Since I started this blog, I have talked about the history of Capoeira and its downfall.  Now it is time to get into the mainstream and how you can use the moves and the principle of capoeira in your daily life.  A lot of the moves of capoeira can be incorporated (in theory) into daily life.  We will start with the ginga.  This move is essential to the game of Capoeira!  The point is to be in constant motion…never give your opponent a still target.   If you look at any of the movies I have on my side bar you will see most of the capoeiristas move from side to side swinging one leg behind them as they move (or sway).  This keeps their aggressor guessing which way they will go.  Now…lets flip this and use it for life.  When we go through life there are always obstacles or people that we have to avoid to keep progressing through life.  So when you know that you are about to be influenced (in a bad way) or put in a position that is not favorable, remember the ginga.  Maneuver your way out of those bad situations and set yourself up for some personal gain.  Just some food for thought!

Axe’

I am blessed to be under the teaching of Mestre Celso.  He taught my profesor, so I get to see his skills through him.  He is the oldest active living Capoeira master and still very quick.  Here is a short video of him…enjoy!

 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6722570261727105071&pr=goog-sl

Axe’

This one is an actual video porduction to celebrate Mestre Bimba.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2269227608241553645&q=Capoeira&hl=en

Enjoy!

Now to the reemergence of capoeira! The art stayed dormant til around 1937 when Mestre Bimba (seen as 1 of the fathers of modern capoeira) was invited to demonstrate capoeira in from of the president of Brazil at that time, Getulio Vargas.  Apparently the president was impressed because he gave Mestre Bimba permission to open the first capoeira school in Brazil.  Since that time capoeira has spread like wildfire!  Mestre Bimba’s teachings made a tremendous contribution to the capoeira community.  Then in 1942 the other father of capoeira, Mestre Pastinha opened the first school in Angola.  Capoeira continues to be widely practices in Brazil and world wide by all walks of life.  It is no longer dominated by Afro-Brazilians, capoeira transcends racial and gender boundaries!

 Mestre Bimba    Mestre Pastinha

Since I am going back intime to give you some history of Capoeira, I decided to find a video of one of the original Capoeira masters.  His name is Mestre Bimba and while on that search I also came across a video of another master, Mestre Mirim.  I thought these two videos would be entertaining.  Enjoy!

OK, last time asked if anyone knew of any other forms of expression that were seen as rebellious and not necessarily outlawed but banned by most media.  Well I have a few answers for that…Gangster Rap and some Hard Rock.  Both of these are forms of expression and for one reason or another they have at one time or another been banned.   So that infamous saying “history repeats itself” is true.  Ok now back to business, we are on to part three of the history and a truly hope this is more educational and interesting than boring…hopefully.  Well last time we were talking about the banishment of Capoeira and its strength to reemerge.  Capoeira continued to be practiced but due to the tension, it went underground.  The roda (pronounced “hodas”, the circle in which Capoeira is played)  was often held with plenty of ways to escape if the police discovered the illegal games.  There was even a special rhythm that was added to the music to warn the players that the police were coming.  To go further in concealing Capoeira the practitioners (capoeiristas) were given nicknames to hide their true identities.  This tradition still lives on and when a person is baptized into capoeira they are given a nickname.  My nickname or apelido is Paixao (pronounced Pash-ou), it was given to me by my professor Americano.  Sorry for the sidetrack…well the persecution of capoeira continued and it was entirely wiped out by 1918.  But do not fret, remember capoeira has deep roots, its strength and passion will not die so stay tuned for reemergence of capoeira…

Good morning all!  I came across this link: http://www.bloggingthemes.com/  If you do not like your WordPress theme, here are a few more that you can try out.  They are free so once you find one you like, click on the thumbnail and follow the directions.

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I have added two new videos to the blogroll and the Pod & Vid Cast sections. One of them is from the new movie “The Protector” at least new here in the states, ii shows the scene of a Muay Tai fighter up against a Capoeira fighter. (hmm…I wonder who would really win?) Then the other was sent to me from my Capoeira maestre. It is a rapper from LA who practices Capoeira, the song is about Capoeira and it uses old Capoeira songs as its base mixed with his rap lyrics. Now it isn’t high tech but it is interesting because the last time this was done it was on the movie “Only the Strong”. So keep an open mind and enjoy!

More on the history of Capoeira…are you ready? I hope so.  This part is the dark side.  After the abolishment of slavery, most of the slaves speadout through the cities of Brazil.  But wil no real education or means of employment many of then joined or formed gangs.  To me think has some similarities to todays culture.  Most kids in gangs joined or started then for a sense of belonging or because they had no where else to go.  Ok back to the history! Since Capoeira was soo deeply rooted in their lives the slave continued practicing while in their gangs.  So unfortunately Capoeira was linked to criminal activities and anti government thoughts.  As a result Capoeira was outlawed in Brazil in 1892.  It was virtually wiped from exsistance, the government tried to erase all history of the art and punished all who still practiced.  But alas the strength, passion, and art of Capoeira continued to flourish, just underground.  Aah another thought for the day.  Can you name any other forms of expression that were seen as rebellious and not necessarily outlawed but banned by most media?  We will answer that next time.  Til then, be blessed comrades!

Ok, I showed you how to say Capoeira…now learn about the history of it.  It is a Brazilian martial art developed initially by the African slaves in Brazil, starting in the colonial period.  I promise this will not be all that boring.  From 16th to the 19th centuries, Portugal shipped slaves into South America from Western Africa.  42% of all the slaves shipped were sent to Brazil.  You though the American colonies had the market cornered huh?  The slave groups were largely composed of people from Angola, Congo and Mozambique.  Naturally, they brought their cultural traditions and religions with them to the New World.  All of this and the oppression of slavery became a catalyst for Capoeira.  It was developed as a way to resist their oppressors, secretly practice their art, transmit their culture, and lift their spirits.  Now I don’t know about you but I can think of a few ways that today’s American culture shares some of the same traits. Amazing huh?  Ooh I bet you wanna hear more?  Well not today but check back; there is soo much more to come.  Just food for thought, think about the ways in which you transmit your culture to others and further more what you do to lift your spirit.