Capoeira
Brazilian Martial Art
| Capoeira is a acrobatic Brazilian martial art developed by African slaves in Brazil, in the colonial era. Capoeira combines dance, acrobatics and music with fighting techniques. Members create a circle (called roda) and alternate playing instruments, singing, and fighting in pairs in the middle of the circle. The match is marked by fluid gymnastic play, maneuver, deception, and general use of groundwork, as well as sweeps, kicks, spins, flips and head butts. Skill and strategy are the key elements to playing a good game. Capoeira has two main styles, known as "Regional" and "Angola." Ranking Capoeira uses a cordao or rope (colored belt awarded to mark advancement in some academies) ranking system to indicate the experience an individual has. And that is the key to understanding the system. The ropes signifies experience and time invested in Capoeira. It symbolizes more knowledge of Capoeira rather than physical capability but the two usually go hand-in-hand. In Capoeira, advance in rope represents a greater comprehension of the art as well as skill. Ropes are given at a ceremony called BATIZADO (baptism). Every student is considered separately. When a student is baptized and receives their first rope (usually green ) they are finally considered a Capoeira player or Capoeirista.(practioners of capoeira) After a student receives their first rope they must then persist to not only improvement in the movements of Capoeira but also learn to speak Portuguese, the history of Capoeira and music in addition to the various philosophies and customs of Capoeira. With each rope advancement, the player represents a more complete and well rounded Capoeirista. As a Capoerista rises through the ranks so shall their knowledge & experience. If the student shows persistence, dedication, ability, desire and knowledge over the years, they will ultimately become a graduated student & receive their blue rope. Being a graduated student means you have hit another level. Now the learning process takes another twist! You are ready to begin the learning process of how to become a teacher. It is essential to note the learning process never ends in Capoeira! As an instructor, you can now teach under the Master's supervision & after gaining teaching experience you will become a contramestre (one level below a master) . As a contramestre you can now teach class on your own, preparing your path to enter the Master's level. Once you achieve a Master's degree, you will remain under the same rope for at least 5 years. The rope system uses the "CORDÃO" (colored belt awarded to mark advancement in some academies), a string type rope based on the colors of the Brazilian flag. Note that the colors work their way in from the outside of the flag! Not all schools use the same system or colors. Some schools don't even use belts at all! Deception As students master the basic moves, their match naturally gains a more manipulative perception as they begin to improve the art of deception. This necessitates a lot of creativity, ingenuity and adjustment of basic moves into a flurry of drills and fakes to trick the opponent to respond incorrectly. These challenges can be apparent or subtle at the judgment of the players. Some capoeiristas take this aspect of the art to heights akin to the cleverness of performance and drama. History Between 16th to the 19th centuries, Portugal shipped slaves into South America from western Africa. Brazil was the most frequent destination for African slaves. Most often slaves sold into Brazil were from Angola, Congo and Mozambique. The slaves brought their cultural customs and religions with them to the New World. The homogenization of the African people under the control of slavery was the vehicle for capoeira. Capoeira was developed by the slaves of Brazil as a way to challenge their oppressors, secretively practice their art, pass on their customs, and improve their inner health. Some historians think that the native peoples of Brazil also played a major role in the development of capoeira. After slavery was eliminated, the slaves traveled to the cities of Brazil and with no employment to be found, many organized or formed unlawful groups. They continued to carry out capoeira, and it became allied with revolutionary or illegal behavior. As a result, capoeira was prohibited in Brazil in 1890. The penalty for practicing capoeira was cruel (Capoeirista would have the tendons on the backs of their feet cut), and the law enforcement were vicious in their attempt to crush the art. Capoeira continued to be practiced, but it moved more underground. Rodas were frequently held in regions with lots of escape paths, and a particular beat called cavalaria was added to the music to notify players that the police were coming. Capoeira practitioners (capoeiristas) also assumed apelidos or nicknames to make it harder for police to discover their true identities. To this day, when a person is baptized into capoeira at the batizado ritual, they are given an apelido (nick-name). Harassment of the art ended by 1918. Mestre (master, senior capoeira teacher) Bimba (creator of the Regional style) and Mestre Pastinha ("little folder"; famous deceased teacher of Angola from Bahia) are known as the founder of contemporary capoeira regional and capoeira Angola, correspondingly. In 1937, Mestre Bimba was invited to show capoeira in front of president Getúlio Vargas. After this appearance, he was given authorization to open the first capoeira school in Brazil. Since that time, capoeira has been officially recognized as a national sport. Mestre Bimba's systematization and schooling of capoeira made a great contribution to the capoeira society. In 1942, Mestre Pastinha opened the first capoeira Angola school, the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola, located in Bahia. Nearly all Angola schools use yellow capoeira t-shirts, though some organizations have begun to wear other uniforms. A stylized form of capoeira has been developed for theater production and has attracted many new participants to the sport. Capoeira has also spread to other parts of the world The origin of the word "capoeira" is questioned, as there are a number of possibilities: * The Portuguese word "capoeira" derives from the word capão, which translates as capon, a castrated rooster. The sport's name may stem from this word since its moves are like those of a rooster in a fight. "Capoeira" has a number of meanings, counting any kind of inclosure where capon are kept, a fowl similar to a partridge, and a basket worn on the head by soldiers protecting a stronghold. "Capoeira" is also what people used to call a black who mugged travelers. * Afro-Brazilian scholar Carlos Eugenio has stated that the sport took its name from a large round basket called a capa usually worn on the head by city slaves selling goods. * The word could derive from two Tupi-Guarani words, [CAA] ("down, little") and [PUOÊRA] ("grass"), referring to an area of forest that has been cleared by burning or cutting down. [CAÃ][PUOERA] was also a place used by rebel slaves to assault slave transports. * Kongo scholar K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau has posited that "capoeira" could be derived from the Kikongo word kipura, a word used to depict a rooster's movements in a fight and meaning to flutter, flit from place to place, move violently, fight, or lash. Music is essential to capoeira. It sets the rhythm and mode of game that is to be played within the Roda Music The music is created with instruments and song. The rhythm varies from slow (Angola) to fast (São Bento Regional). Many of the songs are sung in a call and reply format as others are in the style of a story. Capoeiristas sing about a range of subjects. Some songs are about the past or tales of legendary capoeiristas. Other songs try to cheer players to play better. Some songs are about what is going on in the roda. Sometimes the songs are regarding life, or love lost. Others are comical, sung just for fun. Capoeiristas change their playing style extensively as the songs or beat from the berimbau (one-stringed percussion instrument resembling a bow) commands. In this way, it is truly the tune that drives capoeira. There are three basic kinds of songs in capoeira. A ladainha (introductory solo of roda or game, usually sung by a master) is a narrative solo generally sung at the beginning of a roda, usually by the Mestre (Master). These ladainhas will often be well-known songs earlier written by a Mestre, or they may be spur-of-the-moment on the spot. A ladainha is frequently followed by a chula (chant)or louvação, following a call and response arrangement that usually thanks God and one's trainer, among other things. Each call is commonly repeated word-for-word by the responders. The ladainha and chula are often absent in regional games. Finally, corridos (call and response songs accompanying action in the circle)are songs that are sung while a game is being played, again following the call and response arrangement. The answers to each call do not merely repeat what was said, but change depending on the song. The instruments are played in a line called the bateria. Three instruments are berimbaus,(one-stringed percussion instrument resembling a bow) which look like an archer's bow using a steel string and a gourd for tone. It is played by hitting the string with a stick, and the pitch is regulated by a stone. Legend has it that, in the past, knives or other sharp objects were connected to the top of the berimbau for defense and in case a big fight broke out. These three bows are the Berraboi (also called the bass or Gunga), Medio, and Viola, (viola [violinha] the highest pitched berimbau) and lead the rhythm. Other instruments in the bateria are: two pandeiros (large tambourine played in capoeira or samba) , a Reco-Reco (ribbed bamboo scraper, sometimes shaped like a fish, and an Agogo (double gong bell). The Atabaque (large drum used in capoeira rodas), a common feature in most capoeira baterias, is an non-compulsory instrument, and is not necessary for a full bateria in some groups. The "roda" is the circle of people within which capoeira is played. Individuals who make up the roda's circular shape clap and sing along to the music being played for the two partners engaged in a capoeira "game" ("jogo"). In some capoeira schools spectators can jump into and engage one of the two players and begin another game. The minimum roda mass is generally a circle where the radius is about 3 metres (10 feet) in diameter. They are often larger, up to 10 metres in diameter (30 feet). The beat being played on the berimbau sets the speed of the game being played in the roda. Slow music limits the game to slow yet intricate ground moves and handstands. Hits generally aren't made but feigned or just shown. The players often turn away from each other's hits just to throw their own. Slow games are often seen as finesse games, less impressive for the casual viewer. Faster music allows for more circular momentum which is key to acquiring "big air" in the roda. For the members, the roda is a microcosm of life and the world around them. Often in the roda, the capoeiraista's (practioners of capoeira) greatest adversary is himself. Philosophy Philosophy plays a big part in capoeira and the teachers strive to teach respect, responsibility, safety and liberty/freedom. Present day capoeira is frequently criticized by conventional practitioners of capoeira as being in the process of losing its "playfulness" and conversation, in the sense that many capoeiristas focus on exciting acrobatics or the martial fundamentals than the playful contact with the other player in the roda. Capoeira does not focus on injuring the adversary. Noticeably, it accentuates skill. Capoeiristas often choose to show the movement without completing it, enforcing their power in the roda. If a foe cannot avoid a slow assault, there is no reason to use a faster one. Each attack that comes in gives players a option to apply an elusive technique. The ginga (basic movement of capoeira which through continous motion allows an easy entrance to either offensive or defensive action) is the basic movement in capoeira. Capoeira Angola and capoeira regional have unique forms of ginga. Both are accomplished by maintaining both feet roughly 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 set up the body for other actions. The rest of the body is also drawn in the ginga: synchronization 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 stay away from kicks, and forward to create opportunities to show attacks). The common movement should correspond to the rhythm being played by the bateria. Capoeira mostly strike with kicks, sweeps, and head butts. Some schools teach punches and hand strikes, but they are not as frequent. Some scholars have suggested that this is because capoeira was first developed by handcuffed slaves fighting against their guards. Another reason for the main use of feet is the universal West African belief that hands are for creation and feet for destruction. Elbow strikes are generally used in place of hand strikes. Knee strikes are occasionally seen. Capoeira also uses acrobatic and athletic movements to maneuver around the opponent. Cartwheels called "aú" (a very common acrobatic movement), handstands, head-spins, hand-spins, hand-springs, sitting movements, turns, jumps, flips, and large dodges are all very normal in capoeira though vary greatly depending on the form and rhythm. Tricks are also a very vital part in capoeira games and the setting of "traps" or deceptive actions are very frequent. Capoeira defenses consists of delicate falls and rolls. A series of ducks called esquivas, (escape movement [basic movement]) which means "break away from", are also essential of a capoeiristas' assertive language. There are usually different esquivas for every step of the Ginga,(basic movement of capoeira which through continous motion allows an easy entrance to either offensive or defensive action) depending on the focus of the kick and intention of the defender. A common defense is the rolê, which is a rolling move that combines a duck and a low movement. This move lets the defensive player to quickly evade an assault and place themselves around the assailant in order to lay up for an attack. It is this combination of attacks and defense which gives a game of capoeira its obvious 'grace' and arrangement. Other elusive moves such as rasteira, (a sweeping trip and trademark capoeira move [sweep]) vingativa, tesoura (scissors"; sweep with both legs [sweep]) de mão or queda (stumble, mistep ) permit the capoeirista to move away or significantly close in to attempt to trip up the assailant in an instant of susceptibility. Capoeira Angola rodas has a custom called the chamada. (call; berimbau rhythm to call attention) In a chamada, one player assumes a ritual posture, for example, with one hand in the air. Typically, the other competitor must move toward and join the pose (in this example, touching their hand to the first player's hand). The players then walk back and forth until the first player parts and offers a slow attack, and the jogo (game) continues. However, the entire chamada is filled with hesitation, while it is agreeable for both players (even though most often the player that called the chamada) to strike out in a quick attack. If the other player is trapped, it's because they weren't being observant enough. The aim of the chamada is to check a player's ability to work together, to appear friendly, without revealing himself to a devious attack. Some masters will humorously take on spectators in the chamada (for example, initiate a female spectator to their contestant only to take the rival down while he doffs his hat). Chamadas help to show how well a player can manage the tricks of the world. The volta do mundo ("around the world"; circling the ring when one or both of the players is tired) is a brief time off taken by both players during a round in capoeira regional. It is similar to the chamada in capoeira Angola and used to suggest a change of pace in the game being played. Even though each training of the volta do mundo differs, one alternative could be walking counter-clockwise in big circle, holding the left hands and walking in the same direction. Two or three gentle laps is all the break you get, then it's time to participate again. In some schools of capoeira Angola, the meeting of the left hands would suggest a specific chamada that require a usual exit definite and diverse from just separating hands. The volta do mundo is often used to compel the players to relax after an intense exchange or by a player when they need time out. It is crucial to be aware that volta do mundo is practiced in different ways by different masters — some hold hands, some do not, some walk, some run. In certain schools, the volta do mundo is done when the music is finished and the players are waiting for another one to begin. |