Capoeira; The Forbidden Game
The first time I came in contact with Capoeira was playing Eddie in the video game Tekken. The same sweeping moves I saw again when I came here. You have it on the streets or the beach. I do not play myself but I have met many foreigners that have come to Rio and done it. On this page I have put together some info on where you can do it and also where you can buy the pants. At the bottom I have some capoeira videos. As usual I will start with some history.
History
Developed by the many slaves that where brought to Brazil from Africa the some scholars will say that itīs purely African whilst others would argue itīs based on an already existing indian game or point out some European influences. With the emancipation of the slaves in the 19th century capoeira became associated with the new, many times semi-legal, communities and was made illegal. It kept on being practiced but in hidden locations. A curiosity is that the nicknames that was used to hide the identities of the practioners from the police are still in use today. Eventually after being more and more socially accepted it was made legal in 1958.Mestre Bimba
You canīt talk about capoeira without mentioning him, 1937 he founded the first academy and managed to take it from the slums to all Brazilians. Many people think that the art of self defence always was hidden in the moves, maybe a reason it got prohibited, Mestre Bimba made it clear. He founded a new style called regional which is faster, more spectacular and includes more clear martial arts. As a counter movement a Mestre Pastinha founded the style Angola which preserved the old traditional style. It became popular around the world in the 90īs, the style that is most common is that of Mestre Bimba.
Some Videos
If you click
here
you will come to my page with clips of it all in action! The Music
The music plays an integral role in the rituals and the performances. I have explained all this in more details
here
. There you also find some clips with example music. Academies in Rio
So if you want to attend classes here in Rio, where should you go? All this you find by clicking
here
. Also with some descriptions of each academy. The Moves
If you want to know more and see some different moves that are used just go to
capoierascience.com
. Itīs an excellent site with lotīs of moves, with descriptions and illustrative video clips. Buying Clothes & Instruments
To finish off I will give some advice on where itīs best to buy those pants or other garment as well as instruments. Click
here
to get there.
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