 The history of the mysterious sport of capoeria Slaves uprising against their masters, underground streetfighting, back flips and handstands; these all sound like something from an action movie but they aren’t. They’re all a part of a martial art called Capoeira. A game of extreme concentration, acute movements, and skillful stunts. capoeira is becoming quite popular in modern culture. Created in Brazil by African slaves during the 1500’s, the name Capoeira is said to mean “bad grass” or “weed” in Portuguese. Capoeira is played by capoeiristas, in a circle called a “roda”. The roda is supposed to reflect the world and the people in it. The capoeiristas call their art a game, but when watched it looks like an acrobatic yet smooth dance. The fighting usually involves two people within the roda itself using kicks and various acrobatics to throw their opponent off guard hoping to land a hit. Over time two forms of capoeira have developed, regional and Angola. Music is one of the most crucial aspects of capoeira. It dictates the type and speed of fighting that occurs in the roda. The most integral instrument in the capoeira band or “bateria” is the berimbau. It is essentially a long bow with a metal string and usually a gourd to act as the resonator. At the time when capoeira was created the slaves’ masters believed it was just a dance that the slaves were participating in, but secretely it was becoming a deadly martial art. When the slaves of Brazil were freed many were homeless and without jobs so they started to form roaming street gangs that fought with capoeira. This forced the Brazilian government to prohibit the practice of capoeira in 1892. This certainly didn’t stop people from playing capoeira, it simply just took the art to a more underground level. Rodas were held in the streets and capoeiristas were frequently chased off or arrested by the police. During the 1940’s the Brazilian government legalized capoeira, thus opening the door for the martial art to come to the United States sometime in the 1960’s. Here at the University of Kansas, there is a thriving capoeira club. With a substantial number of members, and the club seems to love their sport. For senior Christian Hidalgo, who has been playing for 3 years, capoeira means everything. “For me it is a lifestyle, not just a sport, or a dance.” Capoeira is indeed such a lifestyle that eventually capoeiristas take part in a “batizado” or baptism into the art. At these events the person involved in the batizado is often given an “apelido” or capoeira nickname. Christian became interested in capoeira in a very unusual way. “Originally I was interested in break dancing and I realized that it has many ties to capoeira.” Infact, many people think that Brazilians who migrated to New York City inspired the beginning of break dancing through the practice of capoeira in city parks. In recent years, capoeira’s influence has been seen in movies, music, and video games. In the popular video games Tekken 3, Tekken 4, and Tekken 5, characters Eddie Gordo and Christie Monteiro are capoeiristas. But capoeira isn’t all about kicks and cartwheels. “Within a roda group, it is important to have a sense of family. It’s about all the different aspects: music, acrobatics, history, and tradition.” Hidalgo said. Although becoming more popular, Hidalgo says that perceptions of capoeira are still not always good ones. “Maybe people don’t know a lot about it, other martial artists think it’s more of a dance. I’ve converted many friends to capoeira because they realize it’s an effective martial art.” With the club here at the university and other various schools in the area it is easy to get involved with capoeira. To Christian Hidalgo capoeira has made a huge impact. “It is a lifestyle I adopted. Every class I go to and every rola I’m in I learn something new.” Eric Ammeraan october 2005
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