical instrument; vatapa, a food; and many other things.

The Dutch controlled parts of the northeast between 1624 and 1654. Slaves took steps towards reconquest of their freedom when the Dutch fought against the Portuguese colony, invading towns and plantations along the northeastern coast, concentrating on Recife and Salvador. With each Dutch invasion, the security of the plantations and towns were weakened. The slaves, taking advantage of the opportunities, fled into the forests in search of places in which to hide and survive. Many, after escaping, founded independent villages called quilombos.

The quilombos were very important to evolution of capoeira. Ther...

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...he type of game being played, whether fast or slow, friendly or tough, depends on the rhythm being played and the lyrics being said.

Training:

After a thorough warm-up, standing exercises are done, with emphasis on the "ginga", and on the basic kicks: "bencao", a front-stomping kick, "martelo", a roundhouse kick, "chapa", a side-kick, "meia-lua", a low turning kick, "armada", a high turning kick, "queixada", an outside-inside crescent kick. Then walking sequences are done, with the introduction of somersaults, back flips and headstands, in couples and individual. Some more technical training follows, with couples beginning basic and slow, and then the whole class forms and goes for "roda" game for at least 30 minutes. Capoeira conditions and develops the muscles, especially the abdominal muscles.

Sub-Styles:

Regional style is capoeira in a more artistic, open form, giving more way to athletic prowess and training. Angola style is a more closed, harder style that is closest to the original African systems that came to Brazil. Iuna is a totally athletic and artistic form of the art, where the couple inside the "roda" play together, as opposed to one against the other.