Thursday Training 30th December 2010

Hey everyone,

Merry X'mas and Happy New Year!

This will most defnitely be our last training for the year at NUS on Thursday 30th Dec.

Training will be at 7 P.M @ MPSH so do come down if you guys can make it!

Best regards & happy holidays,

~Kelvin

Christmas Roda

Hello all!

Greetings from Penang. Hope you guys have been enjoying yourselves as much as you can... while waiting for results day haha.

Anyway, here's something more fun to look forward to - a ZC tradition - the Christmas Roda! For the month of December, the monthly roda is gonna be a little special. This roda will be our annual Xmas Roda!! It's gonna be held next thursday, 23rd December at 7.30pm, @Scape (near Somerset MRT). Bring a gift of not more than $5 for a fun gift exchange!! Those who don't give will get a nice beautiful tesoura!

We will be carolling, so practice your vocal chords!

Oh, and if you've been wondering what those of us from Penang have been up to - I just have this to say... FOOD, FOOD and more FOOD! And some Capoeira of course. Thanks to Rosinha, we had a chance to train with the capoeiristas from Senzala.

Happy holidays :)

-Bom Garoto

TRAINING ON THURSDAY 16th DECEMBER 2010

Hey everyone

We will be having training at MPSH on THURSDAY 16th December @ 7pm,

Bryan aka the Morecegao will be leading training so do come down and train together and learn from one another. Have fun stay safe and axe~ everyone.

Salve,
Kelvin

Training on Friday

Alright people, after the fantastic feast at Shiela's it's time to work our butts off and get back into shape!

First training of the holidays shall be held this Friday, 7pm outside MPSH1.

But if Friday's too far off and you're itching to train, you can join a group of us who are going down to HQ this evening to train.

Those with unexpended Axé and wanna train on Tuesday pls drop me an sms so I can coordinate an informal training.

Salve Capoeira!

-Bom Garoto

Tricking at ECP this Sunday!

per Macaquinho:

"5th Dec 2010, 3-5pm, ECP Fitness Corner, Tricking Session.

Don't come if you are intending to be late as late comers will not be entertained.
Get sore and go home sore."

letttttt's go!!!!

-Bom Garoto

Of Pecs, and Tights, and who the h*** let the dogs out??!!!

Haven't been checking out capoeira videos for some time, and well, I thought those peeps taking exams might need some entertainment too, so check this out.

The first one is a cool video of ultra-graceful super-expert capoeiristas.. you know, those people who make it look totally effortless while us mere mortals wish we can reach 10% of their level.. Wonder why the opening shot is a(very) well-built torso,though >.<

Second one... uhm I am ashamed to admit it's from Indonesia.. but yeah, if you've ever wondered how to do capoeira to the tune of 'Who let the dogs out' ...





Muito axe!
shiela

Monthly Roda (Exam Edition)

date: Sunday, 28th Nov

time: 4-6pm

venue: *Scape (near somerset mrt)

Because I've been uninspired lately, I believe the best way to promote the roda would be to share our dear president's words (loosely paraphrased based on my memory):

"The roda is only for 2h. You can't possibly study the whole day."

Hmm... food for thought indeed. Anw, I'll be there so if you wanna come you know who to look for :)

All d best for your remaining papers!

Cheers,

Faizal

New Songs

These are the 2 songs that Macaquinho wanted to share with us yesterday. We did the first but didn't have time for the second. I couldn't find the songs online but if anyone does (*looks at Shiela) then please share k? Enjoy!

1.)

Da ta hora que jogar, vai mou lar vai dia

Da ta hora que jogar, vai mou lar vai dia

Eu vou eu vou, vou vai dia

Eu vou eu vou, vou vai dia

2.)

[Chorus]

Meu camarada venha vera brincadeira

Meu camarada venha vera brincadeira

[Solo]

O Cara Planta Bananeira Fica De Prena Pro Ar Jai Meu Falar Que Se Luta Brasileira

Que se chamar capoeira eu tam bem quero jogar

-Bom Garoto

Newsflash!!

..so much so I can't resist blogging about it in the middle of studio haha.. For those who have not yet known about it, Faizal a.k.a our Bom Garoto got the first position in the beginner category, and Sanny a.k.a Cantor got the third position in the advanced category for the Zambiacongo Asia-Pacific capoeira tournament.



Congraaaaaaaaatz!!! We are so DAMN PROUD of both of u!

Special edition pics of our winners:




and because I think it's not complete without putting another pic of our female ambassador:


Oh and, welcome back home!

P.S I think we should all try pestering Bom Garoto to treat us the next supper =D

Honored to convey the glad tidings,
shiela

Additional workshop info

Hi all!
For those who wants to know the workshop fee if you cannot attend for all 3 days, here's the new info:

Single day workshop:
Friday - working adult $16, student $10
Saturday, working adult $32, student $20
Sunday - working adult $32, student $20

An additional $5 administrative fee will be levied on payments for package deal (the full 3 days package) made on workshop day itself.
So quick find Sapo and give him the dough! ><

Cheers!
Shiela

Bits of Inspiration

..because we all need them =)

Just want to quote what was said to us during training last Tuesday (Loosely quoted, since my memory of it has faded a bit, but correct me if I'm wrong) :

"You want capoeira. You come here for capoeira. The first thing that you must change is your attitude towards training. Not thinking that 'Wah training so shiong, don't want to come ah..' If you think like that, you fail. You fail to understand that the human body is so tough. It can take a lot of things."

Since long ago, I wholeheartedly believe that the human body is tough, but that belief was only manifested in eating whatever roadside food I desire when I go back to Indonesia.. Time to apply it to a different matter..

Well, to encourage all of us to stick t the training regime when the going gets tough, here's a video just to remind ourselves just how beautiful capoeira is, just how worth it are those physically and mentally demanding sessions when we bit by bit gain power, control and balance..



"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body."
- Arnold Schwarzenegger

"If you train hard, you'll not only be hard - you'll be hard to beat."
- Herschel Walker

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it will last forever."
- Lance Armstrong

Shiela

Milo of Crotona

Sometime ago, Alif talked about Milo of Crotona in relation to strength training. Basically, he was a wrestler who lived in Athens, 6th century BC, renowned because he was 5 times wrestling champion of the ancient Olympiad. On top of that, he was also a mathematician, a philosopher, and a military leader! Talk about well-rounded.. Haha.. (You can read more about him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_of_Crotona )

Anyway, this Milo of Crotona apparently trained by hoisting a calf onto his shoulders everyday since young, and as the calf grew into a bull, he became strong enough to lift up the bull.

Lucky bull must be enjoying the daily ride...

Progressive strength training at its most impressive. When I was reading around about him, I came across an interesting blog about fitness and strength training, and the author, for fun, wrote an imaginary training log for dear Milo: (click to enlarge)


Ok, by now you might be laughing and dismissing it as mere myth... Wait till you check out this guy:


Damn right, people.. Modern day Milo! With a very macho name like H.E Mann, to boot..
Well, hope you enjoyed that bit of trivia, and... anyone importing a calf from Indonesia soon? ;p

Shiela

Intermezzo

Well, well.. Some of us have been missing trainings here and there (yours truly guilty as charged..), and at least for me capoeira is a happy activity I wouldn't miss if I could, so to skip training usually signifies that you have a less-happy affair that demands your attention.. ><

Mid-terms, for one.. Hope everyone's okay? No body parts missing? For those who feels like the stress and expectations from mid-terms are killing them.. jia you! Then again, I'm sure there are those who wish that their worst problems is something as trivial as the mid-terms..

Whatever it is, one thing I love about capoeira and the club is that you don't need to tell people blatantly about your problems to feel a sense of camaraderie and having people around who sincerely cares.. That has helped me a lot these two semesters each time I take a 'mental beating' from studio =) So, in the family spirit, let me try to bring a bit of cheer... (btw ppl, CLICK TO ENLARGE yeah ;p )
P.S. Was talking to another 'older' member that we're very lucky the new members this time are very enthusiastic, because that really helps to carry the dynamics of the club. I cannot agree more =)

Hugs all 'round,
Shiela

Monthly Roda!!

Hi NUS Capoeiristas,

First of all, Happy Childrens Day to everyone~!

It's October now which means that it's time once again for that special monthly event that we've all been waiting for :)

Here are the details for October's monthly roda:

Time: 4pm

Venue: *Scape sky terrace lvl 3

http://gothere.sg/maps#q:*scape

We'll meet at 3:15 at Somerset MRT and head down together as a club. Those going there directly, please be there by 3.30pm so that we can all warm-up and start on time.

Here's some pics from the last one held at SMU:

As you can see, it was intense and fun. The roda this Sunday shouldn't be any different - it's gonna be full of intense fun just like the previous one.

Those of you who have completed your midterms, you have no reason to miss this. Those of you who are still having midterms but feel tired/ burnt out from all the mugging, this is the perfect outlet to destress ;)

Salve Capoeira!

-Bom Garoto

Workshop and Performance at ITE College East Tmrw 11-1pm

Hey guys, this is last minute but if u're game for it pls reply to Shiela or Faizal.
The Warriors of Brazil Capoeira performance group is going to
ITE Collge East for a performance and workshop tmrw. I think it's free for our students. It's from 11-1pm and there is limited availability. Pelase revert to
Shiela or Faizal by 4.30pm so they can help you register.

Cheers,
Kelvin

BBQ Matters

Details
Time and place: Friday, 24th Sept, gather at 5.30 pm Toa Payoh MRT

Update: For those people coming late, here's the map to my place:
http://gothere.sg/maps#q:from%20toa%20payoh%20mrt%20to%20trellis%20towers

We've ordered otah, satay, drumlets and squid from the BBQ wholesale, but they're all from the protein group! So, to make a nutritious BBQ we still need:

1. carbohydrates - bread, potatoes, marshmallow (high GI, but still..), noodles
2. vitamins and minerals, a.k.a veggies and fruits - corn, tomatoes, capsicum, banana, mushrooms
3. water - bottled drinks
4. fats *the stuff that is not at all nutritious but makes life worth living* - chips, keropoks, chocolate
5. alcohol.. but I'm assuming some of the seniors are already super-excited to bring this hahaha..

Other stuff we need:
6. speakers for music? can we borrow the mini speakers from the cupboard? oh, and people with decent iTunes playlist since mine is hopeless.
7. entertainment - cards, games,etc. if some of you wanna do b-boy battle, we're totally cool with that ^^

Did I miss anything?
OK now the interactive part.. if you want to volunteer to bring anything, just post it as a comment below so everybody knows what other stuff to bring. Even if you're just gonna bring one bottled drink or a packet of chips, it counts!

See you all Friday!

Shiela

Songs 16.09.10

Here's the song we learnt today, 'Berimbau Chamou Voce'. We learnt only the chorus and not yet the full song, because.. the capoeiraluanda website is down so I cannot search the complete lyrics ><



Ie ie ie
Berimbau chamou voce
Sim sim sim sim sim
Berimbau tocou assim

Ie ie ie
The berimbau is calling you
Yes yes yes yes yes
The berimbau is still playing *or, 'thus the berimbau is playing' *
_
And, here's the other song that we combined with it: (yeap we were technically learning two songs.. I'm cunning, I know.. ;p )

Berimbau tocou,

chamando a capoeira pra jogar,

dizendo que aquele que era bamba

hoje já não tem mais vez

todos tem o seu lugar

Corpo balancá ao ouvir o berimbau

na cadencia do jogo não quer mais parar

compreendendo a magia que em numa roda

lelele ele só quer vadiar

oh berimbau

__

Lyrics in the process of translation hahaha.. cuz I've translated it for myself but am still unsure on some parts.. I'll put it up as soon as I can find the translation on the net.

Great to hear everyone singing yesterday! And you know what, new members, these songs have never been sung in our roda before, so you're on par with the seniors here ^^ Show 'm what you've got yeah!

Axe!

Shiela

982 calories

That was how much energy we expended during yesterday's training.

Or for those of us who relate to energy in terms of food better (i.e. all of us) - that's just about slightly more than what we get from a plate of pasta!

In Morcego's words:

"Wow nice!

Faizal, ur entitled to eat pasta after every training haha (and that's just the conditioning portion :))"

And for those of you who thought it was a '7' on the exertion scale - you were right! (assuming my data is a gd representation for everyone)

Thanks Alif for sharing this training programme with us.

My body is still aching as I'm typing this but on my part, I'm looking forward to Round 2 tomorrow!

To everyone who just joined us on Tuesday and were looking forward to learning some kicks and moves, I must apologise if you did not get what you expected (did I hear someone say 'roda'? :P). Well don't worry - we'll definitely practice some actual capoeira techniques this time round - just after the interval training ;)

Salve Capoeira!

-Bom Garoto

ps: Dahlia, Rosinha and Shiela - I'm loving the discussion on the rule of 10,000. Jiayou Shiela! may you achieve your 10,000th Au before you turn 50...

Early Morning Inspiration

"I fear not the man who has practiced 10 000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10 000 times."
-Bruce Lee
_
If I do one au everyday (or average 7 per week), it's about 27 years and 3 months before I reach 10 000 au..

*Gulp....*

Still feeding off the axe from today's training,

Shiela

Mestre Luiz needs our support

Yesterday night, Alif sent out a message to the ZCians. This is what he said:

"Dear ZCians,

I regret to inform u that our dear Mestre Luizinho will have to undergo a knee surgery for reconstruction/ support for his interior ligament. Therefore we can do our bit to pray for him for speedy recovery and health. You can msg him on FB, email him or call his mobile to wish him and to show your support as well. Please help to spread the word around. Thank you.

Regards,

Muhammad Alif"

So everyone from NUS Capoeira, let's pray for our Mestre and wish him a speedy recovery. Hopefully we'll see him in tip-top shape again when he comes to Singapore this October for batizado.

-Bom Garoto

I'm on a highway to...

Great run guys! Though as always, time is always fleeting and we could only savor 50% of the planned Capoeira Orientation run :(

Remember that staircase we passed by that looked like it led to somewhere unknown? I think i recalled someone (Jesmond?) suggesting it was a "Stairway to heaven"...haha

...well now allow me to refer to an idiom i've just learnt:
"L'enfer est plein de bonnes volontés et désirs"
(The road to hell is paved with good intentions)
~St Bernard

which can be interpretated in 2 ways:
a) A sincere action may lead to undesired results, leading one into the crap-hole
b) Intentions are non-actions, which will never happen, and thus wind you up in the hole.

Ok ok guys, you're prob wondering at this point "What's the link? Wassup with the literature and philosophy, dude? Where's the capoeira updates and videos?"

Guilty! :p

You're not gonna find much Capoeira in this post of mine. However, those are a few words of wisdom to apply in our daily lives, no?

ps: the origins to this post came from a rather humorous "good intention" i was suggesting to your club's president - A charity roda for an old folk's home :) What do u think? Falling onto St Bernard's wisdom and even using the quote's double meanings of (a) & (b), either way it looks like its

"I'm on a highway to hell!"
~AC/DC

kk Capoeira vid of the day... watch out for the white-cord which is our very own Mestre Luizinho at last year's batizado in Gold Coast Australia :) ..... Benguela is liquid.



Axe!
Morcego

Training on Thursday 9/9/2010 (EDIT)

Hey People,

For training tomorrow please bring along your running shoes we are gonna have some secret training.....shhhh*

Bring the axe~ as well tomorrow

Cheers

Kelvin

(edit: training today will be at MPSH6. MPSH2 is closed for a fencing competition)

10 Types of Capoeira Beginners

(Article written by Shayna McHugh, taken from http://www.capoeira-connection.com/main/content/view/43/84/ )




1.The shy, underconfident beginner: Not sure if they can do capoeira, too timid/delicate with movements, backs away from partner during exercises, afraid to enter the roda. Everyone else in the group encourages them to have more confidence.


2.The overconfident, know-it-all beginner: They think they're capoeira experts after the first week of classes; they jump right into the roda, but they lack control. Imagine themselves experts because they've read a lot about capoeira on the internet, but they haven't lived any of it yet. Everyone else in the group just sighs.


3.The eager-to-learn-but-not-terribly-physically-gifted beginner: Happy about learning capoeira, but somewhat of a walking disaster, because they lack one or all of the following: strength, flexibility, balance, coordination, body control. Tend to fall badly out of handstands and cartwheels, making everyone else in the group wince and hope they're not hurt.


4.The musically/rhythmically-handicapped beginner: Whose greatest struggle is clapping on beat, ginga-ing to the right rhythm, and singing on key. Everyone else in the group admires their sincerity but wishes they wouldn't sing disharmony.


5.The floreio-happy beginner: Attracted to capoeira for the fancy movements, wants to learn headspins and backflips before ginga and meia lua. Gets housed by instructor in roda after doing a macaco into the atabaque. Everyone else in the group hopes they'll someday understand what's really important in capoeira.


6. The overaggressive beginner: Wants to play the hard game right away, kicks the other player's face when they're upside down, tries to take mestre/instructor down in roda. Everyone else in the group finds them difficult to play with.


7. The "natural" beginner: The lucky few who are physically and musically talented, who pick up everything from the rolê to the pandeiro rhythm after being shown just once. Everyone else in the group wishes they were like that when they started.


8. The "inverse" beginner: Consistently does everything to the opposite of what they're supposed to do: ginga out of phase, kicks with the right leg when everyone else is kicking with the left, aú to the left when everyone else is going to the right, usually dodges kicks in the wrong direction. Everyone else in the group wonders if the hemispheres of their brain are switched, and tries to avoid training next to them in class.


9. The other-martial-artist beginner: Has good balance and body control because of extensive experience in other arts, but trouble adjusting to new techniques. In roda, forgets to ginga and resorts to TKD/karate/judo/kung-fu stance out of habit. Everyone else in group tells them to "GINGA!!!!"


10. The former-dancer/gymnast/cheerleader beginner: Has great flexibility and grace in their movement, but tends to point toes on kicks and look at the floor during handstands and cartwheels. Everyone else in the group admires their fluidity but wishes they would play a little less pretty and a little smarter.

__

Found the article when randomly browsing, and I can't help thinking which kind of beginner I am haha.. Think it's a combination of number 3 and 8.. 'tend to fall badly out of handstands'? Tell me about it huhu..



Anyway, enjoy the article and take it lightly. Chill if you think you're not a no 7 beginner because, seriously, it is your own personal journey and the important thing is how capoeira makes a difference in you ^^

Axe!
Shiela

Sometimes you just gotta get back down

First off, a big thank you to the Comm who did an amazing job handling the logistics and the location for Sunday's roda!

IMHO never had such a big Axe in a while, appreciations to those that came down for the roda/ post-roda, even if it was just a while or just to join up for dinner or just out of curiousity.

Applause to Cantor with his ladainha which would be the root cause for my energia when the angola game kicked in... which brings me to the topic of "What goes up, gets back down. Sometimes its good to get back down to your roots."

Angola - supposedly Capoeira in its raw, unrefined form. Truly a dance masking a fight:



You guys must've seen this hundreds of times and yet again its the one video i'd always 'pause, rewind & play'....'pause, rewind & play'.... A "slow" game of angola ;-)



Can you try to keep 'score' for Mestre Cobra Mensa and Mestre Espirrou marim? :)

And yet, we can see/hear Capoeira ever being evolved to match the times of today. (Check out the sounds of this vid and tell me if you can recognise it.)





Anyway guys, seniors esp....i gotta find time to practise our Maculele :)

Axe!
Morcego

Welcome Tea part Dois

Thank you everyone for making the second welcome tea a great success. I may not have been in the thick of the action led by Morcego but i dare say it looked even more fun (and tiring) for our newcomers than the first. My only regret is that i didn't get to expend all my energy in a roda - which probably explains why i was feeling quite restless today hmm... But thankfully, for those of us who still have pent up axé, there's the monthly roda on Sunday to look forward to ;)

To all the newcomers - welcome to the family :)

Here's to an exciting semester in NUS Capoeira!

ps: join the NUS Capoeira group in FB to see more pictures

Bom Garoto

Just One of Those Random Posts..

Saw a cool video that I thought should be shared here (Yes it's Mestre Youtube again ^^ )
It's a roda feminina, which means a roda with all/mostly female capoeiristas, and the tempo of playing is regional, usually faster with lots of kicks and acrobatics. (And dang those ladies look fierce!) Anyway, hope you like it!

*am still happy from the Welcome Tea energy yesterday haha.. To freshies checking out the blog, just wanna say I'm awed by the participation and enthusiasm last night!

Axe!
Salmao

Open Roda This Sunday @ SMU

Hey Everyone,

We will be having our Open Roda this Sunday at SMU, 5 pm.

We can meet earlier at Bras Basah MRT Station @4.30 pm.

Do come down and experience what a big and open roda is like for the newcomers. Hope to see you
guys there!

~Salve

Here is the map of Bras Basah MRT for people who are not sure.


View Larger Map

Songs - 24.08.2010

Here are the songs we learnt today! Great effort by the new people to sing along! Practice them ya so we can pump more axe for next roda ^^



Zum, zum, zum,
Capoeira mata um!
Zum, zum, zum,
Capoeira mata um!
Onde tem marimbondo
Tem zum, zum, zum
Onde tem marimbondo
Tem zum, zum, zum
O a o a e
Quero vem bater, quero vem cair
O a o a e
Quero vem bater, quero vem cair

Zum, zum, zum,
Capoeira kills one!
Zum, zum, zum,
Capoeira kills one!
Where there is a wasp
There is a zum, zum, zum
Where there is a wasp
There is a zum, zum, zum

Zum, zum, zum, describes both the sound of the berimbau, and the quick movements of the capoeiristas. The chorus responds "where there is a wasp there is a zum, zum, zum." In English we might say "where there is smoke there is fire!" Watch out, if you can hear the sound of the berimbau there is probably a capoeirista nearby.
__



Sai sai Catarina
Saia do mar venha ver Idalina
Sai sai Catarina
Saia do mar venha ver venha ver
Sai sai Catarina
Oh Catarina, meu amor
Sai sai Catarina
Saia do mar, saia do mar
Sai sai Catarina

Go, go, Catarina
Go out of the sea and come to see Idalina
Go, go, Catarina
Go out of the sea and come to see, come to see
Go, go, Catarina
Oh Catarina, my love
Go, go, Catarina
Go out of the sea, go out of the sea
Go, go, Catarina

A welcome tea and a farewell roda

For those who missed it, here are some pics of the axé-pumping roda at the end of Thursday's Welcome Tea.

A big thank you to Alif and Aisha for coming down to help out and share some inspiring words about Capoeira. Thanks also goes out to our very own NUS senior who has just graduated - Bryan - for helping with the groundmoves station. Last but not least, thank you Gabriel for taking the cool shots that are posted above. We're grateful for all of your support :)

Round 2 is gonna be held this coming Thursday 26th Aug, so for those who couldn't make it, you have one more chance to discover Capoeira!

On another note, on behalf of NUS Capoeira I'd like to wish Angeline all the best for her exchange in S.Korea. Who knows, maybe you'll come back with your kicks leveled up after spending 4 months in Taekwondo land :P

Hope you enjoyed your farewell roda. To bring back the (good) memories, we dedicate this song for you:

Adeus, and boa viagem Rosa!

-Bom Garoto

Let's learn a new song!

It's a pretty cool song I came across when browsing around, and I think it's gonna pump up some axe into the NUS roda =D You MUST listen to it. Yeap, you must. Go on, I know you want to ;p

The chorus just goes 'Nego nego nego nego!' which means, 'Give it give it give it give it (to him)!'



You can see the lyrics on the youtube video (karaokeira, anyone? ). Thing is I'm still looking for the full meaning. Meanwhile, enjoy!

Salmao

Songs - 20.08.2010

Heya everyone! Thanks a lot for being such a good sport during the song session just now =D

Right, here are the lyrics to the songs we learnt today, specially for those who requested (Love your enthusiasm!! ;p ) and I put the youtube videos below. For those who want the mp3.. I see some of your email addresses from the capoeira gmail so I'll take the liberty to send the songs. Drop us an email requesting the songs if you did not send us an email previously =)

Enjoy!

Oi sim sim sim, Oi não não não
Oi sim sim sim, Oi não não não
Oi não não não, Oi sim sim sim
Oi sim sim sim, Oi não não não
Mas hoje tem, amanha não
Mas hoje tem, amanha não
Oi sim sim sim, Oi não não não
Mas hoje tem, amanha não
Olha a pisada de Lampião
Oi sim sim sim, Oi não não não

Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
Today you have it, tomorrow you don't
Today you have it, tomorrow you don't
Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
Today you have it, tomorrow you don't
Look at the footprints of Lampião
Oh yes yes yes, oh no no no
___

A hora é essa, a hora é essa
A hora é essa, a hora é essa
Berimbau tocou
na capoeira
Berimbau tocou
eu vou Jogar
Berimbau tocou
na capoeira
Berimbau tocou
eu vou Jogar
__
Bem-te-vi vôou, vôou
Bem-te-vi vôou, vôou
Deixa voar
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê
Que som o que arte é essa
de luta e brincadeira
Que roda maravilhosa é essa
é o Zambiacongo
Em cada som, em cada toque
em cada ginga, tem um estilo de jogo
Em cada som, em cada toque
em cada ginga, tem um estilo de jogo
Lauê lauê lá...
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê

Bem-te-vi flew, flew
Bem-te-vi flew, flew
Let it fly
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê
What a sound, what art is this
of fighting and playing
What a beautiful roda is this
it's Zambiacongo
In every sound, in every beat
in every ginga, it has a style of playing
In every sound, in every beat
in every ginga, it has a style of playing
Lauê lauê lá...
Lá lauê lauê lauê lauê
__







Axe!
Salmao

19/10/2010, Thursday Training and Welcome Tea

Dear Capoeiristas, seniors and Freshman,

We will be having our Official Capoeira Welcome Tea this Thursday 7pm, @ Yusof Ishak House Amphitheatre so do come down and join us.

Bring your friends and yourself down, wear something comfortable which you can move around in. Don't forget to bring your water bottles to keep hydrated cause we are going to sweat it all out.

Last but not least prepare to have fun and experience a unique martial art that is Capoeira, have an open mind and you will enjoy yourself.

See you guys this THURSDAY!

~Salve
Kelvin

T-shirts

Ok I think some of you must have heard by now that I'll be bringing down the t-shirts for sale tomorrow. Basically if you want the t-shirt just give me your size via SMS 94310313 and pass Ken the moolah,$16 tomorrow. I should be at NUS High early. So let me know if you want them.

Brian

Tuesday 10 August 2010 Training

Hi Capoeiristas & Freshmen,

Do take note that training this Tuesday, 10/8/2010 will be held at SMU, at their CCA ROOM at 7.30pm.

If you are travelling by MRT can drop at Bras Basah MRT Circle Line, walk into SMU the CCA room is near the ATMs and Settlers Cafe@ SMU.

It will be a workshop conducted by James and his brother.

This will be a good chance for us all to mix with the ZC family, soak in the Axe, and get charged for the new semester in NUS right before our Welcome Tea on Thursday.
It's also a chance for us to grab more people to come down for our Welcome Tea on Thursday.

(If there's anyone who wants to travel down together from NUS, do contact me as I have a class that ends at 6) <- Arnold Leong

~Salve!
Kelvin

Every Song Has An Agenda (part 2)

*read the part 1 written by a senior here*

Well, I'm thinking that our interest in capoeira songs is kinda high now thanks to ZC camp, and the excitement of new semester and new members, so what better time to learn a bit more about songs! We talked a bit about music last training, and I agree that singing and leading in the roda can't be a 'forced' thing..

But! This post is not written to persuade people to sing, but more to understand what some common songs are all about. Thing is, songs are very much part of capoeira.. They are used to comment on the players' actions in the roda (though, confession, at this stage I don't even take note what song is being sung when I'm busy evading kicks huhu..) , tease, encourage, praise, even teach moral values. Yeah, we won't be able to really delve much into their subtleties and wittiness like a Brazilian can, but still I'm convinced that knowledge about songs and their context will only make our capoeira journey richer!

Ieeeeeeeeeeeee.......
Well, not a song.. but this 'cry' before the ladainha (solo littany) is sung calls the people to attention and signals that the roda is starting. At the very end of the roda, "Ieeeee.." is again sung to close it.

Eu ja vivo enjuado
I think the most popular version amongst NUS people is the Carolina Soares one.. The whole song itself tells of a rather funny story of a guy who is tired of living on earth and wants to move to the moon.. An interpretation of this song could be that nothing comes easy without hard work (including handstand.. shucks..) A bit of its lyrics:
Quem e dono nao ciuma, e quem nao e vai ciuma (haha!)
(He who is the master of his land doesn't envy, and he who is not envies)
What is the 'haha!' doing there, I'm not sure, but it could be some sort of mocking to the guy who is feeling envious, perhaps because he does not work as hard and is not as skillled (my 2 cents worth..)

Oi sim sim sim, oi nao nao nao
(Oi yes yes yes, oi no no no)
There's one explanation in the 'Every Song Has An Agenda' part 1 (go check it out!), but another interpretation I found: "yes can mean no, and no can mean yes. A simple play of words that describe the unpredictable nature of capoeira." Now that's pretty cool for such a simple song =)

Zum, zum, zum, capoeira mata um
(Zum, zum, zum capoeira killed one)
'Zum zum' refers to the sound of the berimbau, and the 'killing' part.. an interpretation is that the song reminds capoeiristas they should be aware of the potential power of attacks and take them seriously. Usually, the song is used when the roda is too 'tame' (for lack of a better word..) and the mestre would like to see some action. The chorus goes: 'Onde tem marimbondo,tem zum zum zum' - when there is a wasp there is zum, zum, zum.. Apparently this means something like 'when there's smoke there's fire', which can be extrapolated to mean 'When there's the zum zum zum of the berimbau, you know there's a capoeirista nearby.'

Dona Maria Como Vai Voce
'Dona Maria' could refer to Saint Mary, but apparently it can also refer to 'Yamanya' - a female spirit of the ocean, rivers and moon. Part of the lyrics "Joga bonito que eu quero ver" - play beautifully because I want to watch.. Is this used to remind capoeiristas to play clean and beautiful? One thing about this song.. found out from a non-ZC capoeirista that it should be sung when there's a woman playing in the roda.. Well, we don't abide by that in NUS capoeira, but since then till now I can't help smiling if this song is sung when some buff-looking guys are playing! ;p

Menino Chorou (Nyeh nyeh nyeh!)
Cry little boy! Nyeh nyeh nyeh! Kinda obvious that the song is used to make fun of one of the players.. especially when he looks frustrated and is losing his calm..

Parana e
A lot is written about this song.. The lyric goes: 'Vous dizer a minha mulher, parana.. Capoeira que venceu, parana...' - I will tell my wife, parana, that capoeira won, parana.. Apparently, in the 1864 war between Brazil and Paraguay, a lot of capoeiristas took part.. Thing is, since the 'whites' did not want to be in the front line of war, they promised that slaves who fight and returned would be given their liberty.. and they fought and survived because capoeira gave them an advantage (at that time war did not depend so much on guns as hand-to-hand combat..) Read the whole article here
__
Well that's it for now.. there's still a wealth of funny and meaningful songs I've came across in my browsing around to dig these stuff up. (one song tells of a man who kills a woman.. because the woman wants to go home and the man wants to continue playing capoeira.. wth??!!) Guess I'll compile the URLs for the resources and put it up here.

Para ser bom capoeira
Nao basta ter aptidao
Tem se jogar com a alma
E cantar com o coraçao

(To be a good capoeirista
Aptitude is not enough
One has to play with the soul
And sing with the heart)
- lyrics from capoeira e beleza

Salmao

Sale of T-shirts

Date: 030810
Time: 1900
Location: The Cupboard
Primary Objective: Exchange $15 for 1 x t-shirt

Welcome Tea (updated)

Hi all,

Please note the change in dates.

The Welcome Tea will now be held on the Thursday of both Week 1 and Week 2 (12th and 19th August), at 7.00pm at the YIH Amphitheatre.

Come in sports attire so you're ready to sweat it out in a good workout :)

We look forward to seeing you there!

-Bom Garoto

Angola Game - Contra-Mestra Susy

Still following a bit about the girls in capoeira post.. haha.. since I went to read up on female mestres, a.k.a mestras, and found this video which I think is a great angola game.. The thing about watching contra-mestra Susy is that her games all seem so fun,yet beautiful. There are several other videos in youtube, including her playing with her students.. If there's such a thing as malicia-filled gentleness, then that was it haha..

Enjoy!

Salmao

Can capoeira be used in a fight?

"Capoeira é luta é dança, Capoeira é arte é magia..."

Capoeira is a fight, is a dance
Capoeira is an art, is magic

This post is specially for those who doubt the effectiveness of Capoeira as a martial art.

Ps: Most of us here remember the scene in Ong Bak where Tony Jaa beats the capoeira fighter with Muay Thai. This time though, we get to see Lateef Crowder kick some ass - even if it's just a punching bag :P

-Bom Garoto

T-shirt update!

Hey guys!

The t-shirt's finally out so you can start collecting (by which I mean buying) them from tomorrow onwards.

Vintage previous generation club t-shirts are still up for sale as well so grab them before they're gone!

Here's the Mandei Benzer song

and the lyrics (source: http://www.axecapoeira.com/media/music)

Tocava meu berimbau, quando o arame se quebrou.

era sinal e coisa ruim, mais eu nao quis acreditar,

toda vez que eu tocava o berimau, o arame voltava a se quebrar.

eu levei meu berimbau, numa cadela pra benzer,

e pedir para sao bento do mal vim me proteger,

mandei,

mandei benzer, mandei benzer meu berimbau na capela

eu pedir pra sao bento, benzer

eu pedir pra sao bento, guardar

eu pedir pra sao bento, benzer

o meu berimbau eu vou tocar

Brian, armour singlet

Girls in Capoeira

"Everything that women do is more beautiful."
- Mestra Cigana

Was talking to Ying Wen after training on Tue night, and the topic turned to why there isn't a lot of girls in Zambiacongo sub-clubs - whether HQ, NUS, SMU or ITE, despite it being such a great way to keep fit (Read: lose weight ;p ). A curious thing indeed.. I used to accept it as a given- there's just few girls playing capoeira in general.. but talking to Mestre Luiz, I discovered there are more girls than guys in Zambiacongo Australia. Can't help analyzing this 'phenomenon' in my mind, and here's the result.

Common excuses why girls don't do capoeira, why -in my view- they shouldn't be excuses:

1. Capoeira is a martial arts, and hence it is un-feminine, harsh, unsuitable for girls.
Well, I think capoeira is actually one of the few martial arts very suitable for girls since it balances the 'fight' part with the 'play' and 'dance' elements. In fact, what attracts me to it is also how graceful and lithe female capoeiristas are.. certainly a lot more feminine compared to a female karateka or judoka. OK, I'm biased towards capoeira, but I strongly maintain that capoeira is one of the few martial arts that give females (and males, for that matter) a chance to develop their own playing style, which can be as feminine or masculine as they'd like it to be.

2. Capoeira is a martial arts, and hence girls -and guys,of course- will get hurt, though somehow it's less ok for girls to get hurt...
Hmmm.. having taken a martelo to the face once, plus several other minor hits and near-misses, yeah sure the danger is there. Thing is, capoeira being a non-contact sport, plus taking into account Zambiacongo philosophy, I believe the possibility of getting hurt is minimized compared to other martial arts. Maybe one danger is that we are playing with music, with energy, and when the axe goes up the play becomes fast and furious and the intimidating kicks start coming in. Simple solution that might sound silly: either don't play when you feel the jogo is too aggressive, or play with seniors that you know will watch out for you (and is pro enough to stop their kicks halfway haha.. )

3. Girls cannot do the 'moves' anyway.
There's just so many subtleties and misconceptions hidden in this one sentence that my thoughts are jumbled up here... First, what are the 'moves', mind you? I think a lot of us girls are intimidated seeing male capoeiristas do parafuso, macaco, au sem mao (though I'm not complaining.. Who will complain seeing hot guys do cool moves? ;p ), and do not believe a decent game can still be developed using ground movements and basic movements. I'll leave the more experienced seniors to comment on this, but well, techniques like rasteiras and bloqueios can be an option to develop a beautiful, malicia-filled game without flying around.. (Just my 2 cents' worth..)

Secondly, for those girls who want to do the 'moves' and think we are too weak for those.. Well, the only way is to train.. Haha.. Read that, pound-for-pound, male muscle has the same strength as female muscle, so technically, we're not 'weaker' but 'have less muscle'. Thing is, I used to wonder whether I'd develop bulging muscles if I train with push-ups, wall handstands.. so I read around, and apparently female muscles develop differently than male's, so no need to fear oranges sprouting from your biceps yet!

Ying Wen said something true for me: "I think for girls a lot of time the problem is not just lack of strength, but lack of guts. Girls are more afraid to do the moves." I don't know how true this is for other girls, but personally, I have to train step-by-little-step till I'm confident with each step even for an actually-not-so-dangerous thing like handstand and au.. And though I'm jealous with how the beginner guys are progressing faster, now I learn just to enjoy feeling physically and mentally stronger after each little achievement =)

Mestre said,"When you go into a roda, make sure afterwards people remember you." I admit that I'm still pessimistic and insecure about me as a female capoeirista ever achieving that.. but my version would be, "When I go into a roda, make sure afterwards people think, 'oh she must have trained pretty hard to get here.. she's serious about capoeira."

Long way to go!

Signed,
Salmao ;p

Group Roda @ East Coast Park

Hiya ppl,

There will be a group roda this Sunday at East Coast Park @ the Skate Park. The location is just beside our booth at the NYC Extreme Sports event.

Location: East Coast Skate Park
Time: 4pm - 6pm
*That means we are ready by 345 pm and start gingaing at 4pm sharp!!

On the side note, our booth will need help to man it. We really need help especially from 12pm - 4pm so reply to this email or sms our handphone at 9342 6911. Booth duty will involve sitting down, looking at bikini babes, skateboarding kids and a short performance! Drinks included (i think)

For us NUS ppl, we can meet at 3.20pm at the Macs opposite Parkway Parade. Faizal will be there early to help with the booth but he can come fetch us.

Well, hope to see you all there. Tc... =)

z_jun

PS: This is my first post here haha...

Phudge Philosophy! Ginga, Pôrra!

So you might not be a philosophical type. All they do is talk talk talk anyway. You are a (wo)man of ACTION. Okay, so here you go. This isn't my work, but I did find it on the Internet once, so I don't think we're breaking any laws here. You can thank our Serbian capoeira friends for this wonderful work. If you are the publisher of this work, please let us know, especially if you want us to remove it. :-)

Capoeira Pokreti (Movements)

Oh, and please don't injure yourself.

Axé,
Crouching Capoeirista, Hidden Rasteira

This Blog Has Been Hijacked!

Hello,

I hope you don't change the password because of the UNAUTHORISED post. I just read a little of something and thought you might find it interesting.

It's a treatise (yep, 26 pages IS a treatise) on the parallels between the philosophy of capoeira and Nietzchean Will to Power.

Let me say that:
1) you don't have to be a philosophy major to get this, and
2) you don't have to agree with it just because it was (possibly) written by a mestre or because it is in Portuguese. This isn't T.R.U.T.H.; it's just capoeira from someone's perspective, why he thinks he does what he does.

The entire PDF can be found here:

http://www.revue-silene.com/images/30/extrait_67.pdf

Title: Capoeira: A Philosophy of the Body by Camille Dumoulié

You can convert the text using Google Translate or, if you can understand a little Portuguese, Lingro.

Okay, enough gum-flapping. The part I'd like to share is on page 6.

Segundo plano de resistência : uma poética do espaço.
2. Um espaço de fuga contra o espaço dos blocos.
Na origem do pensamento grego, existe o círculo e a esfera, enclausurados em sua perfeição estática. Na origem da capoeira, existe a roda, esse espaço ritual e circular do qual brotam e se espalham os movimentos giratórios dos corpos que traçam no ar círculos abertos e dinâmicos. Lançados repentinamente, como que de improviso, os gestos parecem seguir as linhas de uma rigorosa geometria da qual hipérboles e arabescos invisíveis atravessam o espaço. Repetem e novamente lançam ao infinito as linhas de fuga traçadas pelos antigos escravos. Na roda, o dançarino encontra-se no centro de linhas de forças que percorrem todos os lugares heterogêneos. A continuidade das linhas de fuga atravessa o espaço quadriculado dos blocos : blocos raciais, sociais, urbanos, sem falar dos imundos « blocos » do pretenso carnaval de Salvador ou dos blockaus de resistência do exército alemão, durante a secunda guerra mundial, que se chamam casamatas
em português.

And this is my translation. Do be forgiving.

The second plan of resistance: a poetics of space.
2. A space of flight against a blocked-up space
In the origin of Greek thought, there exist the circle and the sphere, cloistered in their static perfection. In the origin of capoeira, there exists a roda, this space--ritual and circular--which germinates and reflects the spinning movements of bodies that trace in the air open and dynamic circles. Suddenly released, as if improvised, the gentures seem to follow lines of a rigorous geometry of invisible hyperboles and arabesques across the space. They repeat yet newly trace the infinite lines of flight drawn by the old slaves. In the roda, the dancer meets in the centre of the lines of force that travel all the heterogeneous spaces. A continuity of lines of flight cross the grided blocked space of Greek thought: blocks of race, society, citizenry, not to mention the filthy blocks of pretentious carnaval of Salvador or of the blockades of resistance of the German army during the Second World War that is called 'casamatas' in Portuguese.

"Wha...?" Some of you might be thinking. I'm pretty sure the poetry is inherent in the text, and not through some bastardisation through my translation. But you'll just have to take my word for it. :D

It seems like the (wo)man is making for a point that African (Brazilian) philosophy is not written in text (like Greek/Western thought), but is written in the bodies of its practitioners, and it offers a new way of understanding space, one that, contrary to the static immutability of Greek (i.e. 'White') space, is dynamic and alive.

"Huh?" you say? "Bro, I just want to play capoeira." Well then, please read the next post, friend!

Axé,
Crouching capoeirista, hidden rasteira