Alright, I've been thinking about this all day. Are there any weapons in Capoeira? If not, does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking kalis sticks, but then again it might difficult to perform roles and what not with those in your hands.
I heard from a friend that has done Capoeira for over 2 years that there were traditionally knives attached to the foot - as the main and traditional Capoeira weaponry. Sweeet.
True Capoeirst does use knives....big knives I've seen them use machedis before I've also seen them use sticks....eskrima's.....kali.....what ever you guys call them
LOL! Eskrima & Kali are names for the art - not the weapon. We call them STICKS But if you simple must use foreign terms then either Baston, Olisi or Garote would be fine. My instructor (Who's Filipino) uses "olisi" sometimes - but more often than not ... STICK!
Hi DP, The knives attached to the feet were actually cut-throat razors! Usually a pair were held in the hands as well just to give that extra edge ;-) The Maculele (stick or machete fighting - as usual sticks were used in place of blades for safety reasons) element of Capoiera is very basic when compared to that found with the Filipino Martial Arts. Not my opinion (I've only a limited experience of Capoeira) but of my instructor, Jimi McAvoy, who teaches the FMA under the Latosa lineage, and Capoeira under Mestre Gato - one of the top guys in Brazil. Bill Lowery
welcome labanB.... Nice to have you here, maybe you can share some more of your capoeira knowledge around here.
Hi WOFD, Whilst I only have a short time with capoeira, I can get any questions answered via my instructor (his Capoeira name is Taz as in the Tasmanian Devil from the Road Runner cartoons!!). The warm up lasts longer than any other system I've dealt with, due to the stretching necessary to warm up the joints. the attempts at a cartwheel (I never got the hang of those things when I was young) were solved with the first session training with Mestre Gato (The Cat), one of the top Senzala guys in Brazil. After training for a while, the use of rythym to defeat the opponent becomes obvious. I "played" - watch it!! - with one Karate guy, who simply moved from side to side rather than the traingular footwork (or Jinga). Once I got his rythym worked out, I was able to score on him fairly easily. Its very athletic, and great fun. Then you see the real guys step up a notch and the idea that its not a realistic martial art goes straight out of the window ;-) Bill
Maculele Maculele cannot really be compared to any martial art simply because it isnt one! Maculele is a african dance which was brought to Brazil by the african slaves. It was traditionally done with sticks (a representation of weapons) but was changed to use machete and knives. Maculele is again, now most commonly done with sticks. The dance is done to a strong drumming beat and also contains a number of songs sung in brazilian portuguese. The two people strike their sticks together (usually the ones in their right hand) on the fourth beat. Between these beats the people can improvise and well... play! Maculele is great fun even when only watching. I have been playing Capoeira for over 4 years under Jimi McAvoy (LabanB's instructor)... hey Bill
For those who may want a little more historical information on Maculele, here it is. Maculele is a stick dance, also known as "jogo de bastões." It is a remnant of a more elaborate and complex warrior dance attributed to the Cucumbis of Angola. Although, there are the ones who strongly believe maculele was born in Brazilian lands in the state of Bahia as an African cultural expression, it is very difficult to deny that this unique dance does not have its roots in Africa. The traditions of training for battle in the Cucumbis of Angola, recorded by Portuguese, included group dance formations simulating actual combat. Sticks about 12 inches in length symbolized weapons, but these were later replaced by the machetes of sugar cane workers during Brazil's colonial era. The contemporary form of maculele, features an attacker and an opponent executing a variety of attack and defense maneuvers. These include crossing sticks overhead, or in front of the body as blocking strategies. In recent years in the north east of Brazil, there has been an inclusion of maculele by local groups as part of public festivals. It is also a component of the annual winter Novena to Our Lady of Purification (patron saint of Santo Amaro) held each February in Bahia
yes there are weapons in capoeira i grew up doing it they do use knive an some types of sords and bow staffs and nun chucks and just about any thin sourounding them in there area you have to rember there weapons were the same as slave weapons for farmers or house mades because the art is afro brazilian art wich came from the slaves wich was banded for many years in brazil also called the forbiden dance
Hey Scuzzi Hi Scuzzi, Just read the replies. OK, I'm game...so which of Jimi's students are you...? Bill
Traditionally capoeiristas did not and were not aloud to use weaponry. when the art form was brought over with the slaves and further developed in south america, the players did their best to hide and disguise capoeira. After the abolishment of slavery in brazil, capoeiristas where allowed to flurish and became pretty well known and whre sometimes enlisted by local gangs for protection and as "muscle" this is when some players began to attach razons and such to their feets and hands. follow up question: does anyone know anywhere in south carolina or north carolina where i can find fellow players?
http://uf.znet.com/~capoeira_list/ Check out the website, it has info. you can use to contact other Capoeiristas in SC/NC. I was training in NC, but moved back to CA recently. As Scuzzi mentioned, Maculele is more of a stick-dance that simulates actual combat. I've contacted a few people from a group who specialize in researching African diaspora. Their research, tracing Maculele's origins back to Africa, has shown evidence of Maculele originally being a combative form, not remotely close to what you see performed today.
Yeah, but I would never use maculele for a self defense thing. It is a dance, with martial roots (I assume).
I've heard in Brazil there was a Capoeirista gang and they used those knives and weaponry for anybody who wanted to mess with them and also they would beat the crap out of the cops who got in their way.
hehe, when i used to do capoeira my school was a group senzala and i had a seminar with mestre Gato. I have since canged styles to kung fu but will always love capoeira
The "gangs" you're referring to are called "maltas." They were basically outlaws against the Brazilian government, in addition to being thugs and Capoeiristas. Their weapon of choice was primarily the straight razor, which is also called "navalha de pe" due to the fact that they would stick it between the toes and kick with it. The cops eventually had to learn Capoeira in order to effectively combat the maltas, especially in Rio. Sinhozhino is credited with training the police in Rio in the combative forms of Capoeira, excluding the cultural aspects of the art due to the fact that the police would not have use for the rituals when confronting maltas.
Hey, thanks for the information valetudo74 and I've heard the before there was any Mestre's to teach the cops the art of Capoeira, The malta's would seriously give the cops beatings and I mean not like the gangs today where they group up and mob the person but the malta member could handle his/her self.
