Capoeira: You Got Served

Capoeira was developed by slaves from Africa who disguised their fights from their masters as a form of dance (Sheridan, 2007). The closest thing I can compare it to is break dancing: you can find participants throwing kicks from handstands and doing all sorts of acrobatics. Capoeira is very flashy and heavily based on rhythm. I got the opportunity to see a Capoeira exhibition in person, and everyone was clapping and cheering and even playing drums throughout the match, which was really less of a fight and more a display of grace and skill.

Capoeria is not widely used in modern MMA, but you can see its influence most notably in Anderson Silva, who dances in the ring and possesses a certain fluidity in his movements that very uncommon in the average brawler.

It is ironic that MMA fans will think of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai as the definitive Brazilian fighting template, but in popular culture, Capoeira is the stereotypical fighting style. The 2006 independent action movie The Protector features this gratuitous, over-the-top fight scene with no real explanation between the main character, a Muay Thai practitioner, and some caricature of a Brazilian with dreads and wire-enhanced capoeira. Undisputed 3: Redemption (a C-movie based on a franchise that originally starred Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames) brought us a similar character in 2009.

Capoeira is still popular in Brazil, but mostly as a cultural institute. A social organization called AfroReggae, for example, uses Capoeira to give children who would otherwise get involved with the drug trade and gang life a hobby to live for. They use Brazilian (specifically, black Brazilian) culture to teach children the importance of morality, education, and the arts (Platt, Neate, 2006).

Next time you play Tekken 3, pick Eddy Gordo.


Sources:


Sheridan, S. (2007). A Fighter's Heart. Atlantic Monthly Press.


Neate, P., & Platt, D. (2006).Culture is our weapon. New York, New York: Penguin Books.