Capoeira is something that I do for fun and exercise. It’s a bit of a selfish pursuit in that I do it because I want to and I don’t do it for anyone but myself. I am not pressured into it nor do I feel an obligation to others to do it. It’s something that I truly enjoy, but why do I devote so much time to it?
I enjoy many other activities, but very few of them call to me in the same way that capoeira does….Perhaps I should tell you a little more about what capoeira is first: Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form that appears at times to be as much as a dance as it is a fight. In capoeira, games are played in pairs. The game is played in the centre of the roda, the circle formed by other capoeristas. At the “top” of the roda is the berimbau (a bow like musical instrument) and two pandeiros (tambourines). It is the berimbau that is the master of the game. The tempo and rhythm of the berimbau determines the rythm of the game. Those forming the roda clap their hands in time with the rhythm and songs are sung that often affect what happens inside the roda. Some songs suggest a certain type of play while others describe something that has already happened in the game and others still tell stories of capoeira lore.
Inside the roda, the two players are attentive to the sound of the berimbau, following it’s rhythm. The game can be adversarial, collaborative or both at the same time. There is a dialog of attacks, defenses and counter attacks between the two players. A player may dodge the attack of the other and in the same movement launch their own attack but there is always movement.
After writing all that, I have decided that there is just too much to write about my experiences with capoeira and it deserves more than a single blog entry can give. Perhaps I ‘ll start another blog dedicated to my capoeira experience later on.
I should at least answer the title question though. Capoeirista eu sou? Não sei….é possivel, mas eu tenho a capoeira no coração. (I’m only learning portuguese so please forgive any grammatical errors.)
[...] break and in the last few months have come to realize how much it means to me. I started to write a post about what it meant to me but quickly realized that a single blog entry could not do it justice and so….here we [...]