Capoeira is a tradition of fighting with the feet, perhaps directly descended from tribal dervishes of strength and ritual dance.The musical soul of Capoeira, the berimbau, leads an orchestra of drums, tambourines and bells. The rhythms govern the speed and type of games played. One rhythm calls for beautiful flourishes and graceful movements, another calls for close-quartered movements, and sneaky deception to trap the opponent. Many moves involve headstands, handstands, cartwheels and other improvised movements. There are small rituals and gestures that season the games. Everyone’s style of play is very individual, and evolves with their experience in the art.In training, we often play competitively with our partner. Rather than block an oncoming blow, we evade it with a flight or a flourish, and trip them up as we leave. At its best expression, there is never any actual contact between players. Skill is cultivated to pull blows, and it is enough to show that a kick could have landed, without striking the other person. In class you learn all the physical elements of Capoeira, but this is only one facet of Capoeira. There is much more than physical training involved. You will learn to sing, to play musical instruments, possibly to speak a whole new language!From 1535 to 1885, millions of Africans were subjugated into slavery, including people from Angola, the Congo and Mozambique. Many of the important documents relating to slavery in Brazil were burned, to cleanse from history the traces of slavery, and this has taken from us valuable insights as to the development of the art. It is commonly believed that a form of Capoeira arrived in Brazil with the Africans and was developed by their descendants. However, some say Capoeira was created by Africans in Brazil, others rigidly hold that its roots in Africa, but it flourished and blossomed in Brazil.
ahh i remember discovery channel saying something about this. i always wanted to check it out.
Originally posted by Fearnix#
Yeah its very hard.
but because i do ballet i am very agile.
Well that certainly an advantage, though i would have thought seeking out a qualified instructor would be very prudent just so that you can experience "sparring" I use that term loosely because it doesnt really look like sparrinf when you see adepts practicing it.