ATTN: Saeksan

[red5angel]

Yeah, Capoeira people are starting to get into lineages. I think it happens with all martial arts to some degree or another. there's a ton of groups out there anyway, and they always has a lineage mapped out. Senzala is probably the most popular or well known group. My group, Capuraginga is supposed to be pretty sizeable as well, although I haven't heard a whole lot of talk about who learned from who. I can't even tell you who Mestre Loka learned from.

I look at it as inevitable, hell I've seen some places that offer capoeria in their aerobics programs!

LOL @ the names. That's one of the reasons I want to learn portueges, so I can figure out what everyones nicknames mean. I should be getting mine here soon.

You also have people associated with different types of Capoeira, which I'm sure you probably are aware of. Regional and Angola being the two largest groups.

[SaekSan]

It's funny, I never got into that (lineage) when I learned my stuff, all I cared about was if what I was taught could be used. :)

Just be careful with your name and make sure they don't play a joke on you (like calling you "viado" or "bundao").

:D

[red5angel]

LOL, well my instructor is an american who speaks some porteguese so hopefully I'm safe. We still have some funny names in our school though. Sappo (sp?) for toad because the guy bounces like one. Another guys name, I can't recall offhand, means something like really white viking guy, lol.

I'm not too worried about the lineage and I don't think most capoeira peeps are either. Like everything else someone will try to capitalize on names here and there but those who really want to find it will.

Funny you should mention "what works". Regardoless of what the heathens on this board think, there's some useful stuff in capoeria if it's practiced right. Again, like most other arts, it's turned away from the completely serious learn how to fight aspects for the most part, and gone to a more competitive format in some ways. This guy we had come up from a school in Utah and who is here for the winter, has helped to adjust my view some. In the beginning I got really excited about the acrobatics, and still am, but he always says if you can't use it the roda, then don't bother. This has lead me to mentally shave off the idea of training some of the more acrobatic tricks for some o fthe more practical stuff.

[SaekSan]

Ahhh... the acrobatics are the expression of the art, the rest is what it's really all about (in a combat sense).

The reason I went on to learn some Capoeira was because a friend of mine (Carlos) did it. One day he was so ****ed that we all made fun of it, all the time, that he "challanged" me (it was more along the lines of him saying "you think this is for f@gs? Come on, I'm gonna **** you up!") :D

Anyways, he takes his Havaianas (flip-flops) off and slips them onto his hands and starts his ginga, my friends and I are not taking him very seriously, so I step in to ***** slap him and make some witty remark but he swings a "rabo-de-arraia" and smacks his foot on my face! I almost fell over and my ear was ringing. Then he ***** slapped me, while I was still stunned, with his ****ing dirty green Havaianas! I looked at him straigth in the eyes, he stopped his ginga and stuttering he said he was sorry and started saying "don't kill me!". My other friends all ran towards me and restrained me telling me to chill out.

After I cooled down we were talking about what happened and Paulo (my blood brother) tells me that the reason they restrained me was because I had the weirdest/scariest look on my face after Carlos slapped me and they really thougth I was going to kill him! LOL

A couple of days later Carlos took me to his academia and introduced me to his Mestre. We talked for a while and I realized that my concept of the art was totally wrong and that it had a lot to offer.

[red5angel]

yep, it's how I got interested. I go to a local fight night from time to time and these two guys who had been taking capoeira for a while started showing up. They both have strong backgrounds in other arts - one in kungfu and one owns a TKD school. Anyway just sitting around chatting with them they said they wanted to start trying to use it in their fights, that's why they started showing up.
And sure as sh!t they did. Some things worked, some things didn't. It doesn't look the same as it does in the roda but it's certainly capoeira.

I don't know if I could get away with what they can, I'm 31 and have studied mostly "static" martial arts, atleast much less dynamic then capoeira. We'll see. Next summer I plan on stating to throw it into my sparring matches and see what happens.

As for the acrobatics - you're right, it is certainly an expression of capoeira, but some of it is better used in fuador (sp?) then in the roda. That's not to say that capoeira isn't acrobatic anyway, but the guys in my school go to a gymnastics school on monday nights and practice some serious acrobatics, stuff that's more for showing off then fighting. Right now I need to focus on the basic capoeira stuff and not get side tracked by the acrobatics. They're fun, but I need all the work I can get on the basics!

[SaekSan]

Basics is the foundation of everything! :D

Keep me posted on your experiment in sparring. I always enjoyed fighting different styles, makes you think about what you're doing with what you have.



:)

[red5angel]

sure will. Like I said, I won't be even contemplating it until probably June.

The good news is I'm starting to really chain some things together and to respond well in the roda. Initially you just sort of do your thing and hope it matches up well with the other person, not I'm starting to be able to really respond and interact with my opponent which is cool. I still get kicked in the head a lot but what do you do?!

[SaekSan]

"but what do you do?!" why, esquiva of course!

LOL

:D

[red5angel]

LOL! Sure, now I just have to remember to esquiva the right direction!

I did recently learn a great trick for someone like me who has a habit of moving into kicks instead of away from them. I can't remember the name of the technique offhand - I'm horrible with labels - but you move into the kick and then step into your opponent, your hip touching theres. It almost looks like your going to mealua but you end up sweeping in and and when your hips touch you sort of stand up and open your amrs and take them down.

[SaekSan]

Good stuff!

That's one thing that I hadn't realized about the art, before that talk, was "quedas" (throws) there are plenty of trap/throws techniques in Capoeira and they are very effective.

:)

[red5angel]

yeah, thats' what I'm learning. As with all things it also depends on how goo you and your opponent are. A guy in our class takes BJJ as well and it's hard to throw him. It can be done, but you have to surprise him, use that malicia ;)