and an awesome capoeira video! Check this guy out
http://www.capoeiraliège.be.tf/
in the videos section check out the video titled "Eberson". The whole thing is pretty cool but there is some real example of malicia and skil in the last game.
Also while cruising the internet I found this page containing some translations of some works in portuguese on capoeira and found some interesting comments fitting to just about al martial arts. Even though these are all from a capoeiristas point of view I found some of them are easily applied to any art.
the webpage is: http://shadowcat170.tripod.com/capoeira/id90.html - there is also a few comments that reveal the mystical or mythical side of capoeira as well, like any traditional art it has it's history of magic and legend.
In General:
"Not every mestre is a good capoeirista and not every good capoeirista is a mestre. Mestres can recognize the capoeirista who knows the fundamentals of capoeira angola, aiming above all for self-perfection and the spiritual and philosophical aspect of his art, and not just his performance in the game and in the fight."
"The violence of capoeira must stay in the innermost part of the capoeirista, only manifesting itself in extreme situations, in defense of life"
"The hits of capoeira angola, almost always executed with moderation in the roda, are very dangerous when used in the street, against enemies, as long as the practitioner possesses the necessary experience to utilize them in this circumstance; if this is not the case, the situation is inverted (the danger is to the practitioner)."
"The capoeirista that never faced a weapon cannot say that he doesn't know how to defend himself against it. And the fact of him knowing all the techniques of defense against armed adversaries also doesn't mean that he is prepared to face them. The most important thing is that the capoeirista stays CALM in the hour of danger. To possess the self-control necessary to override fear."
"Some people in our midst have the custom of criticizing others’ playing styles, because they lift their legs very high or, by contrast, because they don’t usually lift them above the level of the waist, and other comments of this nature. If these people reflected on this type of attitude without vanity, which is unique to the human being of delayed evolution, they would certainly arrive at the obvious conclusion of the poverty, in terms of creativity, that there would be if all of us practiced the same style; and that this condition of diversity is what gives origin to the wealth of details present in rodas of capoeira, where the ego of the capoeristas manifests itself through their bodies’ movements, demonstrating that to play capoeira is a state of the spirit and that emotion is its essential component."
"No one is the owner of the absolute truth. Capoeira undergoes a constant process of creation and it fits us, as mestres, to extract the best out of the diverse forms of teaching, aiming to enrich each time our art, adapting it to our objectives and having the caution to know how to separate well the “chaff from the wheat,” eliminating all the movements that are foreign to our roots, that discharacterize the art, adding and conserving those that are in agreement with our traditions. It is no shame or sign of ignorance to copy what has value; much to the contrary, it is a sign of wisdom."
"The true angoleiro does not do capoeira, he lives capoeira. So don’t be in a hurry" - this is essentially my new atitude towards training.
Some Interesting comments and insight on the nature of capoeira:
"The angoleiro must always keep himself on the defensive, especially in street fights, having the caution to put himself in the position of the victim according to the testimonies."
"In defense against enemies, we must threaten to attack them in a determined place, so that he worries too much about protecting it, allowing an attack to another place"
"The majority of the frontally applied hits, for example the chapa, are often used in street fights. However, the spinning hits are more useful in counterattacks, mainly when executed for deception"
"When you are playing close to your partner, try to close your guard well and use the floreio with the aim of deceiving him and make him become vulnerable" - Floreio are all the really fancy, flowery moves you see in capoeira.
"Modern capoeira is similar to a young and beautiful woman that naturally rivets whoever sees her, although she is completely empty in her essence. Whereas the traditional capoeira of the past was more similar to a simple woman of the people, who does not stand out at first sight, but however possesses a truer beauty, interior, that only the people with a more acute sensitivity could immediately perceive."
"Capoeira does not have only one owner, nor only one color. It was born in Bahia; however, it has all the colors of the world and it belongs to everyone who has it in their heart and soul."
"The factors that most contributed to the discharacterization of capoeira in recent times were, firstly, the formation of folkloric groups for exhibitions in theaters and variety shows, with purely commercial objectives, in which they tried to impress the audience with movements characteristic of acrobatic gymnastics. Secondly, the infiltration of practitioners of other martial arts, when they began to compare them to capoeira, incorporating new hits under the pretext of modernizing capoeira, without possessing the least knowledge about capoeira’s real fundamentals."
