Above about Capoeira.
All Capoeiristas say over and over again that Capoeira is not only a martial art. We tend to look down on other martial artists in the knowledge that they just learn how to bash their heads while we get to learn movement, music and philosophy in one. Actually, that is unfair, cause other martial arts do also have underlying philosophies. Still there is clearly differences between Capoeira and most other martial arts. Some of these differences come out of the fact that capoeira did not evolve in temples or was invented by soldiers in some academy. Those who did practise Capoeira in the past, were usually underprivileged people like slaves, unemployed men, street thugs and such. Capoeira did grow and develop further on the streets (taking advantage of the rich culture of African rituals, dances and martial arts brought by Africans to Brazil – but for this story check out the posts under “African Roots“). Maybe because of this, because most of today’s teachers still know what poverty and oppression does with people, many Capoeira schools are involved in social projects, trying to give the people “o povo” what belongs to them: hope, perspective, movement.
“Capoeira Beyond Brazil”
I realized the importance of this topic when I was reading a book which was sent to me by Blue Snake Books. It is named “Capoeira Beyond Brazil” and is written by Aniefre Essien (Tartaruga), who is teaching Capoeira to at risk youth in Oakland, California since 1998.
The people from Blue Snakes Books asked me to write a review about this book. As I never wrote a review before (except in school, but that doesnt count) I was very interested in doing so, especially when it was about a Capoeira Book I never had heard of before. So I sat down and read this book and I liked it. I wrote this review a long time ago, but due to many reasons I was not able to complete it well and it took months – till today – till I was able and willing to do so. In the meantime one of my favourite Capoeira Bloggers Mandingueira did already post a review about this book. That’s why I decided to take this review one little step further and give a glimpse on this topic, Capoeira and Social Engagement. So, better late than never, here’s the review:
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