Capoeira is an Afro Brazilian Martial Art that mixes combat, game, music, philosophy and acrobatic movements. Capoeira was created during the 16th century by the slaves in Brazil. The "game" of Capoeira was played by the slaves who were forbidden from fighting as a way to resist the oppression and maintain there own culture. A circle of people gather and sing and clap while the game is played inside the circle, this circle is called the Roda. As well as the clapping and singing an instrument called "Berimbau" is played which dictates the rhythm, speed and type of the game.
In Brazil the slavery was abolished in 1888 and the Free-Slaves could then practice Capoeira with no restrictions. However the practise of Capoeira was outlawed in 1890 due to an apparent association with criminal gangs and the punishment for practising Capoeira was the cutting of the tendons in the back of the feet of a Capoeirista (person who practises Capoeira). Despite the harsh punishment for those caught, Capoeira was still practised. As a further method of maintaining anonymity from the law Capoeiristas chose nicknames to hide there identities.
For over 40 years Capoeira was treated as an illegal form os sport, but in1937 Manuel dos Reis Machado, Mestre Bimba, performed to the Brazilian Presidente Getúlio Vargas, his "new form" of playing Capoeira called "Uma Luta Regional de Bahia" (A regional fight from Bahia) impressing the President who then announced Capoeira as the unique and only genuine Brazilian Sport putting Capoeira back to legality.
Capoeira has in its essence two names who are responsible for the spread of the Art around the world and who are also the biggest names of their respective styles, they are:
The son of José Señor Pastinha and Eugênia Maria de Carvalho, he was exposed to Capoeira at the age of 8 by an African named Benedito. The story goes that an older and stronger boy from Pastinha's neighborhood would often bully and beat him up.One day Benedito saw the aggression that Pastinha suffered, and then told him to stop by his house because he was going to teach him few things. In his next encounter with that boy, Pastinha defeated him so quickly that the older boy became his admirer.
Pastinha took art classes at the Liceu de Artes e Ofíio, where he learned to paint. In his free time, he played with kites and trained Capoeira with Benedito. Later, his father made him join a school to become a sailor. Although Capoeira was illegal, and not tolerated in the school, Pastinha taught it to many of his friends. At 21, he left school to become a professional painter.
In 1942, Pastinha was invited by one of his former students, Aberrê to one of the famous Sunday rodas at the ladeira do Gengibirra, the bairro da Liberdade (in Brazil, the barrios of a city are usually up in its hills). After one afternoon, Amorzinho, one of Bahia's greatest masters of the time, asked Pastinha to lead the Capoeira Angola roda. Later that year, Pastinha opened the first Angola school, the Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola. Students wore black pants and yellow shirts after the colors of the Ypiranga Futebol Clube, Pastinha's favorite soccer team.
Mestre Pastinha is considered by most to be the founder of modern Capoeira Angola. Although there existed a number of other Angola mestres during his time in Pelorinho, Pastinha's school can be considered the most influential in shaping Capoeira Angola into what it is today. Most mestres of Capoeira Angola can trace their lineage back to Pastinha.
The son of Luiz Cândido Machado and Maria Martinha do Bonfim, Manuel he was born at the "Bairro do Engenho Velho", Salvador. The nickname "Bimba" came up due to a bet between his mother and the midwife during his birth; his mother bet that he was going to be a girl and the midwife bet he would be a boy. After he was delivered, the midwife said... it's a boy, look at his "bimba" (male sexual organ).
He started learning Capoeira when he was 12 years old, with a capitão da Companhia Baiana de Navegação (Navigation Captain) from Estrada das Boiadas (present day bairro da Liberdade) in Salvador called Bentinho, even though, in those days, Capoeira was still being persecuted by the authorities. He would later be known as one of the legendary founding fathers of contemporary Capoeira.
At 18, Bimba felt that Capoeira had lost all its efficiency as a martial art and an instrument of resistance, becoming a folkloric activity reduced to nine movements. It was then that Bimba started to retrieve movements from the original Capoeira fights and added movements from another African fight called Batuque - a vicious grappling type of martial art that he learned from his father (of which his father was a champion), as well as introducing movements created by himself. This was the beginning of the development of Capoeira Regional.
In 1928, a new chapter in the history of Capoeira began, as well as a change in the way black people (of African descent, brought to Brazil as slaves) were looked upon by the Brazilian society. After a performance at the palace of Bahia's Governor, Juracy Magalhães, Bimba was finally successful in convincing the authorities of the cultural value of Capoeira, thus ending its official ban in the 1930s.
Machado founded the first Capoeira school in 1932, the Academia-escola de Cultura Regional, at the Engenho de Brotas in Salvador, Bahia. Previously, Capoeira was only practiced and played on the streets. However, Capoeira was still heavily discriminated by upper class Brazilian society. In order to change the slyness, stealthy and malicious reputation associated with Capoeira practitioners at that time, Bimba set new standards to the art.
His students had to wear a clean, white uniform, show proof of grade proficiency from school, show good posture and many other standards. As a result, doctors, lawyers, politicians, upper middle class people, and women (until then excluded) started to join his school, providing Bimba with better support.
Mestre Bimba has to be remembered as the creator of a new style of Capoeira, which gave, not just the Capoeira Regional, but also the Capoeira Angola, the opportunity of becoming the unique and only Brazilian Martial Art, practiced and loved in all the 5 continents in our world.
Today many Capoeira groups combine the two other forms of capoeira into a style known as "Capoeira Contemporânea". This style is constantly evolving but respects the teachings of both Mestre Bimba and Mestre Pastinha. The Great Capoeira teachers recognise that capoeira is much more than a physical activity and strive to teach Respeito (Respect), Responsabilidade (Responsibility), Segurança (Safety/Security), Malicia (Cleverness/Street-smarts), and Liberdade (Liberty/Freedom).
Capoeira can be considered an analogy for many aspects of life. The way a Capoeirista behaves in the roda can reflect the way that they behave in the rest of their lives. Playing timidly can reflect shyness and vice versa with extreme aggression. Therefore, training Capoeira gives you a better understanding not only about the balance your body needs to have during the movements of capoeira but also the balance you need between your body, mind and soul to face the reality of life becoming then a true Capoeirista.