Let me tell you that I am just a beginner in the art of Capoeira; I've been
studying for half a year so far and maybe the whole section is utter crap in the
eyes of an experienced Capoeirista. This page is designed for newbies who want a
brief insight, it's nowhere intended to be some sort of reference material.
Nevertheless I would appreciate any feedback on this particular section; come
on, let me know!
General Rules:
In Capoeira you don't try to beat the shit out of your opponent. The other
one is not your enemy, he is your friend, and both of you try to keep the game
going. Therefore no bleeding noses please.
No active blocking in Capoeira; instead try to be evasive. When the pace
of the game increases, get some distance between yourself and your fellow (at
least in Regional).
Don't be predictable. That may sound hackneyed, but since Malandragem
(dirty tricks) is accepted and widely welcomed among Capoeiristas, you can
easily get tricked into some serious trouble. Be creative and let the music
take controhoholl.
Ginga: the most basic
movement of Capoeira. Instead of taking a fixed stance, you have to keep moving
all the time; all the other moves derrive from this dance-like pattern. Ginga
becomes soon second nature and provides great potential for unpredictable 3D
movement and fake attacks.
I have no idea how to explain the Ginga properly; probably I'll release a
tiny QuickTime movie later on.
practice practice practice! It's very stylish and part
of many defensive/offensive movements. If you never ever tried it, start with
swinging up at a wall. Don't look at your hands, keep your eyes on the opposite
wall instead. Once you get the feeling for it, try a handstand without support.
If you are about to topple over, lift one hand and find your balance again.
Occasionally that won't work; then try to roll over or -even better- lift one
palm, use your other hand as a pivot and gently step down in the opposite
direction.(example: lift your left hand, turn clockwise for 180 degrees, put it
down again, lower one leg, touch the ground, lower the other leg, get up and
always keep smiling:). No problem you say? Then try to...
get up into handstand from a squatting position.
get up into handstand from a cartwheel.
get up into handstand from a headstand.
get up into handstand from a macaco.
get up into handstand with a 180 deg turn.
combine the above.
walk on your hands. Forwards (where the heels are) is easier than
backwards.
clap your feet to the rhythm of the Berimbau.
Straddle your legs both back and forth and left and right.
Straddle your legs and twist your hips for 90 degrees.
go into handstand and squat witx yoer legs in the air.
stretch your legs into an angle with your body (big inverted "L").
stand on one hand.
spin on one hand (e.g. starting from a one-handed Compassa).
"stand on the kidneys". Begin as if you wanted to
go into a headstand; crouch. Turn both your knees that they face your right
elbow. Shift your weight over your left hand, then lower your head. Place the
area above your left hip on your left elbow and let the left side of your head
touch the ground. Slowly raise your legs and put your right knee at your right
elbow to a rest. Both legs are now drawn up.
The picture on
the right shows an example of how the Queda de Rins can be put to good use in
Capoeira. In the image we start from a Queda de Tres but you can enter the QDR
from Negativa, jumping in etc. as well. Drop down to one side but keep your body
up by touching the ground with one hand and sticking the elbow into the flank of
your body. Feels awkward at first because you have to twist your arm somewhat,
better get used to that. Now lower your body further, stretch your free hand
over your head and put it down as well. Then let your head touch the ground on
its side; put it on the imaginary line between your two hands (Normally you need
not put everything in a straight line but for this trick it makes getting up
much easier). Your weight rests mainly over your support arm (the one that rams
into your side) at this point. Time to get up again: Lift one leg (diagram:
right leg) and move it in a straight arc over your torso. The other legs follows
as well but concentrate on the first one for now. Get this first leg over your
head and try to let its foot touch the ground on the extended line that goes
through your hands. Stretch out your aching arm (image:left one) again, thus
pushing yourself up (6th frame). This takes some muscular effort- later on when
you get down the balance and perform the move with schwing it gets much easier.
When your head's off the floor, push with both hands and get straight up.
Au: the cartwheel.
Immensely important in Capoeira. Use it for a quick retreat or lure your partner
into a trap.
Common Au: I assume everyone knows how to do this. In Capoeira remember to
keep eye contact with your partner; don't ever look at your hands. At first,
don't stay too long on both of your hands; try to have only one hand at a time
on the ground. Later on you can try to delay the movement or even to freeze in
handstand position. Always be prepared to get knocked down by a Cabecada or
Bênção.
Small Au: Not so flashy but much more safe. Put your hands further apart,
move your head closer to the ground, keep your knees bent and work strongly
with your hips to shift your body's center of gravity over your head.
Au with spin: Start an Au to your left side until you reach handstand
position. There take off your left hand and spin on your right hand in
clockwise direction. After turning ~270 degrees, go down as shown in the
diagramm. This is a cute style move that leaves you open for a brief moment,
so try to do it quickly (It shouldn't take more time than an ordinary
cartwheel).
Au into Queda de Rins roll: Do an Au. When you pass through the handstand
position, drop down into a Queda de Rins and roll over. You will end up in
negativa position. If you like to watch the difficult part of the exercise,
take a look at my private
homepage. In the upper right-hand corner you can see a 'Macaco into Queda
de Rins roll' animation.
Au Malandro: I
really love this one. If you attempt a cartwheel and your roguish partner goes
for the Cabecada (headbutt into your stomach), -BAFF- he'll get punished by your
lightning-fast legs. To pull off, grab the ground with one hand and jump. Now
you twist your chest slightly upwards and do the jacknife movement with the
upper leg. At the begin it's easier to keep the other leg bent; later on, you
can try to keep it stretched. Now simply go down forwards or sidewards.
Experiment with hitting above your head and to your front, try out various
angles between your legs (striking with two legs, doing the splits etc). If all
that poses no problem to you, continue the movement to a handstand, do an Au
Malandro in the opposite direction and go down there. Voila,a Capoeira
cartwheel.
This is a really tricky
movement. For training purposes I suggest you get yourself a partner who can
give you support. Face your friend ; both of you should grab each others arm
(see pic: right arm to right arm). Now start as if you tried an Au (cartwheel).
Once you are 'airborne', twist your body a little bit upwards.. fold your first
leg towards your face and don't worry about the other one at first. If you keep
a firm grip on your partner's forearm (and vice versa), you can train this move
with great efficiency. I strongly recommend (as for all other movements too)
practising the move in both directions.
Cocorinha: A way
of avoiding circular kicks at a close distance. You duck below the kick and lift
the arm on the side the kick comes from, thus protecting your head (Lift it
higher than the man on the right!). The other hand touches the ground and gives
you balance. Make sure your entire soles have contact with the floor; else you
could easily be pushed over. And keep eye-contact.
Queda de
Tres: While the Cocorinha is employed mainly in Regional, Angoleiros favor
the Queda de Tres instead. You crouch on your toes and put one hand diagonally
behind for better balance. Unlike the Cocorinha, the Queda de Tres requires you
to turn your body away from the partner a little bit (the scribble on the right
shows the move viewed from the front). The remaining hand protects the head from
kicks that come from the side which are more likely to occur in Capoeira Angola
than in Capoeira Regional. You can shift your weight over your supporting hand
and lean away from the other Jogador if he comes too close; or you can go into
Queda de Rins, Tesoura Angola, Negativa, Rolê to to keep the game flow
smooth.
Negativa (Stance): Very important because of the vast range of follow
ups; you can rolê away, go into Au/Head/ Handstand, do a Macaco, attack with an
S-Dobrado, Martelo or Meia Lua de Compasso, change orientation, retreat, close
in,... Basically it's a way of avoiding kicks (see Cocorinha) but can be done
for its own sake as well. You can drop into the Negativa from the Ginga, from an
Au, a Queda de Rins, whatever, just keep it fluid. You have one leg bent and
your weight should be balanced on its football. The other leg is stretched (or
only little bent), with the toes pointing to the side. That's for reasons of
safety, because if someone kicks at or falls onto your knee with your foot
pointing upwards your leg could get broken in a very nasty way.. Gain better
balance by touching the ground with the one hand on the side of your stretched
leg. The other leg can protect the head if necessary.
This kind of the Negativa is fundamental to Capoeira play in general.
However, there's a variant that is used exclusively in Capoeira Angola...
The Negativa Angola shows all trademarks of a classic Angola: you are bent
really deep down, both feet and both hands touch the ground but everything
else floats closely above. Coming from the Ginga you step parallel and move
down, similar to the Cocorinha (feet are a bit further apart). Now 'flow' to
one side, in the direction the incoming kick goes. Shortly before your head
touches the floor you have stop the movement and remain in this position. Your
one hand gives support in front of your chest, the other hand behind your
back. Looks like a pushup where you have your body twisted to one side. The
leg on the upper side is stretched, the other leg is bent. Try to touch the
floor only with both of your hands and your feet, but do it as deep as
possible. To come back into Ginga, do everthing in the opposite direction.
When you're down in the Negativa Angola and your partner is standing
rather close to you, exchange the position of your feet. This is a great setup
for a Rabo de Arraia (Meia Lua de Compasso with both hands on the ground).
Scroll down to the rolê or the Meia Lua de Compasso to see how the movement
continues after the the third image.
The lower leg of your bent leg travels forward so your leg gets stretched.
From here on you have all the rolê move variations at your disposal, look up
the item below for reference.
Negativa Angola into Headstand-Au. If you are down in the Negativa, pull
yourself a little forward with your hands. Put your head in upright position
down on the floor (-strain on neck). Now try to push/pull yourself over into
headstand and get down on the other side; it should resemble a very deep Au
with the head on the ground. Try to do it very slowly in training so you learn
to control it better.
Rolê: This
'rolling' motion is -together with the Ginga and the Au- the basic method of
moving around in the Roda. The diagramm to the right shows the Rolê from the
Negativa into the Ginga. Start from the Negativa. Lean to the side you're going
to rolê to (image: left, always the side with the stretched leg) and shift your
weight a little forwards. Push yourself up by stretching your bent leg while
rotating along the axis of your left leg until your chest faces the ground. Left
hand gives support. Now put your other hand on the floor and swing your right
leg around; look through between your legs to keep your partner within your
field of vision. Finally take off your left leg and swing it around as well;
rotate for 180 degrees and put it down behind. Better keep your upper body low
until you finished the rolê, else you could eat an Armada. Keep your eyes fixed
at your partner for the entire movement; when your body is facing away, let your
head hang down. P.S. You need not rolê into the Ginga stance. It's perfectly
right to rolê closer to the ground into Negativa position again.
Here we have the Rolê
combined with the Martelo. Easy and useful. Just stand up from the Negativa but
keep your hand on the ground. This creates tension around the hips on the side
of your rear leg. If you now take off your rear leg, it should soar through the
air; hit with the instep and put it down after rotating 180 degrees. Continue
the Rolê movement as described above. To put it in other words: do the Rolê
but lift your rear leg a little higher and keep it stretched when turning. If
you do the same movement with jumping off, it's called S-Dobrado.
This is basically an
ordinary Rolê but with a Meia Lua de Compasso tossed in. Easier to do if you are
further away, so you can role towards your partner instead of escaping him. Just
think of a Rolê where you strike with the heel of the leg that was stretched in
the Negativa. Here's the description for the proper execution of a Meia
Lua de Compasso.
Chapa de
Costas: Move of Capoeira Angola. Do it of the Role, Queda de Rins, from the
Rabo de Arraia etc. Aim for the groin or head. If the other one is far off,
don't simply strech your leg but work with your arms and standing leg as well to
achieve a long range.
Negativa
(Takedown): By employing the Negativa you can elude your partner's kick as
well as let him kiss the ground. Simply bend one knee and dive away in the
direction the kick goes. Make sure you upper body half is really deep down; your
bent knee should be the highest part of your body. Slide with your other leg
behind your opponent's pivot leg and hook in there. When the kick has passed by,
shift your weight over your hands and jump into straddle position; the hands
remain on the floor. If you did it right, you pulled away your partner's foot
and sent him down.
Meia Lua de
Frente: Coming from the Ginga you lift your rear/relieved leg and move it in
a half circle motion. To maintain balance move your arms in the opposite
direction, so you don't lose your orientation. Stretch out your pelvis to
achieve a better kicking height. Once you can't move your leg any further
without turning away from your partner, bend the kicking leg and pull it back
into the position of the Ginga (parallel or step position). During the Meia Lua
de Frente, your arms should always counteract (to) your leg movement.
Macaco: Sit down
with your entire soles touching the ground. Put your right hand on the ground
behind you. Now stretch out your left hand in front of you; focus it throughout
the whole sequence. Say "one!" - wave your left hand over your head, follow it
with your eyes, stretch out your knees, then go back into inital position. Say
"two!" - repeat step one but do it with more power; stretch into bridge position
as in scribble no.2; don't jump off yet. When you say "three!" you have to
explode: pull your left hand fiercly over your head, throw you head back and
jump off with both legs. If everything goes straight you will land in a
handstand, which leaves you open to 1000 possible movements described above; but
at first you should simply step down. For this exercise you need the stretching
of your shoulders and your spine. In practice you can be supported by two people
who grab you under your thighs and at your back; they should be able to lift you
gently over without any danger to your body.
S-Dobrado:
S-Dobrado is a generic term; this technique allows dozens of variations. To
perform this kick from the Ginga simply grab the ground with your left hand;
dive down on your left leg and pull the other one in a circular motion around in
front of you (Alternatively to the Escopado you can also opt for a Rasteira
now). Then shift your weight over your right hand and drag up your right hip in
one continuous, fluid motion (scribble no.3). At this point you may decide
either to continue the Escopado or to jump a Macaco (Be creative: I like doing
an Escopado-into-Macaco-into-headstand). For the Escopado keep your hips wide
open, don't ever bend your hips! Pull your right hip up, then let it gently
float to the right and put your right foot finally down in front of you. The
kick itself is executed with the left leg which is dragged behind the rest rest
of your body. Remember to hit with the instep. If done right, the striking leg
will fly by and you can turn further to face your partner again. The whole
sequence consists of one single fluid motion; until the very end, your right leg
never touches the ground. Keep the movement round, avoid any edges.
Bênção: A
straight kick that still requires some skill. Pull up one knee and hunch your
torso as if you tried to grab your partner. Then slowly stretch your lifted knee
and drag your virtual opponent behind. Again, you have to work very heavy with
your hips. Hit with the sole. Don't try to snap; don't kick soccer-like. The leg
does not come directly from the ground, that would make your intention visible
and leaves you prone to counter attacks. When you lift it first, your partner
doesn't know whether a Bênção, a Martelo or some other mean kick will follow.
And once again: You should be able to push your partner away not get him
bruised; kick him rather slowly but firmly.
Ponteira: Looks
similar to the Bênção but it's quite a different move. Whereas the Bencao is
very common in both Regional and Angola, the Ponteira rather suits to Regional
style because it's a lot faster and more unpredictable. Imagine you are wearing
sandals and want to get rid of them; you then throw your foot fiercly forwards
in a snapping motion to shoot them away as far as possible (pic 3). With the
Bencao, you first lift your knee very high then push your leg towards the
opponent (foot trajectory is parallel to the ground). The Ponteira flies in a
round arc from the floor to your partner's stomach/chest, however you do not
keep your leg stretched throughout the entire kicking motion. Lift your knee
while stretching out the kicking leg so it gets extended to the maximum at the
point of impact. Hit with the foot ball, don't break your toes with it. The
Ponteira doesn't require muscular effort, it is easiest to execute with much
swing and it hits in an instant. Don't overuse it unless you want to make the
Jogo more competitive and aggressive. Try to follow up the Ponteira with a
Martelo or a spinned Chapa without putting your kicking leg down; works very
well if you want to surprise your opponent and catch him off-guard.
Meia Lua de
Compasso (Rabo de Arraia): Staple move. When you step behind during the
Ginga, keep your feet where they are and shift your weight over your front leg
(by stretching your rear leg). Bend your upper body inwards and down. Reach down
with your hands until your hips can't get twisted any further; drop your head so
you can keep constant eye-contact with your partner. By now great energy should
be created by the tension you built up. Unleash this power by taking off your
rear leg; it should fly around in a quick half-circle without any muscular
effort. Always hit with the heel! Once your kicking leg is aligned parallel with
your upper body, finish the motion by rotating your entire torso until you face
your partner again. Watch out that you don't get hit because of raising your
head too early - Meia Lua de Compassos are often answered with further Meia
Luas. This is one of the most common yet difficult moves, but with constant
training you will be able to deliver fierce single-handed Meia Lua de Compassos
within fractions of a second.
Queixada: This
kick (pronounced "kishada") is a great setup for kick combinations; common
follow-ups are Queixada, Armada or jumped Martelos. The movement can be slightly
awkward when you do it only with force, so try to relax and get in the flow..
Proceed as shown in the diagramm on the right. Coming from the Ginga, you
turn your body slightly inwards to prepare some centrifugal force for the kick.
Don't let your arms hang down; keep them ready for loose protection of your head
and use them to enhance the swing. Now throw your upper body around in the
opposite direction while crossing with your rear leg behind your front leg. Take
off your (old) front leg; It should fly in an arc without any muscular effort if
you produced enough rotational power with your upper body. Your final position
now mirrors the stance you started with, so you can easily do another Queixada
in the other direction.
Armada: The
standard standing spin kick in Capoeira. It is a crossing between the Mei Lua de
Compasso (rotation) and the Queixada (hitting area, posture). As usual, start
from the Ginga. Turn inwards on your heels (or foot balls); rotate for 270
degrees on your rear leg and for 180 degrees on your front leg. Now quickly
throw your upper body around until you see your partner again. You will lose eye
contact with him for this moment, so get this part over quickly. Once you can't
twist your torso any further, release the tension by linting your rear leg; it
should get dragged along very fast as your body is untwisting. This kick is
performed with the hitting leg's foot pointing straight up (The same applies to
the Meia Lua de Frente and the Queixada). Put your foot at rest in the same
position you started with. You can now follow up with further Armadas, Queixadas
in the opposite direction, Meia Lua de Compassos etc.
Martelo: Common
kick in Capoeira Regional. It requires good stretching of the legs and a fair
sense of balance. Looks very simple yet it needs constant training. Lift your
knee as it is seen in the Bênção movement. Turn for about 90-180 degrees on your
foot ball; keep your kicking leg's knee at roughly the same position. Remember
to turn your hips as well. Do you feel now why you need stretching of the legs?
Lean back a little to keep balance. If done right, your hips should be aligned
parallel with your kicking leg. Your thigh should point straightly at your
target (shoulder/head area). Contrary to the other kicks mentioned above, you
now have to snap quickly with your lower leg. Hit with the instep. To prevent
spinning away from your opponent move your arms in the opposite direction - just
compare diagramm 2 to 3 (this protects head area as well). Finished? Put your
leg down again. The Martelo is very Regional, very competitive, quick, brute
and unaesthetic. However it's a good way of interrupting an opponent who is
stuck in endless spinning kicks, just wait for a kick to pass by and quickly
jump in with a Martelo. Or do it from the side your partner is going to step
with the Ginga to. He'd better rolê away...
Martelo
Rotado: Compare it to the Rolê+Martelo move described somewhere above.
Basically you do the Martelo but pull your leg violently through and slam it
into the ground right behind you. This kick has to be done fast and with force;
it's not very good to start with when both you and your partner just ginga but
if you want to have the last word in a frenzy exchange of kicks throw the move
as fast as you can. Still don't overuse it, stick rather to Armadas and Meia
Luas for setting up a game of call and response. First, lift up your knee.
Then turn on your foot ball while stretching out your kicking leg, gain momentum
by pulling with your hips. Wave your arms around the other way (compare pic 3 to
pic 4). Study the Martelo explanation above. Instead of putting the leg down you
pull it powerfully down to the ground behind you, accelarating all the way. Keep
your head at facing your partner until the kicking leg rests on the floor. Now
throw your upper body around (untwisting your torso, pic 7) and go back into the
Ginga. Although this expanation makes the move sound rather stiff it's a very
smooth and fluid motion with no stop in between. Try to get it technically
right, then work on speed.
Escorão/Chapa: The
Escorão is a kick that is somehow similar to the Bênção and the Martelo; you
have to hit with the sole but your body takes a sideways/lateral(?lack of
vocabulary!) stance. At the Escorão (from the front), you put for instance your
right foot from behind into parallel stance. Then you turn your body a little
bit to the right, drag your left leg along, lift it up a little bit and push it
in the direction of your partner's chest (watch picture). You can do it from
behind as well, crossing your legs as with the Queixada and then throw the kick.
Or do a Esporão, aka spinned Chapa, where you have to spin -similar to
the armada- and then deliver the blow out of the rotation in a straight line.
However I'm not sure what the arms do during the motion; if someone knows exact
details, feel free to email me (or perhaps I'll ask my teacher tomorrow).
Rasteira:
Pronounce Hashtera, 'a' like in 'car'. The most common way of taking someone
down. It's applied against all kinds of incoming kicks, it's simple to execute
but hard to time. Note: don't sweep your partner's feet away in an arc-like
movement, that would only hurt both of you. The move is strictly a 'go in-pull
out' kind of motion. Do it as followed: If there's, for example, a circular
kick coming your way from the left, bend down to the right. Always move in the
same direction as the kick goes. Keep your weight over your right foot while
trying to get your left foot behind the attacker's supporting leg. Your right
knee should point straightly away from your target (requires good stretching).
Gain balance by putting down your right hand somewhere on the imaginary line
you're going to pull along. Keep your left leg stretched and hook in behind your
partner's supporting leg (the lower you hook in the better the leverage). Keep
your left arm above your head. If you can feel your opponent's heel on your left
foot, it's time for the pull. The power doesn't come mainly from your leg;
except for the hooked foot your leg should be totally relaxed. Stretch your left
arm as far as possible and move it over your head until your hand touches the
ground. Since you are stretched from your left hand down to your left foot, your
left leg is automatically dragged along. Your partner should start to fall right
now, and we complete the movement by swinging our left foot around and stepping
back with the right leg. The Rasteira is very timing-dependent. Do the pull
when your partner is throwing his leg up in the air, that's when there's little
weight over his supporting leg. When his kick has already passed the vertex (?),
you have to pull far more harder.
Cabeçada: The Capoeira Headbutt. Regional variant: Keep your back
straight. Aim at the solarplexus region of your partner, bend your knees and
lean over. Gain momentum by stretching your rear leg and strike in a straight
line. Keep your hands crossed loosely in front of your face; They should provide
protection from surprising knee-strikes or accidental spastic movements of your
partner. Angola variant: Keep everything low. Get close to the ground, take
aim and thrust yourself at your partner's stomach. You end up with only your
hands and feet touching the ground but everything else hanging down. Arms remain
stretched, legs spread a little bit. The Cabeçada is applied mainly against
Aus, handstands and headstands but also against some kicks (Meia Lua de
Compasso, Rabo de Arraia). Advanced players also aim at the opponent's head
(chin and nose). Of course it's perfectly feasible to knock someone out of a
handstand with a Bencao; but since a handstand is thought as a provocation,
kicking means to deny the challenge and take the safe/cheap route.
Vingativa: Fancy
movement; If you get it through, it will provides you with great satisfaction.
However, you must be really quick to get the timing right. Once the other one
moves in and attempts to land a, say Armada, you have to place your right foot
right beside your friend's right one. Stand firmly on your right leg, get behind
your opponent (see scribble No.1) with the other one. Meanwhile use your elbow
to prevent him from escaping to the front. Now shift your body weight from your
right leg to your left one and watch your partner slowly falling backwards. The
throw itself works very well when applied at the proper moment.
Tesoura:
translates as 'Scissors'. The idea is to trap the other player between your legs
and lever him over. Step with your left foot beside your partner's right foot
and cross your other leg behind; this resembles the inital Vingativa position
except that your legs get crossed and you plant your feet just the other way
round. Your upper body is facing rather downwards, but your head keeps looking
at the opponent. The right hand stays firmly on the ground, the left hand can be
also put down if you like to. Get your crotch(?) really close to your partner's
leg, because the throw works better when performed with the thighs rather than
with the lower legs. Once you are properly aligned, throw your left arm fiercely
around. This should make your upper body and finally your hips and legs rotate
to your left (counter-clockwise). Now your partner should start to fall over
behind. Rotate further on until your left hand touches the ground; lift off your
right hand and do the rolê over your partner's stomach. If he struggling to get
free you may nail him with your left knee in his belly and fake a knee strike
(right leg) at his face (last picture). The player who gets thrown with a
Tesoura is advised to make the fall as soft as possible and to cross his arms in
some distance in front of his face because of a possible incoming Joelhada (knee
blow).
Once you master this move
and your partner got accustomed to the many hard falls, you should try to jump
in with a Tesoura. This is much more safe to you because if you do it the other
way your victim could hurt your tripping leg during the fall, crushing on the
knee from above at a bad angle etc. The move stays basically the same,
although your right leg doesn't touch the ground at all. In this case the right
leg flies straight at the back of the knees while your left leg is aiming at the
stomach area. Mind you this is elegant yet very rough if not applied properly,
so do it with caution and only if your partner can deal with such a
situation. (A) Tesoura from standing (B) Tesoura jumped in
(recommended)
Tesoura
Angola: Better don't do this move in a Roda of Capoeira Regional unless you
like getting jumped in the back from above.. This version of the Tesoura is a
good example for the playfulness of Capoeira Angola. Although you might use it
for quickly approaching your partner and throwing him with the scissors move
described above, it's rather a challenge you propose to your partner. You may
start the motion from wherever you like, but Queda de Rins, de Tres or de Quatro
are all good occasions. Spread you legs a little and face the floor with your
front. The only body parts that make contact with the ground are your feet and
your hands. Let your body hang through but nevertheless keep up some tension.
Now turn your chest to one side so that your body gets twisted down to your
hips. Watch your fellow Capoeirista over your shoulder and push yourself in his
direction with the help of your hands. Your feet slide across the floor in an
attempt of trapping your partner between them. Your further actions depend on
your opponent's reaction: To him the most obvious way of escaping is making
an Au to your backside; cause that's where your eyes can't follow him easily. If
he does the Au to your front side, kick him Bênção-like with your lower lying
leg. Or try to catch him with with a Cabecada, either way. If he tries to flee
through the backdoor (watch diagramm) you can get on him by rotating your body
on one hand and the lower lying leg; pull your higher leg through underneath and
aim your kick him at the stomach/chest area (3rd picture). Alternatively try a
Cabecada, but then timing may be critical. Another nice method of countering
the Tesoura Angola is sliding through between the attacker's legs with legs
first (I forgot drawing a picture, perhaps next time). It's executed in a
similar fashion to the TA, yet legs are closed so you fit through. Mean people
lift their heels when their feet pass by underneath the attacker's face, others
like to get up violently. I have even seen an advanced player rolling over the
attacker's back when he got approached by a Tesoura Angola, but that had been a
joking Roda anyway:)
Cruz: The Cruz
(cross) is an elegant way to evade an incoming Bênção or Ponteira and throw the
partner at the same time. Instead of pushing the kicking leg away you bend down
and slide under it. Spread your arms so his leg cannot escape to the side, trap
it on your back. Now simply get up again and watch your opponent fall. If you
get trapped with a Cruz by someone else, don't fall on the back of your head as
the Capoeirista on the right does. Try to fall to the side and dampen the fall
with your hands, doing a Au-like motion.
This is Cruz viewed from
above. The diagramm shows the move the way I was told, and I found it very
practical and useful since then. If there are any other variations I'd be glad
to get emails from you. To avoid getting accidentally hit by the supporting leg
during the throw you have to shift your head to the right side. If you perform
the Cruz and and your position is that of the first picture, you have to roll
your head to the other side so that you end up as in the second picture. If
you're already there, don't do anything except standing up. I do so since the
girl I intented to throw over with a Cruz did a Macaco backwards and kicked me
with her support leg right into my jaw (Hi there Julia!).
Style MovesBackflip: I
didn't learn this move at Capoeira, I adapted it from the lessons I had in
gymnastics. Still it's a nice way to enter a Roda, following an Au or Macaco or
doing it on its own. Mind you this transcends Capoeira Basics, there's a high
risk of injury if you don't take proper precautions. Ask two friends for help
and try this out on a soft mat in a gym hall. Stand straight, keep your arms
stretched in front of you. Now sit down as if there were a chair behind you.
Very important: don't move your knees forward, keep your lower legs at exactly
the same position, just move your thighs. Your upper body shifts back- and
downwards but remains perpendicular to the ground. At the same time, swing your
stretched arms down and behind (see diagramm). Once your posture consists of two
90 deg. angles (hips, knees), do the following actions at the same
time: 1. reverse the swing of your arms, throw them from behind in a
wide circle far over your head. Do it really fiercly, because it's the only way
to gain the necessary rotation. Throw your arms back as far as possible, keep
them stretched at all costs, and throw your head back as well (you should see
where you land after all). 2. Stretch out your legs as quickly as
possible. The main power for jumping off doesn't come from your feet but from
your thighs, the sudden burst should travel straight through your legs into your
heels. If you did right the above, everything left is pretty obvious: you
land on your hands but the rotational power pulls your legs down (either one
after the other or both at the same time). Common follow ups are further
backflips or backwards somersaults. For training purposes get yourself a soft
and a hard gym mat. Place them in such a way that you jump off from the hard one
but land with your hands on the soft one. Have a friend at each side of yours
who grabs you at your back (>support) and under your thighs (>rotation).
At your first try let your friends do all the work; fall backwards and let them
carry your whole weight. They should put you gently down in handstand position.
With every further try jump off a little more until you need no active support
from your friends anymore. It's hard work but can be mastered; Today I do it on
concrete one after the other, yet I don't dare to finish with a somerault
yet:] Please do this really carefully, I don't want to feel guilty for any
accidents of yours. Thanx.
Headspin
animation: Like the Backflip this was destined to go to the style section.
Throw one leg back and the other one in an arc around, it's not BBoy style but a
'rough and ready' method that works well for me.
Au de Costa: You
walk along, bend back, touch the ground with one hand, do an Au to the back,
step down, take a further step, and start over. Your second hand travels rather
behind your head than in front of your face. What makes this fun to watch is the
fact that you don't change your position with this move. Doing the backwards Au
from standing/walking is rather difficult; learn the plain Macaco first.
Macaco into
Queda de Rins: Ok this isn't really new; I simply took the Capoeira symbol
from my Homepage. It's just a random combination of two typical Capoeira moves
and not a special motion per se. Try all kinds of variations: Do the Queda de
Rins part to the other side (better way of getting away), jump the Macaco into
headstand, do a headspin, jump into handstand, move down but do a kip(?) to get
up again etc... endless possibilities open up...
Handstand whirling: This animation took me quite some effort; I did not
use any reference material (video etc.) but drew it completely out of my memory
and imagination. Also I improvised throughout the entire drawing process;
although I initially wanted to make a simple handstand spin, I soon thought
"wouldn't it be cool if..?" and so I added the second S-Dobrado-Macaco-spin.
When the Capoeirista went through his second handstand I noticed that the image
has travelled too far to the left, so I let him spin around and do an Au back to
where he started. Still the Au didn't cover enough ground so I needed some
frames to close the gap between animation start and end, that's why the boy
shakes around. There are some glitches I am not all too happy with: speed-wise I
did't optimize the animation too well; the Meia Lua should be faster and
everything could be a bit more accentuated and dynamic, but after drawing frame
no.140 I only wanted to finish the damn thing. The spinning power of the second
handstand comes through the S-Dobrado when your second leg (outer) leg overtakes
your first one, causing your body to rotate. Sadly this isn't evident at all in
my animation, the spin starts only when the figure is already standing upside
down.. Recently I came across some pages which use some of my animations.
Often people act politely and ask before they copy the cartoons, and I'm
perfectly happy with them putting my pics on their site. Yet I would like to
have this particluar animation as an exclusive on my page. Don't get me wrong, I
am not jealous or anything but I spent the last two weeks at the computer
creating this GIF-file and I don't want to see them on every Tekken 3 page on
the web without credits or anything. Thanks.
So what is the guy on the right doing anyway? Let's start right after his leg
swing (left hand down to right leg). The Capoeirista steps forward with his left
leg, crosses with his left hand to his rear leg and starts a Meia Lua de
Compasso. Instead of finishing the kick he takes the kicking leg upwards and
jumps off with his supporting leg and starts spinning. Before his left arm gets
too twisted he switches to his right arm and steps down with his right leg (the
kicking leg). Now he could deliver a Bencao if his opponent closed in, but our
friend decides to take the second leg down as well and pulls it to his front
side into a Negativa. Down there he shifts his weight to the other side and
changes the orientation of his legs (stretched-bent) and pulls the now stretched
one in a powerful arc to his side and up into an S-Dobrado/Macaco/Au. His front
leg flies upwards while his rear leg is delayed; however the second leg soon
catches up and overtakes the first one from behind (starting a handstand spin).
This rotation is roughly the same as the one shown at the top of the Basics
section under the 'Au' item (third example). Look there for details. The
Capoeirista has now finished the spin and gets down again, twisting his body a
bit so he can face his partner again. Just for style he rotates on his right leg
and connects into an Au to get back into starting position. After taking a cute
posture he steps forwards again to start all over, a modern Sisyphos who
performs eternally to the amusement of us all.