Capoeira

[AceKing]

Hey i was just wondering what you guys thought about capoeira. Do any of you find it effective like the other martial arts, or do you think its just a flashy art?

[Martial_Artist]

As far as I am concerned, capoeira is not a martial art, but simply an artform. I believe that, for the sake of the popularity of the martial arts, some of its practicioners have attempted to market it as a martial art. But, for me, it is not. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I really do not consider it a martial art. I view it in the same light as I do ballet or contempory dance.

[AceKing]

But wasnt it created for fighting by slaves in brazil?

[cathal]

Actually as I recall it was somewhere in Africa.

Correct me if I'm wrong, someone.

[ps1]

This is what I found at

https://www.capoeira-angola.org/history.htm

Capoeira Angola has its roots in Bantu tradition and was used by the enslaved Africans of Brazil as a form of revolution. In keeping with African war strategies, Capoeiristas masked the art's effectiveness from plantation overseers.

 

Then and today, to uninformed onlookers the art appeared to be a harmless demonstration of dance, acrobatics, play and music.

 

Authorities eventually learned of its power and outlawed the practice, with death being the penalty for involvement during the period of slavery. So troublesome was Capoeira that, during a later period, a few penal colonies were constructed primarily for the imprisonment of capoeiristas. For years Capoeira was practiced in secrecy and was not lawful to practice and teach until after the 1930s--about forty years after the abolition of slavery.

 

Copyright © 1996-2002. International Capoeira Angola Foundation.

I don't know about its effectiveness.[/i]

[ps1]

Some more insight on its history

Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art developed initially by African slaves in Brazil, starting in the colonial period. It is marked by deft, tricky movements often played on the ground or completely inverted. It also has a strong acrobatic component in some versions and is always played with music.

 

There are two main styles of capoeira that are clearly distinct. One is called Angola, which is characterized by slow, low play with particular attention to the rituals and tradition of capoeira. The other style is Regional (pronounced 'heh-jeeh-oh-nahl'), known for its fluid acrobatic play, where technique and strategy are the key points. Both styles are marked by the use of feints and subterfuge, and use groundwork extensively, as well as sweeps, kicks, and headbutts.

 

The derivation of the word capoeira is under dispute. One possible meaning is that it refers to an area of forest or jungle that has been cleared by burning or cutting down. Afro-Brazilian scholar Carlos Eugenio believes it refers to a large round basket called a capa commonly worn on the head by urban slaves selling wares (a capoeira being one who wears the basket). Alternatively, Kongo scholar K. Kia Bunseki Fu-Kiau thinks that capoeira could be a deformation of the Kikongo word kipura, which means to flutter, to flit from place to place; to struggle, to fight, to flog. In particular, the term is used to describe rooster's movements in a fight.

 

Recently, the art has been popularized by the addition of Capoeira performed in various computer games and movies, and capoeira music has featured in modern pop music (see Capoeira in popular culture).

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Perhaps one style is more effective than the other. It has an interesting history anyway.

[isshinryuaaron]

I've always wondered what it would be like to spar a capoeira person, actually. Is it effective? Is it not? How do you spar someone who stands on their hands? haha. If there are any capoeira people in Los Angeles, let me know.

[JusticeZero]

The way I learned it, it's effective. The way most teachers seem to teach, it won't be. Is it the 'ultimate fighting art for the new millenium', no. It takes certain focus to learn to fight with it and many teachers don't teach those things. Is it unbeatable? No. It is highly mobile and works at a couple of different ranges and has a few tools that are relatively unique to it. It has some very advanced concepts of timing in it.

[PrideampPoise]

FitTV has a series called "The Deadly Arts" that airs on Thursday nights. Its one hour long and each show is about a different art. About a month ago, they did the show on Capoeira.

It certainly appears that it can be used effectively for self-defense, though they also train in other aspects that do not directly correlate to self defense.

I suppose as is usually the case, how effective it is depends on the student and their teacher.

[Menjo]

I sparred with a friend of a friend, he was really good. From my experiance sparring with Capoeira, he managed to get by some sneaky things past my defence quite a few times. The main advantage I had over him was that it seemed to take longer for him to recover from my succesful attacks, while my training, I was able to adapt and overcome. But I wont make any sound judgements since it was only one time and it wasnt a real situation and also he didnt have to much experiance.

Also compared to my experiance with Muay Thai fighters his technique just didnt have enough power to generate any devastating damage.

I think it can be effective if applied properly like anything else.