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Capoeira - Dancing For Defense
Capoeira - Dancing For DefenseBy Alan J Thomas
During the Portuguese colonization of Brazil, more that two million Africans were brought to the territory as slaves.
In the main they were taken to what are now the states of, Pernambuco, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro.
It is thought the slaves from Angola, were the first to bring Capoeira to Brazil in the 16th century.
Capoeira, initially was developed as a self-defence (the means of defending oneself from physical attack; the right to protect oneself against violence by using reasonable force, especially when used as justification in a murder charge) technique based on traditional African dance rituals. The slaves practiced during their free-time primarily in their living quarters, most importantly, away from the prying eyes of the landowner master (often a sugar (simple carbohydrate) plantation). A kinda by-product was that the slaves were training their body and mind for combat situations. And as all martial art was strictly forbidden, they ingeniously cloaked their training, making it look like an innocent looking recreational dance.
Capoeira was perfected further by slaves who had escaped, escaped slaves founded a number of quilombos, which were hidden slave-governed territories. The first of which is believed to have been in 1850, in Serra da Barriga.
During the Dutch invasion (1628-Fernando de Noronha), of Pernambuco, consisting of 37 ships and 3000 soldiers. The Portuguese gave freedom to some slaves in order to help them fight against the invaders. Many of them absconded and settled in Palmares (south from Recife) they established the Quilombo of Palmares. They declared a free African nation with a government similar to their ancestral homes in Africa. The largest colony was governed by Princess Aqualtume (daughter of the King of Congo) and was succeeded by her son, King Kanga Zumba then his nephew Zumbi.
They fought a decade-long war against their colonial oppressors, however Zumbi was eventually captured.
On 20th of November 1695, he was killed by Domingos Jorge Velho a bandeirante from São Paulo who was assisted by Bernardo Vieira de Mello (with the troops of Olinda) and Sebastião Dias along with other troops, sent by Souto Maior the governor of Pernambuco (1686). He was decapitated and his head was taken to Recife to be exposed in a public square to serve as an example to other slaves.
Capoeirawas used not only in direct combat, it also inspired the battle strategy itself; feigning retreat, thus luring the over-confident enemy into remote territories only to strike back at an unsuspecting place and time.
Prohibition of Capoeira remained even after slavery was abolished in 1888. It was nevertheless practiced by the poorer population on public holidays, during work-free hours and similar occasions. Riots, caused by police interference, were common. By the 1920s, persecution and punishment were almost successful in eradicating Capoeira from the "streets" of Brazil. In spite of the ban, Master Bimba and Master Pastinha founded the first Capoeira schools in Salvador, Bahia. Master Bimba created a new style, the "Capoeira Regional" (as opposed to the traditional "Capoeira Angola" held by Master Pastinha).
Essentially it was by incorporating new moves and techniques which helped Master Bimba convine the authorities of the cultural value of Capoeira, thus ending the official ban in the 1930's.
Berimbau is the main instrument for Capoeira. It was brought to Brazil from Angola with the music of the slaves. It is made from a wood called biribá and has a small percussion instrument called caxixi (a big basket shaker).
Some of the most famous Capoeira movements are: armada, au, benção, macaco, martelo, meia-lua de compasso, queixada, rabo-de-arraia.
If you want to experience, learn and practice capoeira in an authentic environment, Brazil is the place to be. There are many volunteer program opportunities in Brazil, easily found by searching google. However, afore ye go for more volunteering overseas information and details including safety, tips and other information, check out Volunteering Planet.
I hope you found this article useful. For more information and details and tips about volunteering overseas, you may find it beneficial to visit; Volunteering Planet; http://volunteeringplanet.com/index.html There is a section review there about Brazil.
,Capoeira -The Graceful Art
Capoeira -The Graceful ArtBy Allen Owen
The graceful martial art of Capoeira stands-out from those of other traditional combat arts in that it employs the use of percussive music and a capoeira match itself looks like a dance. Made famous in pop culture by the videogame character Eddy in Playstation's Tekken and a 90s movie "Only The Strong", there is some dispute to where it originated. Common belief is that it has its roots in Brazil in the 16th to 19th centuries during the slave trade. Africans brought over by Portuguese slave traders were said to have developed the musical, dance-like martial art as a way to disguise their practice sessions from slave masters. The two "Capoeiristas" would be surrounded by a 'roda' or a circle of spectators who take turns playing musical instruments, singing along as the participants engage in the dance-like spar.
The origins of the term "Capoeira" itself is unclear as there are many possible sources and several meanings. One is that it came from the word 'capao' or castrated rooster. A pair of capoeiristas engaged in sparring in a way resembles a cockfight. Another possible source of the term is derived from two words from the South American Tupi-Guarani language- kaa and puera which put together means 'formerly a forest' or a forest clearing. Such an area in the middle of a thick jungle would have been an ideal place for escaped slaves to hide from their oppressors. Whatever the true origin for the word, the martial art of Capoeira is widely accepted to be an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed by slaves under oppression from South American masters.
Capoeira moves include acrobatic moves, feints and groundwork which in a way resembles the urban art of breakdancing. The latter may in fact may have been an offshoot of Capoeira with its fluid gymnastics and reliance on percussive music.Body-throws, elbow, fist and strikes using one's head are also used in Capoeira combat although to a relatively lesser degree than leg sweeps and kicks which make-up the majority of attacks. Reason for this may be because a slave's hands are usually manacled and only the legs are free to move around. Another possible reason may be because punches and hand-strikes can disrupt the fluidity of the Capoeira player's movement and are deemed out of place.
There are two classifications for Capoeira- traditional and modern. The traditional and thus much older Capoeira Angola has generally sneakier moves with players maneuvering their bodies in a closer distance to each other and lower to the ground compared to the modern or contemporary Capoeira Regional. Capoeira grandmaster Bimba developed Capoeira Regional to bring the art to its original fighting or sparing roots, employing faster and more athletic techniques. It's also associated less with Brazil's criminal elements. The controversial Capoeira Contemporânea combines techniques from both Angolan and Regional classifications, to the chagrin of Capoeira purists who argue that each discipline should be practiced in their original form for a student to be able to understand its principles.
Allen Owen has been practicing martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) of one form or another since he was in grammar school. Check out his eBay store at: http://stores.ebay.com/The-Sublime-Tao-Martial-Arts-Supply
,Trends of Martial Arts
Trends of Martial ArtsBy Ninos Mayne
Martial arts were first known as a means of self-defence (the means of defending oneself from physical attack; the right to protect oneself against violence by using reasonable force, especially when used as justification in a murder charge) or self-expression. Recently, more and more researches were done to find out the advantages and effectiveness of martial arts. Other than self-defense, martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) are said to be helpful in improving the practitioners' health, self-esteem, patience, courage, respect for others and etc. As a result, there is a trend that more people are going to martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) classes to try out all the advantages of martial arts. However, do you know how this trend passes around over years?
The trend began around 450 B. C. Bodhidharma - was considered as the father of martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) bye the modern or contemporary (belonging to the present time) sources. He was a Brahman king. He explained that how mind and body were inseparable to the monks in the Shaolin temple. Then, he introduced the systematized exercises to maintain the physical health. He also taught the monks about the Indian fighting or sparing movements.
Those movements and skills were evolved into Shaolin Temple Boxing, which is what we call today - Shaolin Kung-fu.
You can choose to believe that there is no trend existed since martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) have been practiced alternatively since long time ago. Anyways, the usage of martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) as forms of treatment and therapy is increasing tremendously because of its therapeutic effects proven by scientific researches.
In 1995, Weiser, Kutz, Kutz, and Weiser supported the idea that by practicing martial arts, self confidence in someone could be boosted up through the physical and group activities, concentration and focus, directness in communication and relaxation techniques. Some people believe that martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) could be an extraordinaryintervention in dealing with some psychological issues such as aggression and low self esteem.
In 2001, some researchers found that Taiji could develop convincing effects on self-efficacy and self perceived physical function. Taiji is also considered as a moderate intensity aerobic exercise which could help to reduce pain in joints and keep you in shape. This will surely attract more people to join the martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) trend since the obesity rate is rising up drastically nowadays.
Not only are the traditional martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) used by people to stay healthy. Instead, some modern or contemporary (belonging to the present time) martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) are fun. A good example would be Capoeira. Capoeira is the mixture of dance, song and fighting or sparing invented by the Brazilian. In fact, Capoeira was invented by the Afro-Brazilian slaves since 16th to 19th centuries. However, it was prohibited to be practiced for some reasons. Until 1937, Capoeira was accepted by the government of Brazil. Today, capoeira has become a trend all over the world. It's believed that Capoeira could develop a good sense of rhythms of individuals.
Why do we call it a trend? It is simply because it changes and develops over the time. The martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) trend would not stop anyhow; it will keep on developing and evolving. With the scientific evidences to prove that martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) are forms of exercise to make people staying healthy mentally, physically, socially and psychologically, we could believe that more martial arts (Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat) would be brought up to the Olympic stage as an international event.
Writen by NINOS of http://www.martialchat.com