Capoeira in MMA

Courtesy of one of our members.



This is from the movie Never Back Down, which goes to show that Capoeira is not above making fun of itself. :) The lesson in the movie to breeeaaathe (shaa shaa shaa!) is very important. Don't forget to breathe when you are doing handstand bananeiras and the like. :)

Another angle:

Stuff You Don't Really Want to Know

This is gonna be politically charged, no matter how I phrase it. Now I'm not saying anything about lineage, or authenticity, or going back to 'the roots', whatever that means. It's just interesting to know that capoeira is not the only 'fight-like dance, dance-like fight' in the world. Just because the media brought it to you first doesn't mean that it pre-dates, or is the source of, others, and neither should this blogpost.

2008 Afrikan Warrior Women
The n'golo dance is in the second half. Or maybe she's just doing capoeira in London.

AKERU Spreads Their Wings and Soars To Success!

damartialartspage describes Akeru as 'Akeru is an African martial art\school\class that is based on Afro-Brazillian Dance (techniques of both cutlures), martial arts, culture, discipline and philosophy.' Meanwhile it also lists Bassula, Calinda, Gabetula, Kamangula and Kipura (hey hey!) as progenitors of Capoeira. Strangely, Batuque, of which Mestre Bimba's father was a famous batuqueiro, is listed, but not highlighted. Gotta love the Internet.

Ever heard the myth that Capoeira involves no punches because the slaves had their hands cuffed? Well, it just so happens that there is a 'Shackled Hands' martial art! I'd take it with a pinch of salt, though. I think this guy invented the martial art and called himself 'master'. Then again, isn't that how martial arts start?

I may be wrong, but it seems to be linked to the Ancient Egyptian religion of Kemetism. In any case, if you ever find yourself having to beat coppers who've cuffed you...


This is a demonstration battle. It starts about 3 minutes into the vid. 8:30 is really funny, and it's interesting to know that we Asians have a fight-like dance too. That is, if you identify yourselves with the Korean identity...
-EW

Bang, Bang, Bang!

Yup, this question has buggered me for the past 2 years since I started Capoeira. How does this martial art help in self defense? Would I have the time and space to Ginga? Most importantly, what happens when I have no music? I'm dead...Nah I'm kidding. Although there are many artforms out there who specialize very much in self defense and application, I feel ours specialize more in form and performance ( please correct me if I'm wrong ). It allows us to express ourselves in dance-like styles and if you ask me, this seems to be the friendliest martial art I've encountered..I mean, how many martial arts involve non-contact?

Just as Josh pointed out, Capoeira helps our every day movements, makes us more fluid. I know when the situation arises, we'd most likely just run or find a parang and hack at the attacker but then if we have a chance, we could maybe land a martelo or sorts. So, I decided to seek out help in self defense. This is not part of capoeira, but it may help if you find yourself needing some self defense moves in the future : p

Click hereand here

*disclaimer: Its abit violent, but hey, when in a real situation, its either you fight or you die. Well you could escape too but then life's too short, lets at a little spice into it (: *

Like silent death, we stalk the night!

Hello! This is a really cool trick you can do with your verga.

Sensei Park, better known as 'Choson Ninja', sententiously meditates: "[the Choson Ninja Youtube channel] is devoted to the people who can not afford Martial Arts or have no Schools to learn Martial Arts..."

Starving martial artists. Yup, that's us, alright. And thanks to Sensei Park, you know what to do with your berimbau when the cavalaria come charging down the street.

Now let's say you're cornered in the roda, and the guy looks like he's going to chapa (you can tell because he's approaching you ass-first on all fours ;) ). Don't esquiva! You can't go under it! Escape with style!

Sometimes in the game, there is an opportunity to negotiate for space (i.e. corner the bugger). You need to move around him, but how fast can you ginga? Enter Sensei Park to the rescue with a cool ninja sidestep! Yes, it is okay to move around without ginga-ing, and how much cooler when your head stays in the same horizontal line?!

Lastly, for those of you getting over a summer fling, Sensei Park has these words of comfort (mind you, it's 10 minutes). Or you could just solve it the Brazilian way! Hmm...works for me!

Stay Sexy,
-EW