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Trillian
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this is the coolest pic. any videos?
Sunday, December 18, 2005 11:45 PM
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jessecurry
Tampa, FL
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just out of curiosity, do you do this for the exercise and art or do you actually look at this as a valid fighting style?
Monday, December 19, 2005 1:03 AM
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Brooklyn
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i do it cause its a great fighting style. dont get me wrong i knew how to fight waaaaay b4 starting. in all reality thats depends on the person. cause it can be very elegant and graceful and look like dancing but at times its direct rough and violent http://dump.tricking.be/daystar/capoeira-11.avi i've almost had my arm broken twice but was spared both times. one of my friends had to stop bc she kept getting concussions from getting kicked in her head that she had to stop, i donno man. its a valid martial art the only thing that makes it any different from any other one is that there is a cultural element and a musical element and the misconseption of it being dancing or taichi type stuff comes from that. its not like karate or tkd where you can reach black belt in about 3 years, if u considered a black belt as someone you could learn from or take lessons from, in capoeira it takes about 6-7 years to be an instructor. and to test you have to take on the masters, professors, instructors, and or monitors to advance for your cord, and you can get demoted if you aren't keeping up with your stuff. another way to answer if its valid would be explain the history of it.
SHORT VERSION- slaves trained to beat masters, had to hide the training, so added jinga and music, if the slavemaster was around they'd stop, or play slow music and make it look really nice and stuff, if the slavemaster wasn't around, it be faster paced and way agressive. not only were the slaves able to kick over horses mid stride, but they literally used the art to emancipate themselves. once they were free, they formed gangs, and killed to the point where it was outlawed in Brazil. then in the 1920 the released the ban and it became even faster, more agressive, more flashy, and more effective.
History of Capoeira (LONG VERSION)
As in the United States, slavery existed also in Brazil. The slaves were put to work in the plantations where sugar and tobacco were the main crops and the demand for slave labor was at an all-time high. During the history of the slave trade, it is estimated that more than two million slaves were brought to Brazil from Africa. They were brought to the port of Bahia. These captive Africans created the earliest form of Capoeira, a martial art, to increase their chances for liberty and independence. On the pretence of dance and religious gatherings, they practiced fighting techniques. Capoeira became an art form through which many liberated themselves.In Pernambuco, a group of forty slaves used Capoeira to rebel against their master and burn the plantation house. They then set themselves free and headed for the mountains. Eventually they reached what they thought was a safe place and named it Palmares, due to the abundance of palm trees. In this place, an African community was born, it lasted nearly a century and grew to a population of more than twenty thousand. These slaves came from different regions of Africa and thus had different cultures. Here, tribes that were enemies in Africa, united to fight for a common goal. After slavery was abolished on May 13, 1888, the planters no longer had interest in the ex-slaves as a work force, so most of them entered the cities and formed slums and shantytowns. There was no employment.
Many became criminals and used their knowledge of Capoeira on their victims. Eventually, a rigid penal code was initiated stating that any person who was a known capoeirista (anyone who practices the art) would be banished. The law that prohibited the practice of Capoeira was still in effect until 1920, and its practice disguised as a "folk dance." In their hidden places, capoeiristas did their best to keep the tradition alive, and by presenting it as a folk art, they made Capoeira more acceptable in society. In those years it was very common for a capoeirista to have two or three nicknames. The police knew all of them by these names and not by their real identity, so it made it much more difficult to arrest them. This tradition has endured and is still practiced in academies today. When a person is "baptized" into the practice of Capoeira, they are given a nickname. In 1937 Mestre Bimba, one of the most renown masters of Capoeira, received an invitation from the president to demonstrate his art in the nation's capital. After a successful performance, he went back to his home state of Bahia and, with the government's permission, opened the first Capoeira academy in Brazil. It was the first step towards a more open development. Years later, the senate passed a bill establishing Capoeira as a national sport. Today, Capoeira can be seen and learned all around the world.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 1:39 PM
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