Capoeira is a blend of mixed martial arts, combat, dance, music, and singing that originated among African slaves who were brought to Brazil by the Portuguese during the 16th century. The earliest form of capoeira became known as “capoeira angola.” Its traditions were passed orally from one generation to the next and it was associated with the fight against slavery.

By the early 20th century, capoeira had developed a bad reputation because it was often used by petty criminals on the streets. Eventually, however, it grew into an acceptable and systematic art form known as “capoeira regional,” which is now practiced around the world.

One theory states that the name capoeira is derived from the culture of cockfighting. “Capoeira” translates as “rooster’s cage” in Portuguese and “capao” means “rooster.” Indeed, capoeira matches are held in a circle of people, called a “roda,” resembling the crowds that would surround a pair of fighting roosters.

Positive sense of energy

Music and singing are an integral part of the practice of capoeira. Typically, when players enter the roda to fight—or “play” as it is called—the music takes on a tempo that dictates their speed, actions, and even proximity. The music can be fast and aggressive, while at other times it is slow and melancholy. The ultimate goal of the music, chorus, singing, and movement is to generate a positive sense of energy. When the musicians play slower rhythms known as “angola,” the players’ actions may be slower, less aggressive, softer, and more dancelike.

“Jogo de dentro” is a faster-paced rhythm that makes the fighters adopt a more exciting, aggressive style. The lyrics of capoeira songs are blues like and tell stories to highlight or illustrate the feelings of either the singers or the practitioners.

Capoeira angola

Ritualized games that mix elements of dancing and combat performed to a musical accompaniment are the main feature of capoeira angola. It stresses the interaction between combatant, musician, and observer.

Combatants, known as “capoeiristas,” often fight at close quarters as they try to bring their opponent to the ground, using acrobatic kicks, trips, sweeps, and head-butts. Capoeira angola contains many sneaky and aggressive tactics that hark back to its violent origins. Many movements, such as some kicks and head-butts, may have evolved from the slaves trying to escape from their chains.

Two masters

The man most associated with capoeira angola was Mestre Pastinha, who lived in Salvador in the Brazilian state of Bahia. He opened an academy in 1942 to preserve the tradition of capoeira from more modern forms. He popularized the art overseas and many practitioners in the US and the UK can trace their lineage back to his system.

Mestre Bimba created capoeira regional to systematize the art and disassociate it from criminal elements. In 1932 he opened an academy called “The Regional Physical and Cultural Center”— hence the name capoeira regional.

Capoeira contemporanea

A blend of angola and regional forms, capoeira contemporanea is not technically a style in its own right. Its practitioners combine regional’s focus on speed, power, and reflex, with angola’s focus on strategies and tactics. They can employ both forms at will, thus making them more rounded players and martial artists.

Mestre Bimba was born in the state of Bahia in 1900 and learned capoeira at the age of 12. He became a feared fighter who promoted the philosophy of brain over brawn. He introduced techniques such as the martelo (the roundhouse kick) and the galopante (a slapping strike with a cupped hand). In 1937, his art and academy received national recognition and, in 1953, the then president, Gertulio Vargas, declared capoeira as the national sport.

Capoeira instruments are played in a line called a “bateria.” The chief instrument is the “berimbau”, which is made of a Brazilian wood called biriba and a calabash gourd. There are usually several berimbau players in a roda, and each one holds a wooden stick and a small shaker, or “caxixi,” containing beans or pebbles in his right hand. He hits a steel string (often simply a wire taken from a vehicle tire) with the stick and the sound resonates inside the gourd. The instrument creates different pitches to which the players respond instinctively. Other instruments include tambourines, a rasp, a cowbell, and the “atabaque,” which is a kind of conga drum.

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