Step It Up!

Ola camaras!

Since our return from Recess Week, we hope all of you have been enjoying our trainings so far! 

We'd like to thank Instrutor Pixote from Grupo Senzala for visiting us last Thursday and for providing us with a wealth of capoeira wisdom and knowledge, even if we've only met for such a short time. It was certainly an invaluable encounter and we hope we will be able to meet again in another roda. 

Muito obrigada, Instrutor! 

If you remember (or feel from the lingering axe of last Thursday's roda), Instrutor Pixote introduced a song in the roda called, "Pisa Cabloco". Let's try to sing it in the roda next! For the benefit of those who would like to learn the song, here's a short clip and the lyrics:

Letra (lyrics)

Pisa caboclo 

quero ver você pisar (I want to see you step)

pisa la que eu piso ca (I step on the floor)

quero ver você pisar (I want to see you step)

Coro:

Pisa caboclo

quero ver você pisar

Na brida do meu samba (in the bridle of my samba)

quero ver você dançar (I want to see you dance)

Coro

Pisa la que eu piso ca (I step on the floor)

quero ver quem vai pular (I want to see who will jump)

Coro

Na batida do meu gunga (In the beat of my gunga)

quero ver você pular (I want to see you jump)

Coro

This song has an upbeat tempo and is pretty fun to sing when the energy in the roda is beginning to build up. I like it because it highlights the importance of being responsive and aware in the roda. When "I" am "stepping" or "dancing" on the floor, "I" want "you" to respond too. 


Thus, this song to me is a way of encouraging the other person to react and not merely play an individual game - part of the point in a jogo de capoeira! I like simple songs like this where you can draw so many interpretations out. 


But what do you think? Feel free to comment here how this song means to *you*! (:

As for our regular trainings, let's hope we can level up our game and always remember the lessons we've learnt from all our teachers in capoeira, such as Instrutor Pixote.

Axe everyone!

Rosinha (my first post!)

FOR THE LADIES!!!!

Helllo! Bambu here, this one is for the ladies! Forget all the boring old men. Ladies do it so much nicer!

Oh ok, the guys can watch and drool too!

Bambu (:

Dancing in Chains

The master artist dances in chains. - Goethe

That would have been a sententious quote to christen this post. Some of you would have been in awe, while others would be wondering, yi kong si mi l@n...? My professor--a man of great learning--unfortunately misquoted it. It doesn't exist. Which doesn't say much for Ph.D's, does it?

But anyway, one day when you are old and tired, when your tendons are calcified and your heart weak, you too will be quoting this to spritely capoeiristas. I can only speak from experience, but I feel the most mature capoeiristas have, for lack of a better word, 'tact'.

It's like a conversation: when we're young, we use simple declarative statements. 'This is a ball,' 'I feel sad,' and so on. As we mature, we learn subtler nuances in our language, and learn how to have entire conversations without saying anything at all! Questions, answers, statements can mean either one thing or the other, or perhaps both simultaneously, or even nothing at all. It all works because a lot of what we say is left unsaid, in body gesture, tonality, choice of words and their connotations, sentence structure and so forth.

Say someone starts with a 'How are...' and instead of the expected 'you', ends with a 'things with your ex?' What seemed like a friendly salutation suddenly looms with the adumbration of Don Juan over here muscling in on territory you haven't quite gotten over.

Reeling back in to capoeira, when I see what I feel to be a mature game, I see players suggesting attacks and possible (but non-commital) defences to said suggested (but never carried out) attacks. Almost everything has to be second-guessed. A lift of the leg could be a defence, an attack, a step, or just something needing to be scratched. Just vague gestures and wispy ambivalances dissolving into the air.

An analogy can only get one so far, and when it starts to break down, it's time to discard it. So we'll do so here, because I don't think I can say anything else about 'tact'.

So what has this got to so with the (mis)quote? Is capoeira an art? Other martial arts don't mention any stinkin' chains!

Well, I'd say that this is just how capoeira is. And yes, it is a medium through which one expresses oneself. Or rather, one is the medium through which Capoeira expresses itself. Whatever.

Bruce Lee (who flunked out of Philosophy, if I'm not mistaken) once said,

"Ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. It is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky so I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself, and to express myself honestly enough; that, my friend, is very hard to do."

So don't get me wrong, I'm not dumping on the deficits of other martial arts. I'm just saying that in capoeira, one honestly doesn't know what one is going to say until one says it.

Amendment: Bruce Lee actually flunked out of Drama, while taking some courses in Philosophy. Hmm...

Capo Chicks!

Hello every one,

Today at the chingay rehearsals we were trying out random moves when someone mentioned to me that men do moves easier cos we have bigger muscles..welll.....I beg to differ, yes men tend to do more explosive moves, but men sometimes just lack that grace that a lithe feminine body can exude. So it brings me to the mail that our senior ******** sent. I decided to just cut and paste it to retain its original flavor:

"Hey people at Capo NUS, 

Sometimes in moments of weakness, I surf youtube for capo videos, and strangely enough, the first few I find before I get a hold of myself are pretty damn good! Maybe you might want to put these on the blog:



Wow, I don't know how to describe that one. It's not flashy, nor fast-paced, but it's very intense. There's so much sophistication and maturity in these players. Erm, you'll probably get what I mean when you watch it, and if you don't, well, just take my word for now. :)



This next one has some really cool acrobatics done by ladies. The acrobatics are cool, regardless of sex, of course, and that's not really why I'm suggesting this video. Check out the cruel cutavelada at 1:35! OW!!!!

Cheers,
*****"

Yup... just watching those women flow in the roda makes my knees weak. And to add on to the thought about women in capoeira, here's a link to a post by our dear friend joaninha

Here

All right, Happy reading and keep practicing!

Love Love

Bambu

Christmas Roda!

Hey Guys!

Christmas Roda at SMU.

Friday, 26th December 2008 (technically, post-Christmas Roda)
7pm
Please bring your instruments and water!

SMU,NUS, Fight G, ADOC capoeiristas of Singapore you're specially invited, but if you're looking for a fight, then you're not invited. :P

Songlist to learn for the day!:

1. Jingle Bells
2. Frosty the Snowman
3. Santa Claus is coming to town
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Last Christmas I gave you my heart

Go find the lyrics for them and if you can't find them on youtube, just go to Tangs and stand around..you are bound to hear them.

Special Song! You MUST LEARN THIS SONG! for we will sing it that day (:
Imagine - John Lennon




Love Love
Bambu & A sexy chinese guy

Tips on Training in Capoeira

These are pointers that Mestre Luizinho raised during this Q& A session as well as tips from Formado Rocha during the Sunday workshop. If you guys can remember any other tips please post it:

1. Ginga...and ginga more....because a Capoeirista who can't Ginga can't be called a Capoeirista. No matter how nice your moves are, if you can't Ginga, you will not be able to connect the movement. When you ginga, try moving your body in a wave like motion, meaning your head will be at the highest position when you are in the starting and ending position but while you move from side to side, your head goes down low. Be creative; Just as Ballerinas express their dance with their movement, we express our art with our movements; use body sways, hand jerks, anything, to make your ginga stylo-milo and your very own. Your Ginga has to be strong such that it will not allow you to fall with a slight nudge. It has to be strong and firm yet flexible to move and change your momentum as and when you wish. This takes practice.

2. You don't have to practice 3 - 4 hours to get better. Often, practice daily for about 30 - 40 mins of intense workout. Its not the quantity but the quality. Make sure you use the right techniques during your practice. Even Mestre Luizinho practices his Ginga once in a while in front of the mirror for 30 mins at least. And ladies...this is a really good fat burner...trust me.

3. The Chair. Yes the chair. Mestre says the secret to practicing alone is the Chair. How so? Just like Wing Chun has its kungfu Dummy, WE have the Chair. Place a simple chair... those with 4 legs mind you, in front of yourself. Then when you look at it from the front, it has 2 legs, from the sides 2 legs. SO how does this help? Ginga facing the chair and practice your kicks over the chair, your Rasteirhas to the chair legs, practice your ground movement by maneuvering around the chair keeping your focus. Its alot of imagery but it works. If the dummy worked for the Kung Fu ppl, the chair will to for us

4. Be fit. No matter how good your techniques are, if you are not fit, you can't use them. Capoeira after all is still a martial art and 70% of it relies on your fitness. So if you find yourself unable to proceed past a certain stage or get a certain move, go work out, workout the muscles that are involved in that move. Do not forget about your cardiovascular fitness...because alot of us were gasping for air during the roda.

5. Do LOTS OF PUSHUPS! well in the words of Rocha: " Do pushups until you're really good at it". I guess he meant doing lots and lots of them. Ok, to clear a certain misconception- Doing pushups will not build muscle mass if done at normal speeds. It will only build muscle mass when done slow and controlled. So ladies, please do more pushups and not be afraid of gaining big arms because the truth is, the faster you do your pushups, the more you tone your arms and not build them. Do normal pushups, wide pushups, queda-de-rins pushups, both sides until you are comfortable with it.

6. (I just remembered this tip) When you first start learning a move, you are gonna find yourself feeling heavy and clumsy and hard to move your body around. That is normal. Even for dancers, when they learn their first moves, they are jerky and not fluid as well. The secret is to keep training. Because once you get used to that movement, it will no longer feel heavy anymore as you have found the balance and technique required to execute it. You see, capoeira is not all about muscle strength. Its more about being able to coordinate than anything else (:

Well in the words of Mestre Geni: If you afraid of losing, you're never gonna win.

Start practicing at home and trust me...in no time, you will surpass many of the seniors in school hehe.

Lovelove

Bambu

Batizado Shorts!

Hello every body!

The last few days were a blast. I now have two sore spots on my neck, 4 in my lower back, sore thighs and hamstrings, and when I climb stairs, my ass hurts. Well...the pain kinda feels good. To update those of you who could not join us, we just went through a really short, but impactful and intense Batizado and Grading Ceremony. Mestre Geni, Mestre Luizinho, Instructor Principe and Formado Rocha came down to grace us with their presence. 

We started out our first day with a workshop by Instructor Principe, he gave us a back breaking sequence to practice. I don't really remember much , so guys if you do, please leave it in the comments.

For the 2nd day, the senior students trained with Mestre Luizinho while the juniors trained with Mestre Geni. For Mestre Luizinho, the sequence he taught was:

Negativa, You then switch your legs so that the leg infront goes behind and vice versa, by this time you are in a semi standing semi crouching position with 1 hand on the floor. You then look between your legs as you pass from which ever side you are to the opposite side. From here, twist your trunk so that you end up in a Bote position. From here, kick our your bend leg and Role, then come to a esquiva frontal position. From here, lean back into a Bote position, swing your arm out so that your body will swivel around into a negativa position. Then stand up and continue Ginga-ing

For the Mestre Geni sequence....the rest of you please blog it cos i dunno hahaha.

For our Grading Ceremony on Saturday, we performed a cool rendition/medley of Capoeira songs mixed with modern songs such as Kate Perry's Hot n Cold and Leona Lewis Bleeding Love. If you guys have photos, please put it up in our facebook group or here.

For Sunday's workshop, conducted by Formado Rocha...we learnt 2 really cool moves..but then i kinda pulled my neck muscles cos i didnt warm up my neck muscles. We learnt to from Au: 1) go into Queda De Rins, 2) go into a headstand and move away.  Its MUCH harder than it looks.

This is something like the 1st move:

For the headstand one...remind us to show you in class haha.

Ok some good news. Mestre Geni has officially recognized us as part of the ZambiaCongo international Group and this is a tough feat to achieve because many groups tried all over the world but failed. He was very impressed with the energy we had...and I saw him nodding his head in time to our Kate Perry Hot n Cold redition too haha. He is thinking of sending his younger son, brother of Mestre Luizinho, Contra-Mestre DANIEL BATUQUEGE ( sorry for the name error made previously and spotted by a VERY keen eyed capoeirista hahah)here to take helm and be our instructor. The paper work will take at least 4-6 months, so for the next semester you guys will have to train the basics with us again haha. 

Ok its been an EXTREMELY hectic week for me and I hope you guys who have got your Cordas enjoyed yourselves. See you all in school!

Bambu

Multi-Hit Combos!

Bencao followed by martelo with the other leg!


Now you can be like your favourite video game character (once you've gotten over the drooling, ladies!)!

What are your favourite combos? Share!

Stay Sexy,
-EW

Capoeira Fundamentos

A 'fundamento' is a foundation, principle or basic tenet. So as you can see, that is quite a cocky title, no? Them's fightin' words! Hah! Well, capoeira was never about humility anyway. The following is a hodge-podge of excerpts from books which I personally find unburdening. We have a few of them in our NUS Capoeira Sub-club library (bet 'cha didn't know we had one, did 'cha?). Ting Kuang will post in the comments section which ones we have. You can also get limited previews on Google Books. Perhaps you might even read them during the holidays when you're not so busy.

This is another one of those posts where someone tells you what they think Capoeira is. And you know my opinion on that matter.

1) Control Space
Almeida, Bira. Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form. History, Philosophy and Practice .Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1993. pp:174-5

"One must create space with a give and take attitude, never suffocating the game with constant pressure, but attacking and defending, jumping forward and backwards, biting and soothing, coming and going, trapping and faking, moving up and down, and always trying to encircle the opponent. ... This sphere [the movements of a capoeirista] envelops the energy of the fighters and the best capoeirista controls the inner space [of the roda]. His or her opponent must be handled carefully, as if inside a bubble of gelatin that needs to be moved around intact. An abrupt movement of attack that is mistimed will shatter the harmony of the jôgo. A centrifugal movement made too fast or a startled defense could break that surface tension of the sphere, making control of the game difficult. Experienced capoeiristas will make the jôgo flow smoothly event at a fast speed while attempting to control the action."

2) Esquiva, pôrra!
Capoeira, Nestor. Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 2002. pp. 240:

As the late mestre Canjiquinha revealed to us once, “You can block the blow of a very strong man but you can’t block a truck at 100 mph.”

3) Life is tough, Groove with it
__. ibidem. pp.20

Life is a struggle?
Life is a battle?
The player sees that capoeira is teaching him to dance within and during this fight.
And the grooving of this 'dancing while fighting' has a lot to do with malícia.

4) Get over oops
__. ibidem. pp.26

If by chance you hurt somebody or get hurt by somebody, this must not bring you guilt or remorse. Capoeira, similar to life, has its danger. In order to die you simply need to be alive.

Almeida, Bira. Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form. History, Philosophy and Practice. Berkeley, California: North Atlantic Books, 1993. pp: (I can't find the page number. Let me know if you find it)

... If you get hit, it's your fault. If you hit someone, it's your fault."

5) The fearless do not exist.
Capoeira, Nestor. The Little Capoeira Book (revised edition). Berkeley, California: Blue Snake Books, 2003. p. 56:

Of all the proverbs, though, perhaps the best one for the beginner to keep in mind is that "valente não existe,' which can be translated as 'There's no such thing as a tough guy' or 'the fearless do not exist.' It is important for the beginner not to be fooled by the outward appearance of 'tough guys,' and to realise that we all feel fear, and that we are all--to greater and lesser extents--insecure: "The fearless do not exist."

6) Keep your cool.
Lewis, J. Lowell. Ring of Liberation: Deceptive Discourse in Brazilian Capoeira. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1992. pp 129:

During one bout, one player had snuck a kick in through the guard of his opponent, stinging him, and the offended player became angry, attempting to retaliate. The more he tried to hit the first player back, and could not, the angrier and more frustrated he became. The sneaky kicker responded with a series of mock cringes, each of which served to emphasize the other player's emotional state and telegraph to the audience the fact that he had landed a blow, which most had not seen. These cringes angered the attacking player even more, since they highlighted both the fact that he had been hit (which he could have covered up if he hadn't lost his temper) and that he was impotent to counterattack. I suddenly realised that I was witnessing the cringe being used as a weapon!

7) This is a game, make-believe.
Downey, Greg. Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 112:
Mestre Squisito, (quoted in Downey):

"Capoeiristas put their lives in a game and stage death in a playful theatrical form. "Here is a mortal attack," smiles one of the players; to which the other responds: "You struck me fatally..." negating the attack. And the game recommences. It is the game of life. It is life and not death that is interesting, that the capoeiristas seek." ... [H]owever ... the play 'bites' in capoeira can grow in intensity until they shatter the game's restraint. Playing at fighting may turn abruptly into just fighting, capoeira teachers often warn. But that danger is one reason why 'cunning' or malícia is the most admired trait in capoeira.

8) People are full of shit.
Capoeira, Nestor. A Street-Smart Song: Capoeira Philosophy and Inner Life. Berkeley, California: Blue Snake Books, 2005. pp. 104:

"Humans are medicre, mean, limited, false, full of prejudice, and full of shit. The society we live in isn't much better ... Capoeira's fundamento is the knowledge of all these things, the knowledge of this panoramic and global picture, seasoned with a strong dose of "good humour" (for lack of a better word) and "dressed" in the colours of Brazilian Afro and underground culture."

9) You have to live with them anyway
__. ibidem. pp.105:

"... Have you ever seen very young kids playing by the seashore on a beautiful day? The run. They jump. They dance as if they were crazy. They wet their feet in the breaking waves and run away from them yelling. This energy is what I call being in a "good humour".

Happy reading,
-EW

Capoeira Angola Videos

As people who first learn Capoeira Regional (well... IMHO, we are actually learning Capoeira Contemporanea), we have a tendency to caricaturise Capoeira Angola: we understand it as what Regional is not. Regional is high, objective, acrobatic (well, again, acrobatics is something in Capoeira Contemporanea), fast. So, Angola must be low, ludic, scrunched up and slow.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I don't know much, but I do know it isn't just. When we delve into a body of knowledge, structure (i.e. Regional vs Angola vs Contemporanea vs Benguela vs Iuna vs...) is there to facilitate learning. But ultimately, as the postmodernists rightly claim, structure is there to be dissolved. Take everything with a pinch of salt, especially capoeira, which resists (hey hey!) being put into a box.

How you know not to trust a barber:


Actually, the rhythm that should be played in not Angola, but Santa Maria. It sounds like this:


French Capoeira Documentary with Mestre Pastinha in 1963. This was probably while Regional (and Angola, for that matter) was still being polished. Notice how the game is not very pretty. Then again, this is a documentary, so beware of editing (and the players 'acting up' for the camera.


Mestre Cobra Mansa vs Mestre Acordeon (~1990). They used magnetic VHS tapes back in those days to record things. Excuse the distortions and no music. Yes, this is violent (you can almost feel it seething, about to erupt, no?). Yes, this is Angola (or rather we should say, 'Capoeira is Capoeira'--no boxes, please.).



Samba de Roda (nothing to do with Angola--at least directly)

Woo!!! (fans self)Yes, I've noticed--that butt has a person attached to it.

Heh heh, sorry, just letting off some steam.

-EW

Guys: Yes, macho men dance. Ladies: Don't learn how to dance from straight men.

Let's Worship THESE People!

After a year or two in capoeira (or any human endeavour for that matter), you will encounter someone who will tell you what capoeira is. And really, one fine day, you'll have to decide for yourself what it is.

But today, I'm going to tell you what it is.

In capoeira there will always be people who have been in it longer than you. They are more knowledgeable; they can do fancy things. Because they are obviously superior, we should kowtow at their feet and respect--nay, worship--them. We should idolise and pedestalise (yes, I made that word up--that's what Arts majors do) them. They can do no wrong, for they are superior in capoeira, and are therefore superior human beings. If they are upset, it must be because we, as inferior human beings, are at fault. We must be to blame.

Yes, it's quite ridiculous when it's written down, isn't it? But I bet it didn't seem so when it was a latent background semi-formed thought.

Do you worship these people?

Impressive crazy skills, no doubt, but a skill is a skill is a skill. Just because you want to learn it doesn't make a master of that skill worship-worthy; it just means that you ought not to upset that person if you want him to teach you.

And you'd be surprised how full of sh*t people can be, in any human endeavour. Does a Ph.D make your professor a better human being? No. Even if it's legit, all it means is that he's spent more time studying than you. You don't look up to him because of his title. You're nice to him because he controls your grades. And just maybe, if you're lucky, he's a nice human being who cares about your growth in his discipline, and he does things beyond what is necessary to help you.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we should judge people by how useful they are. We should use people depending on how useful they are, certainly (come on, admit it!), but perhaps we should judge people's humanity by how much they acknowledge it in others.

umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,
-EW

Capoeira History 101

Hassan found this video. It's not about Capoeira history, but looks like, as a man says, a 'nice animation'.


I stumbled upon this related video. It's a charcoal drawing of the slavery era of capoeira. It's a very interesting medium because it can convey/evoke so much in so little and in so many other ways than a -AACK!- 'documentary'. In my humble opinion, this is not so much a lesson in historical fact than it is how capoeiristas engage with, reconstruct (because no one alive today really lived through those times), and invoke the past, a lesson in how they feel the past inflects capoeira's present. Ah, nevermind. When we get a history major, we'll get him to type an entire blogpost on historicity (NOT to be confused with 'history').



The lyrics (performed by Mestre Toni Vargas) for the first part can be found here.

I haven't found an English translation, and it's beyond my meagre smattering, so you'll just have to settle with downloading it into your ringtone.

BUT if you need a visual interpretation, I think this video does a pretty good job. It's in-your-face (the video), but that's probably because reality is tough. Fact: People do bad things to each other. So brace yourself; this isn't going to be pretty.


Stay humane,
-EW

P.S. - some of you may have accidentally learnt 'S-dobrado'. It means 'double S'. You can search for examples of the move on Youtube, but you should never learn Capoeira from the Net. Seriously. I mean it. Stop it now.

P.P.S. - Here's my translation of the lyrics (take with a pinch of salt):

Slave ship
Floating tomb
My motherland is distant
Pain and desperation

Chorus: Slave ship

Separated on a wandering ship
Sailing, yearning
Africa is distant
Hear my song

chorus: Slave ship

Mother that lost her child
King that lost his queen
People that lost their spirit
While wasting away

Getting that sway: GINGA

Hey, it was great seeing all you guys trying out Capoeira and I am very greatly encouraged to see all of you trying out the new movements so here is just a review post to recap what my station taught last night: the GINGA.

As you already know, the Ginga is the basic movement of which Capoeiristas use to deliver kicks, sweeps, dodges or just other types of movement. The word ‘Ginga’ translates into the meaning of ‘to sway’, so what we wanna see is a smooth swaying motion from left to right. How do we get that effect? The trick is in the transferring of your weight from right to left; here’s a little exercise you can do:

-Stand and position your feet so that the space between them is slightly larger than your shoulder-width

-Bend your legs such that the angle formed with the inside of your knees is a little more than 90 degrees

-Position your upper body such that you lean forward a little but remember to keep your back straight the whole time.

-Now just sway from left to right; shift your weight supported on your right leg to your left and back again and just keep going. This exercise is to allow you to feel the swaying motion and achieve that smoothness. Plus it will provide some strengthening to your thigh muscles and hamstrings for stability.

I think all of you have a general idea of how to do a ‘Ginga’, so all that is left for you is to find some space in your house or rearrange your furniture and just keep practicing your ‘Ginga’ because if you guys really want to improve, you gotta practice on your own at home as well. Here are several tips you should take note of when doing the ‘Ginga’ on your own.

-Always bend your knees more, I know it’s tiring and as you keep doing the ‘Ginga’ you will start bending less and less. Make a conscious effort to maintain that slightly more than 90 degrees angle with your knees at all times. This will help you get that ‘sway’ and maintain the same height while doing your ‘Ginga’.

-Always keep your hands up to protect your face and sides

-Always look at your ‘opponents’ eyes, but if you’re practicing alone then just look straight ahead

-As your legs are moving about, refrain from ‘hopping’ or ‘bouncing’ about. What we want is a smooth motion. It’s perfectly fine if your feet are sliding against the floor.

-Lean forward slightly but maintain a straight back to protect your spine, I cannot stress this enough. Your lower back will start to ache, but it’s natural because you are constantly tightening your lower back muscle to keep your spine straight and this is causing the ache. It’s good! Because you are strengthening your back muscles

I hope you guys will practice the ‘Ginga’ at home and try out the exercises and take note of the tips that I have provided. I look forward to see you guys improve and then we can teach you even more stuff! Have fun and train safe!

- Cabeça

To Hit or Not To Hit??

Ola!!!

to answer the question posted on our tagboard by freshie1 with regards to whether we actually hit(ie is there actual contact) when we spar....

for us, we don't normally(sometimes we do) hit our sparring partners, as most of you have noticed when we spar in the Roda. the reason for this is:

-firstly, for your fellow capoeirista's own safety. as most of us still can't fully control our kicks(ie speed, strength and aiming) it you just 'fling-it' and hit your sparring partner, chances of injuries are gonna sky rocket. before you know it, WHAMP!!! your partners on the floor, and there will be crack ribs, broken toes, dislocated jaw...etcetc.

-secondly, and more importantly, it is to learn CONTROL...to throw a kick and know when to stop or when how to discontinue a kick in the middle of its execution or how to change in the middle of a kick is CONTROL; to kick and hit where intended with the intended amount of power is CONTROL. Throwing a kick and stop just inches away from your sparring partners head is much tougher and takes more control then to just fling a kick madly with full force. Force and power of attacks are easy to obtain, but CONTROL of a kick is muchmuchmuchmuch much(x infinity) takes a lifetime to master.

Thus, its more of a kicking and attacking with control and to let your sparring partner know that "oh...i could have hit you. but i didn't...bleah=p" then to kick and attack madly irregardless of where you hit, how hard you hit and whether your partner SURVIVES the attack or not.

However, after saying all these, don't be surprise if you happen to encounter Rodas outside where fully contact of attacks occurs. Since capoeira is a martial art, the very raw essence of self-defence and injuring your opponents is still present.

To Hit or Not To Hit is a question with answers that differs from schools to schools and groups to groups.

Pek/Cabure

How to Use Jstor

Alright bookworms, how many of you have typed 'capoeira' into LINC? Hands up, be honest.

You probably just found a miserable chapter in some enthnomusicology book about how the song structures derive from Arabic poems, right?

Well, who knew that there's better stuff in the e-Resources! (mental note to self: do not sound too enthusiastic in this post). You can find journal submissions by ethnographers J. Lowell Lewis and Greg Downey. Those names may sound familiar if you have read Ring of Liberation or Learning Capoeira.

And if you're a freshie, this post will show you how to use the e-Resources, on the off chance that you are an Arts major majoring in Sociology, History or--my deepest condolences--Theatre Studies.

1. Go to the NUS Libraries homepage.

2. In the e-Resources bit in the middle of the page, click the database Jstor.

3. Log in with your network domain (for most of you, NUSSTU-student), userid and password.

4. Agree to abide by the copyright policy. This will bring you to the Jstor hompage via proxy through NUS Libraries.

5. Type 'capoeira' into the search box and hit enter. Brace yourself!

6. You can find journal entries such as:

[What is a journal, you ask? Well, it's sort of like an FHM magazine for professors. It has less pictures and a lower readership. Ironically, a lot more reading is involved]

J. Lowell Lewis. Sex and Violence in Brazil: "carnaval, capoeira", and the Problem of Everyday Life. American Ethnologist, Vol. 26, No. 3 (Aug., 1999), pp. 539-557

Wow, not just sexy violence or even violent sex, but sex and violence! It's like the PhD.'s equivalent of a hollywood blockbuster!

'American Ethnologist' is the name of the magazine. Yes, it goes up to 600+ pages (I told you more reading was involved). No, there are no centrefold pullouts. 'Sex and Violence in Brazil carnaval, capoeira", and the Problem of Everyday Life' is the title of the article Lewis (probably Dr Lewis) submits to American Ethnologist to publish to justify the letters preceding his name, and also so that his university doesn't fire him.

Greg Downey. Listening to Capoeira: Phenomenology, Embodiment, and the Materiality of Music. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Autumn, 2002), pp. 487-509

Maya Talmon Chvaicer. The Criminalization of Capoeira in Nineteenth-Century Brazil. The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 82, No. 3, Special Issue: Slavery and Race in Latin America (Aug., 2002), pp. 525-547

Thomas H. Holloway. "A Healthy Terror": Police Repression of Capoeiras in Nineteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro. The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 69, No. 4 (Nov., 1989), pp. 637-676

Richard Graham. Technology and Culture Change: The Development of the "Berimbau" in Colonial Brazil. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring - Summer, 1991), pp. 1-20

The last one is a review. There are a lot of these. It's a professor writing about another person's work. You see, if you can't think of anything to write, you can go to an e-resource, download something, and write about that. This is also how professors entertain themselves (instead of staring at centrefolds). As you can see, O'connor is reviewing a work by Mestre Cobra Mansa--that slick angoleiro you saw in the videos.

Kathleen O'Connor. Review: [untitled]: Reviewed work(s): Capoeira Angola from Salvador, Brazil. Grupo de Capoeira Angola Pelourinho by Mestre Cobra Mansa; Heidi Rauch.
Ethnomusicology, Vol. 41, No. 2, Special Issue: Issues in Ethnomusicology (Spring - Summer, 1997), pp. 319-32

Strangely, if you type 'capoeira angola' without the quotation marks, you get another set of capoeira articles. Beats me.

Okay, you say. There's lots of stuff to read, but how will this improve my game, pôrra? Well, that's a very good question. (steeples fingers, looks condescendingly over glasses) The concept of 'game' was first tackled by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. He argued that any element of game, like play, competition, fun, rules, failed to adequately define what games are. There is always a game which is an exception. Ultimately, he argues that what we call 'game' must be understood as a series of 'family resemblances' where no single trait runs through. (leans back in highbacked leather-upholstered armchair) ... which brings us to the very interesting field of Ludology....

Stay awake!

-EW

Esquiva, Pôrra!

First up, don't use the word 'pôrra'. It is a very naughty Brazilian Portuguese word.

You had to click it, didn't you? Anyway, this is my little meditation on the esquiva (literally, 'dodge', probably from the same Latin root as 'escape'). Basically what I want to say is that the esquiva is a dodge that lets you control space. Now if you understand this, you can skip the rest of this post. If you don't, and you actually think I might be saying something important (silly you), then read on.

Mestre Acordeon (1993. Capoeira: A Brazilian Art Form. pp:175) says,

This sphere [the movements of a capoeirista] envelops the energy of the fighters and the best capoeirista controls the inner space [of the roda]. His or her opponent must be handled carefully, as if inside a bubble of gelatin that needs to be moved around intact. An abrupt movement of attack that is mistimed will shatter the harmony of the jôgo. A centrifugal movement made too fast or a startled defense could break that surface tension of the sphere, making control of the game difficult. Experienced capoeiristas will make the jôgo flow smoothly event at a fast speed while attempting to control the action.

No prizes for guessing Mestre Acordeon's interpretation of the objective is control. But how does one control space when one has to back off from incoming kicks?!

Ah hah! Enter the esquiva! Sorry, one more quote (Capoeira, Nestor. Capoeira: Roots of the Dance-Fight-Game, p. 240):

As the late mestre Canjiquinha revealed to us once, “You can block the blow of a very strong man but you can’t block a truck at 100 mph.”

Yes, sound advice indeed. I think I read this somewhere (I'm not sure where), the esquiva is the corporeal manifestation of the slave's resistance modality (yes, that is what we Arts majors do--mystify the mundane and obfuscate the obvious with verbose verbiage). Already... enslaved (my diction is not very powderful), the slave's only method of resistance was through indirect subterfuge, deliberately misunderstanding instructions, faking stupidity and incompetence. It was a way of not giving in without direct confrontation of power-in which case he would surely lose. It is the feigning of a lack of power (intellectual or otherwise) that gave him his... 'space'.

'So what on earth has this to do with bettering my game, pôrra?' you might ask. Well, the esquiva is what allows you to avoid a direct confrontation (usually of shin-to-shin-which--let me assure you--hurts like crap). But when we start to learn it, we usually esquiva away from the attack, sometimes even backing straight out. Over time, we learn to esquiva at the 3 or 9 o'clock positions (12 noon is straight in front).

And then we stop.

I think that it is important to learn to esquiva into the movement (not into the attack!). Take space even as you move defensively. Esquiva diagonally into the half-past 10 and 1 o'clock positions. If the objective is a control of space, you want to occupy as large a sector of the roda as possible while cramping (choking) your opponent.

And an esquiva is not just an esquiva. EVERYTHING is an esquiva when you think about it. But then again, everything is a ginga too. Before I wax poetic, let me just say that breaking the ginga and 'running around' a compasso (a la Bryan) is also, basically, an 'esquiva'. A 'dodge' that lets you avoid a confrontation while gaining space for yourself. So is faking an armada and then hopping (esquiva-ing) over your opponent, or faking a compasso with a giro and going under a kick.

Yes, basically what I want to say is that the esquiva is a dodge that lets you control space.

And if you understood this sentence, you wouldn't have had to read my gibberish in the first place.

Stay Sexy,
-EW

How to Pose Capoeira Angola

Hello. This is for those of you who want to know how to make it look like you know what you're doing in Capoeira Angola.

Firstly, read this bit in Wikipedia--you know you can trust the Internet!

Then you can watch some videos on Youtube.

I like this one.

Mestre Jogo de Dentro ('Inside Game') is a legend for playing in tiny spaces.

Mestre Cobra Mansa is another legend. You saw him in the Angola Corrida video example in an earlier blogpost.

Then if you're still reading this post, this is my little soundbyte on Angola, which I mastered in the school halls of Singapore, in front of thousands of gullible schoolchildren:

The ginga is loose and relaxed--almost lackadaisical (not tight and obviously guarded like in Regional).

The kicks are primarily meia lua de compasso, chapa, chapa giratoria, meia lua de frente, chapeu de couro. Secondarily, low armadas. (Lastly, [IMHO] absolutely no martelos)

I think the objective is control of space, making as much movement possibilities for yourself while limiting your opponent's so that he can't move without opening himself for attack.

Movements are scrunched up (Au fechado, knees to chest) and closed. The game can oscillate between regular distance and really closed-in distance.

For the closed-in distance, when all eight limbs are on the floor, the objective is to position your primary weapons (feet, headbutt) in the spaces of threat to your opponent. These spaces are near his head (space from one of his shoulders to the other), his ribs (space between armpit and waist), and his gut.

Similarly, you are preventing the other guy from threatening your delicates. On the floor, you can use your knees & forearms to protect your gut. Thighs and movement for your ribs. Movement & forearms for your head.

Lastly, Angola has a lot of space for theatrics--praying, hexing, giggling, being your own appreciative audience, scratching your own backside and feigning injury (like Mestre Jogo de Dentro), so ham it up! (Actually, I'm of the opinion that you can do that in any Capoeira game, as long as you don't get beaten up.)

Stay Sexy, Fellow Poseurs!
-EW

PS: Yes, I know I don't play like these guys! You don't have to remind me!

The Joy of Capoeira - Canjiquinha

This is an excerpt from Mestre Canjiquinha's "The Joy of Capoeira'. It's on page 35-7. You can download it here.

I really like the tongue-in-cheek-iness of this part:

When it’s time to play around, I play around
When it’s time to play serious, I’m serious

:)

Capoeira Connection has several other Adobe .pdf documents. The link has been added to the er, 'Links' section (Roda Zone).

Cheers,
-EW

...
Canjiquinha has a laugh that I don’t know what it is
Because everything that I do
I do laughing
They say around here: Canjiquinha only knows how to play around
This doesn’t offend me
When it’s time to play around, I play around
When it’s time to play serious, I’m serious
...
We have to make joy
I am a factory of joy

Capoeira How-Tos

Hello. These are some Capoeira instructional videos from Youtube. These things are popping up all over the place, so do explore.

Disclaimer: I, this blog, Blogger, nor the people associated with this blog, take any legal responsibility for any injuries which may come about as the result of practising the techniques in the following videos.

Unlegally, I would say that learning these things takes a little stupidity, a lot of courage, and a lot more falling down. Do take care of your own safety. If you persist in practising these (you know who you are!), I would unlegally suggest starting the movements small and working up from there.

Macaco
I hope you understand Polish! Muahahaha! Or was it Czech? Or maybe it's Croatian? Actually, I don't know what he's saying. But he goes into a lot more detail than this guy. That said, if you're going down the pig-headed road of learning this movement, do start small, like this guy(no need to do a 180 degrees macaco right off the bat). He's speaking Slovakian. Oh, just take note of what he points out.

Au Batido
Well, you know what they say, 'Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach.' Yes, in case you are wondering, that Japanese fellow has no groin muscles. Now you know why male capoeiristas do front splits even though they hurt like crap.

S-dobrado
Sorry, I couldn't find one in English. Remember, tiny hops to bigger hops, and don't dislocate anything!

Au Cortada (I would call it a one-handed Au Reversao or Reversado, argh, a rose by any name...)

Stay Safe (you can get sexy later!),
-EW

Some Capoeira Youtube Videos

Hello. This is the first time I am blogging. Ever. Do forgive my dearth of blogging protocol.

Today's lesson is on the different types of capoeira games. Firstly, I'd like to say that there's no hard-and-fast rules over what can and cannot happen in a certain type of game; those of you who've met Contra-mestre Grilo (Cricket) will recall that doing the wrong move at the right time is still a right move, and if you did the correct move at the correct time and you still get hit, well, then you got hit!

But while the rules are not 'hard-and-fast', each type of game does have a certain characteristic to it.


Angola: You should know what this is. Here is an angola corrida ('running' angola) video, courtesy of Phasit, I believe.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1CHpsAr7LO0

Regional: Some people think Capoeira Regional is the cool one with acrobatics. Well... yes and no. I think this is what it was more likely to have been: very very objective.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=E1CRuWusKoE
But over time well, things change, no? And people have their own way of doing things.

Some people think that the 'Benguela' rhythm just calls for a slower, lower Regional game, and perhaps in the past this was indeed the case. But it can also be played in it's own unique way:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P0rfwe8vJ5I

Mestre Suassuna has been developing (he says 'rediscovering') the Miudinho game. A quick search on Babelfish reveals that 'miudinho' means 'finicky'. And when the players ginga, it's like an electric current's zapping them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR_AsxmibkI

Iuna is a game played for graduated students and masters. Usually it's played when a graduate becomes an instructor, or when a master has passed away. This is not Iuna:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKytcOizCUs&feature=related
But this is (I think):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUYVPK-9c8c

So what happened to the Capoeira that we do know? The flashy one where we are sexy while kicking ass? Well, I think that's played to Sao Bento Grande de Angola, but maybe that's just me. All I'm saying is that with the internationalisation of Capoeira, with so many grupos doing their own 'thang, we shouldn't stick to grand narratives. In fact, I suspect there were no grand narratives of how capoeira was played back in those days either; just a bunch of petit recits (my apologies so Sociology majors if I have used the terms wrongly).

Like Captain Barbados once said, 'It's not a code! It's more like a ... set of guidelines, aargh!'

Stay Sexy (yes, I do think this is a cool way to sign off),
-EW

PS: Yes, I am aware that I left out many other types of games like Santa Maria (jogo de navalha), the money game, etc. Well, that's because if I did know these things, I wouldn't be some undergrad poseur!