Capoira

   Hi guys, i'm come back again with my latest Posts . He said capoeira was once internationally famous. What it is Capoira. Let's look at the info. 

  Capoeira (/ˌkæpuːˈɛərə/; Portuguese pronunciation: [kapuˈejɾɐ])  is a Brazilian martila art that combines elements of dance and music. It was created in Brazil mainly by descendants of African slaves with Brazilian natife influences, probably beginning in the 16th century. It is known by quick and complex moves, using mainly power, speed, and leverage for leg sweeps.
The word capoeira probably comes from Tupi, referring to the areas of low vegetation in the Brazilian interior.

History 

Capoeira's history probably begins with the adoption of African Slavery in Angola. Since the 16th century, Potrugal extensively adopted slavery to man their colonies, coming mainly from West and central Africa. Brazil, with its vast territory, was the major destination of African slaves, receiving 38.5% all slaves sent by ships across the Atlantic Ocean.
Capoeira has a long and controversial history, since historical documentation in Brazil was very scarce in its colonial times. Evidences, studies and oral tradition leave little doubt about its Brazilian roots, but it is impossible to precisely identify the exact Brazilian region or time it began to take form.

Origins

In the 16th century Portugal had one of the biggest colonial empires of the world, but it lacked people to actually colonize it. In the Brazilian colony the Portuguese, like many European colonists, opted to use slavery to supply this shortage of workers. Colonists tried to enslave Brazilian natives in the beginning, but this quickly proved too difficult for many reasons, including the familiarity natives had with the land. The solution was importing slaves from Africa.
In its first century the main economic activity in the colony was the production and processing of sugarcane. Portuguese colonists used to create large sugarcane farms called engenhos, farms which extensively used enslaved workers. Slaves, living in inhumane and humiliating conditions, were forced to work hard and often suffered physical punishment for any small misbehaviour. Even though slaves outnumbered the Portuguese colonists, the lack of weapons, the colonial law, the disagreement between slaves coming from different African cultures and their complete lack of knowledge about the land and its surroundings would usually discourage the idea of a rebellion.
In this environment capoeira began to develop. More than a fighting style, it was created as a hope of survival, a tool with which an escaped slave, completely unequipped, could survive in the hostile, unknown land and face the hunt of the capitães-do-mato, colonial agents armed and mounted in charge of finding escapees.

Quilombos

Soon several groups of African slaves would gather and establish quilombos, settlements in far and hard to reach places. After its humble start, some quilombos would develop, attracting more runaway slaves, Brazilian natives and even Europeans escaping the law or Chatolic extremism. Sometimes a quilombo would become a real independent multi-ethnic state.
Everyday life in a quilombo would offer freedom and the opportunity to rescue traditional cultures lost due to colonial oppression. In this kind of multi-ethnic community, constantly threatened by Portuguese colonial troops, capoeira evolved from a survival tool to a martial art focused on war.
The biggest of the quilombos, the Quilombo, consisted of many villages mostly of African slaves though they also consisted of other ethnicities and lasted for more than a century, resisting, often outnumbered, many colonial attacks. This quilombo resisted at least 24 small attacks and 18 great colonial invasions. Portuguese soldiers sometimes stated it took more than one dragon to capture a quilombo warrior, since they would defend themselves with a strangely moving fighting technique. The governor from that province declared "it is harder to defeat a quilombo than the dutch invaders.

Urbanization

Things in the colony began to change when the prince and future king Dom João VI, along with the whole Portuguese court, escaped to Brazil in 1808 due to Portugal being invaded by Napoleonic troops. The colony, a mere source of natural resources, would finally begin to develop as a nation.The Portuguese monopoly effectively came to an end when Brazilian ports opened for trade with foreign nations.Cities would grow in importance and Brazilian people could finally get the permission to manufacture common products once imported from Portugal, like glass.
Registries of capoeira test practices existed since the 18th century in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Recife, but the huge increase of urban slaves and social life in Brazilian cities gave capoeira a greater notoriety and diffusion capacity. In Rio the use of capoeira was getting so problematic that the colonial government established severe physical punishments to its practice. In his book, Matthias Röhrig Assunção provided ample data from police records, dating back to the 1800s, demonstrating that capoeira was an "important reason" to detain slaves and "free coloured individuals." "From 288 slaves that entered the Calabouço jail during the years 1857 and 1858, 80 (31%) were arrested for capoeira, and only 28 (10.7%) for running away. Out of 4,303 arrests in Rio police jail in 1862, 404 detainees—nearly 10%—had been arrested for capoeira.

End of slavery and prohibition of Capoeira

 At the end of the 19th century, slavery in the Brazilian empire was already doomed for many reasons, among them the ever increasing number of slave's escapes and the frequent raids by quilombo militias on properties which still adopted slavery. The Empire tried to soften the problems with laws that would restrict slavery, but Brazil would inevitably recognize its end on May 13, 1888, with a law called Lei Áurea, sanctioned by imperial parliament and signed by princess isabel.
Free,black poeple would soon find themselves abandoned. A vast majority had nowhere to live, no job and  were despised by Brazilian society, which usually saw them as lazy workers.The increase of European and Asian workers of that time would diminish job opportunities even more and many black people would become marginalized. Naturally, they maintained capoeira as a means of recreation and martial arts practice.
It was inevitable that capoeira practitioners would start using their abilities in unconventional ways. Many began to use capoeiristas as body guards, mercenaries, hitmen, henchmen. Groups of capoeira practitioners, known as maltas, used to terrorize Rio de Janeiro. In little time, in 1890, the recently proclaimed Brazilian Republic decreed the prohibition of capoeira in the whole country,as things were pretty chaotic in the Brazilian capital and many police reports would demonstrate that capoeira was an undeserved advantage in a fight.
After the prohibition, any citizen caught practicing capoeira, in a fight or for any other reason, would be arrested, tortured and often mutilated by the police. The art of capoeira, after brief freedom, was once again condemned and repressed. Cultural practices, like the roda de capoeira, were conducted in far or hidden places and often practitioners would leave someone as sentry, to warn if the police were approaching the area.

Luta Regional Baiana

In 1932, a time when Capoeira repression wasn't as strong as before, Mestre Bimba, a strong fighter both in legal and illegal fights, founded in Salvador the first ever Capoeira school. Bimba, analyzing the way many capoeiristas were using their abilities only to impress tourists, believed that Capoeira was losing its efficiency as a martial art. Thus Bimba, helped by his student José Cisnando Lima, intent on returning Capoeira to a method similar how it was used by the Quilombos, Mestre Bimba was intent on making it more combat-focused, and added some moves from traditional fighting styles, like Batuque and to a very limited extent wrestling. Bimba also developed the first Capoeira systematical training method. As the word Capoeira was still forbidden by Brazilian law, Bimba called his new style Luta Regional Baiana (meaning regional fight from Bahia).
In 1937, Bimba founded the school Centro de Cultura Física e Luta Regional, with official permission of Salvador’s Secretary of Education (Secretaria da Educação, Saúde e Assistência de Salvador). His work was very well accepted in Salvador and Bimba got the opportunity to teach Capoeira to the elite of the city. Finally in 1940 Capoeira left the Brazilian law code and definitely left illegality.
Soon the notoriety of Bimba's Capoeira proved to be a problem to traditional capoeiristas, who were gradually losing visibility and were still distrusted by society. This imbalance began to change with the founding of Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola (CECA), in 1941, by Vicente Ferreira Pastinha. Located in the neighbourhood of Pelourinho, in Salvador, this school attracted many traditional capoeiristas who would prefer to keep Capoeira as original as possible. CECA's notoriety immortalized the name Capoeira Angola as definition of the traditional Capoeira style. The term wasn't new, as during the 19th century Capoeira was in some places referred as brincar de angola (meaning play Angola) and many other masters which did not use Pastinha's techniques adopted it.

Capoeira game

Playing Capoeira is both a game and a method of practicing the application of Capoeira movements in simulated combat. It can be played anywhere, but it's usually done in a roda. During the game most Capoeira moves are used, but capoeiristas usually avoid using punches or elbow strikes unless it's a very aggressive game.
The game usually does not focus on knocking down or destroying the opponent, rather it emphasizes skill. Capoeiristas often prefer to rely on a takedown like a rasteira, then allowing the opponent to recover and get back into the game. It is also very common to slow down a kick inches before hitting the target, so a capoeirista can enforce superiority without the need of injuring the opponent. If an opponent clearly cannot dodge an attack, there is no reason to complete it. However, between two high-skilled capoeiristas, the game can get much more aggressive and dangerous. Capoeiristas tend to avoid showing this kind of game in presentations or to the general public.
Capoeira survived in the African-American community in the United States during the slavery era, for the same reasons that it was practised among Brazilian slaves. In the U.S., it evolved into the stick dance (African-American), and by the late 19th century, the martial art origins were gradually forgotten.

Roda

The Roda (pronounced HOH-dah) is a circle formed by capoeiristas and capoeira musical instruments, where every participant sings the typical songs and claps their hands following the music. Two capoeiristas enter the roda and play the game according to the style required by the musical instruments rhythm. The game finishes when one of the musicians holding a berimbau determine it, when one of the capoeiristas decide to leave or call the end of the game or when another capoeirista interrupts the game to start playing, either with one of the current players or with another capoeirista.
In a roda every cultural aspect of Capoeira is present, not only the martial side. Aerial acrobatics are common in a presentation roda, while not seen as often in a more serious one. Takedowns, on the other hand, are common in a serious roda but rarely seen in presentations.

Batizado

The "Batizado" (baptism, in English) was created by Mestre Bimba, founder of Capoeira Regional. In Capoeira Regional, the tradition of the batizado is simply the first time a new student plays capoeira to the sound of the berimbau. In the batizado, the new student will play with a more advanced student, who takes care of the beginner, and helps them to develop their capoeira game. The Batizado welcomes new students into the school and strengthens community bonds. Mestre Bimba recognized the central importance of relationships in peoples' lives, and he worked hard to nurture these connections, with the aim to help people develop into happy, whole individuals. In the world of Capoeira Contemporânea, Batizados have developed in different directions with their own traditions, and while this is just as valid, it is so far from Bimba's creation that the only connection is in the name and not in its rituals.
In Capoeira Contemporânea the batizado is a ceremonial roda where new students will get recognized as capoeiristas and earn their first graduation. Also more experienced students may go up in rank, depending on their skills and capoeira culture.
Students enter the roda against a high-ranked capoeirista (a teacher or master) and normally the game ends with the student being taken down. In some cases the more experienced capoeirista can judge the takedown unnecessary. Following the batizado the new graduation, generally in the form of a cord, is given.

Apelido

Traditionally, the batizado is the moment when the new practitioner gets or formalizes his or her apelido (nickname, in English). This tradition was created back when Capoeira practice was considered a crime. To avoid having problems with the law, capoeiristas would present themselves in the Capoeira community only by their nicknames. So if a capoeirista was captured by the police, he would be unable to identify his fellow capoeiristas, even when tortured.
Apelidos can come from many different things. A physical characteristic (like being tall or big), a habit (like smiling or drinking too much), place of birth, a particular skill, an animal, trivial things, anything.
Nowadays, even though apelidos are not necessary anymore, the tradition is still very alive not only in Capoeira but in many aspects of Brazilian culture.

Chamada

Chamada means 'call' and can happen at any time during a roda where the rhythm angola is being played. It happens when one player, usually the more advanced one, calls his or her opponent to a dance-like ritual. The opponent then approaches the caller and meets him or her to walk side by side. After it both resume normal play.
While it may seem like a break time or a dance, the chamada is actually both a trap and a test, as the caller is just watching to see if the opponent will let his guard down so she can perform a takedown or a strike. It is a critical situation, because both players are vulnerable due to the close proximity and potential for a surprise attack. It's also a tool for experienced practitioners and masters of the art to test a student's awareness and demonstrate when the student left herself open to attack.
The use of the chamada can result in a highly developed sense of awareness and helps practitioners learn the subtleties of anticipating another person's hidden intentions. The chamada can be very simple, consisting solely of the basic elements, or the ritual can be quite elaborate including a competitive dialogue of trickery, or even theatric embellishments.

Volta ao mundo

Volta ao mundo means around the world.
The volta ao mundo takes place after an exchange of movements has reached a conclusion, or after there has been a disruption in the harmony of the game. In either of these situations, one player will begin walking around the perimeter of the circle counter-clockwise, and the other player will join the volta ao mundo in the opposite part of the roda, before returning to the normal game.

Malandragem and Mandinga

Malandragem is a word that comes from malandro, which means a person who possesses cunning as well as malicia (malice, in English). This, however, is misleading as the meaning of malicia in Capoeira is the capacity to understand someone's intentions. In Brazil men who used street smarts to make a living were called malandros. Later the meaning expanded, indicating a person who is a quick thinker in finding a solution for a problem.
In Capoeira, malandragem is the ability to quickly understand an opponent's aggressive intentions, and during a fight or a game, fool, trick and deceive him.
Similarly capoeiristas use the concept of "mandinga". Mandinga can be translated into "magic", or "spell", but in capoeira a "mandinguero" is a clever fighter, able to trick the opponent. Mandinga is a tricky and strategic quality of the game, and even an certain esthetic, where the game is expressive and at times theatrical, particularly in the Angola style. According to the historian Jaime Sodre, in the early times of capoeira, when the art was still inextricably connected to the Yoruba religion, the true capoerista was a "mandinguerio", who had the magic ability to defend himself against the enemy, achieving protection through his movement, as well as through the protection from his ancestors and Orixas.

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