What is Capoeira?


Capoeira (ca-pOe-air-ah) is an Afro-Brasilian cultural expression with roots in Africa, in the indigenous tribes in present-day Brasil, and in the European colonists that brought these groups together. It is a dynamic art form that brings together movement and music, with a history of both military and cultural defense. Today, capoeira is played as a game (jogo) between two capoeiristas, combining a constant flow of attacks and defenses, creating a dialogue of bodies that corresponds to the rhythm of the berimbau, a simple percussion instrument that commands the game. The jogo is played inside a roda, or a circle of the other players and onlookers.Capoeira is a fight of strategy and control, explosion and endurance, expression and self-reflection. While all the strikes and take-downs are effective forms of defense, the aspect of play associated with capoeira makes this sport as much dance and expression as it is fight and aggression. This combination reflects the history of not just of the oppression, but of also of the creative preservation of Africans and their descendants in the 'New World'.

The Music of Capoeira

Capoeira includes the rhythms of the berimbau (beer-Eem-bow), a simple percussion instrument comprised of a long, thin piece of wood (traditionally made from the wood beriba), a steel wire (arame) which pulls the wood into a taut arch, and a hollowed gourd (cabaça) which acts as a sound-box for the instrument. The berimbau is played with a small stick (vareta) and a stone or coin (pedra/dobrao), and is accompanied by a shaker (caixixi). There are many different rhythms played by the berimbau, and each has its own purpose, and orders the players in the roda to perform at certain cadences and levels of aggression. In capoeira regional, the berimbau is accompanied by two pandieros (tambourine-like instruments). In other forms of capoeira, there may be up to three berimbaus, all tuned differently, accompanied by pandieros, an atabaque, a reco-reco, and an a-go-go.

Mestre Bimba & Regional


Mestre Bimba (Manuel dos Reis Machado) was born in Salvador, Brazil in 1899, just 11 years after the abolition of slavery in Brazil. Many aspects of black culture were still heavily repressed during this time period, and the practice of capoeira was illegal. This was because of its association with resistance and street culture. Mestre Bimba began to train capoeira at a young age, and he worked to restore capoeira to a position of respect both as a cultural expression and as a martial art by embellishing traditional capoeira with elements of Batuque, an African fighting style, comprised primarily of leg sweeps to make it more effective in the world of martial arts. Mestre Bimba worked hard to gain respectability for the sport, and was asked to give a performance at the governor's palace. Soon after, the ban against capoeira was lifted. Mestre Bimba opened a school for capoeira, bringing the sport off the streets, and required his students to wear clean, white uniforms. This attracted students from the middle classes, and began to open capoeira to sectors of society that had never before experienced the art. Centrosul Capoeira is in direct lineage with Mestre Bimba's capoeira regional, and strives to continue the legacy of this capoeira visionary.