Is capoeira an efficient martial art?

Question

ive seen cool fight scenes in movies with capoeira, but ive never seen a real fight. how would it match up with a thai fighter or pride fighter?

Answer 1

If you're asking if movie capoeira is an efficient fighting art, then of course the answer is no.
The sort of thing you've seen in cool fight scenes in movies would get the capoeirista dropped by a half-decent mma or thai fighter. But that's not all there is to capoeira, any more than Sayoc kali is confined to the choreography of _The Hunted_ or boxing is confined to the choreography of _Rocky_. The sort of fighting you see in movies generally isn't as efficient as the real thing.

There is an efficient martial practice within the capoeira tradition. A good practitioner of capoeira as a martial system is going to present quite a problem for a thai or mma fighter. The capoeirista will have seen kickboxers and grapplers before, but the thai or mma guy probably hasn't encountered a competent capoeirista. It's going to be a heck of a surprise. That kind of surprise is the sort of thing that ends fights -- if you get to watch the other guy's films and train up to a sport bout, that's one thing. But in a real fight, you don't get a warning about what kind of fighter you're facing, and you don't get a second chance if you fall for some unexpected move.
If you've seen footage from the first couple of UFCs, it's that kind of thing. People just didn't understand how to counter Gracie Jujutsu -- they'd never seen anything like it before. Royce, on the other hand, had seen plenty of people like his opponents. He had experience fighting people like them; they had no experience fighting people like him. Not hard to predict who wins in that situation.

Answer 2

Capoeira is as practical a martial art as any. Capoeira has strikes (punches, kicks, knees, elbows, and headbutts), take downs, evasive techniques, and even some grappling. One need only study the art with a conscious eye toward fighting to see its basic utility.

In regards to fighting a Thai fighter or a Pride (or other full-contact) fighter. First of all one never knows the art/style/method of one's adversary on the street until the fight begins. Secondly, you fight your fight-the fight that you've trained, conditioned, and developed skill in. In a street fighting situation, you simply adapt what you've learned to the situation (number of attackers, weapons available, environment, etc.).

For me, if I was fighting someone who was obviously a Thai fighter (or similar kickboxer), then I'd use Capoeira's range (utlizing kicks like Meia Lua de Compasso) and attack high (kicks and hand strikes) and low (sweeps). I'd also use Bencao (front push kick) to attack the waist and disrupt their center of gravity. I'd use Capoeira's evasive techniques to avoid kicks, knees and elbows and enter to deliver my own knee and elbow strikes. I'd seize openings to apply take downs. And I'd fully utilize my evasive and entry techniques. Simply stated, I'd fight my fight-the fight that I've trained.

If I were fighting a Pride Fighter or someone who seemed to be a mixed martial artist then the rules remain the same. As is always advisable one must end the fight as quickly as possible. I would use their attacks as openings to strike, I would use their attempted take downs as opportunities to deliver knee strikes and/or my own take downs. If I found myself on the ground then I'd continue my attack, as the ground is also a viable striking platform for the knowledgeable Capoeirista. I would remember the fact that street fighting is not bound by rules, unlike sports. So I wouldn't hesitate to attack the eyes, throat, or groin. Capoeira teaches these techniques. In short, I'd fight my fight irregardless of the style/art/method of my adversary.

Seek instruction from a knowledgeable Master, who can explain the intricacies of the art's fight potential. Do not rely on sensational cinematic exhibitions to form an opinion.

Answer 3

Yeah it is, a coworker of mine used to go to a lot of tournaments, and he'd even used it in a few fights before when we've gone to the bars before, and he was pretty good, but he did'nt use a lot of fancy stuff.

against a Muay Thai fighter, I'd say it might be somewhat of a draw, because the Thai fighter has to rely mostly on his speed and getting in close for effective strikes unless he can get a good leg sweep in to bring the capoeirista down, because they'd mostly both have to rely on speed for effective maneuvering in to striking range, but the Capoerista may have a slight advantage since they can use the speed to close the distance, strike, and then quickly move away to prepare for the next strike.

against a Mixed Martial Artist, that is another bowl of fruit entirely as the MMA guy would have more in his arsenal for take downs and such. So the advantage there may be in favor of the MMA guy.

Answer 4

There are two types of capoeira , the fighting art and the dance . The dance was originally invented to hide the fighting style .

Answer 5

yes. it teaches you how to hurt, kill, or simply have fun.

I've never heard of tai or pride fighters but i know that the can go against them easily and win :]

Answer 6

Nope its more like a dance.........and it takes time to do the kicks whick also opens the user to atacks after most of the kicks.

Answer 7

capoeira fighters would go down....

Answer 8

i think it would depend who was representing.

Answer 9

have you ever seen a top fighter use that crap?