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Hello, people.Here I am, your lurking Brazilian friend Eduardo. This is not an important topic. Just wanted to share this cool video about Capoeira I found on youtube. I think you'll like it.
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Hey Eduardo! Hope life's going well for you. Do you practice Capoeira?
I have an acquaintence who competes. She was actually on her way to Brazil for a competition last August, but the airline folded at the last minute and she was unable to make it down.
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Very cool to watch. I've always thought Capoeira would be fun to learn, but I have just one problem with it--as a fighting art, it seems to me like it'd be completely ineffective. Lots of fun to watch and do, though.
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Human! Haven't seen you around in a while...
Capoeira is really cool, I think there're people that do it here but I have yet to see them or hear when they meet. I'd love to learn.
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Heh...Human got the afternoon off and had nothing to do, and was thus very bored. Decided to start posting a bit again. Don't know if it'll stick.
(Now back to your regularily scheduled topic)
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Hi, Noemon (and everyone). Life is going well for me, although a bit hetic, due to the (rapidly) aproaching marriage and all.
Yes, I practice capoeira, although I'm just a beginner (and have been lapsing too many classes for the past month or so).
Human, capoeira's been used for self-defense for quite a while here in Brazil. It's like most martial arts, you see? It depends on the school/style focus (and your own, of course): acrobatics? Dancing (the 'ginga')? Actual combat? You name it, you can find it (well...at least here in Brazil, where you find good 'rodas de capoeira' with outstanding masters that'll charge you nothing or almost nothing for classes everywhere). I really don't know how easy/difficult it is to train capoeira overseas.
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I trained in California for a while, and it's was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. It's singing, dancing, and martial arts, with coy misdirection thrown in for the bargain. It makes you feel alive. I trained with a few sky divers, and they said that the rush you get entering a roda is five times greater than jumping out of a plane. It leaves you wide open, and depending on who you talk to, you let's you touch God.
The second video captures a lot of it.
I hurt my ankle playing soccer, and so I had to stop Capoeira, but I don't regret a minute of it.
quote:Originally posted by Human: Very cool to watch. I've always thought Capoeira would be fun to learn, but I have just one problem with it--as a fighting art, it seems to me like it'd be completely ineffective. Lots of fun to watch and do, though.
You should try studying some Chinese forms, you would be surprised. I see no difference between a Capoeira competition and a TKD competition. Seeing Capoeira being used practically is a different application of the exaggerated moves you see in competition, much the same as most karate form competitions.
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I dunno, but in my TKD tournaments, we actually hit people. Hard. Which, really is sorta part of the reason why I quit, but that's beside the point.
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The Capoeira you are watching in those videos are for display, partially for dance, and exhibition. You may as well be comparing breakdancing to a full-contact competition.
I spent years in karate, and none of the matches I went to allowed contact until a certain level is reached. The same has applied in the Kenpo, Kendo, and the Chinese gung fu classes I've been in. I don't see where your disbelief is stemming from. Unless you are convinced of some form's superiority over another, and I would argue such thoughts are probably incorrectly based did they exist, then I can't understand why else you would be incredulous. Capoeira is an art that gets little Hollywood attention, but is a strong and effective art form that has influenced a great deal of fight choreography and even some modern styles.
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My 1st "exposure" to capoeira was the movie Only The Strong back in 1993. In it they show it being used "practically" as well as the flashy training/exhibition type stuff too. Decent film too.
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Okay, that last video improved my view of the art quite a bit. But I still think that there are a lot of cases in that video where the blackbelts of my school would have simply driven right through those kicks of his and pounded him. He might have won the match on points, but he wouldn't be in any shape to fight more than one.
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Whoo! Me too, Magson. Though it only counts a "good" movie if you like cheesey martial arts films (like Surf Ninjas or Sidekicks).
There was actually a very small capoeira fanclub in my res in second year of university. Someone discovered that the campus rec department was offering lessons, so he signed up.
Poor Jeff was incapable of sneaking up on anyone. He had a loud, distinctive laugh, and he was always laughing. When he gave us a demo of what he'd been learning and fell over backwards, he was still laughing. It took us a while to realise he was actually hurt.
It's a lovely style and I'd love to learn it.
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