Brazil is not just known for top football team but is also famous for martial art called Capoeira
There is a martial arts form in Brazil that is called Capoeira. If anyone has seen this type of martial art being performed they will know it is a little bit different to other forms out there. It looks more like a dance than a fighting style with people doing swooping legs kicks and seeming to dance around their opponent. It has a fascinating history and is gaining popularity around the world.
Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art form that utilises sweeping motions and high kicks. Its origins stretch back many centuries to the then occupied Brazil. When the Portuguese ruled Brazil, they brought many slaves over to the country from Africa. Even though the exact origins of capoeira are not known, what is known is that it was started as a form of martial art by the slaves working in Brazil. They disguised the fighting style as a dance not to raise suspicion from their captors and used it to stay in shape, learn a fighting style and keep themselves entertained. It is this reason that capoeira resembles a dance so much and why it places more emphasis on the movements of the two players as opposed to powerful knockout blows.
The way that capoeira is played follows an elaborate ritualistic pattern not dissimilar to Sumo wrestling. In capoeira the two players enter what is called a roda, or circle, and one of them starts to sing a song which is a sort of calling out to the other player. The other player can sing in response or just stand up in the ring and the contest begins. The whole time the two players are in the ring they are moving to Brazilian music being played outside of the ring. It seems that music is a big part of this martial art form as no capoeira match is performed without music. The two players need to follow a rhythm and that is provided by Brazilian drums and other instruments outside of the ring. The sport is very much a viewer oriented with the two people in the roda performing elaborate manoeuvres, leg sweeps, handstands and dance moves all for the benefit of the crowd in attendance. There is a strong tradition of dance in Brazil with Samba being widely practised in the country along with capoeira. It could be that dance was used as a form of expression for the slaves in Brazil who did not have any other sort of method to convey their feelings.
In Brazil capoeira was banned from being displayed in public until the 1930s. Criminals would use the martial art to perform acts of violence and the police force would come down hard. This pushed the art form underground and the truly great performers were hidden from view practising their art form in private. It is from these underground performers that the modern day version of the martial art emerged and was popularised. Over time the art form lost its criminal connotations and became a respectable form of martial arts. The sport has become so popular that it is now a major part of the Brazilian culture and like Brazilian football it is a defining characteristic of its people.
The debate continues though whether it is a martial art or a dance form. On the one hand it can be argued that it is simply a dance form because the objective of the sport is not to hit your opponent but to force them into a vulnerable position without actually laying a blow on them. In Brazil capoeira is said to be played rather than fought. On the other hand people argue that because it is essentially a fighting style and can, if need be used to defend oneself from attack, it can be labelled as a martial art form. At the end of the day it seems that capoeira is both a dance form and a type of martial art, it is a hybrid of both of them and can be seen as a distinct niche in the world of dance and martial arts. It is an evolution of martial arts and dance to become something new and exciting.
The popularity of capoeira has grown where it can now be found in Europe, America and Asia. As it is a very artistic hybrid form of dance and martial art which will continue to grow in popularity. We would be lucky to see more hybrids come out of the sports world that do not rely on set notions of what has to be a sport and what does not. More capoeira style sports would be very welcome.
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