Capoeira

[elbows_and_knees]

also are there more african ma's besides capoiera?

yes. several. you won't find many people who teach them though. They have tribal stickfighting arts and also some empty hand arts. None of it is commercial, from what I've seen, with the exception of what is taught by kallindi iiyi.(sp?)

[elbows_and_knees]

Maddwraph

How does the combo of capoeira and BJJ work? I've always thought that'd be cool.

Also, any tips for doing those huge crescent-type kicks capoeira loves so much?

One of the teachers at our club is also a purple belt in bjj under de la riva. He's good at them both, but I've never seen him mix the two, So I'm not sure how he transitions from one to the other. Capoeira does have a lot of infighting though, so it's possible that after a takedown (which capoeira seems to have plenty of) he will follow them down and work his bjj from there.

[JusticeZero]

are there more african ma's besides capoiera?

There's a metric a!!ton of African martial arts, but they are as of yet virtually unheard of in America. Eventually, some of the practitioners of these arts may start trickling in and teaching, but as of yet they are almost nonexistant in the US.

[Muaythaiboxer]

capoeira and Bjj good mix because you are going to get taken down in a real fight trying to use the capoeira kicks, but if you do happen to connect with mayalua decompasa (spelling?) it can so some damage

[Skeptic 2004]

Uhm... I thought there is some debate about whether capoeira was brought with the african slaves to south america, or whether they created it once they arrived?

The capoeira origins debate is actually one of particular interest to me. Let me first qualify this by saying I am not a capoeristra (on the contrary, I am a karateka), but that I do have an academic interest in capoeira.

There is debate about the origins of capoeira: Mestre Bimba, the founder of the Regional school of capoeira, insisted that capoeira was created in Brazil as a result of a mixture of different games and fighting systems. Mestre Pastinha, the "father" of the Angola school of capoeira, insisted that African slaves brought capoeria with them to Brazil.

What further calls capoeira origins into question was the widely practiced system of alforria - a slave could hypothetically buy his freedom after 10 years and return to Africa (However, unless they worked in the cities, most slaves did not live long enough to take advantage of this system. Slaves working in mines died within 7 years of their first employment; slaves working in plantations, 10 years). This cross migration of Africans to Brazil as slaves and back to their countries as free persons raises the issue as to whether or not capoeira was born in Brazil and brought to Africa (and in turn returned to Brazil with a new crop of slaves) or if capoeira was born in Africa and brought to Brazil.

Those who subscribe to Bimba's theory could point to the arrival of the French Artistic Mission to Brazil in 1816 (a group of European artists sponsored by King Don Joao IV of Portugal visited Brazil while it was still a Portugese colony). In 1824, a German artist (Rugendas) on the mission painted a picture of two African Brazilians playing a game called "capuera." He described a game where two men attempted to bang each other's chests with their heads and knock the other man down. Notable in Rugendas's description was the absence of kicks, rolling movements on the ground, acrobatics, and the playing of the berimbau (even though it is known for certain that the berimbau existed and was commonly used by Brazilian Africans at that time) characteristics that readily identify to capoeira known in the present. These missing characteristics did exist elsewhere in Brazil. Muniz Sodre, a journalist and professor of cultural communication at the Federal University of Rio de Janiero, points to folklore about an African named Zumbi who was legendary for his devastating kicks. Zumbi was the final leader of a runaway slave city and is rumored to have defeated his adversaries unarmed and only using his legs. These separate elements could have come together over time through cultural transmission and sharing of knowledge while Brazilian slaveowners still allowed the open observance of African cultures.

Those who subscribe to Pastinha's theory could point to the N'Golo dance-fight practiced in south Angola. The dance-fight took place during a female initiation ritual where young tribesmen would fight each other by imitating the movements of zebras. The winner chose his new wife from among the newly come-of-age girls and did not pay the girl's father. The theory presented by Brazilian historian Luis da Camara Cascudo in 1967 is that the N'Golo dance-fight was imported to Brazil by African slaves from Angola, and that the N'Golo dance-fight became capoeira.

In either case, the one fundamental premise agreed upon by both schools of thought is that capoeira is the creation of Africans and their descendants. Where it was created is the fundamental question.

[Goju_boi]

so how do the other african ma's look like?weapons?punching?kicking?grappling?etc?

[JusticeZero]

N'golo apparently doesn't look that much like Capoeira. But that's okay, because it does follow the structure of AMA which Capoeira and a LOT of other African arts do.

African arts vary. They tend to have a lot of kicking or headbutting arts, but beyond that there is the whole gamut of striking/grappling/weapons. Those with competitive aspects - and many do - are often placed in a context of a ritualized contest with musical accompaniment.

[elbows_and_knees]

There is debate about the origins of capoeira: Mestre Bimba, the founder of the Regional school of capoeira, insisted that capoeira was created in Brazil as a result of a mixture of different games and fighting systems. Mestre Pastinha, the "father" of the Angola school of capoeira, insisted that African slaves brought capoeria with them to Brazil.

There has been bad blood between angolieros and regional guys too...

[KLax87]

capoeira is flat out amazing to watch. ive done SBD MDK for about 9 years, and i did 1 capoeira class since i was interested. much respect to the players, and the footwork is wonderful. very graceful too. the only reason i decided not to do capoeira is that it isnt so much of a CMA. if ur out of shape, no doubt cap. will help u get in better condition. if nothing else, always watch a new style. never know what you'll learn

[Goju_boi]

capoeira is flat out amazing to watch. ive done SBD MDK for about 9 years, and i did 1 capoeira class since i was interested. much respect to the players, and the footwork is wonderful. very graceful too. the only reason i decided not to do capoeira is that it isnt so much of a CMA. if ur out of shape, no doubt cap. will help u get in better condition. if nothing else, always watch a new style. never know what you'll learn

whats cma?