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WHAT IS CAPOEIRA?
Capoeira [ka.pu'ej.ra] is an Afro-Brazilian blend of
martial art, game, and culture created by enslaved Africans
in Brazil during the 16th Century.
Participants form a roda (circle) and take turns playing
instruments, singing, and sparring in pairs in the centre
of the circle. The game is marked by fluid acrobatic
play, feints, subterfuge, and extensive use of groundwork, s
as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts. Throughout
the game, a player must avoid a sweep, trip, kick, or
head butt that may knock him or her on the floor. Less
frequently-used techniques include elbow-strikes, slaps,
punches, and body-throws.
Capoeira has evolved from one main form, known as "Capoeira
Angola", into two other forms known as
"Capoeira Regional", and
the ever-evolving "Capoeira Contemporânea".
History
Capoeira emerged as a way to resist oppression, secretly
practice art, transmit culture, and lift spirits. Some
historians believe that the indigenous peoples of Brazil
also played an important role in the development of
Capoeira.
Most Brazilian scholars have argued that Capoeira emerged
as a way to conceal the fact that slaves were practicing
to fight (against their owners), concealing it with a
seemingly happy dance routine. This explains why today's
Capoeira appears to be a mix of both fighting techniques
and flowing artful dance.
After slavery was abolished
in 1888, the freed people often moved to the cities
of Brazil. With employment scarce, many joined or formed
criminal gangs. They continued to practice Capoeira,
which in time became associated with anti-government
and criminal activities. As a result, Capoeira was outlawed
in Brazil in 1890, and the punishment for practicing
it was extreme. Rodas were often held in areas with
plenty of escape routes, and a special rhythm called
cavalaria was added to the music to warn players that
the police were coming. Capoeira practitioners (capoeiristas)
also adopted apelidos or nicknames to make it more difficult
for police to discover their true identities; this custom
is practiced even today.
Mestre Bimba made a major contribution to the preservation
of the art by opening the first academy for instruction
in Capoeira. This was a significant development because
it eventually led to the legalization of the art in
Brazil, and allowed Capoeira to gain popularity at a
time when the art could possibly have died out. A notable
example of the influence of Mestre Bimba's system of
formal instruction took place in 1937, when he was invited
to perform with his students at an event at which Getulio
Vargas (the president of Brazil at that time) was present.
Mestre Bimba also had a major impact on the practice
and method of instruction of the art, and introduced
changes that affect the practice of the art to this
day. He called his variant of the form Uma Luta Regional
de Bahia (A regional fight from Bahia). Mestre Bimba's
Capoeira is now called Capoeira Regional, and subsequently
many modern forms of Capoeira not directly derived from
Bimba's teaching are also called Regional.
In 1942, Mestre Pastinha opened the first formal academy
for instruction in the traditional form of the art,
known as Capoeira Angola.
What does the word capoeira mean?
Kongo scholar K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau has posited that
"capoeira" could be derived from the word kipura
in Bantu language Kikongo, a term used to describe a rooster's
movements in a fight and meaning to flutter, flit from
place to place, struggle, fight, or flog. In Portugese
capão means capon, castrated rooster.
 The
game
Capoeira does not focus on injuring the opponent. Rather,
it emphasizes skill. Capoeiristas often prefer to show
the movement without completing it, 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.
Capoeira is played in “roda”, a circle
of people. People 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 an individual
in the audience can "buy in" to engage one
of the two players and begin another game. Three instruments
that are played are called the bateria.
These are berimbaus, which look like an archer's bow
using a steel string and a gourd for resonance, and
the other instruments are two pandeiros (tambourines),
a Reco-Reco (rasp), and an Agogo (double gong bell).
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.
Capoeira primarily attacks with kicks, sweeps, and head
strikes. Some schools teach punches and hand strikes,
but they are not as common. The player also uses acrobatic
and athletic movements to maneuver around the opponent.
Capoeira defenses consists of evasive moves and rolls.
Chamada
The Chamada means “call” and is a ritual
that takes place within the game of Capoeira Angola.
One palyer, by using understood guestures is “calling”
the oponent to participate in the ritual, 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. During Chamada
there is a couple of potentially critical situations,
because both players are now very vulnerable due to
the close proximity and potential for surprise attack.
/source: wikipedia/
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