A Capoeira Social Network

Are you okay with capoeira's reputation?

Okay, so no matter what kind of perspective you carry on Capoeira, it seems that everyone BUT capoeiristas have a good opinion of the art. First off, you have your average person. They typically see Capoeira and say, "Yeah, that looks pretty cool I guess. But I'd rather watch UFC or WWE Wrestling." Then you have your soccer moms that think it's a great idea to turn Capoeira into a Tae-Bo styled workout with no emphasis on developing axe or using malandragem. Then, you have your ethnocentrists, who either think that Capoeira is full of racist individuals of African descent or that Capoeira is only for those of such a background. But worst of all, you have the skepticism of martial artists. 99% of martial artists call Capoeira "a stupid dance", "retards jumping around that don't ever guard their", "Crapoeira", or my favorite...they'll talk about a movie called Never Back Down where a capoeirista is doing flips and gets knocked out by a boxer with one punch. I know many of you are "game gurus" and will talk about how we should just keep playing our jogos despite our generally bad nature (and I realize that Capoeira has been misunderstood from the get-go), but how does this sort of negativity make you feel? I know it makes me super angry (which is why I posted this rant), and I want to know how it makes you all feel to know that a lot people would rather have the world be rid of the magic of Capoeira. What are your thoughts?

Axe

Pavio

Tags: capoeira, criticism, reputation, skepticism

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Permalink Reply by Bruno on May 21, 2010 at 5:55am

Well I don't wanted to get personal but yeah... I remember not long ago there was a clip in youtube from a Mestre atleast all guys who live in the States know. However the mestre lost his selfcontrol during batizado or first cordas, the real beginners getting theyr very first corda. However the beginner was not a complete newbie to martial arts since he has black belt in asian martial arts. I saw the clip and so yeah... I disagree partially with Contra Mestre Carcara.

The clip was taken out youtube after less then 3 hours, cause I doubt Mestre Barrão wants anyone to see how a beginner who can barely do ginga kicks his ass. Mestre Barrão goes to floor real fast... there you know who it was now, all know he is respected and all know his son is the dude who does the 20 seconds KO in MMA. Now, why a mestre gets owned in less then 20 seconds by a beginner?

Want to know my aspects of a fight? It don't matters if you are a mestre or whatever, it's all inside you. If you are a guy who can fight, and by "can fight" I don't mean being a pro or whatever, just a guy who won't go to floor without landing that hit who will make the other respect you and think twice before he attacks you next time, then it don't matters if you are mestre, if you are a beginner or if you take or don't take martial arts. Best example is those fights when you are kid. There are always those who just beat crazy around but always win, cause they got the thing I mean in them. I myself am a pacifist, I believe what I learned will help me prevent being hit in critical places, but I won't win any fight if the other is real motivated to kick my butt. I always prefered the way to avoid fight no matter what and if no way, then protect the vital points and let the other let out whatever he needs to let out. And yeah, that clip is still to be found on the www, till mestre Barrao finds it and sues the site, like youtube hahahaha.... I am sure every of you hear atleast once one of those speaches where mestres talk about also walk sometimes into a rasteira... but show it to the whole world on youtube? Nah... this is nothing personal against Mestre Barrão, I don't even know him. But the clip just shows what I am telling and what this topic is about a little.

We are not really prepared to fight, we don't train situations who happen in reality in the streets, nor sparing, atleast I never seen it in the academias I visited. We do have the reflexes and since we train an art who is also a martial art we will automatically do the right thing to defend and we do can our kicks. But remember we are so used to do "our" game/fight with a partner who does also ginga, so when doing it with a partner you can't perceive then we are in a different situation and the same happens as when you get to play first time with someone in roda, you tendential will watch and not just start to attack like crazy someone you just met, atleast I don't do it, out respect and to study the others game. But ya, this topic is getting an interesting turnout.

And just a tought, all of you know ponteira is a kick who can kill the other very quick, there is even a clip on youtube who shows how fast it happens on a batizado, the victim was a 19-21 year old I believe. So, how many of you would really have the courage to apply a ponteira knowing if the oponent does something unexpected and you hit the damocles sword, he will fall in the next 1-3 minutes and be dead.... think about it, during time I held beginner classes I always tried to tell beginners the importance of this kick and to rather avoid using it. It can happen very fast does your friend in roda just walks into your foot, things who happen out there.

Remember most mestres/professores from Brazil toke in theyr life at some point Karate or other martials arts. Atleast most I meet have done Karate, Boxing or Jiu jitsu someday in past or still do. I see lately so many academias giving capoeira but also brazilian jiu jitsu classes. And yes, those do prolly are prepared for the fight out there in the streets.

Abraço galera, another long post of me

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Permalink Reply by Pavio Preto on May 24, 2010 at 2:10pm

Wow, I was not aware of the clip with Mestre Barrao. That must have been humiliating for him. But you're right about all of that. We don't really train to fight that much. If you want to fight using capoeira, you have to train yourself that way outside of the academy in most cases. But I'm a tall and skinny guy, and I was playing a capoeirista who was also a thai boxer....and he hit me with 3 full force ponteiras. The pain was indescribable. I could hardly pull the takedown off of the last kick because there was so much force behind it.

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Permalink Reply by Rato on March 28, 2011 at 5:15am

;-)

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Permalink Reply by Julia Krylova on April 26, 2012 at 7:05am

A bit off topic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY-8XUI9Uhk
The guy Barrao fights with is a Russian. And right after this situation he "found" a Federation of capoeira here in Moscow and called himself a professor.There was no music on their lessons cuz, they mixed capoeira movements with some other movements. He told his students that he knows the right capoeira and everything you can see in Brazil is a sect.
And maybe he is a good fighter but he doesn't have much respect here because everybody knows that story on batizado. And those who actually saw the fight say that the video just has a moment which doesn't give you a full picture. In the end you can see them talking, as people say this "new" guy is threatening by saying that in an hour he will bring right people over and Barrao and his friends will be dead.

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Permalink Reply by Tira-gosto on July 24, 2010 at 9:11pm

as a Capoeiristae
that is what we want them to think.
The more they don't know about us, the better.
If you're looking for something to make you look cool and all that jazz and hope you get respected by generally everyone for what you do, then i guess capoeira is not for you.

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Permalink Reply by Pavio Preto on September 7, 2010 at 2:24pm

It is for me. But any method is subject to improvement and evolution.

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Permalink Reply by Ramses Hernandez Aguirre on November 3, 2010 at 2:43am

true my friend, i have a lot of friends that doesnt understand capoeira, for them its just a silly dance, a simple game, or just something that doesnt worth practicing. ive come to understand that they see capoeira that way cuz all the popular media, videos, phtos etc about it, show it as nothing more that a jumping dance. they dont understand all the background, all the history, the ritual, the philosophy behind it, ther are only a few of my friends who ive explained a little bit of the capoeira history and they said "wow, i thought it ws just a dance", the other part.....they said "naaah, i prefer box, tkd, etc". But well thats the way i deal with it, realize that they wont understand it unless they take part of it. And even knowing all that it doesnt bother me at all, i love capoeira and dnt care if they think of capoeira as a dance heheh its better for me, that way ill have the advantage against somebody, theyll think "haha hes dancing" and then......rabo de arraia!!!! hehe

by the way, everytime i tell somebdy i practice capoeira, they take the issue of the infamous "never back down" video. hehehe i hate it.

axe
saludos desde mexico.
ramses

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Permalink Reply by Rato on March 28, 2011 at 5:12am

I understand you, completely. Capoeira's reputation is too good, that's why I'm not satisfied with it.

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Permalink Reply by Cherie Brunelle on April 7, 2011 at 6:49pm

I dated a guy who did Tae Kwon Do, and he was always telling me that capoeira wasn't as good as tae kwon do. He would go into lengthy debates about where the flaws of capoeira and how in a fight he would destroy my capoeira family. Now as annoying as this was (you can see why we didn't last) I was willing to try tae kwon do and see what it was about and what it meant to him. He didn't ever try to participate and see what capoeira was about. I am fairly passive though, part of the fun of being a capoeirista is having others look at you and underestimate what you're really capable of. Its part of the game. I'm going to be honest, when I got promoted from my cordao verde I was a bit upset because it meant others could see I knew what I was doing. I think that if others want to talk and say that capoeira is a joke then let them because in my heart I know the power of capoeira and that is enough for me. If I ever need to use it in a real world instance then others will know the power too!

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Permalink Reply by Leopardo on April 27, 2011 at 11:50am

I don't think capoeira is an 'effective' martial art by today's martial arts standards.

I think it has lessons to teach and techniques to add but that's all.

I think the constant insecurity among many regionalistas regarding capoeira's efficacy in a fight is boring,useless and is MUCH more about their own insecurity with themselves and capoeiras meaning than it is about anything else.. Capoeira is a game that lets us express ourselves while learning about what it means to escape, attack, defend and stay moving and creative throughout our struggles it is NOT a fight that can compete in raw form with jiu jitsu, tae kwon do or wrestling. I am fine with that- I would have joined those long ago if that's what I was after.

Capoeira offers us so much more.

As a practitioner now for nearly 9 years I can say I have only scratched the surface of what capoeira has to offer- and I don't spend a MINUTE worrying about whether other people think it's as good as greco roman wrestling.