little things matter

I realize that I wish my career could be teaching capoeira.

I gave a demonstration of capoeira to a group of about 80 middle school kids this morning, and it…was…AWESOME!  They were so engaged, and just about every one of them did my Aú (cartwheel) drill down the gymnasium floor :D  We ended with a beginner’s roda with them all sitting in a circle to create the roda.  We practiced the esquivas I taught them and the ginga.  I played…i don’t know…about 30 kids and even the teachers bought into the game!

So

Much

Fun!

• Question: What are the different colors of the cordão? And what is required to advance? - bearthug
• Answer:

  Good question :D I can answer for Grupo Axé Capoeira, and each grupo does it a little bit differently.  The one commonality I have found is the color of a Mestre’s cordão: Vermelho (red).  Yet, even that is not standard; there are no concrete rules in capoeira ;)

  There are 18 cordões now in Axé Capoeira. The basic colors are eight, and there are intermediaries between them.  One’s cordão denotes one’s skill and dedication to the grupo.  As a student learns more of the game, the instruments, the songs, the history, Portuguese, the dances, the acrobatics, that student earns higher ranks.

  I love that it is not something one can just buy; one has to earn it, even though one shows up to class and pays on time.  If a student stops training or shows less dedication to the grupo, that student’s rank is taken away until the teacher feels he or she is ready for it again.

  This is how to progress until the student reaches the teaching ranks.  Those begin at the 6th rank, azul marrom, which is when teaching is added to the curriculum.  From there, the student eventually ‘graduates’ and branches off from the main academy to build another Axé academy elsewhere.

  The event where a capoeirista receives a promotion is the batizado, the capoeira ceremony.  This is what happened recently in Kansas City, where I got promoted :D

  Next up is a list of all the ranks with cute little pics of the cordões.

  • crua-raw-rå
  • crua ponta azul
  • crua azul
  • azul-blue-blå
  • azul ponta marrom
  • azul marrom
  • marrom-brown-brun
  • marrom ponta verde
  • marrom verde
  • verde-green-grön (Graduado-Graduate-Examen)
  • verde amarelo (Instrutor-Instructor-Instruktör)
  • amarelo-yellow-gul (Professor 1°)
  • amarelo roxo (Professor 2°)
  • roxo-purple-lila (Contra Mestre 1°-Förman)
  • roxo vermelho (Contra Mestre 2°-Förman)
  • vermelho - red - rött (Mestre 1°-Master-Mästare)
  • vermelho branco (Mestre 2°-Master-Mästare)
  • branco - white - vit (Gran Mestre-Grand Master)

  Thanks for reading this wall of text.  I am kind of passionate about my grupo and capoeira; I have lots to say :D

Maculelê is one of the traditional Brazilian dances capoeiristas perform during batizado.  It is a stick fighting dance that progresses to using facão, machetes. Here, I perform maculelê with my grupo, grass skirt and everything.

I had one day to learn the routine.  Turns out, I was the replacement for the replacement, who sprained his ankle the day before the performance. Thank goodness I remember how to play maculelê!

These are the games we played during batizado to showcase capoeira to the audience.  I finally received permission to post the video.  So, here it is!

My games are at 3:12, 5:08, and 8:04

Perhaps the biggest surprise of batizado weekend: my friend and fellow capoeirista, Quebrado works for a printing company, and just gave this to me.

• An 8ft x 8ft vinyl banner (about 2.5m x 2.5m) of the Axé logo for my studio
• o.O

I was floored.  I have no idea how much it cost him to print, and I do not wish to insult his generosity by asking.  Muitíssimo obrigado, Quebrado.

Instrutor Bambu:

Kick Gargamel, not the Smurfs.

Iê viva meu mestre, camara!

This is my mestre, Mestre Barrão and myself at Batizado.

This is our street roda at Crown Center plaza in Kansas City.  We like to call them capoeira flash mobs :D The security guards walked up after a few minutes and told us to leave.  Ahh, the life of a capoeirista.

This past weekend was the Batizado for Axé Capoeira Kansas City.  A long weekend of 4 to 6 hour workshops followed by the capoeira ceremony, the event called Batizado (baptism).  If you deserve it, this is where a capoeirista can receive a promotion and a higher cordão.

I was surprised and excited to be up for promotion.  Here, I play with Professor Tigrão from Axé Capoeira Calgary for my azul (blue) cordão.  Just one rank shy of where I used to be before I moved away from Kansas City.

My grupo performing maculelê at the ethnic festival in Kansas City this weekend. Man, I missed playing maculelê!

Axé Capoeira St. Louis

I am official!  The newest chapter of Grupo Axé Capoeira is up and running in St. Louis, MO.

My name is Cenoura, and I will be teaching under the supervision of Monitor Relógio.  Come train with me!

This is my grupo, Axé Capoeira, filmed by Dan Rizzuto.  This is the kind of capoeirista I aspire to be.