HISTORY OF CAPOEIRA
Capoeira is a unique Brazilian artform, a blend of self-defence, acrobatics, music and song.
Capoeira originated in colonial Brazil in the midst of the African slave's fight for freedom. Forbidden from carrying weapons, the slaves resorted to using their bodies as fighting tools aganist armed captors.
Having developed a series of fatal moves, they cunningly used music and song disguise their preparations to fight and often their masters were foolishly entertained by the beauty of their potentially dangerous training sessions. The element of disguise, which has become an integral part of capoeira, have throughout the centuries helped to distinguish the art from other forms of martial art combat. The unmistakeable rhythms of the Berimbau and the beauty of its acrobatic moves have awed every continent, infiltrated the movie industry and became incorporated into popular playstation games such as Tekken 3.
Today, two basic styles of capoeira exist. Capoeira Angola, a movement primarily developed by Mestre Pastinha and is the original style characterised by slow, sneaky movements played close to the ground. Capoeira Regional on the other hand is a newer, fast-paced, athletic style created by Mestre Bimba. It is combat-oriented and characterised by a sequence of attack-defence and counterattack blows. Modern capoeira regional includes a number of high jumps, acrobatics and spinning kicks which were originally not in Mestre Bimba's style. In capoeira regional, the players traditionally wear white uniforms. They are ranked according to their ability by different coloured belts (cordas), which are group specific and rewarded at the annual Batizado (grading festival).
Capoeira's uniqueness stems from a productive rather than destructive energy, which aims to encourage it's players to work together rather than against each other. On its deepest level, capoeira transcends the physical limitations of other art forms. It provides a philosophical framework for interaction with the world at large and challenges its players physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Vincente Ferreira Pastinha
(MESTRE PASTINHA)
1889 - 1981
Manoel dos Reis Machado
(MESTRE BIMBA)
1900 - 1974
Capoeira nao e aquele que sabe movimentar
o corpo, e sim aquele que se deixar movimentar pela alma.
Capoeira is not the one who can move the body,
and yes the one who lets movement from the soul
Mestre Pastinha.
So o respeito e a confianca permitira o ensino.
Only respect and trust will allow learning.
Mestre Bimba.