The 100% Brazilian fight was created in the 17th century by African slaves of the Bantu ethnic group. Because of its origin, it was officially prohibited until 1937, although it never ceased to be practised. In the 1930s, the Bahian Manuel dos Reis Machado, Mestre Bimba, took the capoeiristas off the ground, broke the swing and incorporated strikes from other fights. His creation, capoeira regional, differs to this day from capoeira angola, more traditional and widespread from the 1910s onwards by the Bahian Vicente Ferreira, Mestre Pastinha. In the 20th century, capoeira became a sport, with the right to a national confederation. There are even tournaments in which capoeiristas face fighters from other specialties. “In these tournaments, I’ve seen many leave carrying a stretcher”, says Eliane Dantas dos Anjos, author of a study on the origin of the name of the main moves.
MATCH OF LEGS
Capoeira is practiced by 6 million Brazilians. In the world, there are 8 million capoeiristas spread across more than 160 countries
Uniform
In capoeira regional, clothing is always white, with wide pants and a T-shirt – shirtless capoeiristas are only for tourists to see. Colored strings, tied around the waist, would indicate the player’s level – the Brazilian Confederation has already tried to standardize a scale that goes from green to white, but not everyone agrees
Mestre Bimba
Navigation captain, 1.93 m tall and 89 kg, Manuel dos Reis Machado (1899-1974) invented and popularized capoeira regional with moves such as the dorado – illustrated here. Good at fighting, he incorporated elements of jiu-jitsu, wrestling, savate (of French origin) and even batuque – a technique now extinct
NO ATTACK
Jumps and kicks can be acrobatic and deadly
Hammer
This is one of the most used moves in capoeira. A variation of the move, the ground hammer, is more low to the ground.
Tail stingray
At regionals, it is a forward somersault, used to land two consecutive heel kicks to the opponent’s head.
half moon of compass
The capoeirista rests his hands on the ground and spins to hit the opponent with his heel. One of the most accurate blows of the famous Madame Satã
IN DEFENSE
Use of hands is key to dodges and counterattacks
Cocorinha
Simple movement to avoid mid-height strikes. The capoeirista rests his hand on the ground to prepare a retaliatory kick
au
It serves to escape preparing a counterattack, but with the risk of being headbutted. Mestre Pastinha dominated the technique
Negative
Master Besouro’s classic move – the one that became a movie. The player dodges the high blow and sweeps the opponent’s supporting foot
ARENA
The roda, with capoeiristas arranged in a circle, is the stage for the fight
closed circle
Masters and other disciples, with no fixed positions, surround the players. In capoeira angola, in general, everyone sits down. At regionals, everyone stands up and claps their hands
Band
In the only martial art with a soundtrack, the rhythm of the fight is dictated by the berimbau – in general there are three, with different sounds. Usually, they are accompanied by a real band: two tambourines, an atabaque, an agogô and a recurco.
As it happens
The capoeiristas greet each other crouching down and start the game at the foot of the berimbau. There is no score or set time for the fight to end – some last up to half an hour. When a player looks tired, someone from the circle “buys the game” and enters his place, greeting him
CURIOSITIES
• Capoeira Angola is played on the ground because slaves practiced it inside the slave quarters, below the windowsill
• One hundred years ago, in addition to commanding the rhythm, the berimbau was used to hit capoeiristas who did not follow the rules of the fight
• One of the first female capoeiristas, back in the 1930s, was Maria Doze Men. Then came others with curious nicknames: Nega Didi, satan and thin pants
• The lyrics of the songs can be sung or recited improvised – a custom invented in Bahia by Mestre Waldemar
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