Daniel Guzman
8/31/2017
English 112

Capoeira

All my friends come from different backgrounds, Dominican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Columbian, Venezuelan, Haitian, Jamaican, Caucasian, Etc. However one of my closer friends is Brazilian and I was always intrigued about his commitment with Capoeira but never seeked more information about it or gotten into depth about it with him. I knew that it was some sort of a dance but at the same time it's also a Martial art. I've seen him always training and going to his Capoeira class every night for years it was like a religion to him. So one night I decided to go with him and observe the dance and their moves, and man you have to be lean, flexible, strong, and focus to be able to execute the kicks, flips and the rest of the moves they do. I was very impressed with Capoeira but still didn't know the history behind it. 

"It is generally agreed that the seeds of Capoeira were sown by the African slaves taken from the region of Angola. The original movements were based on a courtship dance called “The Zebra Dance,” in which men would engage in mock fights for the right to marry." Later on in time Brazilians blended self defense moves into Capoeira, they added head butts, sweeps, and kicks from a handstand position. The dance steps and acrobatics were added in to camouflage their self defense moves from the Portuguese slave owners.


It blows my mind that Capoeira has so much history behind it and at the same time not a lot people know the extend behind it. Capoeira was born as a simple method of survival. It was a tool with which an escaped slave could use to survive in the wild. "Capoeira developed as a result of the institution of slavery, and those who practice it today are aware of its history of oppression. A federal statute even prohibited the practice of Capoeira until 1890."


Capoeira started to flourish in New York and San Francisco during the 1970's. Capoeira nowadays is not only a martial art, but an active exporter of Brazilian culture all over the world. Even though Capoeira is not as popular as Karate, or jiu jitsu it definitely has a extraordinary proud history. Now I really understand why my friend is so committed and proud of practicing Capoeira everyday.

Work Cited

"Capoeira History" http://brazilianarts.org/classes-programs/capoeira-luanda-houston/capoeira-history/

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