reverie Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) quoting: http://www.capoeirabrasileira.com/load.php...page=beneficios http://www.capoeiranj.com/capoeira.htm **** Below are the qualities that the practice of capoeira develops and improves. # Flexibility: large movements dominate capoeira. # Power # Endurance: to provide the maximum energy during the entire period of play. # Development of another language # Gain a singing voice # Cardio-vascular fitness # Spatial awareness # Provides a personal creative outlet # Gain self-confidence # Foster cultural identity # Agility: the movements change direction at any time. # Speed: in order to trick your adversary. # Balance: to master the body’s control during complex movements. # Mobility/Coordination: to be able to respond to attacks with arms, the trunk of the body and legs, all at once. # Rhythm: the game is led by music and singing and the pace of the movements must match the music’s rhythm. Capoeira works with one’s emotions, helping to liberate aggressivity, although the sport does not encourage any form of violence. Capoiera develops the mastery of one’s body and mind, as well as one’s creativity. By practicing capoeira you improve: ~Your concentration: The attention paid to your adversaries movements must be constant. ~Your perseverance: Perfect mastery of one’s body comes only after diligent practice. ~Your daringness: Little by little one’s fear of performing certain acrobatic movements is overcome. ~Your cunning: In order to fool your adversary with unexpected sequences of movements. A few facts: ~One hour of capoeira burns about 500 calories. ~Stretching and weight training are complementary to capoeira as they improve flexibility. ~Everyone can practice capoeira according to his/her natural abilities. Only those with spinal cord problems must receive authorization and be followed by a doctor in order to practice. AND!!!! http://bristol.beribazu.co.uk/ The benefits of studying capoeira are too numerous to mention. Besides getting you extremely fit, improving your balance, agility, speed and coordination, you will find it a great social atmosphere and an excellent way to meet people. It has been proven that 8/10 capoeiristas go on to great fame and riches, and 6 out of those 8 become powerful world leaders. More importantly, capoeira makes you extremely attractive to the opposite sex. You do not have to be fit, strong and flexible to start studying capoeira (that will come after about 1 year) but a basic level of mobility is handy and may make it more enjoyable. Beginners classes are geared to all comers, and everyone is encouraged to give it a try. **** Hmm, that last source is a bit 'iffy, I think. But their hearts are in the right place. Okay I'm sold, now how do we bring it to the mass? Peace, Love, and Capoeira. rev... Edited December 13, 2006 by reverie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peredhil Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 I second this - it was literally life changing while being fun for my son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reverie Posted December 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 Capoeira: "Saving the World one Roda at a time." pronounced: "Hulda" or "haw-da" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phoenix Posted December 13, 2006 Report Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) yay! more capoeiristas!!! i started playing about 2 1/2 years ago i haven't been able to play the whole time since, but its FANTASTIC. i love it! my favourite part (which might have something to do with not being able to actually _play_) is the bateria, and the music that happens as people play - the Roda (pronuniation above: R's in portuguese become gutteral H's, basically) is the circle in which the game is played between two capoeiristas, and everyone else (usually while waiting for their turn to play, but sometimes just watching) stands in a circle around them and sings to feed the Axe, or energy into the circle. the players enter from the foot of the berimbau, an instrument that looks like a long stick with a gourd and string attached, and is played by hitting the string with a stick, or baqueta. too much information, i know there are also pandeiru, which are like tambourines, and sometimes (depending on who can carry it & where the roda is) a big drum called the atabaque. the music is driven by the rhythm, and in capoeira Regional the people in the roda clap the rhythm out as well as singing. the rhythm the berimbau is playing tells the capoeiristas in the circle how to play - how fast, how slow, awareness of the rhythm and following that rhythm is as much a part of the game as the conversation with your opponent is. there is so much more to capoeira than just the physical aspect - though being surrounded by people that can backflip over your head before they kick your ass has a certain appeal - and everyone brings their own interpretation and personality to the game. the energy of a roda when everyone is engaged in the play is unbelievable - its like the air turns electric - and the few games i've managed to play in roda's like that i can't remember clearly. you are entirely in the moment, and everything is about reacting to the person you're playing and responding to the music.... i love it, basically. i haven't been able to play now for 6months or more, and i miss it like crazy. the best time for me was when i and 5 of my friends - one of them brazilian born & bred (you can so tell the difference, most of them have been playing since they were tiny) would get together a couple of times a week and just play, Gama would teach us tricks, and then we would pick up the instruments and play and sing and find new songs until we were exhausted. i miss it, and i love it, and it's worth a look. if you've had training in another martial art, it can be frustrating at first - the game is generally non contact, though in Brazil that sometimes differs, and in other parts of the world it does too. the few full contact games i've seen were between brazilians, and got very heated very quickly - some of the moves are damned dangerous, and the games are usually over extremely quickly. i prefer non contact, especially at the level that i'm at. i found it a complete change of mindset, and it has completely changed the way that i move. i use a lot more of my body now than i ever did before, and i think differently about the things that it is capable of. i might not be able to do all the moves any more, but i did once, which means i could again. *looks back over what i've written* *blushes* ok - you've caught me, i love capoeria i spend most of my time at capoeira now taking photos, which is challenge enough most of the time - you never know whats going to happen next, and you have to find an angle thats flattering at the same time. i'm going to stop talking now *tapes mouth shut & picks up pandeiru* Edited December 13, 2006 by Phoenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reverie Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 (edited) Oh cool, what style did you practice ( a potentially complicated question I know, see below)? We come from the Angola side of the house (well sort of). Anyway, I'm only a novice (about 5 months), but I absolutely love it. My class is doesn't have a permanent mestre (last one went to Hawaii well over a year ago). When that mestre left no one in the group had over 3 years of experience, so the core group of about 7 kept it together by sheer force of will: taught themselves to play instruments, sing in portugese, merged divergent styles of several members from checkered experiences elsewhere. Eventually, the group got taken under the wing of Mestre Doutor of ASCAB Capoeira out of Philadelphia. His group flies down every 6 weeks to make sure we're not killing each other. So our style is steadying morphing from a really mixed-bag into older version of Angola. I love the first rule of capoeira: Don't die! I'm still trying to get the hang of the Pandeira, got the rhythm down, just not how to hit it. rev... Edited December 14, 2006 by reverie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phoenix Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Hehe thats awesome the rhythm will come, just keep playing - the most fun thing i've found is i've been playing for over 2 years now & i still have no idea what i'm doing. i started playing Angola Contemporania (yeah, i know, its a complicated question ) with Mestre China, but i got tired of the way he would teach me moves by grabbing my ass, and so i left & started training with Professor Junior, - his father is a very well known mestre in Brazil. it's hard to keep track of everyone's ranks because in every group the different color Cordao mean different things. Junior taught Regional, which at the time i liked better because it came with training rather than with China i'm now playing with Capoeira Pasifika in Auckland, when i do play. we don't have a Mestre yet, but Brabo has been invited to grade, he just has to get the airfare together. he tries to teach a mix of Angola & Regional, which doesn't always work in my opinion, but the classes are great fun every year we have an encounter (camp) in Rotorua and try & get a Mestre over for that. last year we had Mestres Joao Grande & Cabello come over from New York, which was beyond awesome - if you didn't know, Joao Grande trained with Mestre Pastinha when Capoeira Angola was just starting, so getting to see him play and train with him was mindblowing. last year we had Mestre Lobao, who is also fantastic and is coming over again next year, i think - i've been a bit out of touch. i much prefer playing in the Angola style, i find it relies more on outthinking your partner - i haven't seen that much Regional, but i see it as the difference between having a conversation and shouting at each other - the regional rodas here seem to turn into 'look what i can do!' games, though thats changing as Junior gets more advanced students. theres benefits to both styles, but... as me next year, i'll probably have a different answer i have a list of fantastic capoeira websites i'll send you - some of them have song lists & soundbytes so you can learn new songs. and somewhere i have a database a friend of mine made up with every song he could find on it i'll send you that too when i find it. i think my favourite capoeria song is 'Capoeira me Chama' - i know there are more, but i can't think of them right now... what songs do you know? i'll send you lyrics to my favourites when i get back onto my old computer Oh cool, what style did you practice ( a potentially complicated question I know, see below)? We come from the Angola side of the house (well sort of). Anyway, I'm only a novice (about 5 months), but I absolutely love it. My class is doesn't have a permanent mestre (last one went to Hawaii well over a year ago). When that mestre left no one in the group had over 3 years of experience, so the core group of about 7 kept it together by sheer force of will: taught themselves to play instruments, sing in portugese, merged divergent styles of several members from checkered experiences elsewhere. Eventually, the group got taken under the wing of Mestre Doutor of ASCAB Capoeira out of Philadelphia. His group flies down every 6 weeks to make sure we're not killing each other. So our style is steadying morphing from a really mixed-bag into older version of Angola. I love the first rule of capoeira: Don't die! I'm still trying to get the hang of the Pandeira, got the rhythm down, just not how to hit it. rev... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reverie Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 (edited) Joao Grand! That's awesome. ASCAB's lists him in their introductory capoeira history link. Very cool indeed. I'm still learning the chorus of song--not able to sing lead for anything yet. Ha, still trying to work out the whole singing vs playing coordination thing too. I'm almost there with the padeira, but not consistantly. Still having got the hang of the atabaque either. They say my hands are too stiff. Since my group for the most part had to teach themselves to sing. They draw a lot from this online capoeira lyric books and Metres CDs. I'm currently working on: Luanda e meu boi (that's my favorite, we've got a girl that rocks it) but am somewhat familiar with: Chue, Chue, Chue, Chua (this one's fun too.) A Hora E Essa Gunga e meu Oi Sim, Sim, Sim Jogo de Dentro Jogo De Fora Sai Sai Catarina Parana e ---- Oh we've got a group that plays an something like Contemporania one town over. Sometimes we hold Rodas together. They're style is much different than ours. Everyone tells our far-away mestre that his capoeira is "old." I'm not sure if that's a complement, an insult, or both. I've never played anyone that does regional. I've watched it on youtube though. We had a another visiting mestre try to teach us senzala once. Funky style, didn't mix well with our energy. We've just reorganized as: Força Unificada We used to be loosely affiliated with Grupo Arte e Movimento in North Carolina, but broke with them recently. Oh, send me any links you want. I need all the help I can get. Good luck on finding a permanent mestre. rev... Edited December 14, 2006 by reverie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Phoenix Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 yeah! meeting Joao Grande was definately a highlight - he's a fricking legend. he's pretty damn old, and he doesn't speak any english, but he's got more energy than people half his age - on the final night, after playing capoeira all day, he came out and danced with us till 3 in the morning, then went to the hot pools, and then played a kick-ass game with Cabello & ran a roda for half the day on no sleep. i hope i have half the energy he does when i get to his age the playing coordination will come, don't worry - it's unfortunately just a matter of practising lots. i found playing capoeira cds in the car & beating out the rhythm on the steering wheel helped, but i can't help myself... i've done quite a lot of music in the past, so i managed to pick it up faster than some, but it still took be about a year before i could get a beat and sing together as well i started practising berimbau about a year ago, and i still suck lots - its really hard on your hands supporting the weight, and the rhythms different from the pandeiru and atabaque, so its another complete mindshift - and forget singing while i'm playing! sometimes i can sing coro & sometimes i can't, it depends on the day. i've got a few capoeria cds at home & access to a few more - (if you pm me a snailmail address i can send you some & add to your repertoire) i like knowing what i'm singing too - Donna Alicia became one of my favourite songs once i realised what it meant (it's meant for when someone starts holding and blocking the other person, and basically translates as - Donna Alicia dont hold on to me, don't hold me, don't stop me, i don't like it) i'll see if i can find the sites i was talking about today and add them here... Most of the songs you mentioned i know (forgive me, its been a while). i don't instantly recognise Luanda e meu boi, but we might know it by a different name. A Hora E Essa is one of my favourites too - Mestre Lobao taught us when he first came over, i've had some wicked games to that one one saturday night me & some capoeirista friends were downtown & bored so we started playing & a carload of people stopped next to us at the lights and sang Parana E at us until the lights changed that was pretty damn awesome. have you seen Only The Strong? its old and very cheesy but its a capoeira movie, and theres some pretty good rodas in there - if you can get past the cheese! Cobra Verde is good too but mostly just for the roda scenes. it depends on how much you like old movies. it's entirely in portuguese & most of the copies are on video not dvd so you don't get subtitles - we were just lucky to have someone to translate it for us. & we have a permanent teacher - Brabo - he just hasn't had his Mestre Troca de Cordao yet. when he does he'll me New Zealand's first mestre, so its a pretty big deal - its just a matter of money and timing. Have you had a Batisado yet? i missed our last one because i'm overseas, but they're pretty damn awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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