Capoeira is an African-Brazilian dance that effectively blends the art of dance with martial arts. Arranging the body in a continuous motion, Capoeira is a disguised choreography that introduces a range of excellent techniques and movements.
Although it originally started as a ritual dance performed by the African slaves in Brazilto express defense and attack to regain freedom, Capoeira soon evolved into a martial art. Capoeira movements are vital to the game and their strength lies in the flexibility of the Capoeiristas to use them. The player should be able to move round the roda while playing.
The basic movements of Capoeira are the following:
1. Ginga
Ginga is the most common movement of Capoeira. Swinging from side to side, the player gets into the rhythm of the music and he attacks or defends. The Capoeirista moves continually dodging, feinting, attacking and evading.
Ginga uses the whole body. The arms are harmonized so that the body is not being kicked; the torso is engaged to support the feet as the player stands to attack or defend; the upper body leans back so as to avoid kicks, but also forward so as to find a chance to attack the opponent. All the movements should match the rhythm of Capoeira music played by the traditional percussion instrument, the berimbau.
To master the ginga movement, both feet should be kept shoulder width apart and then one foot should be brought back and forth forming a triangle. There are small variations of ginga between Capoeira Angolaand Capoeira Regional. In Capoeira Angola, ginga is a free move and Capoeiristas can use their unique style. In contrast, in Capoeira Regional, ginga is a controlled move leaving little room for spontaneous acting.
2. Negativa
The negativa is a significant ground move and a basic move for many other movements such as queda de rins and tezora. The player uses his body to reverse an attack by keeping a low position with the leg closest to the ground tucked to the chest, the other outspread, the stomach parallel to the ground to keep a balance and the upper arm in front of the face for protection. Negativa can also be used as a sweep. If the opponent attacks with a kick having one leg on the ground, the extended leg can be used as a hook to catch the leg on the ground and pull the opponent towards the defender.
With negativa, Capoeiristas learn to be disciplined and control their movements to the floor as they are allowed to touch the ground only with their palms and soles. In addition, they learn to quickly recover from an attack, or a fall.
Similarly to the ginga, there are small variations of negativa in Capoeira Angolaand Capoeira Regional. In Negativa da Angola, the player is much closer to the ground, while in Negativa da Regional, the player is more erect.
3. Au
Au is both an attack and a defence move that can be the foundation of a number of possible combinations. In its basic form, arms and legs are bowed and the back is curved so that the body keeps a low target profile and the player can produce a kicking maneuver. With Au, Capoeiristas learn to identify their surroundings as they mostly watch their opponent so as to avoid being kicked whilst upside-down. In effect, Au movement integrates attacks from the cartwheel and if carried out correctly it can leave the opponent shaky, unbalanced or even timid to continue.
Au movement comes in a variations known as au batido, au aberto, au batendo, au fechado and au sem mao.
4. Esquiva
Literally meaning ‘escapie’ or ‘dodge’, esquiva exists in many forms but all entail moving the head and torso to avoid an attack.
Esquiva de Baixa looks like an extemely low ginga, but the back foot is further stretched so that the body is brought closer to the ground. If the right foot is back then the left hand will placed on the floor, the right hand will be protecting the face.
Esquiva Lateral is performed with the feet put parallel on the ground, the torso brought down to the left or right and the face protected by the hand so as to avoid the opponent’s kick. This move is known as side dodge or side escape.
Esquiva Diagonal seems like esquiva lateral, but the Capoeirista advances also diagonally of to the right or left of the attack. By placing the front foot in a vertical position to the back foot, bowing down at knees in a low leap, and harmonizing the arms to keep the body balanced, the player escapes the opponent’s attack.
Capoeira can be overwhelming because it has many different moves that cannot be memorized easily. It takes a lot of practice and patience to become a Capoeira master. However, everything starts from these basic movements that serve as a basis for Capoeira kicks, escapes, takedowns and sweeps.