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 (:

Thursday's Class on Joshua's Bday!

Hello every one!

Good news!! ...Our instructor, Professor Jaguar, will be coming together with our Mestre, Mestre Luizinho Barrevento, in April!! Yay!!

Bad news ): I forgot to film today's entrada sequence..My camera's battery was down and the back up camera was too tied up to come up.. I'm really sorry!!! SOOOO I'm gonna write the sequence in words and the rest of the blog will be geared to helping you with your basics and polishing it up.

For the entrada, You step from a ginga to a parrella position, entrada, then swivel and use your back leg to step into your opponent's space. Points to note: Always maintain eye contact; When you swivel, make sure there is as little time where you don't see your opponent as possible. It's best if you can keep your back low so that your vision is clearer like the guy in this video as he does a giro. Notice his eye and head movements.

Next up, lets go back to basics on the Queda de Rins ( Kidney fall ). For the newcomers who were struggling with the positioning of the elbow, this video explains it quite clearly. The rule of thumb is that you have to support your body weight on your elbow together with your head and your other hand. It's kinda like a See Saw where your elbow acts as the pivot and you have to bring more of your weight to your arms and head to bring your legs up.

Ok, now lets go to your Au. Alot of us still have problems with it. I'm no exception and I have lots to improve on. This video will take you through on how to execute a nice Au (:

Ok i hope this post helps. Please please comment if you need me to put up more videos. If not, you can go search our blog on the title " Last Thursday's Class" in the "Chapters " Section on the right bar for our previous class postings (:

Love Love

Bambu

Another Look at our Instruments

Hello people!

Are you bored of learning the same rhythms again and again? You think your instrument skills are wearing out soon? Check out these guys:

Honda

He is a japanese student studying Chinese and Tourist Management in Shanghai and is part of the Madinga Group there. He is currently touring South East Asia to learn its history as well as to experience it (:

Berimbau Blues

This is some crazy shit. But! With practice, you guys can play like him too!

Well, hope you guys had fun watching!

Love Love
Bambu

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

When your feet itch and you're stuck in Office

Yeap, when my feet were itching to jump about, I was surfing youtube in my office and I found this slideshow of our Australian ZambiaCongo mates playing at Brazil...just look at the crowd......sexciting..I can't wait to get back home to ginga a bit haha - post batizado fever


Bambu

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

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

Your Nome de Guerre

In the underground period of Capoeira, capoeiristas referred to each other by--and probably were only known through--nicknames to avoid police persecution. These are referred to as apelidos (appellations) or nomes de guerre (names of war).

Technically, the capoeira teacher who baptises you (with the floor, not with water) will name you, but sometimes your style is so distinct, you earn it all on your own. So congratulations! Some of you are already earning your nomes de guerre! So, for starters:

Angeline: Ginga Baixa (Ginga Low)
Swee Lan: Palma no Chão (Hand on the Floor)
Yi Hao: Pilar (Pillar, Post)
Mona: Queixada Matador (Killer Queixada)
Amanda: Chutada Alta (High Kicker)

Heheheheh....

For your information:

Ting Kuang: Bambu (The Long One)
Pek Hong: Wolverine (Wolverine) [Kidding! But he was almost called that! His real name is Caburé, a kind of pygmy owl. I can't remember why]
Ian: Cabeça (Head) [Actually, Mestra Mara wanted to call him 'Intelligente'. The other masters wanted to call him something much less glamourous, so they settled for 'Head' instead].
Jia Min: Piaba (Death's Smile)

-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.

11th September's Class

You learnt:

Negativa de Angola (Angolan Negation)


Notice that after the negativa de angola you can rolé? This allows you to move, attack, escape. Erm, nevermind, you'll learn it later.

This is also the negativa de angola. You learnt to enter using the negativa de angola. Mestre Brasilia shows how you can use it to escape an attack with style!

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

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!

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

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!

Slow Mo Stylo Milo

This is one of the cooler clips that you can find on the web regarding capoeira. Its artistic and apparently the group that does the capoeira is a Theater Capoeira group! Wow! Imagine us...a Chinese Opera Capoeira Group. hehe

Love Love

Bambu

* Prizes goes to whoever noes what song they are playing and can get an electronic copy for me!*